[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

[Deleted User]

To the teacher.

Your child is younger, so for you to understand personally the school issues of an older child with autism – it is not there "yet". I know that you do have a child with autism and therefore you do understand to a point. It's alot different issue when it's your child that doesn't get the daily logs, or it's your child with behaviour difficulties. Many teachers cannot understand because they haven't experienced what we have personally gone through. Right now you can see the teaching side of it, however when your child is 5 you will want what we want and understand more clearly.

You just assume that we parents haven't called or dropped by the school? Most parents of children with autism are the most proactive group out there. Part of the reason is ABA as you need feedback. What do you do when teachers find it an major incovience to update? Personally three weeks into the school year and we already have complaints. It's pretty sad actually. We all want to look forward to school with our kids, we all want to have them fit in, and we all want to work as a team. It's just pretty hard when teachers don't take that extra time to work with us.

I understand teachers' are overworked and they aren't the enemy. However they are educating our children and need themselves to take a more proactive role. Writing in a daily log how the child did, what concerns they felt the parent should know is not alot to ask since many teachers especially in the younger grades don't have homework to mark yet. As one of many parents going through this I can speak personally on this issue.

Thank you.

[Deleted User]

To the 'Anonymous' who apparently must live in a glass house:

As a therapist, I am keen to read the many and varied posts on this chat board. However, I am disheartened by the bickering that sometimes occurs. How does criticizing one member's grammatical errors support 'effective behavioural treatment'? And if in some convoluted way it does support the purpose of this forum – could it not have been done in a more positive tone?Perhaps I was wrong in assuming that the idea of this chat was to bring people together, not to push people away with negative energy. Shouldn't posts try to be more reinforcing to others, while still maintaining separate opinions?

Moreover, the introduction to this chat room, states that any insight by SEAs would also be meaningful. I would imagine that the insight of teachers should be just as meaningful.

[Deleted User]

To the anonymous teacher with the 3-year-old autistic child of his/her own:

There's a part of me that wants to be kind to you because you are one of us. There's another part of me that wants to pick apart the tired old excuses teachers always seem to trot out about their class loads and how hard it is to do the job for which they are compensated quite well. But in the end, the part of me that can't help but answer is the part that is rather shocked and saddened that as an educator, your command of the language is so poor.

How can you educate our children or anyone else's in a professional manner when you apparently cannot string together a simple post in this chat board without endless errors of spelling, grammar and syntax?

"all of us teacher's"
"and an aid to help me"
"Now, today,"
"IEP's, adapted or modified curriculum's"
"I have no aid!!"
"it isn't just the kids with a "disability" that needs attention."
"a more pro-active role"
"putting the blame of teachers is absolutely unfair."

There are errors in each of these quotes from your post. Your assignment is to find and correct them, before your students do.

When teachers lack the basic skills of the language, the skills taught in my day before the end of grammar school, that is certainly a sad statement on their fitness for the profession.

[Deleted User]

To Anonymous:

As a parent of a 3 year old boy who is autistic, and as a full-time teacher I want to clarify a couple of things. First of all, while we were on job protest last year, all of us teacher's were wondering where the parents were to support our position of keeping our support staff, and to limit class sizes. A few years ago I had time to do communication logs when I only had 24-26 kids in my class and an aid to help me with the children who did need extra attention. Now, today, I have 38 kids in my class with 5 of them on either IEP's, adapted or modified curriculum's and guess what. I have no aid!! It sure isn't that teachers "don't wish" to keep in contact with parents, we just don't have the time. I would recommend for you to take a more proactive position to find out what is going on by dropping by the school and talk face to face with the teacher, or do the phone thing. It is very time consuming to do communication books, and considering that I only have 1 minute and 15 seconds to spend with each child individually, if I tried to do a communication book for even 5 kids in my class it would almost be impossible. and that I am up until 10:00 pm marking everynight and going into school on the weekend for 6-8 hours… I'm sure you can get the picture. Again be assured that it isn't because we don't want to. Another thing, we are also dealing with children who have been abused, neglected, bullied, etc. etc. etc., each child has their own needs, and it isn't just the kids with a "disability" that needs attention. Parents need to have a more pro-active role in the schools so that not only do you know what is happening in the school, the classroom but also in terms of your own child's progress. Very rarely do I have parents initiate this, it is always me that has to do this. And putting the blame of teachers is absolutely unfair.

[Deleted User]

Teachers seem to be not communicating daily logs with parents anymore. I have spoken to a few parents who are going through this.

Excuse me aren't these children with this medical disabilty more benefited with proper communication from school/home?????????? I am not sure what the powers that be are encouraging, but families know their child best and have the 'RIGHT' to know how their child is doing.

We are parents of children with a disabilty and we must stick together in regards to this issue. Parents should and must be updated daily with any issues that our consultants can work out. Are any other parents going through this?

Teachers that don't wish to update parents are not helping the child. We are not parents of children who have been abused, or children who are just bad behaved, these are kids who have a medical condition and should get the same respect as children with cerebal palsy. The press may need to help us on this issue folks…..

[Deleted User]

Having reviewed some of the Anonymous postings regarding the qualifications of SEAs in our school districts I think misinformation is not helpful. Firstly a teacher is responsible for every student within their classroom . SEAs are not specifically trained to just work with children with learning disabilities and children with learning disabilites are as entitled to specialized teaching methods as our children with autism are. Ideally SEAs implement programing with students developed by the students support team. Until we all came along the disrticts have provided inhouse training for students specialized needs through integration teachers and nursing staff as well as professional development and my over all feeling is that they wish to continue to do so. This to me is what we are really fighting more so than the union. While there is no doubt that our children in ABA programs have a right to and deserve specially trained ABA qualified aides I think it is not helpful to give missinformation. This is a much more complex issue than simply let anyone into classrooms districts must still assume liability for our schools. Even when we get our trained therapists and consultants into schools they must still work collaboratively with the classroom teachers. Unforunately School Districts for all children with disabilities currently use a limited number of resources to develop programs for all children with diabilites. If you think that children with learning disabilites recieve much SEA time sadly you are mistaken. We must continue to fight for our children, however I think our fight is enhanced by truley understanding the system we are up against than by making assumptions and giving one another misinformation. I have gotten further in helping my son by knowing the actual rules of the districts than by making assumptions. I have 5 years experience as both a Senior and line ABA therapist as well I also work as an SEA. I am the mother of a child with autism and have great faith that given the opportunity my excellent consultant will provide my son with both an awesome school and home based program. We continue to fight on his behalf for this and for the children that will follow him through the school system

[Deleted User]

Here is a interesting site that breaks down IEP http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/iep_guidance.html It is US based but it gives some pratical tips.

[Deleted User]

For any of you who have been lucky enough to have Lovaas ABA added to qualifications for TA postings, could you share the wording? Thanks.

[Deleted User]

I think having a ABA day school for children with autism would be the best. All teachers would be trained in ABA. I know the concern is that the children would pick up other behaviours from their peers with autism, however this type of day school is more appealing the public school system available to our children in this province.

We are so behind in stinks. All these so called experts that think they know best about this condition. Unless it's your child you don't understand no matter how hard you try. Nothing is a quick fix, however it would be nice if our children with a medical disablity were treated with respect and dignity rather then thrown into a public system with no clue with untrained, unqualifed SEAS. The teachers don't have a clue either.

Once your child out of school count your lucky stars in this respect. As one parent said if you want your child home til your 85 that's YOUR choice. Don't forget parents choices. There real, there strong and we have the right to voice our opinions.

What we need is some US investor to come into this province and open a ABA day school (similar hours to public school) hiring SEA's and teachers trained in Lovaas style ABA. Then they charge a tution, even though I don't have alot of money, I would pay it.

That's what we need in this province.

[Deleted User]

I noticed awhile back someone was interested in starting a thread re school's and SEA's

I think the trap I see happening all across Canada that parents are falling into is this;

"I must work with what is there."
"We should build on existing structure already in place"
"But the union…."

why is this thinking and notions perpetuating discrimnitory actions by governments and MOE's and subsequently individual school boards and inevitably schools and school staff

Medical support services for children who have autism is NOT a CUPE issue. In no greater a case could a union be more irrelevant to an issue.
I have reviewed the collective and no where in there does it say they must provide medical support services or even that they are qualified to do such.
What I hope parents start challenging and legally is that children with autism are NOT allowed medical support services WHILE in an educational setting.
Bonifide ABA autism treatment is NOT the same as learning the 3R's.
Do you know that other children considered to be handicapped ARE allowed APPROPRIATE and required medical support services WHILE in an educational setting all across this country.
Are you aware that children who also have neurological illness's/ and or neurological conditions ARE given and allowed medical support services WHILE in an eduational setting.

Since SEA's are trained to support children with learning disabilities and clearly Autism is not a learning disability their argument that providing medical support services for children with Autism infringes on "their right" to a job is senseless. Further to that, why do they not fight SLP's and OT's with their collective rights? Simple because again they are trained and hired on an educational support basis and since we are talking about appropriate medical support services their argument seems pointless.
In fact I challenge you to find me ONE Board in all of the country where an SEA would be put out of a job by allowing an appropriate medical support professional in for a child with autism. Do you know how many children with learning disablilities are going without the support THEY require, because the SEA's that SHOULD be working with them are all inappropriately allocated to children with neurological illness.

"we must work with existing structures"

if there were any already in the school system to address the complex needs of bonifide autism treatment I would say go for it! and I would lead the charge…
however consider the consequences of making short term compromises that could in effect cause long term and damaging results.

IF medical support services under provincial policy were to leave Bonifide ABA autism treatment up to the discretion of MOE, what would happen to the quality of treatment and exactly whom would set the training standards? Again this would be another instance of expecting non autism industry personal to completely retool and be able to deliver effective and qualified ABA treatment while in an educational setting. How would the EA now turned behaviour therapist take direction? From who? From providers the "school board" decides should work with your child? Remember without TRUE individualized funding , meaning that the PARENT(uses an individualized billing number similar to the ones we use when we chose our doctors and use their medical service) secures appropriate treatment professionals, otherwise your/the child could be left to the mercy of the lowest contract bid in.
(something we have seen clearly in Ontario-the now notorious bidding scandal)
I personally do not believe that all EA's would be able to completely ignore their mindset and completely retool their discipline with appropriate and set training standards, not just those flavourful beliefs that one weekend workshop and you are now a bondifide aba treatment professional/therapist.

I believe the notion that autism is untreatable is so engrained in the educational system that only a few EA's would be able to change their own pre conceived notions of what a child with autism is able to do and accomplish.

That is why this MUST be moved to Health and that trying to apply a bandaide using existing structure (non existant)for children who are school age, will only open up the potential to perversion of the remedy we seek for children with Autism that attend an educational entity.

Every Province look to your policy ( for those in Ontario it is PM81) on how medical support services are provided and by whom while a child is in an educational setting.
It is the policy that discriminates by handicap as against non autistic individuals.

I know that my thinking doesn't solve the problems of today, right now..this afternoon…but I think looking to the Ministry of Education to PROVIDE ABA treatment is EXTREMELY dangerous to the long term treatment of Autism for school aged children.
As a wise wise woman from BC has said to me in many of our conversations…
Our children "may" not benefit, we are not doing this for ours, for our own it may be too late, but we will pave the way for the generations to come.
We have a responsibility to expect nothing less than what the children of Canada living with Autism require and it is monumentaly important to take the time to do it right from the start, even if it means taking a little more time. You can not cut corners on children's lives anymore than you can fit a square into a circle.

It is my strong opinion the unions are non issue here. Saddly I know this is not the reality of the immediate day and that they may be causing undo stress to many families but in the long term change to legislation or policy on delivery of medical support services will in part disqualify individuals in teachers unions, since clearly they are not currently qualified to offer medical support services.

Just something to think about.
Its not an overnight fix.

[Author]

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