My son is autistic and I need help for the School programs in Texas (Frisco ISD). Thanks for you time / help!?

Question

Hello, we learned a little over a year ago that our son was autistic. Last year we moved to North Texas and learned about Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) which we enrolled our son into. They are great and we started to see improvement as well as receive some coaching ourselves. A little after we enrolled with Our Children's House (Baylor) and the improvements were even more noticeable (We love you Stephanie!). A couple of months ago we had the 599 test for our son and we have medically confirmed that our son is in the autistic spectrum (we already knew). With all this we enrolled with Frisco ISD Special ED where they have a small class for autistic children. It is not going well. They have been very patronizing with us and it appears that their philosophy is to "hammer" adaptation into the children. This only stresses our son more and we have seen bad behavioral changes. What they do is an abosolute mystery since they claim that ALL processes are covered by privacy laws. Any help?

Answer 1

Does your child have a special education IEP plan?

Can you take him back to the good schools he was at before?

''All processes are covered by privacy laws'

What a bunch of c**p! Tell them to SHOW you the policy in black and white that proves this.

If a child is in special ed, covered by an IEP plan, the parent is an EQUAL member of his IEP team and the parent has to know EVERYTHING that is going on. The parent is included in ALL aspects of special ed.

PLEASE get you an advocate. Every state has an advocacy agency that helps parents for free.

Call your state dept of education and ask for the 'federally funded parent advocacy agency'

Answer 2

Post this question on :

http://www.autismlink.com

other people will give you advice.

I live in PA and I've been emailing a family from Texas who are having problems with getting an education for their autistic daughter.  It seems as though the educational system and grievence proceedings for such in Texas are BROKEN!!!  

Things are so different in PA.  Our special ed system allows for the parents to complain and get results.  

First off, keep everthing in writing.  

Keep a log of who you talk to, times, dates, what they said.

Formally write a letter of complaint to your special ed board, the teacher, whomever you can send it by certified mail.

Consider removing your son.  My son had a bad experience at his special ed preschool last year (state run) and we were never notified until after the fact.  After the fact led to him being violent, crying all of the time, completely stopping being potty trained and losing a lot of verbal skills.  Over a year later, he has not regained these skills.

Hug your child, hug your spouse and thank God you are good enough of parents to care.

Answer 3

Texas is not a very good state for that, now i'm just sugesting this but moving is an option

Answer 4

Read your parent handbook they gave you after your ARD. That is where you will find your answer.

Answer 5

As an employee of a Texas ECI program and a mother of a special needs child I understand your concern.  I would ask for an ARD meeting.  In writting, and specifically say you are making this request as you feel as though adaptions are being used in a manner that is stessful to your child.  I would also list the behavioral challanges you have notices and request a behavioral analysis.  Privacy Laws may protect you from knowing what happens to other children in the classroom, but has no influence on your child's education.  Many Texas school districts use the TEAACH program, which is highly effective with children with Autism.  

My son does not have Autism, but rather Down Syndrome, and he is now 16.  I realize your challange is much different than mine, but we have lots in common.  When I go to an ARD, I walk in with my goals, questions, comments, and observations.  I ask to see research on the processes used and the teachers documentation of my son's work.  I phrase questions in: My son's has an educational need for ________," "My son has the right to receive a/an _______."  I totally avoid, " I want"  If I make a request and it is denied, I ask for a denial in writting with the ARD committees signatures.  Through the years I have learned they tend to habituate to doing the same thing over and over again.  What the business world would refer to as Group Think.  You have to force them to think outside the small box they create for themselves and our children.

Answer 6

I don't happen to think that Texas is a bad place to be for this kind of issue. That being said, Frisco is a tough place right now. Its had such a drastic boom that I'm sure there are some growth issues in the schools as there have been in the town. I don't know anything about privacy laws concealing what is happening with YOUR child at school. That sounds fishy to me. I can, however, recommend a private school in the area if you decide that the Frisco ISD isn't cutting it.

Oak Hill School is great. Its pricy, like most private schools in the area, but I've heard good things from people with autistic children.

http://oakhillacademy.org/

Don't know anything about this one personally, but have heard it mentioned too.

http://www.shelton.org/education/school/...

Answer 7

We have an autistic daughter and are also in Frisco ISD.  We chose to pull her out of PPCD and send her to a private school for autism for a year before she goes to Kindergarten next fall.  Frisco schools have been very challenging because of the growth - the schools and specifically the PPCD program is in constant flux.  I would recommend that you use PPCD as a supplement to other therapies -- there is Wayman Learning Center in Plano that can provide hours of therapy and DFW Center for Autism offers outreach services and they will come to your house if necessary to provide therapy.  The ABA therapy has been wonderful with our daughter and worth the cost. It is expensive - we even got a Sallie Mae loan to pay for the tuition for one year, but it has definitely been worth it.  Email me directly if you want more info...I have learned that the more hours of therapy, the better -- you may think they need more 'downtime' and it's too much, but it's not -- it helps them cope so much better with life!!

Answer 8

I would think that there would be more communication from the teacher with you folks---being parents of a child with AAD. In my experience, the work we did in school with these kids necessitated the need to work with the parents closely to maintain routines. I'm assuming they're complying with the IEP's agreed upon in your son's last ARD.  You have the absolute RIGHT to drop in whenever you'd like, and if you have ANY concerns or problems with the way your son's being instructed, the law is definitely on your side. I would approach the principal first, and the school counselor should be able to help you access more resources, both statewide and beyond. Good luck.