Hi! We had my son evaluated by the school for asperger's. We also brought him the neurologist, but this is just in regards to the school. The evealuation is complete and we will be meeting with the school in a little over a week to discuss the findings.
The paperwork was sent home to review. From the paperwork I got: he is of "superior" intellegence, does NOt qualify for OT, needs fine motor control and pencil grip improvement, has difficulty finiishing tasks in a defined time when writing, average ability to apply academic skills,limited passage comprehension skills, incosistently attentive.
So, what does this mean? I don't really understand what test/evaluation say yes he has it, no he doesn't.
Sorry if this is offensive to anyone, but I feel lost and confused.
The saddest was when the evaluator asked Jacob what he liked most about school he said "I don't really know", but when asked what he felt was the hardest about school he said "it's hard for me to play with some of my friends". Are there any evaluations that look at his interaction with his peers?
TIA
Hi,
Thought I would chime in here as my son Jacob was diagnosed with high functioning autism when he was three. I can completely understand where you are coming from having been there. Your son sounds a lot like my son Jacob. He has a very high IQ, needs extra time on writing assignments, appears to be inattentive, and has a lack of social skills and no friends (makes me cry when he tells me he has no friends and doesn't really know how to make them).
I am sorry to say but I think that they are contradicting themselves when they say that he needs help with pencil grip and fine motor control help but doesn't need OT. These are things that an ot would help him with. Please insist on OT for your son, it will be of great help. In my experience, the school system likes to tell you that there is no need for things because they don't want to provide services. You have to be an advocate for your child and educate yourself about everything, I know after going through this for years. The more knowledge you have the better prepared you will be to fight for the things your child needs.
There are things that you really need to do right from the start, like keep a notebook with copies of all paperwork, notes about any phone calls between you and the school, after the phone calls write a letter stating what you understand was discussed in the phone conversation and send it to the person you spoke to so you have a written record of everything in case you need it later.
There are tests that can be done relative to social skills. The school used the Walker-McConnell Scale of Social Competence and School Adjustment for Jacob. See if they will do this or if they have something comparable that they use. I have a bunch of info regarding social skills, and goals that can be added to your son's IEP (Individual Education Plan). (Sorry, I don't know how much you know or how far into this you are, so please don't be offended by me stating what the IEP is.) Here are a bunch to start with, read them through and see what applies to your child (sorry you didn't say how old he was so I am just using what we asked for in our son's IEP this year and he is in 7th grade). There are also some writing goals as well.
Content Strand: Dealing With Feelings/Self-awareness
Annual Goal #1 Jacob will identify and manage feelings (i.e., anger, anxiety, stress, frustration) on a daily basis with 90%frequency as measured by _____________.
a. Identify behaviors that cause others to become angry (i.e., calling others names, tattling, making unkind remarks and discussing others).
b. Express anger appropriately by using words to state feelings.
c. Ask adult for help or move away to a quiet place (voluntary time out).
d. Respond to teasing from peers appropriately.
e. Control temper in conflict situations with adults.
f. Receive feedback appropriately.
g. Listen to the opinion of a peer without interrupting or walking away.
h. Seek help appropriately.
i. State how his/her behavior affects others.
j. Identify way(s) to ease frustration in hypothetical situations.
k. Identify signs of frustration in self.
l. Name ways people show approval/disapproval.
m. Describe situation's) in which student experiences a given emotion.
n. Describe condition(s) which make the student feel angry.
o. Distinguish between fact, rational belief and irrational belief.
p. Manage unreasonable fears.
q. Identify appropriate behavior when presented with real or simulated situations involving peer pressure.
r. Engage in appropriate behavior when confronted with inappropriate behavior.
s. Recognize when peer pressure may be harmful.
t. Use assertive behavior in resisting harmful peer pressure.
Content Strand: Pragmatics-Conversation Rules Behaviors
Annual Goal #2 Jacob will/use the conversational rules of _____ at ____% of the opportunity as measured by ___________.
a. Initiate a conversation or join in a conversation.
b. Make introductions.
c. Use contingent queries and responses.
d. Make clarification requests.
e. Respond to clarification requests.
f. Give appropriate verbal feedback.
g. Give appropriate non-verbal feedback.
h. Allow appropriate pause time between interchanges.
i. Does not interrupt and/or overlap partner.
j. Give appropriate amount of information, not too much or too little.
k. Make comments, ask questions that are relevant.
l. Send clear, concise messages.
m. Use polite/friendly form as appropriate.
n. Accurately judge listener's background knowledge and available referents and provide appropriate information.
o. Use indirectives and hints when appropriate.
Content Strand: Pragmatics-Para-linguistic Behaviors
Annual Goal #3 Jacob will increase the number of appropriate para-linguistic behaviors to ____% of opportunity and/or as appropriate to the situation as measured by ________________.
a. Use appropriate eye contact.
b. Use appropriate posture.
c. Use appropriate facial expression.
d. Use appropriate distance between speaker and listener.
e. Use appropriate gestures.
f. Use appropriate volume/intonation.
Content Strand: Writing
Annual Goal #4 Jacob will increase writing skills to (grade/proficiency level) in the area(s) of ideas and Content, Organization, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency and Conventions) as measured by __________ (State Scoring Guide, analysis of writing samples, diagnostic survey, spelling inventory).
a. Use descriptive words for more colorful writing.
b. Use descriptive phrases to create a picture in writing.
c. Use descriptive language appropriate for text and reader interest.
d. Use more than one resource to increase written vocabulary (e.g., charts, Thesaurus, etc.).
e. Use many resources to improve clarity and effectiveness of writing for classmates and teachers.
f. Edit writing to include using new words, familiar words in a different way, and colorful expressions, to paint a picture in the reader's mind.
g. Edit writing to use powerful, active verbs.
h. Select appropriate language, approach, form and style for purpose and audience.
i. Demonstrate organization by developing a beginning, middle, and ending using some transition words (e.g., first, next, then).
j. Demonstrate organization by developing an introduction, body of text and conclusion with clear sequencing of ideas and use of transitional words and phrases.
k. Select appropriate organizational strategy (e.g., outlining, identifying, and supporting topic, following a model, maps, and charts).
l. Organize with paragraphs when writing from a prompt or on a topic.
m. Use paragraphs to organize structure within text for a specific purpose of content.
n. Write paragraphs in which sentences are related to the topic.
o. Write paragraphs containing a stated main idea and closing sentence.
p. Write multi-paragraph passages (e.g., stories, reports).
q. Revise writing by adding or deleting text.
r. Change some text to improve clarity.
s. Revise writing to improve clarity and effectiveness by adding relevant details and changing or rearranging text.
t. Edit writing to organize sentences into paragraphs.
Content Strand: Social Skills
Annual Goal #5 Jacob will develop social understanding skills as measured by the benchmarks listed below.
a. _____ will raise their hand and wait to be called on before talking aloud in group settings 4/5 opportunities to do so.
b. _____will work cooperatively with peers in small group settings (ie. Share materials, allow peers to share different thoughts) 4/5 opportunities to do so.
c. _____ will develop an understanding of the relationship between his/her verbalizations and actions/effect on others 4/5 opportunities to do so.
d. _____ will engage in appropriate cooperative social play interactions initiated by others 4/5 opportunities to do so.
e. _____ will engage in cooperative social play interactions by allowing others to make changes or alter the play routine 4/5 opportunities to do so.
f. _____ will engage in appropriate turn-taking skills by attending to peers turn and waiting for own turn 4/5 opportunities to do so.
g. _____will appropriately acknowledge an interaction initiated by others by giving an appropriate response, either verbal or non-verbal.
h. _____ will develop an understanding of the rationale for various social skills by stating the reason when asked (ie. Why do we say excuse me?)
i. _____ will increase social awareness of environment by stating what is taking place in environment or imitating actions of others 4/5 opportunities to do so.
j. _____ will increase safety awareness by stating the effect of various situations 4/5 opportunities to do so.
k. _____ will identify appropriate social rules and codes of conduct for various social situations 4/5 opportunities to do so.
l. _____ will refrain from interrupting others by exhibiting appropriate social interaction skills 4/5 opportunities.
I have a ton of links, info, etc. that I am willing to share so feel free to pm me and I can pass along this info to you.
I know that after Jacob was diagnosed we were at a loss as we were told the diagnosis over the phone and had no follow up with where to go from there. There is a ton of info out there and you really need to make yourself aware of the laws out there. Is there a support group in your area? This is a great way to get info about the disability, what has worked with other children and to get info about your school's willingness to work with the students to accommodate their needs.
Sending you lots of hugs
!!! Again, feel free to pm me and ask questions and I will try my best to give you the info you need.
Ronda
. Thanks. I do know what an IEP is but wouldn't know what to ask for, etc.
