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First of all Im not sure what a IEP is so if someone could tell me I will go further into it.
Sara is on meds 50mg of zoloft daily, but she still has anxiety not as bad though. When it comes to bullys she can pretty much hold her own. She has 3 brothers and she deals with others the same which is not really a good thing cause she wont hesitate in punching or kicking them. If she dont know you she sure not going to talk to you. If she needs to ask a question she is not going to get up out of her seat cause she says everyone looks at you. In her EH class there is never over 8 kids at one time. I would home school her again but the therapist and Psyc say she needs to go to school for social skills but I have yet seen anyone teach or help in that area. As Goku mentioned in her response.
Sara loves to sing and has a BEAUTIFUL voice. But she cant explain the emotions of a song to you. She can get up in front of a crowed and it does not bother her. Now when she is finished she comes off stage like no one is around head hung and no emotion. We go kareoke at least 1-2 sometimes 3 times a week. When people come tell her what a wonderful job she did she will say Thank you with no eye contact or conversation. Maybe a yes or no but that is it.
As fro school they are wanting to put her into a class room by her self with a visual tech which she will watch her teachers teach in the reg. classroom. I dont agree with this for the mear reason how is that helping her socially??? Her Pediatrician said no also that they insisted on her to go back to school to gain social skills not be put in a room to feel like she is Quorantined. This was going to be done cause she is in more advanced courses then all the other EH kids and the teacher is not certified to do her classes. IMAGINE THAT!! !!
I just go with the flow right now some things I agree with and sometimes I have to let my feelings be known.
How do you come up with the coping skills? As corsarzs was saying she does. Has your child ever had a full fledged anxiety attack? Sara has and when she comes down she is exahausted she will sleep 6-8 hours after one. Every bone and muscle hurts and is soar.
What about drivers ed is anyone dealing with that?
Thanks to all, Ordene ( I wasnt sure how to post on the same subject it kept tell me the user name was already used)

Zoloft was still experimental only 3 years ago here in Australia.

Zoloft seems to be the new wonder drug, I have heard it being used for post Knee Surgery, through to Schizophrenia.

1-Weight gain seems to be impossible to curb.
2-When I was on it for 4weeks, I told the doctors about some of the things that it was doing -> they just looked at me bemused.

It seems to be a real good all rounder this drug. ,, but if it works then hey it works (when she starts to get too normal/active take her off it, 20mg first though)

"But she cant explain the emotions of a song to you." -> how old is she? 45? -> I bet you if I gave you a song you wouldn't understand the emotions....Music is art, and even Mary Had a little lamb is open to interpretation... why should your child only interprete what you see?

Anxiety atacks are good , next time in the same situation they will be weaker... but the next time there is one, instead of automatically letting her go to bed,,, my parents made me stay awake to let me think things over....

They say never go to bed angry or you'll kill someone in your dreams. ...this is good advice for everyone.

I know a family where the the parents' automatic solution to all problems was a snooze -> dumbest bunch of kids in the world.. but they seem semi stable. (thankfully they went to scouts, so they're defacto parents were other parents and elders).

IEP=Individualized Education Plan (Special Ed designation with legal ramifications)

Sara's anxiety sounds pretty debilitating to me. I'm not sure she would get much out of school in that state of mind and it could further isolate her socially. I would put my foot down and push for homebound until you get the anxiety under control. She's 15 - what does she have to say about it?

The thing with schools is that if you don't have any documentation (private evaluations) to suppport your requests for special accomodations, they write you off as hysterical or demanding. With that piece of paper, the school can go to the higher ups (money men) and say look - this respected clinician says this kid needs x,y&z. How can we deny services. Everybody's off the hook.

Your ped isn't a specialist in AS. I would find an expert in the field, get a good evaluation with suggestions for placement needs and go back to the school and see what they offer. It will be the best money you ever spent. I never had to fight for a thing.

Ordene, An IEP is an Individualized Education Plan. It addesses areas in which the student needs to improve. In my son's case it focuses on his social skills and self control issues. He uses a card system during each class period. First card is a reminder to use self control, second card is a warning, third card is removal from the class setting to Calm Down and Control himself. He does not get "Time outs" which he interprets as time to do what he wants. The Calm Down and Control compels him to consider his behavior and determine what he should have done to remain in the clasroom with the other children. At the start of this system he had multiple removals daily, by the end of the year he was down to 3-5 per week. So far this year no removals and very few reminders. His Psycholigist says his social skills have probably reached their highest level and now he must learn to make educated decisions about appropriate and inappropriate responces. He literally has to be taught what NTs take for granted.

If Sarah's classes are advanced beyond her age peers you might want to push for IQ testing and then fight to have her included in classes with those student who share her academic abilities. We did this with Zachary and he scored off the age appropriate charts and we were told his IQ was actually higher than the official score. He is in the gifted and talented program and has made friend with students whom in his words he "can have an intellectual discussion with".

Yes, Zachary has had a couple of anxiety attacks and has been totally drained as a result. Helping him be prepared for known changes in routine and what to expect from them has helped keep them to a minimum, plus he has a very strong desire to achieve and has learned to be confident of himself.

Keep posting, I am interested in Sara's and your progress.

Excellent comments Goku, Zachary's "respected" professionals are his psychiatrist, psychologist and neorologist. With that armament school officials are really perking up. The sad thing is how many children are being deprived of the help they need?

Corsarzs - it's amazing what a little heavy artillery can do!

When I was a teacher's aide in a reg elem ed classroom, I ended up spending more time on the kids who were not identified than the one's who were. The identified kids were greatly helped by the interventions early on and as they progressed through the grades, started catching up. The one's who had no help, kept slipping further. It says alot about early intervention.

Sometimes the school's hands are tied, though. They are able to recommend evaluations for at risk kids but they need parental permission. They don't always get it and the poor kid pays the price. It's really sad.

Gosh Im so excited that everyone can relate to what I am talking about!! !
If you really want to know, Im not sure they know what to do with her. I did ask about the IEP and her first responce was please dont sue us!! ! I guess by state law this was to be worked up before she ever hit the class room. Well it wasnt and they have started it so I guess I will get a copy when its done. I guess they find her difficult cause they have never delt with one that is so high in acedimics. the kids they deal with are more LD students.
She hates the hall ways and cafeteria oh and refuses PE. Normal classes have 25-33 kids per class and she cant deal with that either. She dont unerstand why people want to talk to her. Boys that think she is good looking are a problem to she thinks they should mind their own bussiness.
As for what she thinks about it that Guka asked. She says she wishes everyone would leave her alone and let her get her education at the kitchen table with her homebound teacher. The homebound teacher is still going to the class room with her, Sara wont let go of her she wants her there. They keep trying to phase her out but Sara refuses to work with out her. Sara says she is perfectly happy and does not need to go to school, its just a building!! !! ! Sme days she walks in with no problem at all then others its a chore to get her there.
Ive got to go get her so I will close for now, More later a BIG THANK YOU!! !