[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

[Nancy Walton]

HELP

Is there anyone driving out on Tuesday to the North Shore meeting from the White Rock area who could give me a ride??

By the way, this is a good meeting to go to for anyone with a child from age 2 to 18. So, even if you have a youngster, it is never too early to start getting information on how to get the most for your child in the school system.

Please e-mail me at wiklo@shaw.ca or call 604-538-8021 if you can help me out. We only have one car.

Thanks

Nancy Walton

[Shelin Tkatch]

Abraham,
My son has just started preschool and is on the wait list to receive a funded aide through the local child development centre via the supported child care program, which I understand is separate from the autism funding for treatment. In the meantime, I am paying one of my therapists out of pocket to attend. Ask your social worker to provide you the name of your contact for the supported child care program and get your name on the wait list. If your social worker is not familiar with the concept that most families spend well in excess of the funded amount on their ABA therapy, ask to speak to his/her supervisor to review your case.
s.tkatch

[Deleted User]

Dear Fellow Featers,

I am so glad and thank you for posting school related topics.

My son is in play time pre-school right now w/ non ABA assistant. I can not put him in the regular pre school because there is no available ABA assistant. I ask help fr. my social worker but she said I can use my AUTISM FUNDING for an ABA assistant to go to my son's school.
I told her that one of my therapist is willing to go to my son's school but my autism funding is over used/worned out for 36 hours /wk., team meetings, consultant hrs. & etc.

Can somebody tell me what to do & where to go to get help. Do I have to talk to the school or MCFD.

Your help would greatly appreciated.
Thank you & please e-mail me @ geminiya@shaw.ca

[Jenn Ralph]

Barb McLeod,
Can you email me at your earliest convenience.
Jenn.Ralph@shaw.ca
Thanks,
Jenn

[Dave Collyer]

re the Annoucment of increased funding for Private and Public Schools.

Another thought ocurs to me… I have been told by two seperate administrators that the special student grants for each special needs student given to the public school disticts often DOES NOT COVER THE COSTS of providing the limited supports that a student receives/requires. The districts often find themselves in need of dipping into general funds. If this is the case and it is true across the system then is this announcment really an effort to redirect special needs students towards the private schools and therby produce a cost savings for the public system? If the district receives approx 16,000.00 per each student classified as " Low incidence" but spends 17,500.00 it would makes sense from the Min. of Ed's perspective to redirect this additional cost (1,500.00) to the private sector and let the private school deal with it.

[Dave Collyer]

Yes that does seem to be good news for many… but many others cannot afford private school tuition so will not benefit.

In addition, the annoucement re public schools… It is not really an increase in allocated funds for the individual student with special needs. The funding for each student remains static. This new initiative simply allows districts to receive funding for students that arrive in the district after September 30. The new dollars are not specifically targeted at increaseing funding per student. They will serve though, to address the issue that, until this announcement, the districts "carried" the cost of an unfunded student for the time after September 30 that the student is enrolled (ie potentialy from Oct1 to June30). As the funding is no longer specifically tied to the individual student (local administration can spend the money as they deem required and not neccessarily on the specific student they received the funding for) this is no gaurentee that things will get better for the students in a public school. In light of the fact that this does not represent an increase per student so that the quality of support is improved and that funding is not "tied" to the student I remain sceptical that it represents much for the individual student in the public system. It may be an arguement to attend private school though (if you can afford it) as the private school admin will more likely spend the allocated money directly on the special needs student. I remain unimpressed about the public school announcment and worried about the viability of the private school system assisting many families with specil needs children in who are "lower income" earners.

Dave.

[Mike & Rachel Goetz]

Hi Everyone,

Today, the BC Government announced increased funding for special education starting immediately. You can read the press release here: http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2005-2009/2005EDU0079-000825.htm

The main area of increased funding involves what I perceive to be a redress of the disparity for children in the public school system compared to those in the private system. Up until now, private schools were only able to apply for half of the funding that the same children would receive in the public system.

From today's announcement, this would appear to be no longer the case, and independent schools can now apply for the full funding.

I would be interested to hear any other people's initial viewpoints. On the surface, this seems to be positive news for those whose children are attending private schools. Our daughter has just started Kindergarten at a local private school, so we will find out soon enough if this funding increase is indeed for real!

Mike & Rachel Goetz

[Dave Collyer]

Hello all,

I have a preschool issue to deal with. My son attends a local private NPO preshool in Victoria. He receives support through the Supported Child Development (SCD) program at Queen Alexandra Centre. Last year when the program was known as Supported Child Care (SCC) he had a 1-1 worker 9 hours a week that helped him with the daily routine of preschool and assisted with the implimentation of his preschool program. She (his 1-1 worker) also acted so as to follow the reccomended "therapeutic" prgrams designed by his QA SLP and OT. As he only saw his SLP and OT (QA's EIP program) for 1 hour every second week his 1-1 worker delivered the primary component of his therpeutic interention. It is my understanding that this year the SCD program has reduced his allocated support time. In essence the new SCD program has allocated a maximum threshold of support of 6 hours (Range 3). He attends 12.5 hours. They have also indicated that aid time is not to be used to support "therapeutic" services. In addition, the new SCD "vision" of supported inclusion is built around the concept of "shared aid" time. One aid provides assistance to more then one child. I find this very difficult to accept and yet, it is my understanding, it is the vision of inclusion advocated for by our SCD Provincial body and our Local Area Counsil. My son has Down Syndrome and Autism. He is non-verbal. He does not sign. He has a rudimentary grasp of PEC. He does not engage with peers. He does not know how to play. If left undirected he will engage in endless stim (hand wiggle). He does not toilet himself. He does not follow verbal direction and requires frequent HOH prompting. He requires constant redirection when simply moving across the hall. He wanders off. He eats non-food items.

6 hours of support is all that has been allowed for. In effect this will leave him unsupported for 6.5 hours. For 6.5 hours without support he will not engage in the "educational" component of his preschool. He will, for half the time, simply sit and wiggle or he will engage in less safe activity (wandering away, eating odd non-food).

Does this sound rational? Is this founded and supported by research? Is this the model that has been propossed for the entire province? For many special needs children and for those with ASD it has been demonstrated that consistent direct instruction with frequent repitition is the only effective modality. Without significant aid time this seems very unlikely to occur and the outcome will be that my son will not recieve the level of support that will assist him to realise his potential. YES there is a need to address over facilitation by 1-1 workers as it can lead to overdependence but simply adopting a threshold max is not the method to do this as it prevents those children that require this level of support from recieving it.

I hope I am incorrect about the broader situation and that our case is the only one. However, if this is a province wide issue I would ask you, if you feel inclined, to contact your local MLA and adovcate for change and adequate funding. In addition it may be helpful to offer feedback to the Provincial Supported Child Devlopment Program Executive and, at a locaal level, by connecting wirth the members of your SCD Local Area Council and voice your concern (or outrage).

For some children inclusion will require more then 6 hours of support per week. Mine is one of these children… we need your support.

Dave.
drcollyer@shaw.ca

[FEAT BC Admin]

This is being posted on behalf of a desperate FEAT parent. Please help out.

Board Admin

Calling all people who have successfully won the right to have their own aide in a CUPE district. Please contact me at avalonmarg@shaw.ca

Thanks so much!

[Cathy Fitzhugh]

Hi There Folks,

We've had our three year old daughter in daycare two days a week since her program started. Although I've had occasional doubts about the benefits of this decision, I've really needed the time to myself, and I've felt as long as she is in a facility where the staff has the motivation and time to care for her extra needs, it's been a good thing for everyone involved.

Just recently we've sent in one of our stronger therapists to help her out for three hours in the morning. This seems to be working out perfectly: the progress is already evident…

I'd also be happy to meet with folks to discuss any of this.
Feel free to contact me too: scissorhappy@shaw.ca

*Cathy

[Author]

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