so, i know what i am suppose to do but i hate confrontation!! BUT! my 5 year old severely autistic son is having trouble with school. nothing dramatic or anything but he is regressing and becoming violent at school every time we come off a vacation and it wont be long until we have real problems with the school. Isaac is suppose to have extended school year services year round but the school has failed to come up with workers to work with him during the holiday breaks and other foolish little breaks here and there.... today he managed to draw blood on one of his teacher's faces... i am expecting it not to be too long before they dont want to see HIS face!:)

we have a meeting with the school every 4 weeks and EVERY TIME its a new problem:) they are just team meetings to keep everyone on top of Isaac but they dont seem to cut because he switches his behavior too quickly... not only is Autistic but he seems to get very bored with behaviors and needs new entertainment.

has anyone had success at keeping a good working relationship with the school and forcing their hand with the Exstended School Year Issue?

Liz

Unfortunately, some school districts need to be pressured into meeting their obligations. Do you have a lawyer? If not, you may want to have one, at least in the background and ready. When you go to the meetings, bring a little tape recorder and tape the proceedings. You need to let them know you will be doing this as they may want to record also and need to be notified in advance; otherwise, they can cancel the meeting. You need to make sure all your requests and your statements about their failure to meet their obligations are listed in the Meeting Notes section of the IEP (Individual Education Plan) - you should certainly be aware of this document. It is a legal document and the school is required to provide all services listed. It is up to them to make sure they can provide those services. If not, they are not in compliance and a suit can be brought against them. Although getting heavy handed with department of education can cause some animosity, sometimes they just need to know that you mean business and you are not going to take it passively when your child is involved. Once they know you will use all your powers, not in a mean way, but a determined way, they will generally provide what's needed unbegrudgingly. There are some good IEP workbooks on the market, [removed]. Become very familiar with IEP if you are not already. That is the document that will follow your child through all his school years and will be the basis for all his specialized services. It will be important in documentation to show that he has either received services listed or that you have complained that he has not. Now is the time to be firm regarding services so in the future you won't have this problem. Good luck.