what are my options?

[mdietrich]

What is the name of your state? Kansas

My 17 year old son is autistic, at times aggressive and wants to sleep at school rather than work. He is on a boatload of medicines to try to get him to sleep, not self-abuse (head banding), to be calmer or more focused. I can get him up in the morning to walk to the bus, sometimes he'll eat something, he'll be awake when he leaves and then sleep on the bus and at school. In the past couple of years the director of the spec ed cooperative has been wanting to send him home when he sleeps at school, and in the past in taking him home was wanting to charge me on his being truant when they insist he go home. The teacher for the past year was letting him sleep and not reporting it, because it is easier to let him sleep until he wants to be up. So the director didn't know this was going on still. and I thought she had backed off on the idea. Now she is wanting to send him home again, can't charge me with anything since now that he's 17 I could pull him out of school legally and not anything they can do. Was told she's fine on that as I think she wants the teacher and other resources for other things ... bottom line money I guess.

Before that for years I was having to go get him because he was tantruming too much. His progress in school has been just about nil since he left preschool. I at times suggested he needed more, fulltime help, going to KU Medical or other special programs and always told he was already getting the best. I signed the IEP's over the years and do what I can to cooperate, believing they had his best interest at heart. I don't like that he takes so much time and resources and didn't want to be suiing or constantly complaining over the fact that he has many issues. Now I think I should have because now that he is a man sized learning disabled person with serious issues I think they (some people at the top,not his own teachers) want to get him out of the system altogether though legally he's entitled until he's 21.

I have years and years of IEPs where he has made little to no progress year and year. Personal notebook talks with the teacher most days that is sent in his backpack, probably from when he was in preschool even. He was expelled one summer for breaking a window and that school didn't want him when he was old enough to go to high school, so this year is the first year he has been in our home school district and not another school. Total of his education has been in this area, with this educational cooperative in charge.

If they begin again to send him home for sleeping which I can't stop, especially if he's slept all day I can't make his sleep at night, what are my options? I think if it is too bad, I might take him out, but I also think that they owe him more. I don't like the idea of going to see a lawyer,but I am prepared to.

Maybe I am venting a bit, but compared to my youngest son who is mildly autistic and the oldest who didn't have any learning problems I feel my middle boy has not gotten the best when it was long ago apparent he needed more than the normal autism classroom route offered him.

Is his apparent lack of real progress a basis for a suit>? Or if forced out on this sleeping issue, which I don't understand why the pressure isn't on the teachers in that case?

thanks for listening

 

[mdietrich]

Perhaps this is outside of people's expertise? Or perhaps I was too negative or down about this? Would appreciate any thoughts. Latest I have heard is that the principle wants everyone to get together and discuss this before they would start the sending him home for sleeping thing again. Still, the more I think about the lifetime of care he'll need as compared to early assessments of his potential (that given what he could do in preschool the possibility of college wasn't guaranteed, but also wasn't out of the question) and that he was "in the system" as soon as possible has been making me think I should consider at least doing something to get him the best possible help for the rest of his time in school. I fear a legal proceeding might drag on too long to help there.

thanks again...

 

[mdietrich]

I guess I got the wrong information on the idea that nothing would happen until we could all meet and discuss things. He was sent home today for sleeping. Due to his age I have to start a guardianship proceeding, so there goes about a thousand dollars and will take a little bit of time. So for now will gather up the old IEP's and notebooks and when the guardianship is completed will assess if I should take some sort of action - if someone would take this on with little to nothing upfront.

 

[fairisfair]

there are only a few people on the board that specialize in IEP and other educational issues. You will just have to be patient until one of them comes to the forum.

 

[mommyto 2]

Okay, you have a lot of stuff going on! First you need to contact your son's doctor who is prescribing the medications. Children with autism often have sleep disorders, that can change over their lifetime. Medications often need to be adjusted and changed to meet the child's needs. So that would be my first step.
Next, you need to talk to your son's child study team case manager to request a meeting. At this meeting you need to hash out an IEP that puts into place a plan of action that addresses sleeping at school. In other words, what the educators will do if he is asleep. If his sleeping is in direct relationship to his disabiulity and meds that he is taking due to his disability, then appropriate modifications need to be made. A note for your son's doctor, who prescribes the meds will be needed to clarify this for the school. By placing a plan in the IEP, that you agree to, makes it a legal document, that the school is then required to follow. If the school still is not supportive, you may need to seek out an educational advocate or attorney.
One other thing, you amy or may not be aware of, your child, due to his disability, can be educated up until the age of 21.

 

[mdietrich]

Thank you for the reply ... the sleeping has been an issue for a long time - at home personally and at times at school. I need to go back and read the IEP's, as I think they had some specifics of what to do on his out of control behaviors and nothing specific on the sleeping. The director of the coop had at the IEP 2 1/2 years ago said kids who sleep at school are sent home and when this started. But the sleep problems, trying to adjust meds, balance the sleep and his aggressiveness has been ongoing for quite some time.