Teacher Trainings
Our kids aren't easy.
For our kids, school can be a zoo. Their hypersensitive sensory systems are overwhelmed by ringing bells, unexpected fire alarms, a zillion kids moving through the halls, flickering overhead lights, and loud assemblies. Teachers ask them to do things they don't understand or really don't want to do, and kids look at them funny or tease them and they don't know why. They break too many rules they didn't even know existed. Some days it seems that no matter what they do, they're in trouble.
Often our teachers haven't been trained how to help them.
We've got great teachers who are good at their jobs, but few of them have been trained to teach Asperger's and autistic kids. Until recently few people had even heard of Asperger's and autism, and kids affected were typically in special education classrooms. Now our kids are everywhere, special ed, general ed, and honors classes. Unfortunately our teacher's training often hasn't kept pace.
Is it any surprise there's often trouble when our kids hit school?
The solution? Train school staff.
Research shows that once school staff and administrators learn why our kids do what they do and implement strategies to teach and support them, our kids' classroom performance improves markedly. Tantrums decrease, anxiety diminishes, organizational skills improve, and coping skills increase -- our kids are able to mainstream in the general ed classrooms much more successfully. There are fewer tears and less frustration for our kids, teachers and parents. We've seen it over and over, hundreds of times in our Inland Empire area alone. If your teachers haven't been trainied, you're fighting battles you don't need to fight!
How can you get training for your school staff?
First ask your principal if your school's staff has been trained. Be nice when you ask, remember this is something new for our schools.
If not, ask if they can be -- the whole staff. (Your child isn't the only one in the school with autism, we guarantee it!) Our SELPA's have special training programs specifically designed to teach our educators how to teach and support our kids. (SELPA stands for "Special Education Local Plan Area" -- they're part of our education system. They're special education consultants for our school districts and parents.)
If your principal says they can't do it, give a call to your school district's director of special education. Perhaps he/she can provide the support the principal needs to make it happen. Still no luck? Write a (nice!) letter requesting training and send it to your school board, superintendent, director of special ed, and principal. Together they have more resources and more options than the principal has alone. Also, call your SELPA and tell them you'd like training at your school site. Your SELPA works for you too. They can't storm the school and cram training down their throat if the principal refuses, but often they can find a way to make training happen. (If you don't know how to contact your SELPA, ask your principal.)
Okay -- if you've done all that and STILL can't get training (this is rare), contact us and we'll see if we can help.