What
are the Educational Options?
The
Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act of 1990 assures a free and appropriate
public education to children
with diagnosed learning deficits.
The 1991 version of the law extended
services to preschoolers who are developmentally
delayed. As a result, public schools
must provide services to handicapped
children including those age 3 to
5. Because of the importance of early
intervention, many states also offer
special services to children from
birth to age 3.
The
school may also be responsible for
providing whatever services are needed
to enable the child to attend school
and learn. Such services might include
transportation, speech therapy, occupational
therapy, and any special equipment.
Federally funded Parent Training Information
Centers and Protection and Advocacy
Agencies in each state can provide
information on the rights of the family
and child.
By
law, public schools are also required
to prepare and carry out a set of
specific instructional goals for every
child in a special education program.
The goals are stated as specific skills
that the child will be taught to perform.
The list of skills make up what is
known as an "IEP"-the child's
Individualized Educational Program.
The IEP serves as an agreement between
the school and the family on the educational
goals. Because parents know their
child best, they play an important
role in creating this plan. They work
closely with the school staff to identify
which skills the child needs most.
In
planning the IEP, it's important to
focus on what skills are critical
to the child's well-being and future
development. For each skill, parents
and teachers should consider these
questions: Is this an important life
skill? What will happen if the child
isn't trained to do this for herself?
Such
questions free parents and teachers
to consider alternatives to training.
After several years of valiant effort
to teach Alan to tie his shoelaces,
his parents and teachers decided that
Alan could simply wear sneakers with
Velcro fasteners, and dropped the
skill from Alan's IEP. After Alan
struggled in vain to memorize the
multiplication table, they decided
to teach him to use a calculator.
A
child's success in school should not
be measured against standards like
mastering algebra or completing high
school. Rather, progress should be
measured against his or her unique
potential for self-care and self-sufficiency
as an adult.
Adolescence
For
all children, adolescence is a time
of stress and confusion. No less so
for teenagers with autism.
Like all children, they need help
in dealing with their budding sexuality.
While some behaviors improve in the
teenage years, some get worse. Increased
autistic or aggressive behavior may
be one way some teens express their
newfound tension and confusion.
The
teenage years are also a time when
children become more socially
sensitive and aware. At the age
that most teenagers are concerned
with acne, popularity, grades, and
dates, teens with autism may become
painfully aware that they are different
from their peers. They may notice
that they lack friends. And unlike
their schoolmates, they aren't dating
or planning for a career. For some,
the sadness that comes with such realization
urges them to learn new behaviors.
Sean Barron, who wrote about his autism
in the book, There's a Boy in Here,
describes how the pain of feeling
different motivated him to acquire
more normal social skills.
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