Autism question 3 year old?

Question

My little boy was just dg with a mild form of autism PDD_NOS .He is very high functioning , smart , verbal but has social and communication delays . He is in a special education preK where he gets 1 hour speech therapy . I would like him to have ABA therapy but the school does not offer that and I cannot afford to pay for this myself. I heard about disability act where the government would pay for this . How / where do I apply for this service ?

Another question : I have noticed in the special ed preK where he is , most kids are mentally retarded - Down , fragile X I am concerned my son will not have good models since he is almost typical in all areas, including IQ . The school does not have a regular pre-K , only special ed. Are they supposed to pay for a regular pre-K for my son since he has an IEP and as a parent I think the preschool he attends is not appropriate for him ? Is there a possibility to get these 2 hours of speech therapy at home instead of school?

Answer 1

If the child needs ABA therapy the school is suppose to provide it. If they can't or don't do it, they bring someone in who CAN do it.

I am not sure of any gov't agencies who will pay for this.

According to the federal special ed law IDEA, ALL children who are in special ed are suppose to be in REGULAR classes with the help they need.

This is when they are FIRST qualified in special ed.

If the child does not progress in this class, THEN the child is to be moved to a setting in which he will progress.

This is called 'least restrictive environment'.

If they don't have a regular pre k they are suppose to send him somewhere that does and PAY for it and PAY and PROVIDE the transportation.

Seems to me he needs a lot more time for speech therapy.

What you have to do is request an IEP meeting IN WRITING but before you go, write a list of all your concerns, how you feel he needs to be in a better setting becuase his problems are not as severe as the others.

If he has NEVER been in  a reg ed class, tell them he is suppose to be and if they refuse, WRITE to them and request ''prior written notice''  for this refusal. By law they have to have LEGAL reasons for their refusals. ANd they just can't have a LEGAL reason for not putting him in reg ed class, so when you ask for this they will put him in a reg ed class because if they don't, you can file formal state complaint.

And the school will not want the state to know they made their decisions illegally.

If you need help please email me  [e-mail]

Answer 2

First, I would just like to add that the previous post is misinformed. It is not necessary to out a child in a regular education classroom with whatever help they need. This is NOT least restrictive environment. LRE is the setting that is most like the general education classroom setting as possible while still meeting the needs of the student with reasonable accommodations. This does not mean they have to put a child with disabilities into a regular classroom first. What it does mean is they have to explain the reason for the placement. They must be able to show that your son's needs are not able to be or best met in a regular classroom setting. They do not have to pay for regular pre-K unless you can prove that the least restrictive environment for him is a general education pre-K.

Yes, in a special education classroom many students will be mentally impaired. This does not mean they will not be good models for your son. Children with Down's Syndrom often have average social skills, and your child should be able to interact with them. It just depends on the other children. The work he does should be at his ability, not at their ability. This can also give your son the chance to interact with all kinds of people and maybe he can even be a helper for a student who needs extra help with something your son excells at. This can really build self esteem and social skills in young children.

You will most likely never get 2 hours of speech therapy at home. Speech teachers would have to be reimbursed mileage and paid for extra time to do this, and unless he was medically unable to leave the house, a school would never agree to do this for your convenience.

ABA therapy can be expensive. I don't know where you live, but in Illinois you can apply for respite services with the department of human services. I would suggest contacting the Department of Human Services in your state (if you're in the U.S.) and ask if they have these services available. I would talk to the special education and psychology departments at the colleges and universities in your area. Sometimes students are available to work in home programs using respite hours. I did this while I was in college. There are many books and resources you can use to learn about ABA Therapy.  I know this is a tough time, but hang in there. Good Luck

Answer 3

My child is also highfunctioning. He was to recieve ABA, it did help he has a slow communication issue and it did help with that. The school has to do this if you request. You most likely can find another parent who has a child like yours locally and they can direct you in the right direction. My son has 1hr outside speech, 1 hr outside ot, 1 hr school ot and 2 1/2 hr speech at school per week. I was afraid he would fall behind academicly if I had them also do ABA at school and I also couldnt afford to hire anyone else to do it. Then in the long run he could answer my question but if someone else did it he got confused but I had to sorta prompt him in public instead of answering for him.

Also find a good teacher with a small "typical" class and blend him in with it. NO matter what they say special ed is never taught on one individual abilities.

Answer 4

If your child is very high functioning as you say with simply some language/ social issues he likely does not need intensive DTT (discrete trial training) often called ABA. He would more likely benefit from another ABA strategy called NET or natural environment training. Do some research and be careful what you ask for. He would also benefit from direct instruction of social skills... slcial skill or play groups are becoming more common in many therapuetic and school models.

Overall, your child's placement should be driven by his goals. If his goals are langauge and social it makes sense that these would be best addressed with children at a similar or higher level than your child. You should make sure that your child's goals truly reflect his needs and ask them specifically how they are addressing these goals in the classroom given the other children's levels of functioning. Unfortuantely many special education programs do not have access to typically developing children and have to be creative. For our preschool social skills group we re-cruit PM K students to come in the AM to act as expert play models for our kiddos. Sometimes we have done reverse mainstreaming wtih a near by EDCC center or head start center. Districts with limited resources are really having to think outside of the box to meet children's needs like your son.

If your child's needs dictate they must provide access to typical children and/ or environments with typical children. This does not mean they neccesarly have to pay for your child to attend a typical preschool although sometimes this is an option.

You may look at www.wrightslaw.com

under LRE/ inclusion for more information on this hot topic.