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splosh

Secondary education for AS boy...

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DS is 8, with high-functioning AS, and currently in Yr4 at mainstream primary school, statemented and full-time in a fantastic support base. We know we will have to make a decision as to his secondary education this time next year.

 

Now (and this is a familiar story I'm sure) I'm getting a bit panicky because I cannot find ANYTHING which will suit him for 11+. Realistically, we are looking at a special school and there are many which list Asperger's as a 'speciality', but when I check the website/Ofsted/exam results, it's clear they do not cater for DS's (ridiculously high!) level of intelligence.

 

We are prepared to do anything and go anywhere to get him the right education. When our LEA was asked which local schools would be in the running for him, they suggested a PRIMARY-age school for autistic children and an EBD school (which would be SO wrong it's unbelievable). :o

 

The 'specialist' autism teacher who was at his recent statement review urged us to consider the local mainstream schools. Frankly, I nearly fell off my chair laughing - especially as she had observed him in a mainstream class unsupported and it was a complete (very timely) disaster! Stupid woman. :angry:

 

So....I appreciate we cannot name names on the forum, but if anyone has experience of a great secondary school for high-functioning AS children, state or private, ANYWHERE in the country that we could investigate, could you possibly PM or email me with your experience (if not suitable for forum). We would be really grateful - got that 'hunting in the dark' feeling at the moment! :tearful:

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Hi Splosh,

 

Our boys are the same age and we live quite close so i'm facing the same dilema too! Have you checked out the Gabbitas book (covers ALL special schools and mainstream schools who cater for SN, maintained and private)?

 

I'll PM you if i see anything that looks promising.

 

As you know, Kai is in an EBD school at the moment which suits him for now , but i don't think an EBD secondary will be right for him at all.

 

I KNOW he wouldn't cope in mainstream, so i'm preparing to do battle!

 

There are others on this forum with children at residential secondary schools, maybe they'll PM you the details?

 

Loulou xx

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DS is 8, with high-functioning AS, and currently in Yr4 at mainstream primary school, statemented and full-time in a fantastic support base. We know we will have to make a decision as to his secondary education this time next year.

 

Welcome to the shadowy underworld of secondary schools. Better known as hell on earth for kids with AS.

 

You should think yourself lucky that your son is statemented and receives fantastic support at primary school, but don't expect a mainstream secondary school to provide anything near the level of support he currently gets. Having a statement helps but don't assume it is a magic spell that will grant your son the support he needs when he needs. The state school system has never been good at providing SEN services to high intelligence kids. You could be faced with the hard choice of a mainstream secondary school that provides very little support, or an SEN school that provides more support but doesn't cater for kids of high intelligence. I wouldn't recommend a school for EBD. I attended an EBD school and it was very unpleasant and didn't meet my needs. If you can't find a suitable school then distance learning via the internet could be a solution. Some LEAs are starting to offer this service.

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Hi J attends a dyslexic specialist centre and they gave me a list of spersific school that support children with Dyslexia in the book it also had a lot of schools that included Aspergers syndrome.

 

Try your local Dyslexia Action group and ask for the specialist book.

 

It included schools all over england.

 

I will try and dig it out or request another one to get the actual title, it was free.

 

also NAS paris is another good search, or just google specialist schools or Aspergers syndrome and education.

 

Some schools really can cater for AS in a private non maintained school and he could be offered a scolarship if they feel they could support him so also check your local independant schools, I know of three mums who have removed their AS children from LEA primary schools to Private schools and they cater really well for their needs, one lad in particular is doing very well.

 

So do look at your local private schools too, and look into scolarships.

 

A school I am looking into caters for high inteligence but also supports students who struggle with certain subjects so it may be a child is great at science but not too good at putting down his ideas so struggles with his assignments when it comes to independant thinking, this is where the specialist comes in at this school.

 

Good luck hope the ideas help.

Edited by JsMum

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A BIG thank you to all of you who have replied on here or have PM'd me - your advice and support is absolutely invaluable to us. :)

 

Further contributions very welcome! :D

 

Canopus - Believe me, I thank my lucky stars every single day about the support our son has at the moment and I also realise that a statement isn't a golden ticket in secondary education ... which is why I am mildly panicking now! Thanks for the tip about distance learning - I will look into it. :)

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Hi Splosh,

 

My DS is high functioning with a high level of social anxiety and very poor social skills. When he was in primary school he received lots of support and differentiation, so he was doing fine, he was placed in a mainstream comprehensive that is known for being "good" at catering for SENs. But this secondary school were not good at understanding and giving the right support to a child with AS, since there was only one other pupil with AS in the whole school who happened to be very different from my son. School became a nightmare where he was bullied for being "nerdy" and not fitting in with his peers, he was several times physically attacked, he became challenging and aggressive but instead of support he received bad grades, detentions and exclusion. Teachers had no clue about students with AS, and a couple were offended when I sent them some information (from Tony Altwood or the NAS) and made things even worse for my son because they saw him as a bright but naughty boy with an overprotective mother. He used to be brilliant in History, but the teacher seemed to hate his contributions which were probably out of topic or too long, so he got failing grades last term which discouraged my son completely in that subject and now he doesn't want to pick up a history book again. :( He has now a statement and he'll be moving soon to another comprehensive specialised in asperger's.

 

If your son is a bright boy and a hard worker, perhaps you could also have a look at a grammar school . I used to work at a grammar school where there were a couple of boys with AS and they were doing brilliant. The fact that there were almost no behaviour problems and bullying at this school made studying a lot easier for them. The school also had an excellent SEN provision, so even without a statement, those boys were closely monitored and received differentiated tasks as well as support. The reason why I didn't apply for a placement for my son at the grammar schol is that he wouldn't have been able to cope with the amount of homework given.

 

I'd say look at different schools, talk to people who have children in those schools to find one that can REALLY understand and support a child like your son. Ofsted and prospectuses are not enough, it's important to get first hand information.

 

Good luck

 

Curra XX :D

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Hi splosh -

 

FWIW I'm this year in the position you're going to find yourself in next year...

I think curra's point about grammer schools is very valid if you think it's an option - they do seem to be far more accommodating of our kids, undoubtedly because there is a much higer percentage of kids who 'think' around the fringes of AS (regardless of the appropriateness of an actual dx), and who are more likely to access chess club rather than the rugby team at break times!

That's not going to be an option for my son - While academically 'above average' his ability to demonstrate it consistently fluctuates massively, and even if he passed his 11+ (one of the few geographic areas that still have that!) on a good day the chances of him riding that roller-coaster successfully for the next 6 years or so would not be good.

Can't offer any advice on what could be right for your particular son, but can offer that my own efforts are going to be to make sure the local mainstream ISN'T named as an option and that the other two schools I DO name will be the worst possible options for the LEA ( I am lucky in this that i have two schools in my area who's NEW designations could fit my son but who are fighting their designations and are unlikely to be redesignated 'in time' IYSWIM)... That leaves the LEA with Hobson's choice, provided that the mainstream says it can't meet his needs, which I'll make every effort to ensure is the case...

If all of that goes Tats up then home ed/distance learning may be the answer, but i'm not ready to put my son into a situation that's likely to fail just to appease the LEA, unless there's a safety net provided...

 

hope that helps

 

L&P

 

BD

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The reason why I didn't apply for a placement for my son at the grammar schol is that he wouldn't have been able to cope with the amount of homework given.

 

What intrigues me is why is there a tendency for grammar schools to give out so much homework when they teach exactly the same subjects as state schools and often use the same textbooks. My NT brother went to a fee paying grammar school and was forever bogged down with homework. The homework wasn't particularly difficult but the sheer volume of it was immense.

 

Something you have to be wary of with grammar schools is whether they are happy to accomodate kids with an uneven profile or whether they want kids to be good all rounders. Some grammar schools (including my brother's) place a heavy emphasis on team sports and participating in extra curricula activities. My brother also told me that kids who weren't sporty often got marginalised and looked down on.

 

I have a feeling that the 11+ grammar schools are better for kids with AS than the fee paying grammar schools that exist in areas without the 11+. Can anybody provide more info about this?

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Mmmm, the mainstream school my son attended was the 'old' boys' grammar...although no longer designated as such, it still has that ethos.

 

I thought it would be great, for all the reasons stated above, but it was an absolute disaster with absolutely no understanding of his needs despite having other lads there with AS before him, with my son ending up with a severe breakdown and out of school for 6 months before getting his place at a residential special school for AS.

 

Just my experience...

 

Bid

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What intrigues me is why is there a tendency for grammar schools to give out so much homework when they teach exactly the same subjects as state schools and often use the same textbooks. My NT brother went to a fee paying grammar school and was forever bogged down with homework. The homework wasn't particularly difficult but the sheer volume of it was immense.

 

Something you have to be wary of with grammar schools is whether they are happy to accomodate kids with an uneven profile or whether they want kids to be good all rounders. Some grammar schools (including my brother's) place a heavy emphasis on team sports and participating in extra curricula activities. My brother also told me that kids who weren't sporty often got marginalised and looked down on.

 

I have a feeling that the 11+ grammar schools are better for kids with AS than the fee paying grammar schools that exist in areas without the 11+. Can anybody provide more info about this?

 

From my experience, which was only supply work for a couple of months and only at ONE grammar school (selective using 11+), grammar schools (or at least this one) teach more in terms of depth and extension (most textbooks have differentiated activities for this purpose) than comprehensives, and that also depends on the level of the groups. There were still some kids in the higher groups who were so able that they were (or seemed) happy to do even more extra work. Some pupils who didn't cope with doing so much homework on a daily basis were placed in smaller groups with a TA, but that would not have been enough support for my son's needs. The system was competitive using praise and awards . On the contrary, in my son's comprehensive school the student who receives praise is later the laughing stock among his peers and this was disastrous for my son. He is a boy who was outstanding in primary school and in secondary became terrified of showing off his achievement out of fear of being teased. Some of you may remember from my posts during the year that my son became actually paranoid of his peers and still doesn't want to go out to avoid meeting any of them.

 

Canopus, I agree with you on the emphasis placed on team sports , particularly team spirit and things like identifying with your team, house or another type of club/group, and extra curricular activities involving team work. This is an important thing that needs to be considered in the case of a student with AS. My son would certainly be left out of these activities in a grammar school.

 

It is not easy to find the right secondary school for a child with AS who is also an able student hence the importance of getting as much information as possible from your local schools. My advice to anyone who is doing this search is to talk to other parents of children with AS and ask them what they think of the school and how their child feels in it.

 

Curra XX

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From my experience, which was only supply work for a couple of months and only at ONE grammar school (selective using 11+), grammar schools (or at least this one) teach more in terms of depth and extension (most textbooks have differentiated activities for this purpose) than comprehensives, and that also depends on the level of the groups.

 

About half of the homework my brother was set was work for the sake of it or extension work to broaden knowledge rather than curriculum material for the exam/coursework. Ironically, most of the homework set in Y10 and Y11 at the school was curriculum material and of similar volume and difficulty to that set by a typical comprehensive. I think the KS3 level at grammar schools is harder than the KS4 level for kids with AS because of having to do so much work that they think is unnecessary and in subjects they don't want to take for GCSE.

 

Canopus, I agree with you on the emphasis placed on team sports , particularly team spirit and things like identifying with your team, house or another type of club/group, and extra curricular activities involving team work. This is an important thing that needs to be considered in the case of a student with AS. My son would certainly be left out of these activities in a grammar school.

 

The question is whether the school would be happy to exempt a kid with AS from team sports. Another question is if the school did exempt SEN kids from team sports then would they lose respect from their peers and house captains.

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my 14yr old AS son is at grammar...and its exceedingly sporty! (has a high reputation for it ) Luckily son enjoys rugby (pure awful at it but gutsy :huh: so he happily joins in) But when I asked he said that they filter the poorer players of into hockey and if that doesnt suit there are other options that arnt team orientated (long distance running?) Plus a couple of lads are exempt from sports - and hes positive that there isnt any problem with that from any of the lads :D I think they are involved within sports ie score board duty? seems the sports dept manage to involve all the lads in one way or another.

 

Most grammars have many other interesting extra curriculum clubs - I'm sure if child is a chess wizz, the fact he's not into team sports wouldnt matter a jot! Sons school have a robotics club too - thats a good one for AS - robot wars contenders of the future! LOL. Im terrified to step in sons room as theres lego midstorms dotted about like boobytraps!

 

Homework is a bind, but certainly not from excess - lad was at an independant prep school before grammar and he got far more then! Its more the organisation of remembering homework......

 

And in our case, sons ability is fragmented, hes average in some, poor in languages (except latin :o ) Excells in maths/science/IT (as many AS kids do) Thankfuly most of the core subjects at grammer are split into academic bands based on ability (whereas my local comp teach all ability classes throughout every subject , and I cannot imagine son in that situ )

 

Because the 11+ is verbal reasoning with tick boxes, its often an easy exam option as very little writing and involves lateral thinking. I definately would extole the virtues of grammar school education in our case its been by far the most sucessful choice. Son is never teased for doing well by classmates as its drummed into them all to attain their very best, son thinks very much outside the box and with many teachers this has been a plus point - although im sure hes awkward to teach in a classroom enviroment! ( again - tho because the general behaviour is good I think teachers have more leeway and time for the few who struggle or disrupt)

 

I know every individual child has totally differing needs, its just this education choice was best for us. It isnt perfect , there arnt any TA's - some of the teachers are rather 'old school' and unbending but others are amazing and take time to extend sons interest with extension work and seem to take a keen interest.

 

im rambling again! sorry :lol: appologies :rolleyes:

 

xx pep

Edited by pepper

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my 14yr old AS son is at grammar...and its exceedingly sporty! (has a high reputation for it ) Luckily son enjoys rugby (pure awful at it but gutsy huh.gif so he happily joins in) But when I asked he said that they filter the poorer players of into hockey and if that doesnt suit there are other options that arnt team orientated (long distance running?) Plus a couple of lads are exempt from sports - and hes positive that there isnt any problem with that from any of the lads biggrin.gif I think they are involved within sports ie score board duty? seems the sports dept manage to involve all the lads in one way or another.

 

Good to see the school making an effort to accomodate the needs of kids who are unsuited to team sports.

 

Most grammars have many other interesting extra curriculum clubs - I'm sure if child is a chess wizz, the fact he's not into team sports wouldnt matter a jot! Sons school have a robotics club too - thats a good one for AS - robot wars contenders of the future! LOL. Im terrified to step in sons room as theres lego midstorms dotted about like boobytraps!

 

I forgot to mention clubs and societies. It is worthwhile investigating what clubs and societies the school has to offer and whether they appeal to your kid. There is a tendency for grammar schools to marginalise kids who don't participate in clubs and societies or contribute to school life, but simply attend school just for the lessons and education. Sometimes being an active member in a certain society can counteract any weaknesses in sports or particular subjects in the eyes of the staff.

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Hiya all,

My son is in Y3 and I was quite suprised as in a conversation with the head teacher a couple of weeks ago he mentioned that it would be a good idea to start thinking about secondary school for him! He was saying that the local seniors school is a large one with 1,500 pupils and may not be suitable for my son, and had i thought of this other one which has 450 pupils and more of a small school feel, and that it is a case of doing what is best for my child.Do you know whether there are any smaller schools near to you that may be a better option?

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I was really dreading my sons transition from a very small primary school(120 pupils), to a high school with over 2000 pupils :blink: .Thankfully his placement at this school is part of a ASD UNIT made up of 8 pupils and 6 staff.I never thought I,d be glad to see the back of his primary school years but looking at them now they were hideous :( .He still faces many learning challenges , with sensory problems, handwriting and dyslexia but on the whole high school is working out well :D .Last week he was called a spaz..........when his support found out the lad was given a severe telling off and a dinner detention.His primary school used to tell him to ignore the taunts.I really feel that where ever our kids are taught the people that support them must must must have a vast knowledge of autism.My sons teacher lends me books on autism and recommends stratergies to try at home.She has over 15yrs experience with autistic kids this has to be a huge factor in our kids education and happiness............."knowledge and understanding".

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Hi I just wanted to say thanks for posting this post and to all who have answered.Ben is in year 4 but we have been thinking about secondary schools as our NT son is in year 6 and we hoped to find a school that both our boys can go to.

Ben is also very bright and it has helped so much to find so many others wondering what to do-or even sharing the frustrations.Karen.

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Some LEA's will fund places in private schools or specialist private schools.

 

The independent schools council lists all the private schools in England.

 

You can obtain a free guide from www.isciscentral.info

 

 

Jen

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Some LEA's will fund places in private schools or specialist private schools.

 

The independent schools council lists all the private schools in England.

 

You can obtain a free guide from www.isciscentral.info

Jen

----------------------------------------------------

 

only if child is statemented, and LEA arnt banging on about 'suitable school local' which puts most of us over a barrel.

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