puffin

My children's mainsteam school in Sweden has several awards that are for non-academic/sporting achievements - although these are not reserved for children with special needs they have a better chance of being awarded these - for example one in particular was "Fighter/Battler of the Year" for someone who had overcome some sort of adversity - although this does not have to be disability related

DD - when she was younger - used to really struggle with the "fun" end of term activities - she found the general excitment of the other kids very stressful as well as having problems with the lack of predictability when they were not following the usual timetable

Office Christmas meals always suck

Congrats But don't do out and see the baby untill you have been without vomiting symptoms for 2 days as winter vomiting virus remains infectious

Winter vomiting virus is infectious for up to 48 hours after your last bout of vomiting so do not be tempted to go out and risk spreading it until your have been symptom free for 2 days - especially to a newborn baby who could get very ill Hope you feel better soon

Obviously support may become a sensitive issue in teenage years as kids do not wish to be perceived as "different" I think a lot depends on how it is going for him without support? Is he really benefiting from support or would he benefit more from a different type of support. It sounds from your post that being singled out for support is actually a source of problems rather than a solution at the moment. Is it worth taking a step back rather than force the issue? What is he gaining? Your child is obviously highly intelligent as you mention on another thread that you wish him to move to a competitive entry independent school – so possibly your aim would be that in the long term he would manage without support? So perhaps now is a good time to review the support he is getting and how it is delivered. We have been through this with DD (16 AS/ADHD). She became increasingly resistant to any support forms that involved withdrawing her from class and friends and being “different” – so this type of support was gradually reduced after she was 14. We replaced it with good briefings to staff on the language they used, agreements that she would get additional briefings on what was required and how to break down on discursive subjects rather than essay titles such as “explain the French revolution”, she also had part time LSA assistance for organizational issues. DD has become more aware of her own capabilities and has shown a greater willingness to be independent and has managed things that would have been impossible 2-3 years ago. But only you can judge whether your son is ready for a different form of support.

Are these special schools or competitative entry independent schools that offer ASD support ?

I think that you should contact ipsea and find out whether the school are allowed to refuse support needed with toileting http://www.ipsea.org.uk/ It might be a breach of the disability act

Has she given any ideas of what she intends to do when she leaves? Does she have a plan?

DD (AS/ADHD) used to be very opposed to typing (I think she didn't want to appear to be different) - in her case an OT assessment showed that motor skills problems made it harder to write by hand than to type. She gripped the pen too hard and pressed too hard making handwriting very tireing - and eventually she started using a laptop when she realised it was faster for her However recently she has started at 6th form college at a Swedish mainstream free-school where all pupils receive laptops from the school so she doesn't even appear unusual any more

You need to personally appeal the decision not to assess - this will not be dealt with by th LGO or other agencies

My brother (AS but undiagnosed) died of acute alcoholic poisoning - someone gave him a bottle of whiskey for Christmas so he drank the lot there and then, fell asleep in a park and died So be careful

Have you tried getting the grandparents to come to your home? dd was always much better if she had her own room and familiar stuff around her

My daughter went to the Winter Ball at Christmas we armed her with a mobile in case she wanted early pcik up - but she loved it - and did the entire 6pm-midnight- and did stuff that she would normally never have considered such as dancing She could not stop talking about it until 2 am and then crashed and slept the entire next day!

As someone who lives in Sweden- the home of free schools I would have some concerns about stability especially for smaller schools My local free school went bankrupt last year when a couple of pupils moved school - parents were given 10 days notice to find a new school