We live in Illinois and our 7 year old ASD is in first grade At our last IEP meeting we asked for a Social Skills Group and the school social worker said they don't provide that at the school. We are requesting from the school Social Skills Group Therapy for my son. Please note he is receiving social services from the social worker at the school but we are looking for structured social skills group therapy with his peers hoping for an hour a week dedicated to this. Is this a normal type of… read more

My 12 year old son has realized that he is different than the other kids at his public school, but does not want any of the other kids to know that he needs special help. He is socially lacking in some areas and would really benefit from social skills training but refuses to go to the special ed rooms or have anything to do with the special ed teachers/staff because he does not want to be associated in any way with people who have special needs. He obviously has not accepted his diagnosis and… read more

My 6 year old daughter was assessed by a psychiatrist as having characteristics at the age of 3.5. She was labeled as being developmentally delayed and labeled as pdd-nos. We took her to a developmental pediatrician who said that she was not on the spectrum, but sent her for an ados test. The ados test was administered and they said that she was PDD-NOS. The test was not administered in the best environment in that she sat in a car seat in traffic for 2 hours. The developmental pediatrician… read more

Has anyone had a typical buddy written in their IEP? Like a social goal where their kid was paired with another student to help them practice making friends or help ease anxiety around social situations at school? Can you tell me what that looked like? I’m looking for ideas.

My son is an ESE program at the local elementary school. Recently, the class got a student who has constant tantrums and needs constant supervision. My son was doing better w/ his potty training, but has recently stopped going at all. His teacher mentioned that this new kid takes up all her time and his behavior disrupts the class which she believes is the reason Zion has stopped going to the potty. She also said she told the administration about this and they commented that my son "was not… read more

I can not bring my self to call a social worker at the county for his special needs. In my mind it is like saying there will be no more recovery from here. If he can function in society without county money is that not best for everyone? I know he needs a county number for SS and disability financial assistance. I think I might be paranoid that the number means more than just receiving financial assistance, like it could be published somewhere and used against him as an adult. I know… read more

Need help finding a kindergarten for my 5 year old HFA son. I live in Kent Washington and I’m finding it hard to find public/private schools who understand kids on the spectrum. Any advice is greatly appreciated!!