Jr. High

Jr. High is scary for any kid, but especially for someone with Autism. It's not only frightening for the child, but the parent as well. So many things are going to change. All the child behaviors and play time will no longer be a part of the daily life. More expectation, more rules, more, more, more.

The first question I had was; "Is my child going to have one classroom or several?"
Answer: One classroom, with time one elective that depends on the IEP and specified time in regular ed.

Savannah did get to choose her own elective, which was great. She has one classroom and much to her joy, she got a locker. lol

There were things I noted right away that were different. For example;

When she was in grade school, her stimulatory behavior of always having a doll with her was acceptable. In Jr. High this was not. It did not matter to them that this was part her stim behavior, she carries it to stores as well. So be sure to put any stim behaviors in her IEP so the school will not be able to argue.

Also, the children are expected to be more independent. Which is great if your child can be. I noticed that the children walk out alone to the bus or to their parent. The teacher was of course in view of them and kept a steady pace of about 50 feet behind them. But at grade school, the teachers walked the children to the bus. Note this may be different depending on the school. I am simply reporting what it is like at my daughters school.

Many budget cuts lead to many problems with the transportation here in Nevada. So that was a little bit of a hassle and meant my daughter being taken to school by me an hour late every day. After two weeks the transportation was worked out and all is settled in now.

Yes she has P.E. and does have to dress out. She does have a separate locker for this and the school had left over uniforms for her and the other special needs children.

All in all, the only thing that is different in her Jr. High from the regular ed students, is the transferring from several classrooms a day. Everything else is expected of them with of course special limitations and changes to accommodate their handicap.