[FEAT BC Admin]

In this discussion area, please feel free to share your experience in implementing A.B.A. programs in the school system. We would particularly like to hear from those parents who converted their school teams to A.B.A. We’d like to hear the nightmares as well as the success stories.

Any insight that can be shared by school-based special education assistants to help parents would also be very meaningful.

Topic

[Luke’s mama]

Thx Tony

I needed that. I was so tired of this excuse one after another. It is very common for the school team to tell me the government is to blame but I know the childrens' money is spent as the school pleases. We received a fancy new state of the art playground and you know with no parents allowed to ask about funding, only God knows how much was spent on the "state of the art" playground.

I am so sick of the same old excuse. I am fortunate as both his teachers are pretty good to us and have fought passionately and furiously against the system and worked effortlessly to make sure he is included in his classroom.

Last couple of years he looks pretty much like the others in his class but since he is graduating from Gr. 2, he it is more evident he is coming across as "different" to his peers.

I dread the next fall term when the school puts the kids in their old classrooms while they sort out where they will be placed permanently. This offers no benefit to my ASD-PDD son. He needs to know where he is going off the bat. He had such a "nervous breakdown" when he thought he was going to the class they first set him up in the beginning of Sept.

Is this just Bby school district or all districts do this? please advise opening week for me, parents of the various public school districts.

Thanks again and any stories to encourage are appreciated.

You may email me privately at :

abatherapy@live.com if you choose to do so.

Regards,
LM

[Super Dad]

Hi Luke's Mom:

In response to the "your child is doing better than someone else", you should say, "that has no bearing on how much support my child needs." If the principal's child had cancer but was doing better than another child, could the hospital give him less chemotherapy than he needed? Schools love to play families against each other, by blaming each one for demanding more than her share. Every parent must understand that she is not responsible for the school's failure to support other children. It's the school's duty to provide adequate support for every child, and acquiring enough resources to provide that support should be their concern, not yours.

During meetings with the school, you can explicitly demand to be heard. I am a "crazy basketcase" myself, but as long as I am behaving in a mature manner, I demand as much respect as anyone else. It's a good thing that the school listens to your consultant. What you need to do is to communicate in detail with your consultant before the meeting and make sure she is on the same page. It is extremely important for you and your consultant to be consistent toward the school.

Tony

[Luke’s mama]

Dear all,

Is there something I can say to my school regarding the handling of his IEP? I do have a consultant but the thing is we always have this "your child is doing better than someone else" so his help, time, and funding will not be
as strong as the ones that are less able.

I recall a lot of moms telling me that this is not appropriate because ABA helps children from parts of the spectrum.

I am frustrated and I want to know how to talk to them. When we have IEP meetings it is pretty obvious they only pay attention to the consultant because she is educated and experienced but as a mom I feel that I represent a very important side to the story. I am the expert on my child despite what the medical professionals and teaching staff say.

The time spent at school is long 6 hours but our time with our kids have been lifelong. I am sick of our kids care being put on the side and the parents treated as crazy basketcase.

I feel equally as victimized as a parent of a higher functioning child as compared to one that is lower functioning. Should not make a difference. They are ALL vulnerable in our society if ABA is not implemented at school as well.

Thx.
Luke's mom
p.s. I appreciate all comments to be posted on this board.

[Danielle Cross]

Well, I just re-read the section on removal for health and safety:

".8.2 Removal Health Safety
British Columbia's School Act makes the following provision for the removal of a student from school: 91 (4) If a teacher, principal, vice-principal or director of instruction suspects a student is suffering from a communicable disease or other physical, mental or emotional condition that would endanger the health or welfare of the other students, the teacher, principal, vice-principal or director of instruction, must report the matter to the school medical officer, to the school principal and to the superintendent of schools for the district and may exclude the student from school until a certificate is obtained for the student from the school medical officer or a private medical practitioner permitting the student to return to school.

Local policies and procedures should focus on proactive preventative measures rather than giving sole attention to reactive processes.

Local agreements with employee groups may determine or influence the procedures adopted.

The board must continue to make available an educational program for any student removed or excluded from school for health or safety reasons. It is therefore recommended that boards establish policies and procedures related to the provision of educational programs to excluded students.

References
School Act, sections 85, 89 – 91"

So, based on that, am I wrong in assuming that the school district CANNOT simply wash their hands of my son and force me to homeschool? That they are legally obligated to still provide an educational program?

Has anyone heard of a school district declaring a child a "hardship case" and using that to discontinue services? The Principal of my son's last school (who has been very supportive of us) says she didn't think they could do that…

Also, at which point do you think it's necessary to consult a lawyer, and how do I find a lawyer who's experienced in this area of law?

[Danielle Cross]

thanks for the info. I've read (and have bookmarked) the whole School Act, and the MOE's policies on Special Ed. I'm no stranger to fighting with the school district – my son was out of school from November '06 to late May '07, with no services provided. I was asked to pull him, due to an escalation of behaviours both at home and school, which I agreed to, with the (spoken) agreement that it was to be for two weeks. Things dragged out far beyond that, obviously. The reason given for blocking his return to school was that they needed to ensure the safety of their staff, and protect the educational rights of the other children (my son has trouble complying, and protests LOUDLY). Unfortunately, while the School Act and Special Ed policy say that children should be provided with a free and appropriate education in a neighborhood classroom with typical peers, it goes on to say that alternative settings can be provided when necessary, as long as the goal is to return the child to a regular classroom. Further, there is policy that says when a child is deemed a health and safety risk (this is really meant in regards to communicable diseases, but the legislature is vague, so the district can thus apply it to a child who is aggressive), the child can be denied services until such time as the child no longer poses a risk.

Now, my son is likely ALWAYS going to pose a risk. He has a very complicated mental health diagnosis, and was raised with violence (he's adopted), the combo of which leads to non-compliant, aggressive behaviour. He will likely ALWAYS demonstrate some level of aggression – it's part of his disability. As such, can they exclude him?

As for documenting, I typically do. And I am always professional – I work in the Community Living field and am also a foster parent, so I'm pretty familiar with documenting, following policy, etc.

When I got this program he's currently in (which I fought like crazy for), I admit I relaxed a bit, and stopped the documenting and letter writing (other than taking minutes at our meetings). I guess it's time to get back on that train

Oh, and no, we don't have a home ABA program. However, we do use an ABA approach in everything we do.

Anyway, I'm happy to keep the list updated. Would love to discuss more in detail with someone who's BTDT – my email is chilliwackpitbull@shaw.ca (there's way too long of a history to write it all out here).

Thanks!

[Debra Antifaev]

hmmmm…..I wondered when "they" would find a way to make Hewko and/or individual funding for autism responsible for all the problems in the Education and Children's Ministries.
Hewko and lack of funding are not your problem.
When I took my 10 year old into emergency because his eardrums had burst they did not tell me that there was no money left to treat him because they were broke after spending it all on a stroke victim.
They did not tell me he would have to wait on a waitlist because his condition was not life threatening.
1.Are you currently running an at home ABA program?
2.If the school is going to mention Hewko, have them put their response in writing (exactly as they have verbalized)Some people are way more comfortable deviating from the facts and truth if they think they will never be caught out.
3.Follow up ALL of your meetings with a brief letter out-lining exactly what was said, and thanking them for their time. (This is very important as it provides a record of conversations, with important dates, and also avoids confusion)
4.ALWAYS be polite, NEVER use profanity (they would love to be able to use your outrage and hurt as a reason to block you!)BUT ALWAYS stand your ground……firmly and politely.
(My husband once spent all day sitting in an office, chatting to staff and sending the Principal back in to "do better" in her effort to accomodate our child….)It's time to make that ol' Kids Matter/Teachers Care garbage stand for something.
Some schools in New West told a parent she could not be at the school during the day….this is an example of one of those deviations from the truth……get yourself a copy of the School Act/Ministry of Ed mission statements/Collective agreements/Hewko….read and be able to quote what you need.
Do not allow yourself to be bullied…these guys are masters at making you doubt your rights, etc
Write back on this chat with your actions, the results and ask for more advice…..
Good luck…

[Danielle Cross]

can a school district refuse to provide further services by declaring "hardship"?

My son has autism complicated with various other diagnoses (bipolar, PTSD, and others), which lead to high behaviours. The school district has been accomodating in thinking outside the box, and has provided an educational day program in an alternative setting. However, they've stated that the current program is not financially sustainable, and that we need to re-integrate him into a regular school (with TA support of course) by the end of November. If that does not happen, the district says that they've exhausted all resources and will declare hardship. When I asked what that meant, they said it would mean I'd have no option other than home schooling, that the district would refuse to provide further services.

My question is, can they do this? Can the district give up and declare him uneducable? Their arguement would be that he presents a health and safety risk due to his aggressive and disruptive behaviors.

On a side note, our district is no longer having parents sign IEPs or Safety Plans, as that makes them a contract. They say that this change was prompted by the findings in the Hewko (sp?) case.

Would love some feedback.

[Theresa Jouan]

FEAT of BC Intermediate Workshop!

This event is taking place on Saturday, March 29th from 10am-4pm.

Cost: $35 per person

Location: Guildford Rec Center, Surrey, BC

Topics that will be covered:
– Task analysis
– Total task presentation
– Chaining
– Shaping
– ABA History
– Prompting Methods
– Reinforcement (including schedules of reinforcement and law of consequences)

Topic content has been altered to allow for additional group work time as the focus of the workshop will be the application of these theoretical constructs.

Individual feedback to attendees by presenters will also be provided.

Registration form can be found at: https://featbc.org/downloads/ibtw.pdf

Please note the new mailing address, fax number and email address for this workshop only.

Hope to see you all there!

[Diane Slootweg]

This month's Mid Island ASBC Community Group Meeting will be held on a
new date and at a new location.

Due to Spring Break this month's meeting has been scheduled for
*Wednesday March 12,2008 7-9pm*
Also, the location for this meeting only, has been changed to
*Randerson Ridge Elementary School, located at 6021 Nelson Road
Nanaimo BC

*This month's topic for discussion is : Supporting Students with
Special Needs in our Schools

Included in this discussion will be a brief presentation by Jane
Carroll, School District 68 coordinator of Low Incidence Programs, who
is currently preparing an information guide for new parents
transitioning their children to kindergarten.

In addition we will present tips and advice about how to research
specific schools in your district and how to be an effective advocate
for your child.

This meeting will provide an opportunity to share your concerns,
experiences, challenges and successes with other parents.

This promises to be an informative session for all parents who will be
entering and currently in the school system.

Please reply if you plan to attend in order to arrange for materials.

You may contact me at midisland.asbc.gmail.com

Looking forward to seeing you all.

Regards,

Diane Slootweg

[walkerc]

Langley parents of special needs students. I am wondering if any parents have gone to any of the parent meeetings at the Langley teachers association. There is another meeting tonight, and I'm wondering is it worth attending? Thanks charsupermom @ hotmail . com (without the spaces)

[Author]

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