More Autistic Students

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Specializes in School Nursing.

Are you all seeing an increase in students with Autism ? In my PK-5 school, I am. They are all over the spectrum. Some in the autism class but mostly dispersed throughout the regular ed classes.

So many kids and so many exasperated teachers. Just wondering what everyone is seeing.

Thanks

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My elementary school has two autism classes and anyone who has severe autism comes to my school. There's maybe 2 or 3 students who have autism that are in general ed.

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Specializes in School Nursing.

I'm seeing kids being placed on the spectrum that I honestly have to question... one thing I've noticed at my school is parents pushing for all kinds of SPED dx that don't seem to fit the student, because the more disability, the easier it is to get a SS check. I had NO IDEA this was a thing until I started working as a school nurse. :( It's especially notable in parents who have one truly disabled child, pushing for a DX for their normal child/children.

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To get a social security check there has to be supporting evidence from professionals. You can't, "coach," a child to score as autistic on an ADOS; that test requires an advanced degree to administer/interpret. There is emerging research that supports evidence of autism NOT being just 1 in 68 children but 1 in 48. So you'll probably being seeing even more of it. This coming from a mother of a 10 year old girl who is on the spectrum but had several of her teacher's tell me that they, "don't see it." She gets straight As and has never been a disciplinary problem, so of course her teachers and school nurse said she was fine, but I'm sure they know the bare minimum about autism... even though it's more frequent and affects more of children in their schools..? Hmmm? Probably just parents trying to get money though. Probably just that.

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Forgot to mention that sometimes when one child has a disability, especially an ASD, their siblings have a significant possibility of sharing that commonality. But instead of that being considered as an informal screening tool for early awareness, we'd better assume the parents want more money;)

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Specializes in School nursing.

I have seen that if there is one child in a family with a disability, there may be another. I have worked with several families that have more than 1 child on a deserved IEP. However, the increase in IEPs and 504s can be overwhelming to keep up and ensure every student is getting every thing they need. We have integrated classrooms here (which are great), but during a test, that classroom can be split into 4-5 different areas to accommodate all IEP testing needs and requires 4-5 staff for one class period. (And sometimes 4-5 versions of that test). With this growth, visits to my office are on the rise, especially on testing days.

We actually had a specific training about autism this year from our head of student support as we welcomed more students with an autism diagnosis this year (all of them spend at least part of the day in general ed classes). It was great to have as no two autism students are the same. I could speculate forever on the increase, of course.

I am about to order a new batch of stress balls. I may save one for myself :).

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

Just because a student is on an IEP doesn't qualify them for SSI. Please don't discount these students because you think the parents want money.

To get on SSI you must have a medical diagnosis which is different than an educational diagnosis. The child may go through a state funded psych exam.

In addition the parents can only have $2,000 on hand per month, so if the parents work and make more than that then they have to pay the money back.

The most you can get for SSI is $800 a month.

I know I have a son on the spectrum, he got SSI when I was going through nursing school. Once I graduated and started working he lost the benefits, he will regain them once he turns 18.

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Specializes in School Nursing.
Just because a student is on an IEP doesn't qualify them for SSI. Please don't discount these students because you think the parents want money.

To get on SSI you must have a medical diagnosis which is different than an educational diagnosis. The child may go through a state funded psych exam.

In addition the parents can only have $2,000 on hand per month, so if the parents work and make more than that then they have to pay the money back.

The most you can get for SSI is $800 a month.

I know I have a son on the spectrum, he got SSI when I was going through nursing school. Once I graduated and started working he lost the benefits, he will regain them once he turns 18.

I certainly don't think this about all the parents... but sadly it is the case with more than one in my school. Especially when they're not shy about stating flat out, "I'm trying to get him SSI so I need all the documentation I can get"... This particular kid is a little behind and receiving 504 accommodations, but has no other SPED dx. Mom has pushed the school diagnostician for multiple labels that she has yet to give. We have no medical documentation outside of the school either. This child has an older sister who has global disabilities... It's a strange situation.

Back to autism- I'm curious what the criteria is because I see some kids that to me untrained self sure appear to be on the spectrum but have no diagnosis, and others who has been placed on the spectrum where had someone not told me, I really wouldn't have noticed.

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I certainly don't think this about all the parents... but sadly it is the case with more than one in my school. Especially when they're not shy about stating flat out, "I'm trying to get him SSI so I need all the documentation I can get"... This particular kid is a little behind and receiving 504 accommodations, but has no other SPED dx. Mom has pushed the school diagnostician for multiple labels that she has yet to give. We have no medical documentation outside of the school either. This child has an older sister who has global disabilities... It's a strange situation.

Back to autism- I'm curious what the criteria is because I see some kids that to me untrained self sure appear to be on the spectrum but have no diagnosis, and others who has been placed on the spectrum where had someone not told me, I really wouldn't have noticed.

I know recently the Dx of Aspergers is now referred to as just an ASD which I think will make it even harder to spot. The kids (and adults for that matter) with Aspergers 100% have a disability and need special consideration in regards to helping develop social skills. These kids get labeled as, "weird," or, "lame," by their peers even though nothing appears to be wrong. Girls are especially hard to detect and I give a lot of information on it but if you just google it... You'll be slapping your forehead and saying, "oh my gosh! That describes my student/niece/daughter perfectly" These kids go through life knowing something is wrong but not able to communicate it. They use what's called, "scripted," language and basically act out every experience they've seen in movies or read in books.... They get labeled as having anxiety (and they do; because they're never sure if they understand what people are saying) and depression (because no matter what they do it never gets better); these are the children that go on to act out as teens and self-harm or have suicidal ideation. The annoying kid that comes to your office with a myriad of complaints but you think only wants attention? If they have Aspergers they're coming to your office bc they KNOW something is wrong but can't tell you. Look and talk to them. Do they have trouble making eye contact? Can the have an appropriate back and forth convo without it coming off as forced or directionless? My daughter gets this look on her face when you talk to her; for a fraction of a second she's confused; desperately searching her mind for a point of reference. I finally realized there was a problem when, in passing conversation she gave me this information: I sit alone at lunch; the other kids stare at me so sometimes I go up to their table but they tell me to go away. The kids say I have to be in Tina's group because nobody wants me in their group and she doesn't have any friends either. What's sad is she wasn't upset at all; it wouldn't occur to her to be upset. She was just telling me this because she wanted to participate in a conversation. As a school nurse you could be VITAL in alerting parents that there is a problem.

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To school nurses: please please PLEASE read up on autism. Look up Aspergers and maybe even print off some checklists for both boys and girls. You never know, a simple and awkward, "you know, I've noticed that little Johnny meets some of the criteria for an ASD; could you pay extra attention to the social hierarchy and his place in it in your classroom," to a teacher could possibly help a child get noticed. There are so many resources that would benefit these kids... And maybe the parents already know their child is, "different," but they assume their moody/defiant (classic calling card of Aspergers) and not trying hard enough. Until I had a nephew diagnosed with classic autism the amount of info I knew about autism was minuscule; it was pathetic. Learning about ASD is what finally made me be able to identify that my own daughter needs help. She's beautiful, a straight A student; she wears the, "right," clothes and is in extra curricular activities and yet... She has no friends and zero self confidence.

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And keep in mind, not all children on the spectrum are alike. They are individuals first. They may share social and sensory issues, perseverative interests, etc. But it is not a "one size fits all" kind of diagnosis.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

There is so much information out there regarding the signs of autism as KyRN pointed out.

The funny thing is every child on the spectrum is different. What I am noticing this year is my son who is very high functioning gets triggered by other kids on the spectrum.

He tries to follow "social rules" and when other kids in his class on the spectrum do not respond the way he thinks they should he reacts.

As KyRN also said anxiety is high in these kids, there are some really good YouTube videos made by people on the spectrum that demonstrate sensory overload. Highly recommend watching.

So you have a kid 6-10yrs who is sensory overloaded and cannot relate in social settings no wonder they act out. They don't have insight into what's going on.

My son is almost 15 and he is now able to advocate better for himself, tells his teachers he needs a break when he becomes overwhelmed. But as hormones hit anxiety gets worse and outburst get bigger.

Teachers and school nurses are lacking in education when it comes to our kids.

We had multiple meetings this year with his principal and his teachers with the school autism specialist and the amount that teachers actually knew about the disorder was very limited, which is sad considering how many kids are on the spectrum

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