Teens on the spectrum

Hello fellow teachers :)

One of my cases is a teenager on home instruction. He is currently not attending school (although he misses it terribly )

2 questions - what can I ask of the district in order to work on the social component ? do they work in school visits or possibly attending social skills groups /sports / vocational / elsewhere ? (IEP has social goals, but he's currently not involved in any peer activities.

Has anyone done social stories for this age group. He is fixated on "I need to go to high school, no more homeschool"
He's not behavioral at all. Very smart kid. Well aware that he's a teenager, he did attend high school for 3 months,. was then placed in a different program. and has since (18months) refused to attend that other program. insists on high school only.

I may delete some of this later for privacy. I hope it's not too much info.

Thanks for any feedback.

Re: Teens on the spectrum

If he was doing ok academically and not a behavioral problem there should have been no reason for him to be taken out of regular HS. Legally, he must be taught in the "least restrictive environment". Which basically means as close to "normal" as health, safety, and academics allow.
LRE

So basically unless the school had good reason to move him to the other school they have to let him attend the regular HS and the activities that go along with that, of course, with appropriate supports that they must provide.

If typical HS doesn't happen right away or there is a good reason it is not going to work maybe look into community programs for him to participate in such as activities offered by the library or other community organizations.

Not sure of the rules, but could he be entitled to participate in the extra curricular activities at the school even though he is homeschooled?

Re: Teens on the spectrum

If I am understanding this... he was placed in special ed schools and refuses to go to any unless it is his district high school. Which may not have an appropriate program for him. There are BOCES schools that function and look much like a regular high school. Have they explored them?


Also, even kids that are sent to out of district schools can participate in district ex-curricular activities. They can't be excluded.

There are social groups for teens on the spectrum. I think JCC in Manhasset has some.

There are bowling leagues. And Anchor has weekend programs. Look into these and see if they help.

And yes social stories help but, what are you doing them on? Going to a special ed school? Or going to a social skills program?

ETA: Sorry it was the JCC in Roslyn. Here is the link link to jcc They have a lot for teens with special needs

Also check this out
link to variety teen social skills program
The district might help fund something like this since they are unable to give him social skills training at home.

Message edited 10/12/2013 8:08:06 AM.