He has SSI so for regular counseling he is required to use the county mental health facility, which is a total joke, flakes, and it is not a good place.  So we had an adjacent county who had a counselor that lived near us and she would come to our house on her way home.  All we did was play board games and tell her what's new, but she had a medical leave and hasn't been here for a few months.  \n\nCan I request services from the school's "student support specialist" (formerly called school counselor) to talk with him about alternatives to using name calling and swearing at home, as well as bossy behavior with friends?  Apparently the specialist is a man, which my son has a major lack of in his life.  He has special services accommodations, he has Tourette Syndrome and ADHD (hyper).
124924
you can request it, but a school counselor might not have the experience that is needed to treat your son.  If you son is willing to talk to him then go for it, 8 year olds need people in their lives that they can depend on and trust.  If the school counselor can't help or see you son at school ask him for a referral
601962
http://www.autismtoilettraining.com \nI have not looked at the site myself, but it came up on an ad for something else I was looking at, hopefully it will help! I had my autistic son completely out of diapers by the time he was 27 months old, but your situation is more normal with autism. It just happened that Tim was oversensitive to sensory input, so he HATED wearing wet underwear. I don't know how much of this will apply to you, but I'll tell you what I did anyway. Everyone on here that said to be really consistent with a reward system is right on target, that's about the only way to get through an autistic brain, and the sillier you are, the better! Find a treat that he really likes and by a bag, and only use it for potty training, no other time. Skittles was what we used. He got three skittles for sitting on the toilet and I spaced them out so that he was sitting for about five minutes. NO pullups or diapers during the day at home, only underwear, and I ran water in the sink while he was sitting. If he actually did something, he got another skittle, and we made a huge deal out of it! Then, he got one sticker put on a chart for sitting and one for going. If he doesn't go,then he still gets SOMETHING just for cooperating with you. I took him as soon as he woke up and every hour after that, and I asked him all through the day if he had to go. That's all you can really do, unless the link I sent you to has other ideas. Hope this helps! I do my own therapy with him, he's never seen a professional, and he is doing WONDERFULLY. I will be homeschooling him, and we're officially starting pre-school next month. We spent last year just working out behavior problems so that we could focus on academics this year. Contact me if you just need to vent!
183498
I had a similar problem a couple wks ago. My sons teacher was labeling him and picking him. I was getting notes every single day just about from his teacher. I was really sure what was going on because he had been making A-B honoroll. Anyways I went up there and spoke with her, found that she had moved him and ONLY HIM to a different part of the class room so he could pay attention. I was not having that since he was making good grades all year long and still is. He said he wasn't misbehaving or disruptive, so I didn't know what the hell the problem was. I also spoke with the principal and asked that my son be moved or we were taking it to the school board. We just put our foot down(husband and I)and let them know that we were serious and wanted it to be resolved. Because he wasn't gonna learn if he's getting discouraged by his teacher. I don't know what grade your sons in, but my son is in 2nd grade. And don't think that you guys are being a pain in the butt or an inconvenience to the "school", because that is your son. I was getting on to my kid every time that I was getting a note, but it wasn't him, I guess the teacher decided to pick on him. And as far as the school staff, who cares what they think of you, but once they start picking or being ugly to your son. Id take it a step further and contact the school board. Good luck!!
77495
I am having the same exact problem with my 5yr old son.  I can't get him to pay attention and he doesn't even try to focus sometimes at all.  It's EXTREMELY frustrating because I don't want him to get left back.  He's only in kindergarten, for goodness sakes.  \n\nAnyway - sorry about the venting - the only advice that I can give is that if you are really worried about it you can always ask the school board to have him evaluated for any problems.  I'm having my CSE meeting tomorrow and it looks like they are going to give my son services - speech therapy, occupational therapy - you get the idea.\n\nHope this helps.
525642
I'm not judging you or son, but I think you should let the Head conduct an investigation first.  Are we seeing the bigger picture here?  Could there be more to it?  I.E Is your son doing his homework or struggling in any way?  Does your son have any other peoblems such as relationship, friends, bullying, acne, football showers?  Is your son frustrated with the teacher.  Just gain as much information as possible first.  Is your son definitely 100% giving you the full story.  I hope everything ok would love to know the outcome of this one.
498038
I have bipolar myself so I have some idea of what your going through. what you should do is contact a government agency. I go to a place called MHMR it stands for Mental Health Mental Retardation. They can help you in any way that you need it. They can give you advice on what steps to take with your son. They can set up appointments for your son when he gets out. Just to meet with him and talk with him maybe regulate his meds and see about having him see a therapist on a regular basis. I really hope this helps you out. I really feel for you and the situation your in. Good luck to both you and your son.
71236
My personal experience has been it make my son act terrible it is way to stimulating for him which usually leads to bad behaviors I have to be very careful what I allow him to listen to.\n\nDo you have a 504 or IEP for your sons accommodations if you do you can ask that he be excused during that time. They can go to resource help in the office my son got to help the janitor with little jobs it just depends on your school and what you and your son are comfortable with when you approach them have a few things lined out that he could be doing instead and contrast what he has been doing in music class and how it is neither beneficial to him or the others to be there.\n\nBecause of the sensory issues with my son he cant go to the cafeteria or the gym and we had it written in his IEP\n\nIf I can help you in anyway please dont hesitate to contact me\n\nGood luck
584391
I have worked in a group home that was affiliated with an actual residential treatment facility. It would seem that this child is currently in crisis. If he is in a group home, he should have been receiving some sort of wrap-around services. I would get in touch with either the judge, his DCFS caseworker or his therapist and they can initiate a 3 day psychological crisis placement in a hospital to evaluate the child. ( I am not sure how old he is which could affect this advice) If this is done, and it appears that he needs extra support, it would probably be a good idea for him to lose unsupervised home visits for a while until he is stabilized. If he continues to escalate, then it is possible he needs a more restrictive environment (residential) for a while, again his therapist and case managers would have to be involved in the facilitation and the determination of this type of placement. In the meantime...take his clothes and shoes, put him in pajamas until he earns back the privileges that go with being trusted.\n\nThis is what we did with our kids when they went AWOL and we kept a supply of pajamas just for these instances. The kids had no slippers, shoes or clothes and this was a real deterrent to running away.\n\nI hope this helps, and I hope the young chap gets some help, it really sounds like something bad may have happened while he was at home and this is his reaction.\n\nGood Luck
239769
HI I have a 9 y/o son with autism and I have run a support group with autism for years. I recently moved to Wisconsin, however I was from northeast Illinois prior to this move. If you would like to contact me through yahoo messenger or at haleigh_anna4u@yahoo.com, I would love to give you some info on schools and area's in Illinois with GREAT school programs for autism. The early years ( 0-5 y/o) are the toughest. If your daughter would like the opportunity to talk to a parent who has been there feel free to pass on my contact info. My son was diagnosed in 1998, at 2 y/o. He was diagnosed severe and I was told that he would never speak.  I found him great speech and occupational therapists that helped me start a communication program with him of PECS/SIGNS paired with verbal communication and a sensory "diet" to get him comfortable in his own skin. He received ABA within his preschool special ed program as well as speech and OT in school. I included him in everything if only for a short time so that he experienced many things. Many children with autism don't know what is expected of them in new situations and that causes them to have what the parent see's as bad behavior, but in a child who cannot communicate, these behaviors are his way communicating when verbal communication is difficult.  My son is doing AMAZING now. He is in regular ed 3rd grade for 70% of his day and communicates only 2 years behind his age level. There is and always will be signs of autism, but due to a lot of hard work, understanding and LOVE he is a happy, healthy and loving boy.
527764
Sounds like you really need to have a dr. look at him and speak with his teacher.  As for help near Yonkers, i can tell you this.  DO NOT send this child to a Yonkers Public School.  they will do him a disservice and will not provide the help he may need.  He may need special schooling.
671612
When we needed to hire ABA therapists for our son, we contacted Monster.com and used a service of theirs (formerly called JobTrak) to solicit student candidates with some ABA training, child development majors, psychology majors, and/or education majors from various colleges and universities near our home.  We hired about 8 ABA therapists over the three years our son was in therapy (at any given time, he had 4-5 therapists working with him per week) and had success using this method.  Also, if you have a weekly PennySaver or similar free publication that is distributed by mail in your area, we had success with that as well.  \n\nI'm happy to say our son has almost totally recovered from autism, and I wish you the best in your search for ABA therapists.   You may also want to check out these websites:  www.centerforautism.com and www.tacanow.com for further ideas.
90861
As the parent of a special needs child I can tell you the other answers are right to a certian degree but my personal experience has been you need to do a lot of the legwork yourself. They do have to abide by best placement for spec ed which is not always in your home district but this will likely be something you have to find first. \n\nHere are somethings that worked for me getting my son best placement.This is assuming you have your testing done and an IEP or 504 plan in place. \n\nFirst call your district special ed coordinator make an appt to sit down and discuss your childs issues and what would be best for your situation some schools have excellent facilities for physically challenged but not mental some have awesome autism classes but not learning disabilities etc. There may also be theraputic day schools or residential schools that may be an option that you did not know about.\n\n After you figure out where your child should be ask for a meeting in writing and CC every one involved with your child principal teachers therapist (depending on your childs particular need) school district rep spec ed rep and make sure you also take in support for yourself. This might be a social worker advocate service coordinator of friend or if you need any variety of them.\n\n Present all of you documentation testing education plan doctors recommendations ect this will solidify why they should pay to tranfer your child to a different district.\n\nAnd as a last resort (one I have threatened but  never had to follow up on but say it like you did it) is to get an education atty to represent your child. If you need more info contact your state bar assc. or local legal aid office.\n\nYou do have rights as does your child and you may need to be harsh to get what you need but do not wait for them to act first it is so much better to be proactive your child is one of thousands to them and the best thing to do is keep yours in the forefront.\n\nGood luck!
293344
im not a doctor but my dad is a well known phsyciatrist, but has moved to az. my best friend has a son of 6 that acts really bad. you may not agree with this but if he is acting out and he is name calling and acting uproarious then he may need medicine. you may think to get him evaluated. does he have problems concentrating in school too/ or fighting with other kids? what about learning? if so, he may need some aderol, strattera, and or ritalin. this he also may outgrow as i did. i was a horror till actually 20 with this. im 31 now and fine though i have clinical depression. ive been fine with no meds for that for 10yrs! some people have a problem with putting ther kids on meds and their is a cliche with some of these meds so i would pick a doctor carefully and even go for two diffrent phsyc evals. just  to be sure. or there is something called behavior modification. counseling to learn how to deal with just the behavior. so you decide. their are good meds  out now and also to be one the safe side to be honest sometimes they may have side affects such as weight loss or stomach aches. please be advise carefully. lol mexxxi.
185006
I have ADHD and I'm still in school on mysenior year about to graduate.. ADHD is what it is and yea it makes your attention span short and you a little hyperactive, but him not wanting to go to school has nothing to do with his diagnosis..\nSo for some help i gave you a link below for some signs of ADHD and ODD\nAnd about staying in class yea i do sometimes when my medicine starts to wear off so i go to sleep or doodle my thoughts n stuff and it really helps
248898
This exact same thing happened to me when I was in junior high.  I didn't report him to anyone myself, but I told my best friend.  And because she cared so much about me, she reported it to the counselor's for me and it was taken care of.  His parents were called, my mom was called, everyone had a meeting, and he was suspended from the school.  I don't know if your case is as extreme as mine was, but the best piece of advice I can give you is report it to someone you trust.
387961
I am so sorry that your son's teacher said that to you.  There are no easy answers as I am left wondering about some of the details.  I am a mother of 3, and when I was a child I was in special ed as well, I am hyper active.  As an adult I use my excess energy to my advantage and I work in a field where things are always changing and I don't have to sit for long periods of time....\n\nEvaulate the situation.  What if anything would you want the principal to do?  Is there another class for your son to go into?  Besides being a Jerk is this teacher the "best" teacher for your son?  Is changing schools an option?\n\nDepending on your answers to the above questions, you may consider talking with your son's teacher, or making an anonymous report to the principal of the school stating that you fear retaliation if you speak to him/her directly.\n\nSometimes we all say or do things that we realize after the fact were wrong.  Sometimes we don't realize what our words truly mean.  I think that a solution for the teacher is to have him/her take an in service on diversification and understanding special needs.
418944
A child with aspergers is not disabled except socially.  He can take care of himself and can do well in school.  It is unlikely they will give you SSI for that.\n\nHowever, the school should give him special education to deal with his aspergers.  That is what he really needs.