Should I demand an IEP review, or start with a conference with the teacher?

My son is 7 yrs old and in the 3rd grade. He has high-functioning autism. In his school last year (we just moved), he was in the regular ed. classroom full-time, but an aide would come in for part of the day to work with him individually on some subjects - mostly math. This was documented in his IEP, and worked well for him.

Well his new teacher has been complaining that he is disruptive in the afternoons and wants him to be medicated at noon so she can handle him better(!) I asked how he was in the mornings, and she said that she doesn't have him - he's sent to a "resource room" for part of the morning! I wasn't even aware they'd done this, and it definitely accounts for his disruptiveness in the afternoons, he's in a completely different environment!

This is definitely NOT the 'least restrictive environment" for my son, who is very intelligent and can do all the 3rd grade work. He just needs someone to help him stay focused and provide some 1-to-1 instruction if needed.

I just wanted to clarify - I know about advocates and such, I've been doing IEP things since my son was 3, and had to fight for services almost that long. I was just asking if anyone thought I should talk to his teacher about it directly BEFORE calling for a formal review. I actually have a routine parent-teacher conference scheduled with her tomorrow, but I didn't know if that would be a good time to voice my concerns.

The fact that my son was being sent to a resource room without my knowledge is one of several things that concern and anger me about his teacher. I feel that from the day she found out he was autistic (the start of the school year), she decided she didn't want him to be her problem and has been biased against him ever since. For my son's sake, I would like his teacher and I to become allies in his education, but I wonder if it's too late for that.

I would demand an emergency meeting to reveiw the IEP. If your son has gone into a new school, especially if it is in a new district, this should have happened by now. Generally, when a child on an IEP moves from one district to another, the new districe must asses the child and the standing IEP for a period of up to 90 days. During that time there should be testing with the school psychologist, education assesments and observation by the special education co-ordinator and admin members. Once the assesment is complete, a meeting will be called to discuss the IEP and it's implementation. The only time this may not occur is if your child changed schools, but not school districts.

Irregardless, it seems they are not following the old IEP, and the only way they can do that legally is if a new one has been put in place. If there was an aide in the old IEP, he should still have until a new IEP is in place. As far as the resources room, my bet is they will argue that is where he is getting the "extra" support from. Again, unless his IEP is written specifically for him to be out of the class for that amount of time, again they are breaking federal law. As for insisting he is medicated at a certain time, the school has no power to insist on that under any circumstances.

Call the school, call the district special education office and demand an immediate meeting to formally challange their interpretation of the IEP, demand assesments be done and a new IEP written. Do not talk with the teacher. She is not in a position to change anything on her own and, at least from what you have said, seems to be a large part of the problem. Meanwhile, remind them they are bound by federal law to meet the standing IEP, as it is written, without any changes unless specifically allowed by you...and don't allow any!! I always advise the parents I work with to bring a copy of their parent rights, highlighted to the information that applies to the reason for the meeting, a notebook with any and all concerns (documented by date of occurance if possible) and an extra set of ears. As you are probably aware, you can bring in anyone you feel should attend the meeting. You can also, and I highly recommend, bring a recording device into the meeting. However, most schools will want at least a 48 hour notice that you plan to record the meeting so they can have a recording device of their own present and notify all the attendees of the intent to record.

I have spent the majority of my parenting "life" fighting too. And it never gets easier. We always hope that the school will step up and do what it is supposed to do, but deep down we know that even with the best programs, we still have to be ready to jump and growl when needed. I wish you luck...and know you won't need it!!

Shocking newsflash: the school could care less about you and your son. Finances for special programs won't come easy. While it would be nice to have a teacher on your side, what about next year? Be aggressive and let them know you will be. Report It

~You don't want my help, you want a trained advocate, armed with the appropriate medical, psychological and education records. If he's in third grade, I'm shocked you don't know that, but given that you were unaware of your son's situation until so far into the school year, I guess I'm not all that surprised.

I do agree with the other person who answered this question, but I would also go and talk to the teacher directly. Is she aware of your son's routine from last year? If not, she needs to be. If that doesn't seem to help, request an IEP review and take an advocate with you. I know you've been doing this for awhile for your son, but an advocate can help.

Is it in his IEP about having instructional time in the resource room at his school? If not, this is a clear problem and a sign that she definitely does not want to deal with your son. Your son could be picking up on these feelings possibly. It is definitely a time for a conference with the teacher, but can you see about the special education coordinator attending the meeting? Also, is she following the modifications mentioned in the IEP? Some of the problems she mentioned could be due to poor transitioning problems. If anything, an Autism behavioral specialist should be requested to observe the classroom situation to see what can be done to improve the situation.

I would talk to the teacher first, but follow your instincts. The school should have consulted you before making any changes in your son's IEP. Unfortunately, the Supreme court has pretty much ruled that they don't have to. Specifically, the court ruled that once your child is dropped off at (public) school the parent of that child has no right to demand that their child be excluded from any programs and/or curicullum to which the parent objects.

I am like your son high functioning (Asperger's). For a kid with a PDD the large group sizes in a regular classroom are overwhelming and nearly impossible to deal with. Even kids without special needs are on the defensive in social interactions at school. For kids with autistic spectrum disorders it can be torture.

You might want to research homeschooling and pull him out of school altogether. This works much better for a lot of PDD kids. Homeschooling would allow you to create a study and teaching schedule that works best for your son.

By joining a homeschool group and getting him involved in smaller group activities you can observe his interactions with others and correct problems as they arise. Homeschool kids tend to be more accepting of differences and would be more likely to help rather than hinder his social progress.

Yes, talk to the teacher first and draw her attention to what the IEP states. If you get nowhere, then go up the chain of command to principal, director of special services, superintendent, etc.

I would speak to both. I would have thought that the new teacher would have read his past IEP. Who's idea was it to put him in the resource room in the morning? You need to find that out. Then let the CSE know what has worked best for him from the begining. I hope that everything gets back to the way it was. I was labeled as Learning Disabled all through my school years. Sometimes certain changes were a bit difficult. I totally understand that. I hope that I helped you out.