I am specifically asking as I have been in different schools and have found some schools with FLS rooms/programming for kids, and some with barely having EA support or not having iPad AAC/other interventions for kids who are non-verbal autistic. I understand interventions vary but I have met teachers who seem to understand the process and many who don’t.
It has left me wondering why.
I know FLS rooms are likely backed up in terms of getting kids into them. There are likely long waitlists and I have heard first-hand from a parent that it is difficult to get a one-on-one EA for their child.
But, I have also met severely autistic kids with little parental support/involvement, and am wondering if the school initiates the process of assessment if the parent doesn’t?
I am asking because the SPSD website says that each school provides comparable support and assessment processes (not programs necessarily) but I have noticed wide differences in levels of support and intervention.
Example: I have met kids with similarly rough home lives, intense support needs, and low parental involvement. I have seen these same kids been intensely supported, mostly initiated by the school or social worker in their case.
I have also seen them go largely unsupported/left in regular classroom spaces without proper support, which at best is disruptive to learning and at other times, becomes unsafe for the other kids.
I am not trying to critique, but I am wondering if anyone working in the school system can speak more to this as it has left me wondering.