In Between Special Education and General Education

Many parents face a challenge when it comes to finding the best educational placement for their child.

What do you do when a special education setting is too much support, but a general education setting does not provide enough?

My 14 year old with Aspergers does well in a general education setting with support.  He certainly struggles, but since socialization skills and confidence are now in place, he holds his own.

My 12 year old with Autism is in a different situation.  He needs to be taught 1:1, work in small groups, and needs supports that are unrealistic to put into general education settings. Going into 6th grade, our latest testing shows he is grade level 2.4 overall.

Functionally, he cannot tie his shoes, ride a bike, dress independently and still needs assistance in the bathroom sometimes.  I'll succinctly say that life skills such as,managing money, navigating the community and social communication are also areas of great deficit.

So, what to do?

After much thought, I'm leaning towards home educating him this year.  He has substantially regressed, began exhibiting new behaviors and, at 12 years old, we have to get some basics taken care of… like reading... AKA literacy! In addition to functional academic skills he needs everyday life skills in order to live independent one day.

I appreciate the learning standards that have to be met by the public school, but sometimes, after I review his work, I sit and wonder if learning the past presidents or a time-line of how our earth was formed, is truly as helpful as learning how to walk into the store and buy something.

Let me say I have no intention of ignoring academics if I educate him.  In fact, I think we'll make more progress at home because his learning style will be met, his interests used to teach, and his abilities focused on instead of his disabilities.

Hopefully, a year working 1:1 with me and a team I've put together will result in him being able to return to school in a condition that allows him to be successful and progress in a public school setting.

NY has a rubric to evaluate an Autism Program; quality standards. It details, point by point, what should be in a program used to teach a child with autism. Take a peek and take it with you when you review your child's current program with school officials.

Let me know if you'd like a copy, as I haven't found the direct link to it yet (but I'll keep looking).

There is a conversation about this topic already underway in the forum, so be sure to join in there or post your comments below.