I live OOS currently and I work in an elementary school in the Exceptional Student Services department. I will be working this year with a 1st grade student who has Aspergers. I worked one on one last year with a student with Moderate Autism in Kindergarten, and I will continue to be his full time para, but seeing as how short staffed we are and how high our enrollment is, the director has decided that I can handle BOTH of these boys on my own and i'm concerned.

They both have IEP's that state 360 mins of Para support daily, plus all of their services (OT, PT, SW, Speech). The child with Aspergers is new to our district so I don't know anything about him other than what I have seen on paper. He seems to be high functioning and extremely intelligent. Behavior seems to be the biggest issue. Most reports say he is threatening to others, gets agitated easily, lashes out when upset, etc. I'm looking for any info as to what has worked for you all as far as reinforcements, discipline, and anything else you can offer.

The school has never had a child with Aspergers in attendance, so no one there is of much help. I really don't see how I am going to be able to handle this new child along side my other child who also has his fair share of behavior issues. I spent a good part of our days last school year taking walks, in time out, 'teaching' him one on one because he couldn't be in the classroom because it was just too much for him.

I'm just concerned. I feel that if i'm not at least somewhat prepared, that the first day of school is going to be a nightmare. Thanks for any help. I love my job and I love working with the kiddos that I work with, but I feel like reading articles and books isn't going to give me the REAL info I need. I want to know from people who have dealt with a child with Aspergers.

His parents are NO help because when I did meet with them (prior to seeing his IEP, psych evals, etc) they said 'He is super intelligent, genius level and a sweet kid. Just don't get on his bad side.' I asked them to elabaorate and they just said 'He can be a little defiant'. There is a fairly large gap between being defiant and being a threat to others. That angered me. I can't help their child be successful if they aren't honest about what his behavior patterns really are. Ugh. Chat Icon There are so many wonderful and proactive parents, and the ones like this make me insane. Hoping you guys can help. TIA!