This is Adina Rich’s second guest blog for AutismSpot. Adina is a mother of three and is the Chief Education Officer at Rich Educational Consulting. You can read her first guest post HERE. We welcome your comments below. Also, we welcome your comments and thoughts on Facebook and Twitter.
HOW TO ENSUSRE THE NEEDS OF YOUR CHILD BE MET IN THE SCHOOL SETTING
By Adina Rich
“…People say believe half of what you see,
Son, and none of what you hear.
I can't help bein' confused
If it's true please tell me dear?... Cuz I heard it through the grapevine.”
These are the lines of a popular song from the 60’s sung by the late Marvin Gaye, but could just as easily have been written today about programming for kids with ASD. School districts often have difficulty recognizing what an individual child with ASD needs based upon their observations and parent feedback - not on what they’ve “heard” works with kids with ASD.

This guest post comes from a colleague who is a blast from my past! Adina Rich and I worked together in an Elementary School well over a decade ago, just as I was starting out in education, actually. While we lost touch for quite some time, we crossed paths again recently thanks to our shared interest in helping children with special needs. Adina is now the mother of three and is the Chief Education Officer at Rich Educational Consulting. I think you’re going to enjoy this post about school program options from Adina. And, I encourage you to watch for upcoming guest blog pieces from her as well; she is our newest Guest Blogger! After reading, I encourage you to leave a comment below or reach out to us on Facebook or Twitter with your thoughts. Thank you for helping me welcome Adina!
EXPLORING AUTISM PROGRAMMING OPTIONS FOR YOUR CHILD IN THE SCHOOL SETTING
By Adina Rich
My child is not like yours. There are probably similarities. My child has brown hair, hazel eyes, a wide toothed grin. However, there are probably differences as well. My child wears glasses, SMO leg braces, and was non-verbal until he was 4 ½. He does not always know how to ask to play with other children and does not always get social cues. But he has a wicked sense of humor and a heart so pure he will melt away anyone’s misgivings.

‘Tis the season for parent/teacher conferences…at least in our school district. We spent the morning meeting with the teachers most involved in Ethan’s education this year. More than once today we discussed issues (regarding things we’re working on socially or organizationally) that I didn’t have a good feel for how Ethan’s neurotypical peers respond in the school setting. Two times I was surprised to hear he’s not the only boy in the class struggling with certain issues. While it was a nice and welcome surprise, it made me realize that I’m a little disconnected.

Did you know that October is National Bullying Prevention Month in the US? Sad, really, that as a nation we have such a problem with bullying we have to designate one month a year as “prevention month.” The bottom line is that prevention needs to be occurring every single month, but if one month each year more people are focused on making that happen due to a distinction like this, I’ll take it; after all it gives me an excuse to share some tremendous resources on the topic.
Last spring I shared an interview series about bullying with Dr. Lisa Elliot called “Bullying is a BIG Deal.” Click to read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. Plus, we got such great responses to the series that Dr. Elliott agreed to address the topic of Adults Who Bully after it was brought up in the comments section by one of our readers. Very important because it isn’t always kids bullying kids we need to worry about in this world. Sadly, sometimes the bullies are indeed grownups who should know better.

The new school year has begun and our kids are getting back into the swing of things in their new classrooms. This might mean smooth sailing to some and to others, there may be more challenges to face. As soon as our kids step foot out of the car during carpool, or as soon as they step foot onto that bus or let go of our hand each school day, the worries and concerns tend to build.

As a former teacher, I know first-hand that teaching is exhausting. Before Ethan was born, I taught public school for seven years and often stayed late, took work home with me and still felt like there weren’t enough hours in the day. (And, this was before I was a mother!) So, when Ethan started in PPCD (Public Preschool for Children with Disabilities) almost 5 years ago, I made it a point to help his teachers with as many tasks as they could/would delegate on a weekly basis. With each passing year, my volunteerism at Ethan’s school has fluctuated based on our family (and my work) schedule/responsibilities and on the teachers’ needs for assistance.

Last week marked a milestone for our family. Sam is ten years old and in the fourth grade in public school. The last time Sam went to public school was when he participated in the PPCD Program (Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities). That was many years ago. Since that time we have been fortunate to find loving, nurturing private schools that could meet Sam's unique learning needs. We made the decision that it would be in Sam's best social interest to stay back in the fourth grade as he enters public school rather than move forward into fifth grade.

Ethan, along with countless kids across the state of Texas, went back to school this morning. [Sniff, sniff.] While I was preparing his school supplies and trying to minimize his exposure to toxic chemicals, I got to thinking about hand sanitizers. What’s in them? And, are those ingredients dangerous for our kids?
Thinking along these lines, I sought additional information. I knew that we wanted to avoid Triclosan (which is a chemical in many hand soaps) because it can be very harmful to sensitive systems, but I wasn’t sure if it was a concern in hand sanitizers, or if there was something else I should be concerned about…so I reached out to one of my favorite organizations: Women’s Voices for the Earth.

Many parents come into my office and know that a gluten free diet can help their child but understanding how this affects the body is often unknown. An allergy and sensitivity are different, some people experience distress when eating gluten products and show improvements when these are taken out of the diet. There is a range of reactions one can have from behavior, sleep, appetite, weight loss/gain and bowel movements. The sensitivities get worse with time and are dependent on the sources many times. Not every gluten item will give the same symptom, some more than others.

Just a handful of days stand between the carefree days of summer vacation and the ringing sound of the rigorously scheduled school bells for many of us. As a mom who pays very close attention to every ingredient that our daughter gets exposed to, I am a bit anxious about the big change. When most of us think about preparing our teachers for our special dieters, we expect that we will be sending a list of our children’s food allergies and sensitivities, but what about the school environment beyond the food. Packing my child’s meals is a give-in for me.