A Mother Advocates For Her Special Needs Child
POSTED: 3:55 pm EDT September 27, 2007
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Debbie Rucker of Bridgewater is a mother of three. Her oldest child, Glenn is an engaging and curious 7-year old. But Glenn has also been diagnosed with high functioning autism and bipolar disorder. His mom has high hopes for him, but she's struggling to get the services she feels her child needs from the public schools. It's an issue many parents of special needs children say they face.
Mrs. Rucker shares a journal that chronicles her frustrations and hopes for her Glenn.
Getting The Diagnosis
Having a child on the autistic spectrum is not new to me because it's been my vocation for the past seven and a half years. I knew from the very beginning that my son Glenn was different. In the beginning it was extremely hard to figure out what was wrong because my support system, being mostly family, wanted to think positively and dismiss a lot of what we were seeing that was delayed.
Ultimately by age two, my son was diagnosed with PDD which stand for pervasive development disorder. This diagnosis was the beginning of a whole new life for my husband and I. We were newly pregnant with our second son and trying to accept that our firstborn was autistic. Most people think of "Rain Man" when you say autism. So we too had to read and learn about autism spectrum disorders. We learned that Glenn's life would have limitations but that because he was not cognitively impaired, he could possibly live a normal life as an adult. With that knowledge we began therapies right away.
Getting Help From School
At age two Glenn was receiving between 10 and 12 hours of "applied behavioral analysis" therapy, known as ABA, at my house weekly. He was also attending early intervention speech and language groups weekly. Glenn also had physical therapy every week for gross motor delays and occupational therapy for sensory dysfunction. His schedule was intense but we felt that the research was right in that the earlier kids on the spectrum get therapy, the better their prognosis.
When Glenn turned three he had to transfer from early intervention, run by Department of Public Health, to the public school system in our town. The school did an assessment and offered an inclusion pre-school program. Glenn was very successful during his three years of pre-school. His needs were being met and his teachers were very knowledgeable about what he needed to progress. Kindergarten was also an inclusion setting.
Glenn loved going to school and seemed to really be learning and preparing himself for first grade. He definitely had problems with social interactions, so we built in a full day program for him. This definitely helped him get used to a full day of school before the academic piece became more intense. First grade started off beautifully. He was placed in an inclusion class of about 26 kids. His classroom teacher was better than anyone I could have imagined. She understood him on a level that most people can't and he felt that she would always help him. The special education staff was now itinerant in the room. This means that the sped teacher would not be there all the time.
Glenn's classroom teacher contacted me each week, sometimes more than once, to let me know things she thought might be important in his life. If he had an incident on the playground that she thought maybe didn't get resolved, she would call me so that I knew how it was handled. Her approach was so therapeutic.
Glenn Takes A Bad Turn
In April she called me to tell me that Glenn was changing. She wasn't sure what the cause was, but Glenn was extremely irritable in school. We continued to speak and with each conversation I could hear the concern growing in her voice.
I then called a meeting of Glenn's "Individual Education Plan" team to discuss summer programs. At that meeting, Glenn's team spoke very sensitively to me and said that he was no longer responding to their techniques. They were unable to calm him when he was upset. He was removing himself from the group all the time, where before, he enjoyed group activities. He was angry and sad and they felt intervention was needed. I immediately began calling his psychiatrist to figure out how to help him.
The school had decided that for him the best thing they could do would be to shorten his days to half days until he could be helped professionally. I agreed to this because I was scared for my son. I was overwhelmed that he was feeling so bad all the time and I was powerless to help him. Glenn did receive the help he needed and was able to finish the last two weeks of school with his class.
Bipolar Disorder Diagnosis
We now know that all of his issues that caused such a disruption in his life are due to another disability he has which was undiagnosed at the time - bipolar disorder. This year Glenn is in second grade inclusion. It is pretty much the same setting as last year with a different classroom teacher.
I have recently met with his team to plan a new IEP for him. I have asked for an autism specialist to be hired and a resource room to be set up so that Glenn has someone to teach him everyday that is well versed in his disability.
My belief is that Glenn should stay in inclusion for most of the school day right now because mentally he can handle it. However, if he should have another period of time where his emotional status declines then he would need a setting to be taught therapeutically. This specialist could help Glenn with his social skills and processing so that maybe he won't have to lose out on school. Out of district placements exist for kids whose needs cannot be met in the traditional classroom.
The High Cost Of Private School Placement vs. Getting More Help In-district
Specialized programs can be created in schools for specific disabilities so that students can be taught right in their own schools. This can be a cost issue initially to hire the right staff and train people properly. But this expense is nothing compared to what it will cost the school to place autistic kids out of district.
In my school district we have an autism specialist at the preschool and at the middle school. Why then don't we have any at the elementary school or the high school? Why do certain kids get services and others don't? In my sons classroom alone there are other kids on the spectrum. They may not need intensive help now but as they grow so will their needs.
It is time for the schools to face the challenge of educating our autistic children because they have such unbelievable potential and if you haven't heard - autism is on the rise.
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