Chris
Message 1 of 1
Hi, I am a special education teacher and I read your concerns regarding your child. The school system probably has never had a child with this syndrome and relates it to a developmentally delayed-type person. These children are also under the category of Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). However, your child's uniqueness is a BIOLOGICALLY BASED disability that effects his ability to perform at the level of other students that are his chronological age. Mathematics are particulary difficult for this type of student. Communication will be a high priority for your child and perhaps that is why the school wants to place your child into the autistic category. Autism takes on many, many forms but the cause for this disability is unknown. We know that Fragile X Syndrome is genetically passed from a parent and that genetic testing can verify this fact. My suggestion to you is to try to educate the school system regarding this type of disability and see what happens. I strongly suggest that you have an advocate from the Department of Mental Health at your IEP meeting as well as an advocate for Fragile X students. These people have the expertise that will be necessary to educate your child properly. Please make sure the school system has the expertise to educate your child. If they do not, then seek out the best school for your child (it will cost you nothing. RULE NUMBER ONE: Never allow your child to be taught by a teaching assistant. These individuals, although they are very helpful in the school system, DO NOT have the skill level or expertise to educate your child. Neither does the child's regular education teacher. Your child must be taught by a special education teacher in conjunction with a regular education teacher. Hope this helps.