Update

It's been awhile since I've posted, so I'll try to update you all about what's been going on. Tom and I had a conversation with the director of pupil personnel (known hereafter as Lori) and the princial at the beginning of the month. It went fine, but we did get the feeling that they steering us in the direction of finding another program for Sam for next year. Of course they make it clear that the decision is totally up to us, but so far I'm not really satisfied with the quality of the information I'm getting in order to make that decision. I 've felt from the beginning of this process that not much information is volunteered to you from the "powers that be". If you can think to ask the questions, they will be answered, but basically you have to pull them out of your head. I'm gaining more knowledge all the time about the right questions to ask, but I feel bad for the people who are just starting this process, or those that don't have the time or inclination to do the research necessary.
So an appointment was set up for us to observe a classroom in a nearby elementary school, not in our district. The classroom had 8 students and 4 adults. The children ranged in age from 6-8 and all appeared to be verbal. The program itself looked fine, some of the questions I had about things that were bothering me were answered to my satisfaction, but basically the same things that bothered me about the situation before I went in still did when I left. My biggest objection is the fact that he has to be sent out of our district. This feels like "banishment" to me, or like a way to pawn a difficult student off on someone else. The program looks as if it would benefit Sam due to its structure and tailoring toward Sam's specific issues, I just wish it could happen in our school.
I've had contact recently with 2 moms whose autism spectrum kids attend school in self-contained classrooms within their districts that are run by the schools themselves, and not an outside entity, like Questar. These 2 districts are of comparable size to ours. I brought this fact up to Lori, who says this idea is something that is re-visited every year, and so far has not happened due to a lack of population. I find it hard to believe that Sam is the only child at CES who would benefit from a self-contained classroom. I'm willing to concede that space constraints may render this change impossible while the school renovation is going on, but I think its something that needs to happen once the new school is finished.
My thoughts now are that I need to get a clearer picture of what the school can offer if we elect to keep Sam there. As Erin from CARD has let me know, pretty much the sky is the limit when it comes to designing an IEP. I just don't know if the interventions they can provide will be effective enough to make a difference in his behavior, and achieve the goal of integrating him back into a classroom situation he can handle. The program at Green Meadow school would definitely provide these kinds of supports, but I worry about the transition to a new school with new kids and new teachers, and then the transition back again. Granted, if he remains at CES, the building next year will be different, the teachers will be different, and he may only know one or two kids in his class (if he's even in one). But, he would still have the same therapists, and the same sort of routine, and contact with the same kids.
Luckily our annual meeting will not be for at least another 3 weeks, so I hope I have time to lay it all out and examine what really would be best for Sam. This is the bottom line, the most important thing of all. I'm not out to prove a point with the school district, I just want them to give it to me straight, so we can decide based on facts, and not something we make up in our heads.

RDI Information

For those of you who wanted to know more about RDI (Relationship Development Intervention), here is a link to their website:
www.rdiconnect.com

Sam has begun a class that is being run using RDI principles. It's a sort of "art therapy" class, run by a certified dance therapist who is going for RDI training right now. I found the facility that is doing this class, the Damselfly Center, by searching the internet while I was looking for something that Sam might be able to do over the summer. I've done a lot of reading on line about various interventions for spectrum children, and up until I found this, none of them seemed "right" to me, or seemed to fit Sam's situation. Something about Theresa Haney and the Damselfly Center seemed to make sense when I thought about what Sam might respond to. He's always loved music, has a strong interest in dancing, and is just beginning to be excited about how he can draw and create things for himself. When I started reading more about RDI and the results that some spectrum children were having, it also sounded like a good fit. Only time will tell for sure, but so far Sam seems to really like the class and enjoys being with the children in the class.
I think one of the great difficulties about dealing with the autism spectrum (and probably, I would imagine, any disability) is weeding through the sheer volume of information out there. Not everything will work or even be suitable for every person. People will of course be passionate and advocate for those interventions that have worked for their loved ones, and its up to us as parents to decide what might be the best course of action for our child. I guess the best we can do is trust our gut and the knowledge we have about our children.
At any rate, I'm hoping that this is good experience for us.