ISS and self-contained classroom: opinions please

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Our DS is 10yo in the 5th grade at a new school this year. It is an Intermediate school where they change classes and have different teachers. He has had meltdowns since pre-k. They were attributed to a gap between his IQ and emotional development. As the years progressed, the gap between him and his peers seemed to get larger and larger. In 4th grade, the principal and counselor recommended evaluating him for special education services due to emotional disturbance. He qualified for special education services due to emotional disturbance, specifically anxiety beginning this year. During the evaluation, he scored at the Asperger level on the ADOS, and some other indicators. So we jumped in with both feet this year.

We made some mistakes. We didn't meet the teacher/classrooms/school one-on-one before school started, although we did give them a heads up about the meltdowns. We did not discuss our suspicions of Aspergers, and relied on the IEP/Anxiety issues as "good enough" for the teachers to help him. I am sure there are others. We are just now six weeks into the year, and for the first time ever, our DS hates school. He believes all the teachers hate him, and his meltdowns have increased dramatically. I am sure it is the transitions, too many teachers, extra-sensory between classes, high expectations for personal responsibility, high writing demands, unfamiliarity with routines or expectations etc. The initial responses of the teachers was that he is oppositional. The initial response of the principal was a threat to send him to alternative school.

HIs IEP includes no time factors, testing in small groups, go to special ed room for calming down, reduced writing/copying from the board.

So far, he has been in ISS twice (throwing his binder at the lockers, tearing up a keyboard cover, and pushing a desk bumping another student), and I believe they are building a case to place him in the self-contained classroom for kids with ED or Behavioral problems. This classroom is on the jr. high campus and I imagine he will not be allowed out to be with others for any mainstream activities. It will further restrict him socially. He will fail to receive Gifted/talented support. I do not want this, but ... I keep getting differing responses from friends and family.

I want to hear from parents, and adult Aspies about what you think.

Thank you,

What is ISS?

Are the teachers actually following the IEP? That is not an option. The IEP is a binding contract and they are suppose to follow it. Most teachers do not do so however. Are you also currently pursuing an ASD diagnosis for your son? If not you may want to consider doing so. You can also call an IEP meeting any time you wish to find out if supports are in place or if new ones are needed in light of the current situation.

You could demand that your son stay put until the ASD eval is finished but from what I have seen, the teachers and principal will then force your son into a situation where his actions are considered an emergency and then unilaterally move him to the self-contained classroom or even bring him into the criminal justice system (which schools are doing more and more of with problem students just to get rid of them).

Understand this, school admins know that there is a limited amount of time in which to fight before the student gets too old and hence the point becomes moot so they are willing to stonewall. I have seen a case where a school actually ignored a federal judges order and got away with it. You have to determine how much you are willing to fight and how much you just have to let go.

Convene an IEP meeting NOW and tell them that you would like his qualifier changed to ASD due to what was seen in the screens. If you have to do more medical follow ups, so be it, but tell them in no uncertain terms that your son is STRESSED by the environment and the expectations, NOT oppositional. He is reacting in the only way he knows how.

Grouping him with emotionally disturbed kids will be disasterous. It is the wrong answer for an AS child.

Consider:
An in-class aid
Sensory breaks
Organizational support or mitigation
Ease on the transitions
Special seating
Replacing an elective with a support / study hall period
Scribing assistance
OT
Speech therapy

(My thoughts are drying up)

If you put a 7 year old into a middle school system don't you think they would act out? Even most NT kids are not developmentally ready for what is asked of them, so certainly not a child with a developmental gap.

You are seeing desperation because he can't handle it and doesn't know why he can't handle it. He assumes he is supposed to be able to - and wonders what is wrong with him. Which is nothing: there is a delay, probably some hormones to boot, and a good possibility he can "catch up" if he gets the right supports over the next few years.

And change school districts or homeschool if you have to. He's just not developmentally ready for the structure, and not all districts or schools form that way for 5th.

I agree with everything DW_a_mom says! Have an IEP meeting scheduled immediately and make sure that the teachers (for all his classes), SPED, and administrators address the issues he is having. His reactions sound very much like he is doing his best under very stressful circumstances. He needs a plan for each class, because each teacher is different - both the method of instruction and the subject matter.

My DD (9 y.o., HFA/Asperger's/ADHD) was at our neighborhood school and mainstreamed since kindy. At third grade there was a noticeable change in what was being taught. I summarized it to my DH as, They are have stopped learning how to learn and are now actually learning facts! We had DD tested with a neuropsychcologist and found that she was very deficient in the area of executive function. Third grade was all about executive function skills! A student had to listen to a teacher, while taking notes, while thinking of something to contribute in class discussions. Add the disruptions with kids whispering around her (they were seated in groups of 5, with shared materials in the center of the cluster), desks and chairs moving, the pencil sharpeners grinding away - well, it was a disaster for our DD. She started to become increasingly vocal (and no, I don't mean adding to class discussion ) and upset.

Interestingly, when she did homework, she did it with ease. She could complete a week's amount of homework in 40 minutes, employing concepts I thought for sure she never understood in the classroom (I volunteered a lot in her class and could see how she was doing). Something in the classroom wasn't working.

After a month of classroom changes and accommodations (she already had plenty through her IEP since kindergarten), we gave up and decided to change schools. In our school district, we have designated schools for different challenges. The list of types of classrooms? Academic-ready communication/behavior; Functional communication/behavior, fragile behavior, and standard behavior...and probably about two more that I have forgotten. She was placed in an academic-ready communication/behavior classroom that was across town. Within the first two weeks I realized we had made a mistake...she was too capable for the class she was in, but there was no funding in our district to support a paraeducator for her in the gen ed classroom at this new school. While I had heard that the school we transferred to was quite good, what I didn't realize was that the classroom will essentially change with each passing year - the "flavor" of the class is dependent on the other students. She was the only student in the class who was performing at or above grade level, so they gave her worksheets to do and focused on the students who were behind. She took the state test (mandatory for all third through high school kids in our state) and I'm surprised she did as well as she did, because half the concepts in math I know she never was taught.

Worse than that, every day her brother and I would pick her up and I saw that she was so sad or anxious. A few times she just barely contained her tears until she got to me. It was stressful for her and hard on all of us. She talked about kids misbehaving in her classroom, how some kids literally scared her with the yelling (and this was the academic-ready class, right?). She felt compelled to yell too, because her whole "fight or flight" system was activated all day.

My long story is, if you feel that a classroom change is necessary, be sure to check out the classroom he will be attending. Shadow a student similar to your son and if possible, do it for more than a day. I had attended this communication/behavior classroom and didn't see anything that was alarming, but I visited for one hour on a "calm" day. Tell the SPED teacher that you want to visit during the thick of things, if possible - that's what your son will experience day to day.

We now happily homeschool. I know it's a luxury and not every family can afford it, but I have been so pleased with our results. My daughter had essentially a "no grade" in science in third grade, due to a teacher who had no idea how to ask for help (from me, nor from the SPED team). This infuriated me because, while she may not be brilliant in every single subject, science is her passion. I love seeing her happy learning. And she is flying through the science curriculum - her slated "finish" date for 4th grade science is April 2012, as opposed to June LOL!

I wasn't very clear. Since school started, about 3 weeks in, I did meet with all the teachers, and assistant principal to explain we are trying to get an evaluation. On the plus side, the assistant principal has a brother with Aspergers, and I think he is doing his best to help us.

I do believe the teachers are doing what they know how to do. They are trying to be patient, follow the IEP, encourage my DS to take breaks to calm down in the special ed room. I also sent a modified dear teacher letter explaining about AS and how it pertains to my son.

Problems I see:
Teachers are not good at reading DS. The early signs of a meltdown for him often look like ADHD (kicking desk leg, tearing up pencil, sighing, fidgeting with shirt, staring). Then he becomes demanding of attention, asking the same question over and over, arguing with the answer, interrupting, refusal of requests to wait a minute (appearing oppositional). Then the tears come and he curls up in a ball, like a anvil that can't be moved. He cries loudly, and bangs on his binder/desk/floor whatever. This is when the teachers finally try and get him to go to his safe place to calm down. This is too late. I have been trying to explain this to them, but they just don't get it. Once he reaches this point, he is difficult to move, and has lost all reason and most of his ability to express himself verbally. Afterward, he is sure everyone hates him, thinks he is a baby, thinks he is weird, is looking at him, and becomes extremely embarrassed. He will continue to cry and refuse to move for fear of the others looking at him/seeing him. Afterward, he can tell you exactly what he could have done differently. It's like a switch turned off the executive functioning part of his brain and turned back on afterward. He is beginning to see how his thoughts contribute to the problem and can tell you alternative ways of thinking sometimes, but he can't do it in the moment without help. He has no awareness of the body signs, emotions, etc that clue into the fact he is heading down that road. He isn't aware he is upset until the tears start flowing. No matter how much we try and point out the signs we see. They would not mind if he cried quietly, or shutdown like some kids do, quietly. The problem is he is not quiet. He is highly disruptive to the other children's ability to concentrate and the teacher's ability to teach. Even in another room, he can be heard by most of the people in the hallway. They say it only lasts about 10 minutes (it used to last hours in elementary school), but it happens 5-6 times a day most days. Again, I do believe they are trying, but aren't used to it like we are at home. At home, we can look at DS and see by the look on his face we need to talk before action, offer reassurance and dissuade the looming fears. He rarely makes it to tears, 2-3 times a month.

I wonder if maybe we are asking too much right now. Maybe he does need to be in a self-contained classroom. In about 2 years we can afford a private school if we need to and there are several in the Dallas area where we live to choose from. We can't homeschool right now. I wonder if it will be detrimental to be in a self-contained classroom, or maybe it would be the best for him. I just don't know. So if you or your child has been in a self-contained classroom, I want to know if it worked/didn't work? What to do to make it work? I want to do what is best for him, not best for my own ego.

By the way - yes he has always been mainstreamed. HIs elementary school just worked with him, because thats the way he was. For example, if there was a sub or a guest speaker, the principal sought him out in the morning and told him about it. Since he wasn't in special education, they couldn't allow him to cool off in the special ed room, but several times when he just couldn't pull it together, they put him in the ISS room without a referral so he wouldn't have a behavior hx, so he could just be in the carrel with little to no distractions/stimulation.

As for leaving the class early, I don't think that will work. He already worries about enough time and that would just put more stress on him. Maybe leaving after everyone would work, but he would be embarrassed to come into class once everyone was seated and just say everyone is looking at him.

I really like the idea of replacing an elective. Technology class is absolutely horrible for him as it is really a typing class, very time demanding and stressful. That's what led to the torn up keyboard cover, he picked at a tiny hole until it was destroyed. I can teach typing at home.

He had an FBA last year, but I am not sure how well it applies with all the new transitions and stimuli. That probably needs to be done again at the new school, and I will definitely request that.

I am looking into visiting the self contained classroom. I am very concerned about it being on the Jr. High Campus. He would be a 5th grader in the midst of a bunch of 7th and 8th graders. Then again, he would not have to transition to a new school again in two years if he was already on that campus.

I mentioned an aide, and the look on the principal's face told me she would fight it tooth and nail.

Thank you all for your advice and comments.

There is a very good section on meltdowns in Trackers book that might help the teachers understand why they need to be more proactive better. Download for free from ASDStuff.com

How is your son doing on recognizing his own stress acceleration? Can he take some responsibility for telling a teacher he is approaching meltdown? That is generally our goal with AS kids, to get them to recognize and proactively start mitigation steps, but many just can't get there. Worth trying, though.

Do visit the special class and see what it is like. Visit multiple times. My concern is that it is likely to be a sensory mess, and too much of an academic slow down.

Do try out replacing the elective with resource as soon as you can, since it sounds like this could be viable. Having an academic support period eased my son's stress in 6th a lot. Loss of the elective was hard for him, but it was his choice anyway, he knew something had to change. At the time it was actually against protocol, but they had a hard time defeating my argument that it wouldn't cost anything, and it was obviously the best solution for this one child. Was interesting explaining to the other resource kids that my son didn't have to do the worksheets they did ...

stress acceleration: interesting way to phrase that. I am learning something new every day.

Horribly. He has no concept he is getting stressed until too late. He depends 100% on outside (mom, dad, sister) to recognize and intervene.

One of the problems is they say "He has permission to go to the CM room and he chooses not to." or "I asked him if he was stressed and wanted a break and he said no/refused to go." I need to reinforce to them that he does not recognize he needs a break. At home, I often say. "Your getting upset. I can see you doing ... when you are like this it is hard for me to talk with you. Please take a break and come back in 10 min." He goes to his room and comes back calmer. OR He doesn't come back in 10 minutes and I find him under the covers/pillows on his bed, and I talk him through calming down. Then we go back to whatever it was that was initially stressing him.

I am dealing with the same type of issues. My son is 11 years old. He was diagnosed with Aspergers, sensory disorder, and ADHD when he was 8. He has always been mainstreamed with accommodations. He started middle school this year and it has been a nightmare for him. The noise, class changes, expectations etc. Are overwhelming.IEP team met at end of school year and recommended that he go to this middle school because they have had success with other ASD children. We have already met with the team this year and all of his teachers said that they do not know how to work with him. Special Ed teachers have not been trained etc. I could go on on and on...but this is where we are at now. I have contacted several teachers in our district that work with children who have ASD. They are working with his current school to devise a plan to help my son. I am keeping him at home until a plan is made. District is getting him an assistant and training her. Teachers will also receive some training. I hope that we are able to develop an IEP that will work at middle school level. My son is entitled to an education just like everyone else. Self contained is not an option. He can not tolerate being around children that are disabled or handicapped and the academic level is too low.
I hope that our children get the help that they need. I want my son to be happy and successful in life and at school.

thank you so much for that. It helps to know we are not alone. It is so hard to see how this is affecting him, as I see the wonderful things/thoughts/ideas/interactions he has to offer. It is just stifled so much in the situation he is in this year. I hear from others that it gets better, that they adjust and it just takes time. Thank you again for sharing your story.