Hi, DS 11 (ADHD, asd, ts, anxiety) has started middle school this year and the transition has been rough. He is chronically stressed, anxious, and has had episodes of aggression. The school has not been following the IEP (refusing scribing, not modifying work load, not offering any sensory tools, refusing breaks, constant subs rotating in as his pca, etc.) He has been sent home early many times (missing algebra, his last class of the day) and has been suspended for 7 total days. He is being put in seclusion and restrained frequently. The restraints are not being reported, neither is the seclusion (not sure if it has to be as they don't close the door, they block him in with staff... these are the people he is aggressing against.)
I was told (not by the school!) that the best thing to do right now is get new data. We requested a new fba and evaluation. His last evaluation was in 1st grade and last fba in third. His current fba attributes (imo erroneously) most of his disruptive behavior to attention seeking. Because of this DS is being ignored when he needs (and is asking for) help.
One big area where he feels he needs assistance is answering math word problems and open ended questions in the ela curriculum, as well as taking notes and copying from the board. He says a lot of his stress comes from being confused and overwhelmed by this sort of class work, telling his aide he is confused/can't keep up, then getting ignored and the demand repeated, "do your work."
My main question is in regards to the Wisc. Will there be any ceiling effects for a child age nearly 12 (or 12 if they drag this out close to the 60 day max)? DS got 19's on 5 of the 10 subtests, one 18, and one 17 iirc. His other scores were 8, 11, and I think 13. I'm concerned that if the top scores are depressed by lack of higher level items available on the test, but the low scores remain low (or get lower) they may try to take away his gifted designation. Should I be concerned? Is there a better test I could request?
We have our 4th IEP meeting of the year tomorrow where they expect me to agree to a harsh plan neither my husband nor myself are comfortable with. DS is a sweet, helpful, kind child. He weights 60 lbs and has the social/emotional maturity of a five year old. We are very concerned about the effect of all of this on his mental health and for the first time ever he does not want to go to school.
We are of course considering homeschool and are looking at other programs. We are planning on suing the school for alternate placement once he reaches 10 suspensions. That is the only reason he's still going there at this point.
