Is the Public School System doing enough for Autism Spectrum kids?

Question

Do you think the programs in place are properly addressing the different levels of needs between the children? Are these programs working for your child?

Answer 1

The public schools did not have a program for my son...highly communicative, moderate autism with some behvioral issues..and had to pay for private placement. I think while there are some districts that do put out a good effort, the biggest problem in servicin kids on the spectrum is the huge range from mild to severe. Within that range can be so many variations on developmental, learning, communication, social and behavioral issues that no one program can ever accomodate every child that could possibly be placed there.

Cost is another factor that, while many parents say it should have no effect of the availabilty of services in public schools, has a huge impact. Most kids on the spectrum do best in smaller groupings, with higher teacher student ratios and with access to more supportive services and technologies. Kids on the spectrum may have no educational delays (many Apserger's kids have exteremly high IQ's) but may still need more personalized help in social settings, dealing with transitions from one subject or class to another or in dealing with sensory issues. Dedicated aides can be found, but generally not nearly enough. The cost of educating these kids can be 1/3 higher than the cost of educating a "normal" student and most public school systems do not have the funds for it. Kids on the spectrum need smaller classes, more one to one and more creative teaching..something that the No Child Left Behind act has made incresingly difficult.

What many schools have begun to do is to preach "inclusion" as the best of all worlds...promising the supportive services while the student spends all or parts of the day in a traditional class,. There are many kids on the spectrum who are in inclusion settings and doing great. But for all of those who are doing well, there are just as many struggling. Teachers in a class of 30 students simply do not have the time or ability to give spectrum kids the assistance they may need. Behavioral plans can be tought to implement effectively when the behaviors are supposed to ignored but are disruptive to the other students. And teaching spectrum kids can often call for specialized techniques that many teachers have not had the ability or opportunity to learn.

All in all, many spectrum kids are not getting the best education they could. School systems are having to re-evaluate how they have placed and taught these kids. Some are looking for innovation while others simply have no money to do anything more than just plug along. My advice to all parents..weather they have special needs kids or just wish the school system was better for all kids..is to remeber that with each tax decrease you vote for, educational budgets decrease as well. If we want the system to work better, we need to put our money into it. I would love to have my son in a public school setting that could do what he needs and gets in the setting he is in now, but none can.

Answer 2

As usual, the naysayers are out in force on this topic. Many, many educators and districts do a terrific job working with kids on the autism spectrum, as well as other kids with special needs. Just as certain classes and teachers are better than others, different special education teams are better than others. I currently have 6 kids on my caseload on the autism spectrum. Having changed buildings within my district, I've had the pleasure of watching them develop and mature since they've been 3 and are now in high school. They are a delight to work with, and its usually the parents that are the problem, not the kids. Another change that is noticeable over the years is the parents attitudes. In the beginning they fight like hell, maybe out of guilt or the feeling of responsibility, definitely grief. By the time kids are at the middle school level, they actually come around, are supportive rather than combative, and begin enjoying their kids and their quirks as much as we always have. So yes..there are public schools that do great with kids on the spectrum. Sometimes you may have to do a little looking to find the right match.

Answer 3

I agree with the 1st answerer. But, the school systems where I live try to keep students in the general education room as much as possible, but from what I have seen the regular ed teachers just don't want to deal with them. Some of them don't I'm not saying all teachers are irresponsible. But then I think why would they they're not really qualified. I am attending a university to become a special education teacher. The regular ed majors here (Kentucky) are only required to take one special ed class. They need more. One class does not ready them to teach students with such diverse needs. Granted the special ed teacher does collaborate with the regular ed teacher, but the special ed teacher can't be in 5 different places with all the kids all the time. There are aides sent to help, but they have less training than the regular ed teachers, so ???? I personally think because of inclusion ALL teachers should have to be double certified in reg ed and special needs.

Autism is a relatively new diagnosis as well. It is a growing population. In one of the school systems where I live they have a teacher who supervises only kids with autism. She is suppose to be the best in the state and people from various school in the state have come to observe her room and how she handles her classroom. They are still not mainstreamed as much as they should be however. There it is just easier to control what they do and how they act in the resource room. Diorganization and change can be very hard for a child with autism. So they just deal with it the easy way and keep them in the resource room the majority of the day. And this is a model for all other teachers. OK i'll stop I could go on about this all day.

Answer 4

We have a child with autism and I do not believe any school system is doing enough. There are very dedicated teachers out there but they do not get the monetary aid or the help they need to provide these children with the best education they can give. It seems that every year there are budget cuts and the first place they look is the special ed department.

Answer 5

I believe that the public school system is failing all of the students in special education. First, they are not suppling these studnets with the materials necessary for them to have the best possible education. They skimp on the funding and give it elsewhere due to the fact that they think these students are being "babysat" all day. The students are all being thrown into classes that do not have sufficient teaching staff because all of the schools districts are to stingy to pay their instructional assistants what they deserve. Without these IA's, the studnets who need to have extra help are not geting it because their is only one teacher in the classroom trying to teach at least 2 different ability levels. This is true to any special education program. Autistic, Mentally retarded, learning disables. On top of that... many of the people who are suppose to be servicing these studnets in speech, physical thereapt, etc. are not doing their job and actually working with these kids. It is a shame how public schools feel about their special ed population.

Answer 6

Absolutely not! These kids are often treated like a burden by some teachers instead of a great venue for teaching other kids kindness and educating them on how fortunate they are. My nephew's autism playgroup is filled with one sad story after another. My sister homeschools and all the other parents ask what she is doing. He is the most advanced now out of all of them and these other kids have more of a monitor than someone catering to their specific needs and strengths. Even many of the doctors tell you outright that, "What is the point? They are never going to get better!" They are not less than but equal to us all. Imagine crying because when someone brushes your hair it is so loud it hurts or clothing feeling uncomfortable but everyday they try again. We can all learn something and unfortunately, we never allow these children their dreams but put our own limitations on them including the education system.

Answer 7

Although there are some good programs, special education in general is failing students with disabilities. School systems don't spend the money they should--leaving schools with too few special education teachers and not enough resources. Often children who should be in regualr calssrooms are consigned to special ed classrooms that have become little more than day care. And many children who are not disabled are labeled as such because teachers and school administrators don't want to deal with them--especially minority students. So the put them in a special ed classroom and ignore their needs as well.

And--with all due respect--this has been going on for years--its not just children with autism. Its only since there has been a lot of publicity of this one disability in the last year or too that anyone has bothered to start asking questions--or to listen to the disability community about what amounts to a modern-day apartheid directed against students with disabilities.

Answer 8

The school systems don't do enough for kids of any disability, in my opinion.

As parents we wind up forced to have the knowledge of an attorney, special ed teacher, therapist, curriculum specialist, etc. just to know what to ask and advocate for.

Any system of care that forces the parents to do the bulk of the work, including staying on top of the people who are supposed to be "qualified" to serve their child is NOT a good system.

So, no they don't address any of my disabled children's needs well - they only do it partially when I ride their backsides with a legal whip.

Answer 9

I am mum to an Aspersgers boy. After trying to make it work in the school system for three and a half years we made the decision to homeschool him. Best decision we ever made. He is happier and calmer. Sure we still have bad days but overall it is much better. The teachers don't have the training and as my son didn't present much at school, but saved it up and let loose at home they didn't understand how stressful school was for him. Also these kids don't look disabled and it sometimes makes it difficult for other people to understand just how much of an impact aspergers has on their lives.

Answer 10

HUGE PIECE OF ADVICE FOR PARENTS: Stop voting for the people that don't fund the special education programs for your children. Lawmakers should have little or nothing to do with decisions made about education....it should be left to teachers, education leadership, parent groups, etc. Instead school boards are stepping stones to political carriers....made up of mostly lawyers. Government is making laws like No Child Left Behind..............no child would be left behind if they provided better pay for teachers, more $$$ for classroom supplies/technology and STOPPED trying to push a standardized test on every child. STOP voting for gov't officials who DON"T want to properly fund special ed. The teachers who stay in special ed. want to be there and want to see kids succeed...very often their hands are tied by things that are out of their control.