Our schools aren't very good at all, geekgrl19. Because my son has always tested well, seeing as he doesn't have mental retardation, they have always put him in regular classes. And then call me daily when he flips his desk, barks during lessons, wanders the room without permission, etc., etc., etc. They gave him a one-on-one aide for most of a year and then said that since he was doing well, they took her away and the behaviors came right back. They would not give him the aide again. By middle school he was being beaten up and egged into outrageous behavior weekly and was suspended monthly. We pulled him out against the protestations of the school staff and put him in Independent Study. The principal actually told me that he would not get any socialization if I pulled him out of regular school. I told her that if I wanted this kind of socialization, I'd send him to Juvenile Hall! Independent Study isn't the best fit, since he and I don't school well together. But it's safer and a heck of a lot less stressful! We have hopes that next year when he goes into High School, we can get them to understand that he really needs to be with his own peers, not his age group. When he's at his Special Olympics basketball practice, you'd never know he was public enemy #1 at his old schools. He enjoys himself, has conversations with other people who are a range of ages, doesn't get teased for missing the hoop. It's really great and I hope I can get that for him in high school. If not, well, we'll just keep doing the at-home thing.

Because we are on the outer edge of Los Angeles county, we have access to meetings and services, even Autism schools, but they are often over an hour away one-way. So close, but so far. My friend further south in San Diego county has awesome services. I'm shocked at the opportunities and events they have there. I'm so glad you got help with learning the IEP. That was something we had to learn the hard way, and I would never recommend that. No books on it really give a good idea of it and I hear it is much more beneficial having someone in your own area, who knows the districts and schools, to help you out. I'm so glad you got that.

You're daughter's class sounds amazing! My son was non-verbal until about 3, then he started picking it up in fits and starts. But he still has... I dunno, like mistranslations in his memory when it comes to words. Some of it has to do with certain consonant-clusters that he has never been able to pronounce. And partly it's the literalness. He pronounces words based on one set of pronunciation rules. For him, 'ch' is always pronounced like 'chair,' no matter if its the word 'choir.' Even if he hears it over and over, when he says it, it comes out his way. He's also at about the maturity level of a 7-year old. His still loving Power Rangers did not go over well in the middle school populace. That age-group is just so savage!

I always wonder that if Autism is such an epidemic, why does every school treat us like they've never seen it before? I had one teacher tell me he was sure my son would succeed once he "grew out of it." You could see the school psych and principal both wince and want to slam their heads on the desk when he said that. That was the highlight of that meeting. lol

With your daughter starting off with the help she needs, I hope that will continue to follow her wherever she goes! I always play nice in meetings with the school, but I've learned that sometimes you also gotta play hard. Many of them are much, much more concerned with their paperwork and budgets than making sure each kid is succeeding. I really hope you don't have to run into that.