Have your children ever had an extremely disruptive child in elementary class?

[Anonymous]

When I was young we had a 7 year old girl with mild cerebral palsy who could not walk without a limp
That was still fine
It is totally different when you are talking about a kid that really cannot thrive in a mainstreamed classroom. But with budget cuts, it is the special needs kid that suffers most, 2nd is the class and the teacher

Do not blame the kid or its parents, these special kids deserver better

[Anonymous]

Disruptive children should be taken out of a classroom so that the other children can learn. The other 24 kids have rights TOO!!! But I don't care if the child has an IEP or not. I have seen both, although the predominance has been more of the disruptive kids have IEPs.

[Anonymous]

Every kid is going to be disruptive some time.
By your logic there should be no children in a classroom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:mainstreaming should be illegal. It is not fair to the 24 kids in class to have a child that sucks up so much effort from the teacher. Jeez, they get their own assistant. Give them a class, and let the learning begin. For all.

I agree! My special needs daughter has no behavioral problems, and gets her good conduct points every week. But there are certain kids in her class (without IEPs) who are disruptive and constantly talk out of turn, or cut up and take up the teacher's time and act like babies. They should be placed in a special program, so her learning can begin! I suggest their parents consider private school for them, or home-schooling. Mainstreaming is just not for them.

I just had a parent conference recently and there are several disruptive kids in my daughter's class. She says they are hard to work with, and the teacher said he purposely puts my daughter is high achieving and very focused to work with them. I am HAPPY he does this. Kids need to see that there are people that are difficult to work with--and that kids that mess around don't do well in school. Keep my kids in the real world, please.

[Anonymous]

My son is in K3 at a public Montessori. His teacher says heis running out of the classroom toward his (non-biological) brother's classroom every day. He is also smart enough to wait until no one is looking before he takes off. I feel awful for the teacher and the aide, but I don't what to do. I should note that we have recently adopted him and he came to us with a mouth full of swear words and the knowledge of how to use them (in)appropriately. He has always been a bit defiant and manipulative. If you tell him not to run in the house, he will skip. He says he gets in trouble for playing with the big kids' toys. I'm not sure what that entails, but he's very bright, has the memory of an elephant, and loves letters, words, shapes, patterns, and math. He's always incredibly active and has one voice--the outside one--even when inside. I can't wear the kid out and have enrolled him in gymnastics and soccer. At home we encourage him to dance and read; he likes to do both. He shows emotion and wants hugs for comfort, always tries to please and help, but doesn't quite get empathy yet.... Except with animals. Anyway... I don't know what to do about the running away in school. I don't know if he feels unsafe and just wants to be with his new brother, if he needs professional help, or if he's simply allergic to something. Any ideas?

[Anonymous]

PP, another adoptive mom here. Do you know about CASE (Center for Adoption Support and Education)? They have offices in both MD and VA. I think they just had a program about special issues that a child adopted at an older age (i.e., not as an infant) might face in school. Best of luck to you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every kid is going to be disruptive some time.
By your logic there should be no children in a classroom

This is one of the most illogical statements I have ever seen. It is similar to "we are all going to die so why not just walk off a cliff right now?"

[Anonymous]

I have a K child with Aspergers. Sometimes, his rigidity and outburts are an issue in school. Most of the time, it's not. He's friendly, loving, and extremely bright. He does very well with his IEP, and his teachers know exactly what to do to prevent meltdowns. If he does have meltdowns, there are steps in place to ensure he's not a distraction to others (a Flex room with sensory materials that are available to help calm children and allow them time away when needed).

I'm glad the law is in place to allow him the least restrictive environment instead of being "locked away" as some of you folks with super special awesome sparkly children would have.

I REALLY appreciate the PP who mentioned that her daughter is a helping, calming influence on children with issues and to keep her child in the real world. I totally agree with this, as a parent with one "easy" child and one child on the spectrum. This is exactly the right view to have. You are awesome, PP.

Obviously, kids (no matter what their issues or diagnosis) need to be kept under control. Their IEP should be in place to help prevent issues like some of you have talked about. Unfortunately, not everything can be prevented -- but we sure can try, while keeping them with their peers.

[Anonymous]

I am a teacher. I have 23 kindergarteners. I have a child with an IEP that is constantly disruptive. Yesterday she threw her shoes across the room 4 times. The fourth throw hit another child. I had already contacted the front office for assistance as I am in the room alone with these children....23 to 1 ratio. She then dumped a tub of connecting cubes in the floor and began kicking them all over the room. Next, she knocked all the pencils off the table and ran from the room. Finally, I had to pick her up even though I have been told not to but I could not let her run off or hurt anyone again. It took over 10 minutes for someone to come. Today, she tried to throw my data binder across the room and tear my Common Core standards off the wall. I picked her up and she crawled all over me tearing my hair band out and pulling on my lanyard. Yet she only gets 30 minutes of inclusion.......how is this fair to the other 22 children in the class? .....to me? Don't we deserve a safe and happy place to work and learn?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a teacher. I have 23 kindergarteners. I have a child with an IEP that is constantly disruptive. Yesterday she threw her shoes across the room 4 times. The fourth throw hit another child. I had already contacted the front office for assistance as I am in the room alone with these children....23 to 1 ratio. She then dumped a tub of connecting cubes in the floor and began kicking them all over the room. Next, she knocked all the pencils off the table and ran from the room. Finally, I had to pick her up even though I have been told not to but I could not let her run off or hurt anyone again. It took over 10 minutes for someone to come. Today, she tried to throw my data binder across the room and tear my Common Core standards off the wall. I picked her up and she crawled all over me tearing my hair band out and pulling on my lanyard. Yet she only gets 30 minutes of inclusion.......how is this fair to the other 22 children in the class? .....to me? Don't we deserve a safe and happy place to work and learn?

It sounds like the IEP is not very effective. Things should be in place to prevent these issues (why is she doing these things? There is a reason -- sensory, body awareness, constant need to move/touch/feel, etc.) Does she have fidgets? Movement breaks? The ability to ride a scooter in the hallway sometimes with a para? Deep pressure via a lap pad or deep bear hugs occasionally? A ball chair or bean bag to sit on? A sensory retreat in the classroom (like a tent out of view of the other students where she can fidget/play and not be a distraction -- children like this often still attend to the lesson in their own way). Be proactive in preventing these issues. Teachers (I was one) need much more training on sensory issues and finding ways to help kids like this get their energy out and to meet their needs.

[Anonymous]

It's not the IEP. A child with this type of behavior issues does not belong in a class that size with one teacher. Even if they provide her with all the sensory accommodations there is no way it can be implemented with one teacher who is suppose to educate 22 other kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not the IEP. A child with this type of behavior issues does not belong in a class that size with one teacher. Even if they provide her with all the sensory accommodations there is no way it can be implemented with one teacher who is suppose to educate 22 other kids.

Right -- which is why I mentioned the IEP is not effective. It needs to be revisited. The teacher should have an assistant, at least some of the time. Special Ed staff should have a flex room ready with sensory tools for needed breaks. This child needs a place to "cool" down while in the classroom. She needs to be able to wiggle, fidget, bump, and feel.

That doesn't mean the child doesn't deserve to be in a regular classroom. Many of these behaviors can be prevented -- this child is not a bad child. This child's needs are not being met.

Understanding and implementing sensory goes a long way toward prevention and making everyone's lives easier.

[Anonymous]

I am another teacher. I teach 22 k students. I have a student who has dominated my first month of the school year with violence, destruction, aggression and fleeing the room. I won't go into detail here to protect the students privacy but I have been shocked at how bad the behavior is and how powerless everyone seems to offer me any meaningful support. Some days it disrupted every single block of the day and it is really impacting the rest of the kids. I don't know how long I will last teaching like this.

[Anonymous]

Inclusion is wonderful on paper but even other SN parents will not want a child like this in the same classroom with their child. 23 k kids with 2 full time teachers? Doubtful even having 3 teachers will work unless one is a dedicated aide and even with an aide, the large size classroom maybe too much sensory stimulation and is what's setting her off. Her IEP needs to be revisited so that she is in a much smaller classroom where she can get the individual attention and her sensory needs met. Looks like currently, no one is getting their needs met; Not this child, her 22 classmates or the frazzled and overwhelmed teacher.

[Anonymous]

Yep. Fucking mainstreaming. One kid can diminish the learning of the other 19. My son has 3 kids like this in his first grade class. They go to a different class for an hour or so and then disrupt his class the rest of the day. Douchebags that say class size doesn't matter don't take into account a teacher pending 80% of her time with 1 out of control kid.