When Eric was going to school on Fort Knox, KY he was in partial Special Education and partial Main Stream. They were working in Preschool to get ready for Kindergarten. Things were doing great. I was only called to the school a couple of times and nothing serious was going on. When we moved to Joint Base Lewis McChord, WA he was placed in Special Education Preschool. It worked for what little he went. Then the school without my permission was sent to Main Stream without any support except for a few hours a week from Special Education. For a little while it worked very well. Then it just went down hill. Kindergarten proved he could do the work but he was above average thanks to his Preschool class teacher who taught him everything he knew. He knew his shapes, colors, how to write his alphabet and name, how to count, to add and subtract. He loved school but he had problems with too many stimulants in the class room. First grade has been in no other words HELL. Eric has been to three schools and have had four teachers. Main Stream failed him. I finally got through to the school district and they finally agreed with me that he needed to be in the special program. This blog is going to be about that program.
When I first heard of this program I really knew nothing about it. I knew that they took children like Eric and prepared them for the main streaming. They have a high success rate with their children being successful in mainstream. I had hope for the first time that Eric could be kept in public school and would not need to be homeschooled. I met with his teacher with Eric and fell in love with the program. They have a routine for every day written on a laminated piece of paper on their desk. They get a possible of 2 points per area. 1 point for participation and 1 point for behavior.
They have a total of 6 children and a teacher plus the para!! I started falling in love with this program the more I talked to his new teacher. They would still participate in music, art, physical education, library. I brought up the concern about lunch and they said they get two whole tables to themselves! So that means each child can get room to eat and not be crowded or in a crowded situation and that the teachers eat with the class. His breakfast is eaten in the classroom like the students in their classroom. So there was a major cut back in his triggers.
Then I asked about what would happen if he acted up. That is when they showed me two rooms adjoined to the classroom. The first room is the cool down room and it had pillows and he could take a nap or whatever he needed to do to calm down. The second room was inside the cool down room and it is SCARY to say the least. It is small and the door is locked and has an alarm on it. They called this room a lockdown room. It is where if the children get violent they can put the child in there and notify the parents immediately.
Eric did end up there one time and he has never ended up there again because he did not like it. The school immediately called me and I ran to the school as fast as I could. I even told the school that I was about 20 minutes away but it was rush hour. I got to the school and got Eric calmed down. When we were getting ready to leave the para told Eric see you tomorrow Buddy! I was shocked!! I thought for sure we were facing another suspension. When I asked the teacher about this she said in our program we do not suspend. Oh what wonderful words!
On Monday he goes through individual therapy and on Thursday they have group therapy. So he still got his therapy sessions. So I meet with his therapist and teacher for all conferences to hear how much progress he can make or has made or what areas he needs more help in. The one area I was concerned in was Eric was behind in reading. So I was thinking he can be behind or maybe a learning disability. So I talked to his teacher and she said he has made some progress but he is behind we need to read to him all the time and we need him to read as well. But he is making huge progress in his lessons and behavior.
Now in this program Eric will not be rushed into Main Stream it is a very slow progress. It can take a minimum of 2 years for him to compete this program. But once he is main streamed he will be successful and they can assure me that the behaviors he has had will be controlled.
Now the one thing that has brought alot of success is the fact that Eric's teachers follow the same programs we have at ABA so now we are one triangle and we all work together.Since the school has been working with us we can see huge progress both at home and at school. It has been wonderful and a gratifying experiences with this program.
As the mother of Eric there is days that are good and days that are bad. But everyday he brings home a certificate saying he has earned 19 or all 20 points. He is so proud of this little blue paper but I keep everyone! I hear what a wonder he is on the bus and how great he is. He tells me that he had a small problem but he turned it around. Just to see him go to school excited for the day and to see him excited to show me his certificate is a blessing beyond words. This program has been an answer to my prayers on what to do with Eric and school. I am so glad that he is going to this program.
