I moved my son in to a life skills class in grade 3. Best decision i ever made in caring for him and meeting his needs. He gets more one on one, the instruction is largely based on social skills and he can excel where he can at his own pace and isn't forced to learn filler subjects like french or history. These kids are being raised with other kids with a variety of needs and they are so accepting of each other and therefore feel like they belong instead of standing out. Because of his development he will never be in mainstream classes but now in grade 12, he has the option to stay in school until age 21 and they work and do community service and volunteer. These kidss often have a more impressive resume coming out of school than most kids. He has been able to thrive and learn to cope and be happy. I couldn't ask for much more.

It will depend on your child's needs. It might be possible to integrate for some period of the day, and self-contained for the rest. My son has been mainstreamed since 1st grade, and it has worked well for him. Whatever you choose, be sure that the IEP is what you want and what your child needs, and it can be updated and appended as needed. Good luck!

well, there are three questions to ask yourself- and they really depend on how functioning your daughter/son is:
where would she/he be happier?
where would she/he learn more?
what are the skills that she/he needs to learn now? in the resource class, she/ he may learn more education-wise.
in the inclusive classroom, they may learn how to interact with their peers better.
good luck with your decision!

The school is actually the ones guiding me toward the resource class.

Truth be told he is very disruptive and creates chaos in mainstream classroom. He is not willing to do what they need him to do and it ends up everyone on eggshells or in aggression.

I find it very sad that he cannot function in this arena and shocking really. He does so well with me when out in large groups whatever. But ask him to do math or school work of some form he is ready to tantrum.

The large class have said they are not able to give him what he needs. The board will not provide a full time one to one appropriate to his needs.

The resource class sounds like it may meet his needs. Smaller, more flexibility, Asd understanding, follow through for next 4 years, and ability to mainstream when ready for parts of the day or more.

I believe that he may learn more there as they have social skills and other training built into the schedule.

I feel like I'm talking myself into it and wonder if I know what I am talking about!!

A lot of the schools want to mainstream our children simply because it costs less and they do not have to provide as many services for them. I do not mean to sound negative here but it is the simple truth. The other issue is once you decide to mainstream and it does not work out they give you a hard time switching back, again this is the simple truth in most cases.

The social interaction is important don't get me wrong but it is far more important that the child get actual therapy and life skills. My son interacts with the others in his special Ed class and we have him involved with any arts and craft activities the school offers as well as an outside service in our area where he is involved with not only the arts and crafts but plays as well. It is sort of like a drama club. For us this helps with his social interaction and the children there are very accepting of him and his disabilities. The people who run the program let us pay a discounted rate and also split up payments so he can go to whatever activity he wants.

Do not mainstream because you feel the school is pushing you that way, if you think he should stay where he is then push back and ensure he does.