School declines offer to help autistic student

As a parent of a child with autism, I am concerned about something in the Cedar Rapids school system. My son was given a chance to participate in a terrific case study from the University of Iowa. It provided free training to all guidance counselors who participated in the case study. Counselors would be trained on two methods, video modeling and social stories. Both methods have been proven to reduce behaviors in children with autism.

After being declined, I spoke with the associate superintendent, Gary O'Malley. During our conversation, I explained why this is so valuable. Less than 24 hours later, I received a second decline. Too many resources would be used to participate, I was told.

How many resources are spent when a child is pulled out of his classroom for a behavior that could have been prevented using social stories or video modeling? Does the school not see the influx of special needs kids coming up? I spoke with O'Malley again, and he told me I was right but was unwilling to have Cedar Rapids participate in the case study. My son's staff told me it was disappointed as well.

How can we expect improvement in our children, when the school is unwilling to provide the tools?

Cindy Dircks

Cedar Rapids