Sp. ed Schools services v/s parent-child teaching (autism, Asperger, sensory)

[vparent]

Hi,
This is my first post.
My child is on Autism spectrum and recently we are facing lots of issues from the school regarding services required by my child.

It seems like after going through the meetings with the school, is it worth putting time fighting with them. Or just use that time with my child and teaching him myself whatever he requires.

Its frustrating making school see from a parent perspective and make them realize what he needs.

Did anyone go through the same. If yes please provide me some insight as to what you did. Is some battles worth fighting?

Thanks
Vparent

[wildflower_FL]

Both of my children were above average in cognitive development, but delayed in speech, motor skills, and social skills. Neither walked before 15 months or talked before 3.5 years. My son also has a lot of difficulties with sensory processing.

Despite being noticeably out of sync with their peers, and below 30% for speech & motor skills, the school district found they did not qualify for services.

I choose to work with them at home rather than fight for services. My reasons for doing so was that I felt that:

Fighting the school district would cause too much stress in our household

If they didn't fit the mold for what the school district required for services, the services available would probably not be a good fit for them

My husband & I had all of the same delays & quirks when we were little, so we were best qualified to reach out to them

Both of my children are school age now, and I definitely feel that we made the right choice for them. I have had several opportunities to watch friends fight for services, and the results to me didn't seem to be worth the effort and expense.

My advice for you would be to go the route that causes the least amount of stress in your household. Also I would talk to relatives and find out if your child takes after anyone, and if so, what worked/didn't work in child rearing that individual. Regardless of which route you go, make sure that you are 100% consistent in how you react to your child (both positive and negative).

[neddy]

My son has Aspergers and even in 5th grade I ask that question daily! Right now he is getting the support he needs and also he is having to be social and sort of learn the minefield if you will. He has a group of teachers helpiing him and a few friends at last but this is a question that you will ask yourself over and over and the answer is going to change depending on the kiddos need. Do what you feel is right and if it does not work or you feel overwhelmed by it, change it!