Canopus

The message about AS still hasn't got through to the best part of the independent and higher education sectors, but at least people with AS can avoid these more easily than the state school system. I doubt that many teachers/lecturers in the independent and higher education sectors take much interest in AS and ASD. They tend to be qualified in their own subject rather than education and probably have little desire or incentive to bend over backwards to accomodate the needs of a handful of people with some weird hidden disability. Their attitude is likely to be "if your'e not up to standards then bog off elsewhere" although they probably won't say it in public because it could lead to repercussions from disability organisations. There is a lot of inertia in the independent and higher education sectors that often results from tradition and hatred of change. It will probably take more than 10 years for the higher education sector to be as clued up as state schools are today when it comes to AS and ASD. My experience is that universities are quite harsh and unforgiving places even at the best of times and although the registry holds details on disabilities, nothing ever seems to trickle down to individual lecturers and lecture halls and labs. Quite often a lecturer will only teach a student for one semester then will have nothing to do with them so they often can't be bothered spending time providing for their special needs.

Rephrase that into how bad things really were in the 1980s and society accepted it as the norm back then. I have encountered several people who say that I deserved everything I got for my bad behaviour at school and I should have been locked away in a harsher institution at an earlier age. Having the audicity to blame some obscure medical condition for my behavioural problems is just another case of thinking I almost have a right to get away with murder. You get all these crummy websites like Friends Reunited and whatever for bored fed up adults to reminisce over their childhoods in the 1950s/60s/70s/80s/90s. I will assure you that regardless of what you think of the education system of today and the problems you encounter with the school and LEA; your kid would have had a worse time at school during any of these bygone decades. Things are much better for them today.

There were no facilities for kids with AS or ASD during the 1980s and early 90s. AS was not known about and a kid with AS was simply accused of being badly behaved and having poor social skills. Professionals in education, psychology, and medicine often took the attitude of blaming the parents for bad upbringing and regularly prescribed a dose of hard discipline as a solution to the problem - which rarely if ever worked. I wonder how many kids with AS or ASD were condemned to special needs residential schools that did not cater for their needs and were run more along the lines of boot camps or detention centres rather than schools? My estimate is at least 2000 from 1970 to 1995. In many cases their lives were permanently screwed up by the hash and brutal regimes imposed on them and the rampant bullying and victimisation that took place in these institutions. A high proportion probably left with no qualifications because the primary role of the schools was to improve ones social skills in a disciplined environment rather than provide a high quality education. Many kids with AS or ASD were also threatened with being sent to psychiatric hospitals either by their parents or professionals unless their behaviour and co-operation with others improved. We have certainly come a long way since the 1980s and advancement in knowledge of ASD and provision of resources within the mainstream education system has come faster than I expected it to. If anyone here is ripping their hair out over problems then I can assure you that you would not have wanted to a be a kid with AS or ASD during the 1980s or their parent for that matter. You would probably have felt trapped and isolated as the likelihood of knowing anyone whose kid suffers from similar problems would be minimal, and probably think your kid was a unique and isolated case. I wanted to meet up with kids who suffered from similar problems in the attempt to try and find out if there was some psychological condition yet to be discovered, but my LEA would not reveal information about other statemented kids because of confidentiality restrictions and the Official Secrets Act. I asked my LEA to write letters to parents of kids with similar problems on their statements in order to arrange a meeting but the LEA refused. The internet didn't exist back then so it was virtually impossible to obtain information from anywhere other than the education system or what few psychology books were stocked in your library - none of which described AS or anything that came close. A discussion forum like this could only have been dreamed of back in the 1980s so you should think yourself lucky that technology has moved on since my days at school.

There are no accurate figures showing the number of adults with AS in employment. I have encountered figures that are as depressingly low as 12% although there is little information on how the figures were arrived at or whether they are just for AS or for all types of ASD. Employers are interested in many things and paper qualifications are just one of them. This applies equally to NT as well as AS job applicants. Having a track record of working with people and team building skills are often seen as more important to some employers than the exact nature of ones paper qualifications. There is also the issue whether one will fit in with the ethos of the company and its workforce and survive the office politics. In recent years employers have shown a decrease in interest in single minded experts and an increase in interest in people who possess a multitude of skills. This is often a disadvantage to people with AS. Many people with AS constantly get rejected at job interviews or have difficulty holding down a career. These facts should be taken as a warning for kids with AS thinking they will get the career of their dreams simply by holding high level qualifications, and a warning against parents into pushing their kids into doing things like studying for degrees at Oxbridge in the hope they get the career of their dreams. The attitude towards paper qualifications vary from employer to employer. Some only want the orthodox GCSE, A Levels, degree from a good university route, whereas others are very welcoming of Open University degrees, vocational qualifications, BTECs etc. I suspect some even question the desirability of the traditional orthodox route in todays fast changing world. It would probably be safe to say that the attitude towards eccentric people and people with AS vary from employer to employer as well. Now, does anyone know which orgainisations like employing people with AS? It would be impossible for me to advise someone with AS whether it is or isn't a good idea for them to gain paper qualifications unless I knew them. The decision has to be made on an individual by individual basis. That is why the primary purpose of the article is to identify what choices are available in the hope that a kid with AS who wants paper qualifications can find what is best for them. Many people with AS want to achieve in life, but they can only achieve to their full potential under the best system for them. In some cases this may not be the conventional route such as GCSEs at a mainstream school or a degree at a redbrick university. Kids with AS may be reminded that they are different, but does it ever damage their self esteem or their attitude towards academic issues? I had a very low self esteem as a kid but probably wouldn't if I had been diagnosed with AS. I could be proud of myself rather than thinking I am just badly behaved with poor social skills and hopeless at team sports. Teachers probably told kids with AS that it isn't worth taking exams because they will never get past a job interview back in the days when the majority of kids left school at 15, but they would never say it nowadays. I think this happened with Einstein. The teachers might secretly know the kid doesn't stand a hope in hell of employment but all they care about is school league tables so will want them to take exams.

Actually, I forgot to mention the short courses offered by the OU. I haven't had time to check them out properly yet but they appear to be excellent choices.

I have mixed feelings about the importance of taking exams and gaining qualifications for people with AS. In one respect, the primary purpose of qualifications is to satisfy employers. Therefore, if the individual is likely to have difficulty finding or holding down employment due to their AS then there may be little point in taking exams or even attending school for that matter. On the other hand, taking exams and gaining qualifications is an ideal way to improve ones self esteem and convince teachers and LEA officials that one is capable of achieving something and should not be looked down on or viewed as subnormal or retarded in some way due to their deficiencies in social skills or sports. The purpose of this article is to highlight what qualifications are available to under 16 year olds and methods of obtaining them so that a kid with AS and their parents are informed about alternative to taking GCSEs at a mainstream school. Also, many myths about the education system and qualifications are exposed and shattered. Introduction Many kids with AS fit into the high intelligence category which tends to shape the attitudes of parents, teachers, and LEA officials into wanting them to do well academically and get lots of qualifications. As a result, many parents will bash their heads against numerous brick walls and fight endless battles with schools and the LEA in order that the school provides for their kid's SEN. If their kid was of lower intelligence then the issue of getting good GCSE grades will probably be far less important, so the parents may decide to withdraw their kid from school because there is little point in keeping them there. A kid with AS may be willing to go to school even though they generally do not enjoy school or are regularly bullied. They might complain at home about various issues like PE lessons or teachers criticising their handwriting but will never consider playing truant unless things get really bad for them. This is because they want to take their GCSE exams and get good grades. They are probably unaware that alternatives exist if they want to take exams and get qualifications and these alternatives may be better than attending a mainstream school or can be done outside of school hours whilst attending a mainstream school. I took the traditional orthodox route of GCSEs, A Levels, and a university degree. This choice resulted from a combination of lack of information about alternatives, and myself thinking that I was of high intelligence and academic ability so should aim as high as I possibly could. The reality was that I struggled and suffered badly during the process. Had I known more about alternative qualifications and ways of getting them then I would certainly not have taken the route I took. Had I been diagnosed with AS at the age of 12 then I would probably have quit school altogether and taken an Open University degree at the earliest possible opportunity. A kid with AS should not be forced by their parents to attend school and get GCSEs, or go to university and get a degree simply because they are clever and to do otherwise would be a waste of a good brain. Ones intelligence is one thing, but whether they are happy attending the institution and fit in with the system is another. It is totally wrong to force a kid to go to school if they are bullied or treated badly by the staff, or attend university if they have difficulty surviving the teaching system and coursework deadlines. There are also people with AS who possess expert knowledge of a subject but have difficulty getting it down on paper. Unless they can overcome this problem then taking exams may not be a good idea in practice no matter what the school or educational psychologists say. What is most important is that a kid enjoys their education and feels as if they are achieving something worthwhile from it. They shouldn't have to struggle or suffer for the want of paper qualifications, study too many subjects they see no purpose studying, or attend an institution they do not enjoy attending. There is nothing in this world that can ever compensate for or counteract an unhappy childhood. If your kid wants to take exams and get qualifications then let them, otherwise don't worry too much about it. A common mistake made by parents is thinking that kids get one opportunity to take their GCSEs and if they miss this chance then they have effectively screwed up their education and possibly their future. This is totally and utterly untrue. The reality is that it is possible to take exams and gain GCSEs and many other qualifications at any age. It is also possible to retake GCSEs an unlimited amount of times in the attempt to gain a higher grade. Another concern made by many parents is that if their kid does not attend a mainstream school then they will not get a broad and balanced education as they will focus on what interests them the most to the detriment of everything else. If your kid is educated outside the mainstream school system, they could choose to study fewer subjects to examination level than if they attended a mainstream school. This should be viewed more as focusing on what they want for their paper qualifications as opposed to their full education. It is important to remember that education and learning is supposed to be for life and not just confined to ones days at school, so your kid has the rest of their life to study other subjects and learn about other things. GCSEs are not worthless qualifications but they are vastly overrated by much of society. Schools want kids to do well in their GCSEs for one reason alone - to increase the schools position in the league tables. There is no requirement to have any GCSEs to access higher education or gain employment, so if your 16 year old doesn't have a single GCSE then it is not the end of the world for them no matter what others say. In fact there are times when I think the primary purpose of GCSEs are for 10 year olds to impress their classmates with rather than 16 year olds to use to access college or gain employment! This is nothing to do with GCSEs being dumbed down since the days of O Levels. It is because there are alternative qualifications available today that are superior to GCSEs. There is no advantage or purpose in getting 15 A* grades other than showing off. If your kid wants to take GCSEs then what matters the most is getting good grades in the subjects that interest them and they are good at as opposed to trying to gain GCSEs in as many subjects as possible. The old saying of quality is better than quantity holds true for qualifications and 5 GCSEs at A*, A, or B grade are worth more than 10 GCSEs at C, D, or E grade. GCSEs are available in a wide variety of subjects, many of which are not offered at mainstream schools. A list of available subjects can be found on the websites of exams boards. Your kid might be interested in taking exams in some of these subjects either in addition or as an alternative to the GCSEs offered at mainstream schools. After 16 There is no legal requirement to have GCSEs to do A Levels and many colleges readily accept students aged 16 and above onto certain A Level courses including electronics and computing without GCSEs in these subjects. Colleges usually expect applicants for other A Level courses such as maths or history to have a GCSE in the subject, but will often accept applicants providing they can somehow demonstrate (usually via an interview) that they possess sufficient knowledge of the subject to start the A Level course. If your kid is rejected because of lack of a GCSE then try an alternative arrangement such as the part time evening course rather than the full time day course, or apply to another college. Most colleges also offer a variety of vocational courses which could well be better choices than conventional academic subjects even if your kid is academically able. Many universities will accept BTECs and City & Guilds instead of A Levels. Investigate with universities what their entry requirements are before your kid commits themself to any particular courses. Information about course entry requirements can be found on university websites. Most (possibly all) universities require some evidence that the applicant is fluent in English. An English language GCSE is most commonly used but other recognised English language qualifications also exist. Check with the university about this. Now what are the alternative choices available when it comes to getting paper qualifications? 1. Private/external candidates. It is possible to take GCSEs and A Levels in many subjects at any age by studying at home then taking the exam at an exam centre. This is available for kids who either attend mainstream schools or are home educated. Your kid can take exams in subjects they are studying at school or subjects that are not offered by their school providing the exam board makes them available to private candidates. The reason a few subjects are not offered to private candidates is because the coursework element is too difficult to accomplish at home without special facilities. It is the responsibility of the student to find an exam centre and arrange the exams. This process can be quite tricky. Most exam centres are schools and colleges and lists of those that take private candidates can be found on the websites of exams boards, but there is no indication whether the exam centre offers the exams your kid wants. Quite often the exam centre will only offer exams that their students take which correspond to the courses the school or college teaches. If the exam is in a particularly unusual subject then it is best to contact the exam board to find out where offers the exam. Sometimes it may be more successful to approach the matter from the opposite direction by contacting local schools and colleges and asking if they take private candidates and which exam boards they use. If the exam centre happens to be the secondary school your kid attends then they can refuse to let them sit the exam! Another secondary school in the same LEA might let your kid sit the exam. Private candidates are responsible for providing their own textbooks and course materials and have to teach themself. It helps if they know someone knowledgeable of the subject who can help them if they have difficulties. Standard textbooks are available for most subjects but private candidates can use whatever material is available to them. There are also certain internet sites and discussion forums dedicated to particular GCSE and A Level subjects. A private tutor can be employed either on a regular or occasional basis to help out with any difficulties. Past exam papers and their marking schemes are available to download from the websites of exam boards. Most GCSEs and some A Levels have a coursework element so your kid must allow themselves plenty of time to complete the coursework before the deadline. The cost of taking exams as a private candidate are quite low. Exam boards typically charge about �30 per subject and the examining centre often adds an administration charge between �5 and �30 per subject. 2. Distance learning or correspondence courses. Several organisations run distance learning courses offering GCSEs, A Levels, and vocational qualifications including those rarely offered by schools and colleges. Distance learning courses are primarily intended for adults but most organisations will take under 16 year olds who either attend mainstream schools or are home educated. They are allegedly quite popular with home educated teenagers whose want GCSEs, but have parents who lack sufficient knowledge of the syllabus to teach them. Some distance learning organisations just supply the learning materials either by post or e-mail, but others also provide tutor support by telephone or e-mail as well. Usually students enter exams as private candidates and it is the responsibility of the student and not the distance learning organisation to arrange the exams. Many distance learning organisations will offer a list all exam centres that take their students. Distance learning courses are an ideal way for kids with AS to gain qualifications as they can study at their own rate at home without the pressure associated with institutionalised education. Course fees for distance learning courses vary but typically will cost �200 to �300 for each subject or course. 3. State colleges. Under 16 year olds will only be accepted at a state college as a full time student if they have the support of their LEA. Getting support from an LEA to attend college instead of school is very difficult and usually only offered as part of SEN provision. If your kid is officially diagnosed with AS or statemented for SEN then it is worth enquiring with the LEA whether they are prepared to offer college instead of school. Very rarely will an LEA allow an under 16 year old to attend college full time to study subjects offered at school or any GCSEs for that matter. They will usually allow only vocational courses as the facility is officially intended for less academic kids. Most colleges offer evening classes in both academic and vocational subjects. They are intended for adults in employment but an increasing number of colleges are accepting under 16 year olds who either attend mainstream school or are officially home educated. The attitudes towards accepting under 16 year olds vary from college to college and course to course. Many colleges are more inclined to accept under 16 year olds wanting to take vocational courses in say computing or an arts subject, or a GCSE not offered by most school such as astronomy, rather than GCSEs offered by schools such as science or English. I am unsure what the situation is regarding SEN and evening classes. State colleges offer free education for full time students in the 16 to 19 age group, but under 16 year olds attending evening classes may be subject to tuition fees and costs vary from college to college. Some colleges will charge full fees and other colleges will offer a reduced rate to under 16 year olds. 4. Independent colleges. A number of independent colleges exist that offer a limited range of GCSEs, A Levels, or vocational subjects and many are willing to accept under 16 year olds who attend mainstream school or are officially home educated. Courses often run in the evenings or at weekends as well as during weekdays. The attitude towards SEN can vary from college to college. Some welcome kids with AS, physical disabilities, or those who have left school due to bullying and are willing to provide for their special needs, whilst others may be less inviting when it comes to the provision of SEN. Most independent colleges are registered exam centres and students take their exams there. The staff also help with the coursework. Fees vary from college to college. Some charge a fee for the complete course whereas others charge on a lesson by lesson basis. 5. The Open University. Offers a wide variety of degree courses to over 16 year olds and most courses do not require any previous qualifications. This is an ideal alternative to real universities for students with AS as they can study at their own pace at home without the pressures of tight deadlines or the stress of lecture halls. 6. University distance learning courses. Some universities now offer distance learning degrees in certain subjects and students will graduate from that university in the same way as if they attended the university in person. Check with the university for entry requirements.

Did Lorna Wing coin the phrase AS in a paper published in 1981 in a psychology journal? If so, then why did she not publish a summary of her findings in mainstream educational journals such as the TES? If AS was known about in the early 1980s then confining information to obscure psychology journals did nothing except delay the time when AS became known in the medical and education professions.

Gates are unlocked for emergency service access. A car caught fire at my school and a fire appliance couldn't access the car park because some bollards were locked upright. Nobody around had the key to the bollards and by the time they were cut down the petrol tank on the car had exploded like a bomb being detonated. Luckily nobody was hurt, but the LEA introduced policy to ensure access to emergency service vehicles throughout times when the school is open.

The issue is whether your kid really wants friends or not. Some kids are quite happy with their family and their computer/toys/books or whatever, others desperately want friends but can't make any, and others secretly want friends but don't admit to it. You have to find out what your kid wants before you and they can make a decision what to do next. An important point is that friends do not have to be of the same age as your kid or attend the same school. In fact school can be a bad environment for making friends and it is probably better to have 5 good friends rather than 50 acquaintances.

The state school system offers virtually no facilities for kids with high academic abilities. All that matters is that they achieve the National Curriculum targets. Most schools and teachers find high flying kids undesirable people although they rarely admit it. There are no "magic bullets" when it comes to kids with high academic abilities. It is completely impossible for them to be moved into a higher year group because of the way the law works, and very difficult for them to be moved into classes attended by a higher year group for certain subjects due to timetabling problems. A certain secondary school in Gosport in Hampshire has abolished year groups and classes are formed by ability on a subject by subject basis with the facility to take exams when the kids are ready rather than at the end of Y11. The outcome of this remains to be seen and will take at least 3 years before a picture emerges. There are also many questions that need answering as well. If your kid is interested in getting pieces of paper then they can take GCSEs and A Levels as private candidates at any age. If it is a core subject they get their GCSE in then they will have to continue studying it at school until Y11 and take the exam again at school due to National Curriculum requirements.

Colouring in shapes effectively is something that comes with practice and is not a skill one is born with. It often helps to have two colouring implements: one with a sharp point for edges and fine details, and one with a broad point for shading. Felt tip pens are not good for colouring in large areas. Shading pencils should be 2B to 4B hardness.

Working in partnership with schools is difficult unless one is a close friend of the head, and possibly a close friend of a senior figure in the LEA. The way the education system in this country works is that it is detached from much of the real world and doesn't like the idea of outside people or organisations intruding on the sacred ground that schools stand on. I gave a few presentations on electronics at a certain secondary school and it didn't go down all that well with the head who stopped me from making any more presentations. There were issues with things like health and safety and that I hadn't been vetted to work with children amongst other things.

What organisations diagnose AS in adults? My GP is of no help and has never even heard of AS. What is the outcome of a diagnosis? Do I get a certificate saying I have AS? What are the pros and cons of getting a diagnosis?

I came within inches of a prison sentence for an assault with a weapon when I was 13. The police firmly stated that the law does not take things into account such as provocation and stress from the environment I was in - which was probably worse than prison anyway. Nowadays there are these "kids prisons" that offer a more comfortable environment than ordinary prisons such as individual rooms with nice furnishings. They also offer education and kids can take GCSEs. I would probably have wanted to be sent to one rather than the school I attended. Sadly, they didn't exist in 1991 and back then under 18 year olds could be sent to an adult prison and forced to live alongside people twice their age under the same regime and regulations that applied to adults. There were no educational facilities apart from very basic skills and no opportunities to take GCSE exams. I can vaguely remember watching a 12 year old being sent to an adult prison on the news during the late 1980s.

The prison service is very behind when it comes to issues like AS and ASD. Many prison staff simply do the job because it pays the bills. They have no interest in weird medical conditions. Medical facilities in prisons are handled by the Prison Medical Service which is completely separate from the NHS. It has its own protocols and does not follow NHS policy, nor does it employ NHS staff.

This is the sort of information I got told about bullying at school. One might have got away with it back in the deep dark depths of the 1980s but anyone who gives that advice today needs their brain examining. I was persistantly told by parents, teachers and other kids that those who get bullied often deserve it because they bring the problems on themselves and act as a magnet for attention. I would send it to the papers. The Daily Mail would probably be the best choice.

This is bad news. It appears as if these so called friends are just exploiting you and your facilities at home. Now does your son ever go to his so called friends houses? If not, why not? Friendship is supposed to be reciprocal and if he never gets invited round his so called friends houses then the best thing to do would be to turn up on the doorstep and see his so called friends reaction. I went through a similar phase where kids would call round my house yet they wouldn't invite me round their houses and didn't want to know me in the school playground although they talked to me in lessons. When I started turning up on their doorstep regularly then they rapidly ceased turning up on mine.

Does having AS increase one's priority when it comes to council housing?

I'm in my 20s and think I have AS but haven't yet been daignosed. Recently I have been trying to find any support organisations that are willing to deal with adults in the Hampshire area.

That devastating consequences part probably won't hold up in court because I left the school with several high grade GCSEs. Bullying, victimisation, and the failure to provide for my special needs was why the school was unsuitable for me.

Is it possible to sue an LEA or educational psychologist for the following things? 1. Failing to correctly diagnose my problem as AS in 1989. The term AS was coined in 1981 and the condition was known about in the west including NZ during the early 80s. I would first have to be officially diagnosed as having AS. 2. Recommending social skills programmes that would have been of no benefit because AS is incurable. 3. Approving of a school that was unsuitable for me. The school closed down in 1994 which could make things tricky although I could get some of the staff to write reports on how the school was run.

I had some terrible lecturers at university and suspect one of them had AS. He couldn't teach, his notes were an incomprehensible mess, he dressed badly including untity hair and could mathematically prove that 2+2=5. Yet he was an expert at electromagnetics and a Linux enthusiast. His room was the most disgusting rubbish dump I have ever seen. There were piles of paper and bits of machinery everywhere. The presence of a Rubik cube on a table covered with dirty coffee cups gave the game away that the room was the domain of nerds and geeks.

The victimisation and bullying at my special needs boarding school was so rife when I started and during all of Y9 that all I wanted to do was make myself invisible. This is the exact opposite of integration. How can one relate well to others and make friends if they are consitently bullied and victimised by both staff and other kids? They can't. I ended up violently assaulting another kid with a weapon because I was feeling so depressed and fed up with the place.

Bad wording makes maths questions harder. I always preferred questions that said things like "factorise this equation" rather than a commentary on some real world situation. Traditionally O Level maths questions were of the "factorise this equation" variety, but educational gurus decised in the mid 80s that maths was too boring, so went ahead and introduced all sorts of wordy drivel in the exam questions in the attempt to make things more appealing for the masses. This was a detrimental move for kids who find comprehension difficult but maths easy. They get the wrong answers because they misinterpret the question rather than get the maths wrong. When I did my A Level I opted for mechanics rather than statistics because the statistics questions were too wordy.

The reason why my educational psychologist recommended a boarding school was because I was a withdrawn individual who spent too much time at home in front of a computer and didn't socialise enough with people of my own age group. I also had bad social skills with most people of my age group although they were significantly better with adults. AS wasn't known about at the time and the educational psychologist thought that by forcing me in contact with other kids in after school hours in a communal environment with no computers would make me more sociable and solve my social skills problems. Read more about my statement at http://www.asd-forum.org.uk/forum/index.ph...t=0entry38358