Autism Schools
It is a fact that autistic children will have special needs for their school education. Many children with autistic tendencies can go to local schools and achieve to their full potential with some minor changes to provide additional support to them. Other children will need more extensive support which may have to be provided at a specialist school. To ensure that they are treated fairly there are laws which address the needs of children who have some form of disability. A brief overview of the things you should consider for autism schools and sending autistic children to school is listed below.
Individuals with disabilities act.
The individuals with disabilities act was developed to ensure that all children with disabilities are able to receive a free public education that meets their needs and it is appropriate to their disability. Autism is covered under the act and it requires local authorities to deliver a special education service to autistic children.
An appropriate and free of cost education.
This is described by the disabilities act and stipulates that the nature of the education service to be delivered to meet the special needs of the autistic child. In summary it is an education that allows the child to progress and learn.
Least Restrictive Learning Environment
A least restrictive learning environment is defined as that which allows your Child to develop and socialise with a non-disabled children whilst taking into account any special educational needs that they have. In simple language that this means that the autistic school should take every step to meet the needs of the autistic child whilst keeping them in a regular classroom if at all possible.
To comply with the requirements of the educational act a school will need to assess each child individually. The assessment can be requested by the parent or by the school. If you feel that there is a problem educating your child at their current school you should place your concerns in writing and ask them to conduct an evaluation of your child’s needs. When they initiate the process they will seek to your permission in writing. The evaluation will consider any learning disabilities or behavioural problems that may be present and consider how these can be accommodated. The school should meet with you a short while after the evaluation has been completed to review the findings and discuss what measures can be put in place to help the autistic child.
Individual Education Plan (IEP)
An individual education plan is developed to describe the actions that will be taken when an autistic child has a need for special education services. The IEP should be created by the team that initially conducted the childs educational evaluation, there should be imported from the parents also. The IEP will outline the autistic child school needs and detail the services that will be provided at the autistic school, this of course could be the local school. The IEP is not fixed in stone and can be really evaluated at any time, this should certainly be done if the autistic child is not benefiting at school. Typical services outlined in an IEP will cover how education is delivered to the autistic child, for example to allow additional time to complete exercises or have an assistant read questions out to the child. It is normal to re-evaluate an IEP annually and the autistic child’s parents have the right to attend the review meeting.
Every autistic child and every autistic school setting are different. The autistic child needs are best represented by their parents and the parents need to be active in ensuring at any autistic child receives the education they need according to their rights. Some schools will be very supportive, some will appear to resist the needs of the autistic child. It is your duty to represent your child’s requirements and insist that the schools comply with their legal and moral obligations, teachers on busy and any non-compliance will often be through lack of focus or workloads. Concentrate on your autistic childs requirements and ensure that the school thoroughly understands these. If you find that your autistic school setting is not being delivered according to your child’s needs remember there are external support societies and lawyers who are standing by to help.