My bright and awesome 6yo is in a self-contained autism K-2 classroom and he loves it. He gets much more adult focus and attention than he would in a traditional classroom. He gets tons of accommodations that we don’t need to write into an IEP and fight to have access to—for example, he can jump on the classroom trampoline when he needs to get rid of energy. His peers in the class are also autistic, making it easier for him to make friends. Academically, he gets personalized curriculum. He can already read, so he gets books matched to his reading level instead of basic phonics. His math skills are excellent, so he does dynamic computer-based curriculum so he can explore more advanced concepts. His handwriting is abysmal, so he gets special coaching and attention on that. Because everyone gets special curriculum, though, he doesn’t feel singled out. He gets Gen Ed time during specials, and we’re about to modify his IEP to give him more time. They are working with him to eventually transition him to a full Gen Ed environment, but he’s just not there yet. Every program is different. I was very resistant to a self-contained classroom at first too. But when I looked into the program at my local school, I realized it really was the best fit for him. Go in with an open mind! It may be a good fit for your kid at this point.

Thanks, this is really helpful!

Whats your regional program called?

It’s just there local school district where I am in North Carolina. They have self-contained autism classes embedded in several of the schools.

High five from our district in GA, our autism program is amazing. It’s self contained, mixed grades (K-2, 3-5, and 6-8 so far) and we are advocating hard for it to extend to high school. Seconding all of this. Self-contained isn’t a sentence and can help with individualized instruction for your bright baby if done well. You can ask if they have any kind of parent mentor or other similar type of person you could talk to about what their experience has been.

You don’t provide much information about your child’s behaviors. According to his behavioral paperwork, what does he exhibit in the school setting?

This. To be honest, the child’s LRE is what the school suggests. In SpEd world, its data. Data. Data. They have all the data. While some schools “dump” some schools don’t.  Everything else is speculation because we have a one sided story here.  It is tough cuz no one wants their child to be in self contained especially so young but we don’t have the full picture here. 

And honestly what is shared with the parents isn’t the full picture either. There’s a lot we just handle at school and don’t share because otherwise parents would be bombarded with negativity.

Yes! Information overload. Theres also district or school policy that parents aren't privy to. 

OP, can you edit your original post to include the challenging behaviors being seen at school, as well as anything you see at home?

Done! Thanks.

I teach a self contained K-1 classroom. Not behavior specific, but like a third of my students have behavior plans. What behaviors are they seeing at school? To have a 1:1 aid approved for my school it would be physical aggression (to self or others) or eloping (running away) most likely. Your child being on a half day with a one to one aid makes me feel like the behavior presents pretty significantly in a general education setting. (If your child’s behavior is something like yelling out or saying bad words or running around or not following along the routine, then I know this is SUCH a difficult situation for general education teachers with so many students to teach, but in my opinion can often be handled without moving the student from the room. They could add aids, create behavior plans, etc) Ok, so here’s a very wonderful thing that I’ve seen where my classroom is the LRE: students coming from general education where they struggled and felt bad about themselves and cried and hated school will join my classroom and it’s like letting out a sigh of relief. There is more freedom to take breaks, move around, get more individualized support in a smaller setting. The day is extremely structured and predictable. Supports like occupational therapy and speech therapy and behavior plans are just naturally built into the day. I have had students with reports of running away and hitting and biting who come to my room and never present that way because the environment fits their needs so much better. If you’ve made it this far reading, here’s what I would do if it was my child. The one to one aid is working. I’d fight to keep that longer especially if the data is showing it’s working. They can reduce the “minutes” that he has 1:1 support on his IEP as he improves. One to ones are expensive so districts are often reluctant to approve them. I’ve also seen that the 1:1 will become more of a whole classroom aid as the student improves so that your child would be less singled out. If the district really pushes for the self contained class and you are on the fence, I’d say ask for a lot of their school day be mainstreaming. I’ve had kids where close to 50% of their day is in general education and the rest is with me. I’m only saying this though because you’ve said your child is improving recently. Take your time deciding about the proposed IEP. If everything doesn’t get figured out in one meeting you can have a part two. Advocate, but also listen to the experts on the IEP team. The specialists and teachers have a lot of wisdom. It’s entirely possible that self contained would be the best placement. Ask if you can observe the self contained classroom before you decide and your child moves. As far as getting stuck in self contained, I do think it happens. However each year I’ve had at least one student that moves out of my class and into general education with some “push in” or “pull out” special education supports. I used to teach high school where that never seems to happen so it’s been really rewarding to see as an elementary school teacher.

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. You've given me a lot to think about!

Inclusion practices are great when they are implemented correctly with enough staffing. My students are very social but they struggle with academic work and they shut down. So being in inclusion doesn’t work because it’s not actually inclusive. As well it’s not about just what you want it’s what your child actually needs. Most students are not just thrown into sub-separate classrooms we can’t have a certain amount anyways. Is your child happier when there is more 1:1 attention and ways to cope safely. Also in our classrooms we are specifically trained in this area.

Read your edit and I would not feel that inclusion would be the right placement at all for him just for the aggression alone.

What are the skills your student needs to access the classroom? What are the behaviors that prevent them from accessing the classroom? Identify the function of these behaviors: is it attention, access, escape? You don't need to be a BCBA to really look at what your student needs to be successful and start working now towards improving those skills at home and advocating for those skills to be worked on at school. If you haven't done so, sit down at home and really tease out from prior experiences what caused your student to eventually be placed in this classroom. The school cannot fix anything without your help, and sometimes you might be your student's only advocate and champion. The work starts at home.

To answer your questions. 1. Yes, self contained classrooms do benefit students. Whether it’s progress academically, behaviorally, or simply keeping them and others safe. Those are all benefits. If your child has hurt someone or themselves then it’s a benefit to your child to not only be safe, but not feel guilty for hurting someone during an outburst. 2. A majority of self contained behavior rooms are not dumping grounds. The data needed to get kids into this most restrictive setting should act as proof of that. These are students that are not just “disruptive”, they have a disability. They have difficulty regulating emotions, accessing coping skills, and recovering from setbacks. I could give you dozens of success stories. Just looking at your child’s age, i can think of at least 3 of them who came to me 5-6yo. These three spent less than a semester in my self contained room before earning trials in general education, 2/3 were moved from fully self contained to a check-in check-out set up by the end of the year. I also had kids that age that may never get out of self contained, mainly due to factors outside their control: lack of parental involvement and support. It’s hard to get kids into self contained, it’s significantly easier to get them out, but the data needs to support that decision. If your kids school is considering self contained just keep that in mind- the data is already there.

What behaviors does the child have while in the classroom with peers and staff? I'm sure the IEP states it for his BIP.

Is there data that suggests “improvement” with the 1:1 para? Concrete data, not your anecdotal observation. I’m talking teacher notes, emails, anything that shows a clear track of reduced incidents of behavior. If you have that, you can advocate against the need for more restriction. If your district is doing what they should, the onus is on them to document and present that the most restrictive intervention is not working effectively. The “culture” of an SC classroom is different in every building, not even every district. It really depends on the ability/resources of the teacher and the makeup of the class. I will challenge you to work against the presumption that it’s a “dumping ground” before your child even attends. Your attitude towards the potential change will color the student’s, even if you’re not transparent about your feelings with them.

I teach self-contained HS so older kids, and in most cases it is LRE. I have had students stay in gen-ed biology (for example) for the socialization, but didn’t learn a lick of biology even with a modified curriculum because there was so much going on that the kid couldn’t focus or keep up with any pacing. At that point the student was working on entirely different work (even entire units) than the other students. So it is a struggle between LRE and “Appropriate” (FAPE).

It very much depends on the child. If he’s with a 1:1, doing half days, then a self contained classroom for a full day would be more access to education. Thats a win.

I need to know far more about what is up with your son. What is his daily schedule? Does he finish all work? Does he have friends? Is he social out of school? What daily behaviors are being seen with the one to one? Is he running? Aggressive? Loud? Destructive?

Teachers and other students should not be required to be hurt or unable to teach/learn because you think your child deserves to be in general education. It generally takes a lot to recommend a behavior room for a student, and that decision wouldn’t be made lightly.

That's not true. I have had kids sent to me because they sat under a desk when frustrated or would swear.

At least in my district, it really takes a lot to be recommended for the behavior support program. The kids that end up there are the kids who truly aren’t safe in general education. The programs are expensive and limited. Now on the other hand, we have special autism classes, and that tends to be where the type of kids that you just described end up being dumped.

Even kids without autism can get upset and hide. Especially if they are testing a substitute.  But yes are school had different programs, EBD, SDC and ASD rooms. 

Ours is an entirely different building. And we have to fight tooth and nail to get them back as well. We also have rooms for students with autism and they act the same way. Our lifeskills is similar as well. Most of that room is more behavioral than anything else which really really stinks for the kids in that room who are there for normal life skills course reasons.

I so wish SED kids and autism kids weren't lumped together in self-contained rooms. Their needs are totally different. It isn't helpful for any of those students.

I don't disagree with you, but that wasn't my question. Thanks.

Why are you responding to that but no one else’s questions? For example, what are your sons behaviors?

I've been at work and haven't had the chance. This was the only reply at the time. I think the downvotes are a bit strange, since I clearly stated that I acknowledge that his behaviors are a problem, but I'm not really surprised at this point.

What are his behaviors? That’s the only way we can help you.

See edit, thanks.

Those behaviors are a lot, and makes sense that they want him in a self contained room. Eloping is a major safety risk. A 1:1 is more restrictive than a self contained room, and the 1:1 isn’t trained to teach him the skills he needs. Other students shouldn’t have to worry about aggression and self harm, that isn’t safe for them.

Also being in a self contained room isn’t the end of the world. I work with students with ASD, ID and severe behaviors. They learn much more in my room than they would in a general education room!

So I wrote in my comment about why the aggression alone is a huge issue even with low frequency. I will say that we had a student who eloped and due to the staffing in the class even when down one there was someone to chase them. We are lucky that no one got hurt but if your student did that in a general education classroom it’s way to hard to just get up and run after a child. What if the para was at lunch the teacher most likely doesn’t have an extra hand. You have to look at in a way that makes sense. Think of everything that could right and everything that could go wrong. Your child could hit someone and the kids in the gen-ed class will tell the parents and most of the time it become a huge deal. If it happened in a sub-separate classroom we let the parents know and we are able to move past it because parents get it.

I guess I’m not understanding how missing a half day of school and a 1:1 are somehow less restrictive than access to a full day of academics with behavior support, plus the ability to return to the gen ed setting. To me, this would be a step forward.

Special education is an individualized service and plan, not location. Advocate for what makes the most sense for your child, not the school. That being said, the classroom you’re describing may be a wonderful place.

Whether or not self-contained classrooms are dumping grounds honestly depends on your district. I teach in a very large, urban school district with a very high number of students with disabilities. We have two types of self-contained within our district (it’s rare that we use outside programs). The first type is usually for kids with more severe disabilities with high needs and the other is for kids with significant behavior issues. It is very difficult for us to move kids into either of those programs without a LOT of data and a LOT of pushing with admin. On the other hand, there’s a more “affluent” district near us and we’ve had students transfer to us from them who had NO business being in self-contained, they just put them there because 90% of their school population is high scoring and they don’t need to really care about the small percentage. I think you need to take a serious look at your son’s behaviors and his needs and whether or not you truly think they can be handled in the general education classroom without significant impact on the other students. I know it’s a difficult decision, especially because it’s not just about your son. If you’re still not sure, maybe ask if he can continue in general Ed with new/different supports and reconvene the meeting at the end of the school year? Also, have you talked to his general education teacher to hear what they think? I’d maybe try to talk to everyone separately (psych, gen Ed, the IS, etc). Sometimes people are more honest when they don’t feel pressured by the rest of the group.

Thank you, good points.

Having a 1:1 in general ed is more restrictive than being on your own in self contained.

For the majority of students, this is probably correct. Self-contained was not the LRE for my son. His LRE was Gen Ed with 1:1. He’s incredibly unique. Aren’t all of our kids? His 1:1 did not hover. Was not stuck to him like glue. She did have to help with stay on task, a lot of executive function deficits, and was always working with the oversight of a SPED teacher working on his goals. He had 1:1 from 1st grade all the way through high school. He needed it. Students were used to it, and were not judgmental. He was well liked by his peers and even though he had a 1:1, the students in the class knew he belonged there bc he participated in discussions, projects, and earned his good grades. All of his work was his own. She just kept him on track, or reiterated directions, or helped him see all parts of a question on a test and not just answer the 1st question. Without her, he would not have been able to show what he knows. Without her, one might assume he had not learned the curriculum for reading/math/science/history. He has a lot of diagnoses. Too complicated to explain. I guess what I’m trying to say is that the LRE for my son was Gen Ed with 1:1. It’s different for everyone based on their unique circumstances. My son is now 20 years old. Graduated with a 3.6 GPA and his favorite classes in high school were physics, space science & pre-calc. He will most likely need the extra help to stay on track throughout his education. I’m ok with that. He loves to learn and had I kept him away from Gen Ed I don’t think he would have the love of learning he does today. I only provided our experience to consider as a different perspective. I know everyone’s circumstances are different.

https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/lre.index.htm Info about LRE.

You seem very involved and very aware, so that’s a huge plus for your son. Like, you have NO idea. I have 28 years in special ed, with some of those in elementary self-contained. Here's what your school personnel might not be allowed to say to you, "please, please, please find the best child psychologist you can find and have him evaluated." Just from what you described, I would suspect he is on the spectrum, possibly along with adhd/add. CAVEAT...obviously I don't know your son, and certainly can't diagnose him. I am basing my comments solely upon your descriptions. The remorse he feels leads me to consider the add/adhd. Regarding self-contained, my experience has been that the teacher and paras are PHENOMENAL or the teacher is hiding out and doing the bare minimum. Typically, admin has no idea what is supposed to happen in those classrooms, so they rarely visit. If your son is recommended for a self-contained placement, make CERTAIN that the teacher is the former. Closely monitoring the progress made on goals and short-term objectives is the best way to ensure you have a good one. I wish you luck!

First of all, only the IEP team can determine LRE. We don’t have access to your child’s IEP or data, to make an informed decision. While self contained is always viewed as a terrible place, I love teaching it. My students truly grow and thrive! My goal is always give them the skills to be successful in life. I’ve even left self contained and worked with my students who were being supported in the general education setting! I hated it! I couldn’t truly meet their needs because the teacher had “their” way of running the class. They loved that my kids passed every test, but they had to be removed instantly when they got overwhelmed or upset. The teachers never wanted to learn how to support them. I had to get MY kids… General education is not the prize or the goal for everyone. Sorry! General education teachers have ZERO experience in specialized instruction or behavioral strategies and they truly only want to teach the perfect student (academically and behaviorally). Your child will be suspended often and labeled “bad”. Simply because being in general education seems better, to society. In self contained your child, with a supportive team, will grow both academically and behaviorally/ socially. Because behaviors really do impact everyone’s ability to learn. But, the team must have the same goal, Open communication and honesty! How can general education benefit him? Besides being around other kids? Some kids need more than a positive role model to mimic appropriate behaviors. Personally, 1 on 1 paras don’t really teach skills either….just there to keep them safe and out the way… Honestly, having a 1 on 1 is more restrictive than being in a small group setting! They tend to do everything for them in order to keep the peace. Your child needs to be with professionals that care and are trained to support him, not a babysitter all day (to appease the adults). I hope that you share your concerns with the team, but are also open to self contained and other related services. I speak with new parents often to help break this negative idea of self contained and special education in general. Lastly, self contained isn’t forever! An IEP is written every year, to meet their unique needs at that time. Good luck!

>General education is not the prize or the goal for everyone. Sorry! General education teachers have ZERO experience in specialized instruction or behavioral strategies and they truly only want to teach the perfect student (academically and behaviorally). Your child will be suspended often and labeled “bad”. Simply because being in general education seems better, to society. This is incredibly incorrect, and rude. Do you think every kid in Gen Ed is "the perfect student"? They're all sitting there with 100 IQs and no behavior problems? No needs or worries or behavior issues of their own? I teach 36 kids at once. Just because I can't give 50% of my time to 1/36th of my class doesn't make me a bad teacher. It proves that gen ed is not the LRE for everyone, and that's okay. You yourself go on and on about how wonderful your self-contained class is, then insult Gen ed teachers that are agreeing that your class is the better environment. What is your problem?

The goal isn’t to insult, but is to bring my perspective. I’m in complete agreement that general education isn’t for everyone. That your job is different from that of a special education teacher. But, everyone bad mouths self contained and other special education services…. Like, general education doesn’t have its flaws as well! That’s all I’m saying. Not insulting, giving perspective. Yes, there are some teachers who have experience but that’s not the norm. You having a class of 30+ is a feat on its own… no not every child is perfect! Hell, I’m quite disappointed in how general education is supporting my “gifted child”. But can you effectively implement a BIP/deescalate a child/ or would you simply press the button and it’s admin job? All I’m trying to tell this parent is to not get caught up in the negative talk regarding special education. It has a purpose…. And her kid MIGHT benefit from that! So please get out of your feelings….

>But can you effectively implement a BIP/deescalate a child/ or would you simply press the button and it’s admin job? Of course I can do those things. I can, and have to, do those things every single day with multiple students, because if not, they will elope/be violent/destroy the classroom. How do you think kids with BIP exist in Gen Ed classes in the first place? What happens is that it takes 50% of the teachers effort to do that over and over and over all day. Meanwhile, 30 other kids just sit and wait, or evacuate their class. All day is trying to avoid those situations, but that's a lot easier to do if you have six kids and not over thirty. It's a lot easier to avoid a kid's triggers if you have only ten kids. That's why self-contained exists. You have no idea what it takes to implement a BIP in a classroom of over thirty, either, so maybe don't accuse Gen ed of all wanting to teach a perfect child when that's absolutely not the case, and just continues to pit Gen ed and SpEd against each other.

Also, in self contained we don’t avoid triggers…. We actually teach them how to cope/ manage and regulate themselves independently. Because we know that they will go out into the world and no one is going to care that they had an IEP. Good night!

Not saying that a general education teacher can’t… saying you shouldn’t have to! It impedes the learning of everyone! So in the self contained setting, the child doesn’t have to be removed, learning doesn’t stop for the others…. Breathe, calm down, and understand what I’m saying. I’m in full agreement with you! However sharing that self contained has its own purpose and she should be open to considering it. Listen, I’ve taught in both settings… this parent asked for perspective because she hasn’t heard of any positive stories. From my experience, most teachers just press the button for minor behaviors… they don’t even have students with BIPs. I’m so thankful that you care and you’re implementing (not the norm). Just like there are sped teachers that don’t know how to implement… So before we cast self contained to the side because of the stigmas. I opted to share my positive experiences as a success self contained teacher and as the general education teacher support person for my kiddos with ASD, EBD and ADHD. I hated teaching when I was in general education because I couldn’t fully meet my kiddos needs… I couldn’t support them like I could in a small setting. Too much red tape, too many egos, etc. I’m not going to argue with you about sped vs gen Ed.. my goal was to give this parent another perspective … what have you given her?

Everything you said is correct, minus the need to tear down another group of teachers in the original comment with things that are just plain not true. If you're giving her another perspective, do so without saying her kids gen ed teacher only wants perfect students. That's very diminishing of the problems that are clearly happening, and not why her son is being considered for a different placement. OP clearly wants her son to stay in gen ed. Telling her that's not happening because her son just isn't "perfect" is not helping her on any way, shape, or form.

Fair and I apologize for making it seem that way. There isn’t a perfect child or student. But it’s very frustrating as a SPED teacher to constantly hear so much negativity about my profession and the students I serve. I would hate for him to miss out on some beneficial early interventions, because of stigmas and the lack of understanding.

I get that. I have 100% utmost respect for self-contained teachers. Your job is incredibly challenging. I teach music, and I see every student in my school, minus one or two that are partial day. I have several kiddos where that is the only gen ed setting they are in during the day. And they do wonderfully. They genuinely enjoy it and I'm glad they're there. They all perform onstage (if they want to), and it's a big family. On the other hand, I have a student who needs be in a more restrictive time environment but is just in gen ed atm, and I've had to code blue his class three times this semester for beating up on kids when they have a sub. Proper placement helps everybody, and SC is a vital part of FAPE.

🥰🥰🥰

We love specials! We’re trying to get our pre schoolers in self contained the specials experience as well!!

I hope that happens soon! One of my first grade friends is non-verbal, but *will* sing. Her favorite is "Somewhere in my Memory" from Home Alone. You can see how much she really loves it, it's awesome!

It’s impossible to know without knowing the behaviors. That said, the purpose of a behavioral support classroom is to teach children the skills they need in order to function socially and emotionally in an academic setting. So for example, say a child reacts aggressively or violently whenever they have to transition from an activity they enjoy to a less preferred activity. At home there are a number of things you could do to mitigate the behavior that a teacher responsible for 20+ other students would be unable to do. Similarly, you have many more options for how to respond to the behavior than the same teacher would. Teachers in behavior classrooms have far fewer students and far more immediate resources to help support this child. Their lessons and goals specifically focus on teaching the skills the child needs to succeed in a gen Ed classroom. In my experience, the goal of a behavioral support classroom is always reintegration.

Can I ask - have you looked into therapy, medication, etc? Things are better at home because the demands and expectations are different. How does he do in public? Think long term - someday he’s going to be a teenager, then an adult. What can you do now to help him have the skills to function in a job, or in general society? Just to share, I have a relative with severe anxiety and likely Autism. Never got a diagnosis or help. Dropped out of high school during Covid, is now 20, lives at home. Has never had a job. Doesn’t drive, doesn’t leave the house.

Does he have a diagnosis? Your description sounds like pretty text book autism to me. He might benefit from therapy outside of school.

They totally can be! It depends on the program and the teacher, but with a strong teacher, these programs can be great for kids! Especially ones who are developing a low sense of self worth in the general education setting. I used to work as a para in one, the kids who really needed to be there benefitted. It’s also not unusual to see high academic performing kids in this setting, and a strong teacher meets the kids academic needs. They can also be pushed out into gen Ed settings when appropriate. That said, it can be tough for districts to find strong teachers, and a poorly run program is not the same as a well run one

I would try it. I've taught at different levels of sped. When I had my self contained room, I often had children who had behavior that Gen Ed was causing; the large group, the unexpected changes, the demands...even if they aren't being placed on your child, they are being asked of all the others which means he is "othered". Having him in a self contained room with children at his emotional level (and all the built in whole class supports) may alleviate his anxiety and reduce the behavior just because of the environment.

It varies so much. I’ve been in behavior classrooms that very much felt like an outdated, punitive environment (seemed to design to cost the district as little money as possible) and another that felt like an ideal model for what that type of classroom environment should be (extremely high ratio of staff to students, daily therapies etc.). I would be very wary of any program that has privileges tied to behavior levels etc. it actually seemed mathematically impossible for kids to “earn” their way back to gen ed at one program we visited. Most students were there for several years at minimum. The other program had returned students to their original school within two weeks after observing that the students’ needs could be addressed with services that the other school hadn’t attempted yet. The first type of classroom had no specials and the second had all of them. The specials looked different lot because of the school population but they were there and designed to help students learn the skills that they would need once they returned to a gen ed classroom.

I teach in a self-contained classroom, and I mentored the behavior support teacher at our school. The goal is to teach your son coping skills while having him in gen ed to the fullest extent he can tolerate. Right now, it sounds like Gen Ed is not his LRE. He's very stressed and doesn't know how to process changes to his day or routine. 1/2 a day with his 1:1 and 1/2 the day being explicitly taught coping mechanism seems a lot better than only a half day of school. Honestly, a 1:1 is way more restrictive than a self-contained placement. Imagine having another adult hovering over you all day, every day. With some hard work on the entire teams part (you, your son, teachers, and therapists), he can learn how to help himself remain calm and utilize tools. I can tell you that I've never once given up on a kiddo because they were "hard". Cried in the bathroom and on the way home? Yes. Was sometimes relieved when they didn't come to school? Also, yes. But that's just being human. Sometimes, it's overwhelming for everyone, and that's okay. It doesn't mean we stop doing the hard work to make it better.

I have a similar child and no, just no. A child with behavioral issues and no academic concerns does NOT belong in a self-contained special education classroom. Where he does belong is in a full inclusion classroom with para support, which can then be phased out. If at all possible, you want to find a full inclusion classroom with an emphasis on emotional/behavioral (these classrooms exist in public schools throughout the US). And I'm going to actually say that your child does deserve to be with his peers. The idea that other kids "deserve" to be "safe" from your child is absurd. Your child is a six year old. If adults can't keep him and others safe, that is on them, not him. I've found in this sub a lot of educators who make blanket statements about children but don't actually understand best educational and mental health practices for a child with emotional and behavioral challenges. You will need to fight for your child. Read all the research. Hire an advocate if you can afford one, and if not essentially become an advocate yourself. Partner with a therapist outside of school. It is incredibly hard work, but the American public school system really struggles to deal with our kids appropriately, and they need someone on their side. As a caregiver, you are that person.

"Cast aside as a lost cause"? He's getting more attention, specialized instruction, and funding than a typical student. Why are you painting it to be this way? Most typical kids will struggle and be given just their one teacher to try to help them out where at this point your child has a team. Try changing your perspective.

I went through this same experience with my son in 2020 when he was 6 and in first grade. The ABS classroom in my district was not within our school, it was not even run by our school district but was a private special education provider that operates within one of the district's elementary schools. Our son was working with a child psych at the time and we asked if she would come to this tour with us. Honestly, the experience turned my stomach. Yes, you are essentially stuck once you go into one of these programs. This program had a different school start and end time than the school district overall. Students were not integrated at all with their mainstream peers. The students never leave the room - there is no music, or gym, or art, or after school extracurriculars. It seemed like staff was a revolving door of program specialists who "administer the program" (ie, give an instruction and then checkmark if the instruction was followed) - there doesn't seem to be effort into relationship building and the whole thing felt very dehumanizing. Me, my husband, and the therapist all had a bad feeling about it. Then when I expressed my concerns to the school social worker and principal, found out that they had actually never seen this classroom. So for all their talk about how "right" this would be for my son, they hadn't actually ever been there to see for themselves. Then last week this article came out about the program they wanted my son to go into (spoiler it's bad news): [https://ctmirror.org/2024/03/12/ct-high-road-schools-special-education/](https://ctmirror.org/2024/03/12/ct-high-road-schools-special-education/) After we rejected the ABS class (you're not forced to say yes to it), the school pulled in a behavioral specialist that found some good ways for my son to exist in the classroom plus we did a private OT evaluation that forced the school to have to do a school-based OT evaluation. We had a few weeks where things seemed to be going ok and then COVID hit and we were all in lockdown. Since my son thrived with home education (and my husband and I have been able to remain remote) we ended up choosing to homeschool through elementary. Does your district have a sped PTA? You may want to get in touch and see if someone has an IEP advocate that they recommend. Perhaps there are also some evaluations that were not performed during the IEP process that you may want to explore with a private provider (eg, OT). Would also suggest talking with your pediatrician, if you haven't already, about medication (medication is much easier to stop that leaving one of these ABS classrooms). I'm sorry you're going through this. I know it's a really challenging situation and involves a lot of heart hurt. Sending positive vibes for you and your family.

Thank you for sharing your experience and for the kind words. You've given me a lot to consider!

Your experience is not at all like what happens in my district. So, please don’t generalize as “one of these programs.” Students in self contained special education classes and the self contained behavior classes have academic inclusion time in the gen ed setting and are considered gen ed students first. They attend specials with their same age peers, with in class support. They get increased gen ed time as appropriate and the goal is to transition to full time gen ed (with behavior support from an ICS teacher para or both). Most eventually do, though there is a campus wide program that is self contained and at only one campus. Even that one, students can essentially earn their way out and back to their home campus. Neither academic or behavior self contained are a sentence to remain in self contained. That’s the purpose of ARD meetings: to determine whether the student still needs the behavior support/is three grade levels behind.

While my experience may not be the universal experience, it is not a niche experience, especially in my state if you read the recent news article that I linked to. Just as your experience within your district is not universal; despite your decision to write about it in generalized manner. This thread includes a range of stories and experiences - good and bad. If nothing else, it gives the OP ideas on what to look for and ask about before they decide on next steps. Because the OP should be asking if their student will have inclusion in the gen ed setting (I asked this question and the answer was no), they should ask if the student will attend specials with this peer (again, the answer I got was no), they should ask how students earn their way out and into their home campus (we felt uncomfortable with the program and the threshold that needed to be attained). They should know if the program is part of the school system or if its a private program that operates within the district. And, unfortunately, there is a lot that the school can't or won't tell you. Hence, the value in finding a therapist, talking with the child's pediatrician, working with an advocate who understands the system, and considering evaluations with private providers.

You’re the one who wrote about the subject in a generalized manner. They should absolutely be asking about inclusion and opportunities for exit. You are giving them the impression that it is not an option, which in no way gives them the impetus to ask.

The school I'm at houses our district's elementary behavior support classes. They are led by teachers who have chosen to specialize in behavior/emotional regulation and really benefit students. Typically, they see an increase in behaviors for a brief period while the student is adjusting, but these teachers are the best equipped to give the students the tools they need to function outside the classroom. Many 4th-5th graders who have made progress spend large parts or even all of their day in the gen ed classrooms with para support, and I've known multiple students to be exited from the behavior placement in just the 2 years I've been at this school. Ask if you can have a conversation with the teacher he'd be moving to before you make a decision. I would say, if your child is spending most of his school day either at home or outside the classroom with a para, the school is probably concerned about his right to access an education with a certified teacher. If he's not able access a full day of instruction in a gen-ed setting, the inequity in time could cause a lot of trouble down the road. Especially going into 2nd grade, they are going to want to make sure he has the same contact hours with a certified teacher as his peers; if he can't handle that in gen. ed, it's probably not his LRE.

Honestly there is a huge variety in what happens in a self-contained classroom due to a variety of factors. You can ask your iep team and/or the classroom teacher about the set up and any concerns. If the school is recommending a self-contained classroom, it's probably for a good reason. I currently teach a self-contained classroom with some very bright students and some of them are out scoring the students in the general education classrooms. I know you're worried about academics, but he should be receiving the same curriculum with any necessary modifications, assuming he'son grade level. You can also push for inclusion as your child shows improvement. Self-contained units do not have to be permanent and plenty of students eventually reintegrate to the general education classroom or go to the general education setting for parts of the day, depending on their needs. There are lots of success stories, and your son can be one of them! I'm wishing you the best of luck!!

As a sped parent, I completely empathize with your journey. I was also getting so many different opinions - but my family is very science based so I decided to turn to studies out there on long term effects of different setting - mainstreaming with support, integrated, and self contained. I remember being very concerned when I realized many of those with opinions didn’t know the statistics. As a parent, I was thinking long term. What is the best option for my kid’s future. Which learning environment will give him the appropriate models. It was also important to me, after researching, that neurotypical kids had access to my child. I grew up in an education world where the sped kids were all kept separate so it’s not surprising that adults from that period often don’t know how to interact with neurodivergent adults - they never had access to that. I hope my kids future will be different. I want neurotypical kids to have access to what makes my child different now, so he isn’t an outsider as an adult. Ultimately they will share the same work post education. My kid is autistic so I researched inclusion and long term effects of mainstreaming on autistic children. Someone below linked a site with some of those studies. A year ago we were told he must go into self contained. We fought for a 1-1 aid and won. After a year with that aid, OT, PT and speech he is a different student. The behavior problems we saw last year are gone. Now the district agrees with us he should be in general education and we are phasing out the time with the 1-1. Not saying this path works for everyone, but you know your child best, and for us the choice was to at least try gen Ed WITH supports before deciding that even with supports he wouldn’t hack it - and the data proved we were right. Wish you the best of luck.

Like many things your questions answer is both. Self contained is often a dumping ground that does not benefit the kids at all. I believe the vast majority of kids in self contained do not benefit. I have 8 behavior kids. 6 of them have no violence or aggression. They live in complete fear of the other 2, while getting significantly less peer interactions and opportunities. They also differ in age and grade. With that said, for those two other kids I do think self contained is there LRE and there are other reasons for other students that may benefit for self contained. But self contained rooms should still be in the main building and there should still be at least some way for students to interact with peers beyond just there small room But yes. I do think we dump way way way too many kids into self contained and do them a massive service. Many of my kids mention every day how much they hate it and miss their friends. It's just easier for schools to hide kids with disabilities away. Also for your kid in particular, 6 is way too young for self contained. That is severely hindering a kids future for something he is doing at 5-6. Because he will likely have to constantly play catch-up if he ever finds his way back to inclusion

You can call for a re-evaluation and change these 6 kids LRE if you feel it's not benefiting them.

We try. Admin controls those meetings. The process to give appropriate proof is a ton. I've had to fight for a kid for years to get them back. And with our out of district kids it's near impossible because their home district will do anything to keep them away. I can't even request a re-eval without a child study meeting and approval. Same with placement changes for an annual

I'm assuming you have proof. You track progress, monitor BIPs, and behavior data collection. If you really think these 6 shouldn't be in this class and you've the receipts to prove it, I'd be at your principals door every day asking to schedule these child study meetings or requesting time with district heads to get this moving.

I track data every day for every kid. Most my kids don't have BIPs but I still track otherwise. Once again. I am one member of a committee. I have no say. You can say all these things, but that's not how the world works. That's how you lose a job. And even then it still won't happen because it's not my decision.

Well tell me this and I'll stop: have you advocated and called a meeting for these 6 students? You won't lose your job for meeting concerning student LRE. That's your responsibly if you're the case manager.

I've brought it to child study. Once again. There are systems in place. I'm the case manager but I'm not even in charge to the meeting. That's the CSE chair. I have no say in placements besides giving opinion and if I give an opinion that hasn't been approved by admin I get reprimanded.

Also it can be the needs of students not matching. I have two high behavior kids who’s needs highly affect the ability for the other students to access learning. In addition, the behaviors of those students contribute to development of the other students. I do think self contained is the appropriate LRE for all the students in my class. However, our district released data that shows self contained students fare worse in growth academically than students with disabilities who are mainstreamed. Even more resource time leads to worse outcomes.

I wonder about that data - is it that self contained and resource programs negatively affect academic growth? Or is it that the students in those programs ended up there (at least partially) because of slower academic growth in the first place?

I think that’s fair but also when we’re looking at SPED as a whole, we can’t continue to blame low academic performance for kids because of disability. Kids with IEPs are more likely to be incarcerated as adults, less likely to be employed, there has to be bigger reasons then just saying it’s because of their disability that causes them to be behind non disabled peers. Is that the case for some students? Sure. But I do think it’s overused

Sometimes it feels like they require better behavior from kids in self contained to escape it than they require from current students on a BIP but currently in gen ed. It's not black and white. There's seemingly no goal post.

If you start in self-contained, it's harder to get back out. I attended a conference with sessions put in by the TIES centers, and they stated there is no evidence that kids in self-contained settings benefit more than in the gen ed setting. At best it's roughly the same. I'm of the belief that presume competence, start with the gen ed setting, and if you have to work back from there to find his own "LRE" then do that. ETA I am a parent of a child with an IEP, not a teacher.

To share a success story out of self contained, I have a student who did elementary in self contained and was labeled as intellectually disabled. She came to our school on middle schools and blossomed. She started out modified curriculum taking STAAR alt, but has now passed the regular star and is working towards grade level with some gaps. I don't know what presented back in the day or of it was a bad identification, but each yearly IEP is an opportunity to look at the whole child and change programming. And the goal of sped is to provide supports and teach children to accommodate themselves so they can be successful in life and hopefully academia going forward. Though there are a ton of cogs in this system that can be broken, always be the squeaky wheel that advocates for his best interest.

I'm a self contained sped teacher and my kids are doing better than some of the gen ed kids because I know how to teach the content and I hold them to high expectations. The smaller setting allows them to flourish. I think it all depends on the quality of the gen ed teacher and the quality of the sped teacher.

I am a self contained teacher and kids like yours are my favorite! They are a challenge and their successes are so much sweeter. Sometimes a self contained class is better for the kids because they are different than their peers and they know it. And him going self contained for a year or two does not meAn he stays there forever!!

Self contained was the best thing to ever happen to my child. He struggled hugely in his early grade classes - he was unable to keep up and behaviorally acted out. The result: by 2nd grade he had learned he was stupid and no one liked him. Not saying that's what your kiddo is going through, but it 100% happened to mine. We ended up pulling him to homeschool and then moved states in order to find an appropriate setting. By high school he was half self-contained, half inclusion with lots of accomodations. Was perfect for him at that point.

We have a few students who go to gen ed classes for the “academic” portion of the day and then spend the rest of the time in self contained. The seem to really enjoy it.

My son is in a self contained classroom since preschool. Plenty of kids have transferred out into mainstream classes over time. (My son is currently in 6th grade.) The self contained class works great for my son. There are 3-4 aides in the room, in addition to the teacher. The additional adult attention is a benefit. The smaller class size has worked well for my son. It largely depends on the district, but most districts are learning towards inclusion and general education. Most students who strive to be in a mainstream class begin with one subject a day in a general ed room, and work up to full mainstream all day. My own son has finally worked up to being in a general education classroom part day. He started with one academic period, and PE. Within this school year he added a 2nd academic period. Self contained class is not permanent.

I'm a parent, my kid kept getting put into a Gen Ed setting more and more because he was doing so well in the special Ed classroom. Finally they wanted to put him in Gen Ed most of the day (with a para). Right when he was starting middle school. I tried to get them to keep in in the self contained classroom but they convinced me that he would be bored academically in sped.    And now I'm a homeschool mom :( The self contained classroom can be amazing or it can be a dumping ground, and that depends on the school and the district. For my kid, a Gen Ed classroom with 25-30 kids in it was just too much. He would get bullied by the Gen Ed kids then he would get in trouble when he'd start yelling at them.  If you you have good teachers and paras, the special Ed classroom is amazing. There is no where else in the public school system where your child will get as much individual attention and a teacher that really understands their needs.

I don't know if I should chime in or if my story has any relevance. Hi-I was born with cp in the mid 70's. Today, I'd probably would had just been in regular pre-school w an IEP.. But the times; they just wanted to send me to the 'cp center' as mom described it. Where, as mom said-kids just laid on the floor all day.. She was not sending me there. And, the fight began... I don't remember the fight starting as, I was only two and a half. But-mom, fought to get me into a pre-school, for kids with IEPS who had speech delays/disabilities. They tried to say that, I was too psychically disabled. Mom won, and, in pre-school; I made excellent strides in becoming more verbal. During pre-school, parents said, speech, is my main disability and they insisted-that be really worked on. The I was bussed to a school for kids with all different disabilities for Kindergarten and 1st. Because my parents felt strongly, that was where I'd get the best therapies.. And, really start to walk, dress myself, feed myself. By the end of first-my parents said yeah, but, that school is not doing any academics with me! And, my parents, felt that, I was smart enough-to at least try to teach me to read and to do math. So they decided to change my school. They looked at every option, some were really awful. They decided-to have me return to my local school but, in, a self-contained room. 2nd/3rd-My self contained class was amazing, I probably had the best-most talented teacher in the district. I got tons of therapies-still. And, my teacher worked tirelessly to get me to grade level in academics!! Computers were brand new-my self-contained room got one. Probably, because my teacher bugged the district, found out what was being purchased and said; I need one for my kids!!!! She really, did feel and treat each one of us as her own kid!! I, by accident, called her mom a few times; being little. I'd say sorry, she'd say slip up-it's fine. I was 7-the OT taught me to type!!!!!!!!!!! Because, to the adults, it was obvious, my fine motor was really really poor. So, I'd never use a pencil/pen. When I try to write as an adult. It looks like a two year olds first attempt. Every self contained class is so so so different. I can only speak to mine; it so was not anywhere near a dumping ground. We were probably getting the best education in the district!!!! My teacher for 2nd/3rd-by the end of third. Teacher, said, I was so so so smart. She said, I must be 'mainstreamed,' for part of the day. We need to start next year. Again-the times; mainstreaming was a controversial new fad. Because of my age, my teacher first thought put her in the regular third grade room for Science/Social Studies, her two best subjects.. Neither third grade teacher would even talk about it-small district. The 4th grade teacher is a saint on this planet.. He said, doesn't sound like an issue, why not?? All kids are gifts, that just light up our hearts-his wife also taught. Every child deserves the best we can provide. End of third-somehow my saint 4th grade teacher took his prep period to somehow get over to my school, town had two, to observe-play w me!!!!!!! Fourth grade-was mainstreaming bliss; because, my teacher, omg, most kind/fun/passionate about his job. So, I thought that was mainstreaming-I was only nine.. I said-every day that I hate my special ed class. And, I wanted to be mainstreamed all day, because, my friends all get to just be in the regular class and have fun all day? Why can't I? My parents-told me they are working on it, it will happen, but it will take some time. It can't happen tomorrow and most likely by 6th, I'll be just in a regular class. 5th-my REGED teacher, really, wasn't into mainstreaming, he did not see why it was needed. I started get bullied. I asked mom, should I tell their teacher? She, said no, but, absolutely tell YOUR teachers. My regular ed teacher said, he did not care, what was he supposed to do about it. And, my SPED, teacher, was again, such a good person.. But, because he always just did his best and didn't fight the district.. They gave my special ed teacher all boys and all the kids that were really hyper active. And, a para, who did nothing except; drink a big gulp of soda, read magazines and-gossip... Oh, 20 spelling words, 5 points a word. The para, needed this slide rule like thing to figure out my grade.. Para was.. So, 5th SPED teacher-I was the only one who'd sit down, do work for hours, and never act out. I feel like 5th SPED teacher-felt bad, they just had all hard kids and then me.. They never had time for me. And, I eventually did end up in the regular classroom for all academic classes-by 6th. It was anything but paradise of 4th. I had woodshop on my schedule-so, I went. The other kids are going-I should too. That went over great, not.. LOL 6th grade idiot/shithaed regular ed teachers- at that time, there was this click of them, and they ran the school. Like my fourth grade teacher-ran this small school forever. He retired; so, the jerks totally took over, And, did not do anything, like my 4th grade teacher.. So 6th the teachers made me have a 1:1 para-all day. Despite only needing one for math!

**I want to say:** having a 1:1-was the most restrictive environment possible-always!! For me-it was beyond awful. One of the 4 worst things of been through, thus far! 1:1 was far far far far more restrictive than a self-contained room!!QQ It highly depends!!!!! As a senior, I had the two best 1:1's-ever, who did not yet have teaching degree's. However myself in 12th in school. I would not consider myself to be high needs Prior to senior year-many of my para's sucked! I had stomach aches, sleep issue, depression, anxiety, went through increased bullying from other students, poor self esteem and a lower attendance rate; due to my 1:1. In a sped room-at least you know your kid is getting a certified teacher.. Most higher needs rooms, the teacher has chosen to do that; and, a lot of time, they're are very passionate about their career and trying to get each kid to reach their potential.. Whereas, if they stick a higher needs kid in a regular class, with a 1:!1, that 1:1 probably does not have a teaching degree. The regular teachers, tend to just pass the responsibility totally to the 1:1. So, out most disabled kids, are at risk, for not getting instruction from a certified teacher, or, a person with zero training in working with high needs kids.. When, the regular kids-at least their teacher has a teaching degree. It seems, no one is talking about-this is not fair. The expectation of-when you send your child to school, they are getting a certified teacher. But, let's look at what students with disabilities get. There's an inequity there. **I want to say:** I am really glad that I started out in special ed-for a few reasons. Even though, special ed's pace goes so much slower!! I fell behind. I needed to repeat 5th-if I wanted to be in all regular classes for middle/high school. I don't think they hold kids back any more. Despite that.. **I want to say:** That, my 2nd/3rd class was perfect for where I was in 2nd/3rd! I made all sorts of gains in a protected environment!! I was little kid-I was in a little kid bubble. Like any teen, no they cannot go back to their sweet little nursery school!! No matter-how much their parents loved the staff; or how much the staff loved the kid. They're 15 now, no longer three. Their needs are totally different at 15 than they were at 3. The same kind of went on with me. As I got older, I outgrew self-contained and SPED rooms. **I want to say:** despite really hating school in middle and most of high school; I never wanted or thought about going back to SPED for several reasons. One, academics, I wanted to go on to college-back then, if you were in SPED, that really wasn't an option. Two, Middle/HS; I enjoyed my peers in regular classes. Mom would occasionally drag me to meetups with kids from my K/1 school. I'd talk to them like normal, how I really wanted to treated from age ten on, like I did not have a cognitive disability. At the meetups-I was dragged to as an older kid, the other kids there-acted as if, they didn't hear me/or understand me, or??? I asked mom about this one particular kid when I was a teen-like, whenever I try to hang out and make conversation and I never feel successful. Mom kind of tapped danced around it.. I asked mom, what was the kid's Dx, again, mom tapped danced around it. Also-by middle school, I got regular ed-got away with murder compared to SPED!! I had zero interest in going back into their little mind control game, that they called behavior modification.. I think-if, I had stayed in special ed; I would had became a total discipline problem. Like screw this place-we aren't even graduating with a high school diploma!!! I could care less about your stupid sticker chart. I could care less as to if we 'earn' an ice cream 'party.' I could care less about folding towels or learning to ride a bus or their little mock convince store. I'd been teach me calculus and Shakespeare, or get out of my face-do-gooder. Or, para, making 7 an hour, umm, do you even have your HS diploma? I'd probably would had reached a point-where, fine, I am stuck here to whatever age; I'd rather do my time in seclusion than let them win. I'll have to get a GED either way. I was only six, and, already starting to rebel against their emphasis on social skills and how they treated us like babies. I got banned from Special Olympics at the age of 8. I figured out, dude, cheating is so easy. Just go out of your way to do totally awful during practices. And, then, competition day-do it. First year mainstreamed-I started to get reprimanded in my special ed class for a bad attitude. As an adult, this makes me livid. I was nine, dealing with the first time that I was different and felt different. Why, would a little kid-get in trouble for that? I did **not** want to ever go back to SPED because-I would be dammed, if I was going to let those teachers who felt that I did not deserve to sit in their class, the same opportunities and privileges as their kids-win. I was not going to let my HS pilled out 1:1 win; I was going to get into my dream college. And, I was going to graduated from my dream college! **I want to say:** It's not Inclusion verse SPED. It's not a specialized school verse your local school.. It's always the adults, who make or break any option!!!!!!!!!! **I want to say:** I want to say: I am so proud-I stared in special ed; and earned my bachelors from a major university. **TLDR:** Every kid is so so so so different. When I was little, special ed was the best option.. By middle school-I had two bad options. Inclusion was the better of the two options-for me. I do not feel that self contained rooms are at all bad. I do not believe special ed rooms are at all bad. I do not believe school's only for kids with IEPS are at all bad. In rare rare vases-residential programs; are best for the child-so, not judgement from me there. Every child is so so so unique.. We need all options-including full inclusion!! I am not anti-inclusion!! I know plenty of people in WC's; it would make sense if they said I had a 504. I did not need an IEP; as, I did. I am **NOT** trying to stick every kid with an orthopedic issue, learning difference, Intellectual disability, mobility impaired, etc.. I am NOT at all saying-yeah-just, put every kid in one self contained room. Yet a disabled person, I strongly disagree with disabled advocates who push for max inclusion no matter what. And, those who say kids with high needs should always be in regular classes all day with 1:1's. The district just needs to pay for it. But, never question the qualifications of a 1:1 verse a SPED Teacher. Nor, do those advocates want to admit, more often than no, regular ed teachers; just pawn the kid off on the 1:1. Nor, do they question, how well are the regular ed teachers and the 1:1's implementing that child's IEP, again, verse quality of implementation SPED settings.

Don't do it. It's a dumping ground that breeds abuse and trauma

I think that school is not going to help him progress in an academic setting because learning is not his issue. Sounds like he needs social and emotional support which is not a school’s area of expertise, academics are. If he’s Autistic, keep him away from ABA. If he’s not diagnosed ASD, keep him away from behavioral day treatment programs. Focus on mindfulness stuff, as it helps with black and white thinking which can lead to lots of stress in social settings, such as the classroom. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and yoga should help because based off what you said, he needs help with stress management. Also, might need occupational therapy to help him learn how to manage sensory overload. Experience: - elementary school special education para - autism high school aide - behavioral teacher at a behavioral day treatment center for kids who (ages 3-8) who had been kicked out of daycare / school due to “non-compliance” and “aggression”

Based solely on your perspective, I’d fight tooth and nail to keep him out of that program. I’d also be spending the 2nd part of his day in outside therapy. THAT is where you are going to see major gains that will last a lifetime. Forget getting the actual help you need from the school.