Sweeby, I know this is so hard for you AND for your son. As a special ed teacher, I can throw out a couple ideas that have worked for me with some of my kiddoes. I have had everything from ID (the old MR), LD, ED, PDD, autism... One thing I would ask him if he says that he is not intelligent is what he thinks that means. Introduce him to Howard Gardner's "Seven Intelligences" and he will be able to see which kind of intelligence he has. He needs to know that just because he is not strong on linguistic intelligence or whatever, he may be "people smart" or "art smart" or "music smart" as we explain it to our elementary school kids. There are so many careers that he should be able to find something he loves. His teacher/case manager should already be focusing on vocational goals for/with him Next, I am assuming that he has an IEP, so I would be sure it is addressing not only his academic needs, but also his social, emotional, and transition to work needs. If you don't feel it is doing that, request a meeting. An IEP is a document that can be rewritten at any time if changes are needed. Once a student hits 14, transition planning is a required element of the IEP process. Special education operates under Federal mandates and those are very clear. Some districts do a great job, some...well, not even acceptable. He should be allowed accommodations such as extended time on tests. Our state tests are untimed, but for timed tests, most of my students get extra time-at least time and a half and sometimes more. Check with your state DOE to make sure the school is just not wanting to take the easy way out here. I am not saying they would, but it takes a lot more scheduling time to administer tests to our sped kiddoes since you need extra teachers to administer the tests when not everyone is receiving the same accommodations. For instance, if some get extra time and read-aloud, they need to be in a separate group from those who get only extended time. It is a nightmare for the test coordinator, but it is necessary to ensure that my students receive what has been agreed to on the IEP. Also, the school psychologist and/or counselor may run something like friendship groups during lunch or at other times that can offer specific, direct instruction in a social setting for kids who need help navigating the world of human interactions. Don't be afraid to push back if your son isn't getting what you believe he needs. Every district should have a monitoring and compliance division for parents and students whose concerns are not addressed at the school level. Knowing that he may have to work longer and harder than some others is a good lesson, but it can also be extremely frustrating and discouraging if he realizes his entire life may be one of always having to work longer and harder and never achieving as much. He needs to find his passion and then everyone can work together to see that he can incorporate that into his future in some way.

Once again Bravo! And shame on OMM! Come on, OMM, aren't there some hungry children to feed or some homeless to shelter? Isn't it time to stop wasting so much time and energy over who someone loves? After all, if this really is about God, he is about love. And I don't think he'd be thrilled with your hateful behavior. Besides, this is setting a terrible example for your children. Since it's them you claim to protect, shouldn't you be teaching them that everyone is equal and God loves all his little children? The time to come together is now. This stuff is a foolish diversion. Here is a link that might be useful: Penney's Father's Day ad

My DS was misdiagnosed with verbal apraxia for a while, but we finally found out that he really has sensory integration dysfunction (SID). I remember reading TONS of info on the Web about apraxia - I just did a google search. Good luck to you, with kids who have these types of problems it can get very tiring, but just keep trying for his sake. Email me if you'd like to "talk".

You know -- There are so many stories, and so many different outcomes because our children are all so different. In other words, my son's outcome and progress would tell your NOTHING about yours. I know you want to see into the future -- but I'm sorry -- you just can't. But there are some common threads that we see in varying degrees in different children: - Some children have genetic differences or syndromes that are probably at the root of their autism issues. (Mine probably does, but we haven't found it yet.) For these kids, they can improve, but they will never be 'cured' by anyone's definition. - Other children appear to have been damaged by certain toxic exposures -- possibly vaccinations, heavy metals, PCBs, pesticides, food intolerances, unknown other substances. Some of these kids have made remarkable improvements (or even recoveries) once the underlying problem agent was removed. These kids often have severe digestive or skin issues that can provide valuable medical clues. - Other kids seem to have been influenced by their early surroundings - Eastern Orphanages and such. They can also make big gains, but generally still have traces of 'stand-offishness' and interpersonal difficulties well into adulthood. To me, these are the saddest cases, because it just didn't have to happen. - Many others just seem to have been born that way, and we never have any idea why. I think that may be the hardest group because the parental guilt just has no escape valve. - Most autistic kids have speech and language impairments of some sort. Some will repeat long scripts verbatim. Many repeat key phrases over and over. Some develop huge vocabularies ('little professor syndrome') and others never get more than a few words. I'd say most high-functioning kids have 'functional but odd' speech by the time they're 8 or 9, and continue to sound different somehow throughout their lives. For many, the main difference is in prosody, the musical rythem of speech. - Statistics say that about 75% autistic children have IQs in the mentally retarded range, but I personally, don't believe that's true. I do believe they TEST in the MR range because the test protocols are so far out of sync with the way their minds work. But I've seen such a lively intelligence in many of these kids. And I've seen too many kids who tested in a MR range at age 4, but in an 'average' or even 'superior' range by age 10. (My own son doesn't test as MR, but I'm pretty sure he has a significant cognitive impairment.) - Most autistic kids do not have many other 'typical' children for friends past age 7 or 8 or so. It's sad, but true. Our kids are just too different and 'don't play well with others' because social interractions are just too complex to teach. But my son has many adult friends, and I'm hoping that when he's an adult, he will still have adult friends. He's also friends with other 'special' kids. But even those friendships are a lot of work relative to the rewards he gets. - In school, most autistic kids are in special ed. Some for academic reasons, some for emotional and social. Mine is and clearly has to be. He works one on one with the special ed teacher for reading, writing and math and is mainstreamed for the rest. We put him in private special school for age 3 to grade 4, then enrolled him in public school, repeating grade 4. The good news is that our son is extremely social, very affectionate, and about as happy as any child you've ever seen. He knows that 'technically' he's different, but also that 'Everybody's Different!' and that he is wonderful and very much loved. Try not to worry too much -- Just keep watching and 'therapizing' and loving your son. If he IS on the autism spectrum, it will be revealed to you as it becomes evident in his behavior. If he isn't, the therapy will only help him. He will continue to grow and develop and improve, and the best you can do is provide him the therapy and loving support to help him develop to his own best potential, whatever that turns out to be.