Please help ~ kindergarten aide or no aide?

[momof4boys]

My son is transitioning into kindergarten in the fall and I just had his re-evaluation meeting for his IEP. He is now officially classified as "other health impaired" because of his Tourettes. (in preschool, it is a generic classification of "preschool disabled" and now he is moving onto the elementary school. We live in NJ) He will also be receiving speech therapy and OT in kindergarten. I am trying to make sure his transition is smooth and had a meeting with the Principal at his new school today to explain a bit about him and his Tourettes and some of his other medical conditions (severe allergies, anxiety, mastocytomas, etc) The draft copy of the IEP does not mention an aide since he will be in a general education class. They want him main streamed. His case manager seems to think he will be fine without an aide in the class but when he is having really difficult time with his TS I don't know if a general ed teacher will be able to keep an extra eye on him as well as the other kids in the class? I need to sign the IEP final copy within another week... can anyone please help me by giving me your experience/opinions? Please??? Do your children with TS usually have an aide in the class? His fine motor delay is also what is worrying me but they say that OT once a week should be enough... but if he is having lots of tics it drains him of so much energy he just doesn't want to work on the writing/coloring. What's a mom to do?! Thanks so much for taking the time to read this!

[michele]

We have just been through this in the past year. I will tell you in our school district they don't want to do too much early on. I guess our disabled kids don't stand out that much from the typical pack if you know what I mean, in the early grades. That is one reason they don't like to test them too soon with the MFE. Their scores don't differentiate enough in the lower grades because they haven't learned that much. Even in first grade I had to fight tooth and nails for the OHI, IEP. Although we had alot of professional opinions and diagnosis the school district was stubborn about it. For some reason they like to see them fail before they will give them help. We did get the weekly OT for the fine motor delays in kindergarten and first grades. You are right once a week is not much and these kids do struggle with handwriting and drawing and visual perception tasks. In the beginning other kids will have touble with keeping in the lines also and with pencil control. Now at the end of grade 1, I can pick his story and drawings off the wall line up. We also do private OT once a week. He is getting better at his pencil tasks and now through the IEP the school will accomodate him. I wish we had gotten him a scribe on standard tests in his IEP. He is going to struggle with writing tests and getting the thoughts on paper is rough, and spelling and mechanics. My son never had any behavior issues at school and they claim they don't see the TS. I figure each year we are moving towards more success with the school. It is a work in progress. I am trying to be civil because we have a long time to deal with them! I don't want to cause too many waves early on. At least you had the EI and the school was already on board for his IEP. I had to fight that which took a good year. Good luck with everything.

 

Michele

 

My son is transitioning into kindergarten in the fall and I just had his re-evaluation meeting for his IEP. He is now officially classified as "other health impaired" because of his Tourettes. (in preschool, it is a generic classification of "preschool disabled" and now he is moving onto the elementary school. We live in NJ) He will also be receiving speech therapy and OT in kindergarten. I am trying to make sure his transition is smooth and had a meeting with the Principal at his new school today to explain a bit about him and his Tourettes and some of his other medical conditions (severe allergies, anxiety, mastocytomas, etc) The draft copy of the IEP does not mention an aide since he will be in a general education class. They want him main streamed. His case manager seems to think he will be fine without an aide in the class but when he is having really difficult time with his TS I don't know if a general ed teacher will be able to keep an extra eye on him as well as the other kids in the class? I need to sign the IEP final copy within another week... can anyone please help me by giving me your experience/opinions? Please??? Do your children with TS usually have an aide in the class? His fine motor delay is also what is worrying me but they say that OT once a week should be enough... but if he is having lots of tics it drains him of so much energy he just doesn't want to work on the writing/coloring. What's a mom to do?! Thanks so much for taking the time to read this!

[san70]

Momof4boys,

 

Being proactive with your son's school is a great idea. I would also suggest that you meet with his teacher before school starts in August. Even though he is in a mainstream class and all teachers should have experience with kids with special needs, TS is still something that many teachers do not fully understand nor do they have much experience. Be sure to let all of his other teachers know what's going on (phys ed, art, etc.). I would also suggest that you keep in close contact with his teachers throughout the year. We have to remember that we are our children's advocates. I am a teacher and I have had students with TS but none have had aides. I agree with Michelle that our TS kids really don't stand out, particularly in the early years. Be sure to touch base with his teachers to see how your son is doing socially as well as academically even with the IEP. Don't let the IEP team snowball you with all of their education jargon. If your school system is overloaded in the special ed area as much as mine is, the special ed team often pushes the time limits to the very last day and does the bare minimum...maeaning whatever is written on the IEP. They really don't go the extra step that many kids need for whatever reason. I don't mean to be pessimistic about it but I have seen how the schools work with IEPs and how they manipulate what is written on there while still being compliant with the laws. Just be sure that you understand everything that they say in the team. You are part of the team and do have control over what is included on your son's IEP. You know him best and they know what is going on educationally so together this IEP should be written. I hope this helps.

 

San

[momof4boys]

Thank you Michele and San for your feedback! I feel so much better reading your opinions because you have already gone thru the kindergarten years... I will talk to my son's case manager tomorrow and ask some more questions. The impression I got from the principal today was that they need to know ahead of time about the aide because if it is something that will be included in the IEP, they will have to hire somebody to start for the new school year. I guess that means that if he's doing poorly there is less of a chance of having an aide added a few months into the school year by revising his IEP? Hopefully he won't stand out too much since there will be other kids who need fine motor help in the early years. His TS is pretty bad when he is sitting still (listening to stories at circle time, watching a video, looking at the board, etc) but when he is engaged in an activity it pretty much disappears. My case manager said I can work with the OT and figure out "fidgets" that may help him to keep his focus when he is having difficulties... boy the transition to kindergarten is giving me some stress. I'm sure there'll be lots of vocal tics during rest time (and maybe during library time?!) Hopefully the team at the new school will be as supportive as his preschool teacher!

[AHB900]

I never had aide going through my years of school and i still don't. I honestly never even got picked on by the kids, if any body was stressing me out it was my parents cause they just don't understand whats wrong and why i do what i do. Honestly, i cant say i have sever tics or ever had sever tics so i cant really speak in your place due to me not knowing how your child is.

[michele]

Ditto on this since our school also pushed everything out and waited till the last minute and wanted to do the bare minimum. Finally I contacted the new special ed director and he got TS more then anyone else I had dealt with on the IEP process. He made sure they gave him additional support. Remember other 5 and 6 year old will have trouble sitting still also. My son had trouble on the carpetting. That is when we decided to medicate in Jan. after the teacher did the ADHD scales on him. Also they learn to let out verbal tics at home or on the playground and gym. My son never did them in the class that I am aware of. They tell me he is perfect there. However at home he is acting out more because of the stress of holding it together there. We had some bad evenings and mornings. We use meds for the tics and behaviors and have had to up it during the school year. That has been hard doing all the med updates and Dr's appointments during school. That is why an understanding teacher means so much. I find it interesting if my son is as perfect as the teacher claims why he never got student of the month. I have a feeling she is trying to overlook things with him. She didn't get real close with me and refuses to admit to his TS at school. I guess they thought I was a bit overprotective with him. You can always have your own ed advocate sit in and observe them in the classroom setting. A 1:1 aide would make your son stand out more. He may just need a tutor as we have. They can come in and out of the classroom and your child can leave some and go out to work with them to review. My son is to see her up to four times a week for up to forty-five minutes a day. Again I think they aren't always incompliance there because if she has meetings or has to substitute for a teacher he doesn't get her that day. Try to get them to put the accomodations into writing. Good luck. I stressed all summer over it and then the beginning of the year was hard too. I good teacher helps and try to meet her ahead of time. I waited in kindergarten because I wanted to see if he needed help (and he did realitively early and then it took all year to get the help) but your school already knows your situation. You are ahead of the game already!

 

Momof4boys,

 

Being proactive with your son's school is a great idea. I would also suggest that you meet with his teacher before school starts in August. Even though he is in a mainstream class and all teachers should have experience with kids with special needs, TS is still something that many teachers do not fully understand nor do they have much experience. Be sure to let all of his other teachers know what's going on (phys ed, art, etc.). I would also suggest that you keep in close contact with his teachers throughout the year. We have to remember that we are our children's advocates. I am a teacher and I have had students with TS but none have had aides. I agree with Michelle that our TS kids really don't stand out, particularly in the early years. Be sure to touch base with his teachers to see how your son is doing socially as well as academically even with the IEP. Don't let the IEP team snowball you with all of their education jargon. If your school system is overloaded in the special ed area as much as mine is, the special ed team often pushes the time limits to the very last day and does the bare minimum...maeaning whatever is written on the IEP. They really don't go the extra step that many kids need for whatever reason. I don't mean to be pessimistic about it but I have seen how the schools work with IEPs and how they manipulate what is written on there while still being compliant with the laws. Just be sure that you understand everything that they say in the team. You are part of the team and do have control over what is included on your son's IEP. You know him best and they know what is going on educationally so together this IEP should be written. I hope this helps.

 

San