Anyone come across primary schools

[hedders]

Late last yr following a clinic assessment with ot and info from myself the ot felt that dd has Sensory intergration disorder, and i chatted to her class teacher she never heard of it before.

Anyway last week my dd had some checks done with the opticians as to why she is having great diffculty with the academic work and he found that she needs to learn literacy and numeracy vetically all to do with the senses out of balance my pead is looking into this with much interest.

Mentioned to class teacher yesterday morning she laughed at me and said she very unique your dd never heard of that before.

I do know that the school dont identfy children under the age of 7 with sen as they all have diffculties with academic,social interaction, concentration etc.. so the head states we have no concerns.

They dont even support me with my concerns to ASD, as they have never come across it before.

I would of thought times have changed and schools would be more knowledgable now days.

[smiley]

..........last year, the first 'big' school meeting with new teacher/senco/head/EP, (this is AFTER the end of the first term... )The EP was talking about autism and my son's teachers comment was "Ohhhhh, it's a social thing is it??". I very, very nearly hit her .........

 

I can appreciate that teachers have very little training - but to laugh at you and make light of your concerns, not good.

 

Is there an outreach team who could come in and slap give her some info ? Worth asking if EP can sort out some training, my son's EP dragged all the teachers in for a mornings ASD training .

 

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[stressedmumto2]

hedders, it's not uncommon i'm afraid.

 

In my son's first primary they knew very little, in fact the SENCO said there were other children with far greater need, my son soon became refusal as he couldn't cope.

 

I gave them loads of info which probably just got chucked in the bin. They had specialist autism worker go into school and tell them what to do i.e. visuals etc. There is a lil boy in my daughters class with ASD and you know what they've done nowt for him, he doesn't even have a visual time-table.

 

the school make me so mad that they've not even applied what was advised to them for my son to use on any other children. I think in the case of my son's school they would prefer not to have SEN children s it's too much hassle for them.

 

I think if you can inform them as much as possible then that's great and try to get an out-reach worker in that will help, one that has understanding of ASD. My son's school used their own out-reach who were behavioural specialists that's why when the autism worker went in they probably decided not to use any stratergies she told them to use as they had it in their head he was a naughty child,arghhhhhh

[butterfingersbimbo]

since when did teachers become experts at diagnosing children?

[Karen A]

Hi alas some schools are much better than others.The good news is that some do become more aware.Ben's school are doing well after a shaky start.Karen.

[phoebe]

our school whilst supposedly being the local area EBD school and recognised on the county council web site as being the experts in the area for EBD seem never to have had any experience or ever come across anything like my DS in their lives,

 

They have learnt along the way, and I have helped to educate them, but they gave me hell before he was diagnosed and it is only now after 5 years that we have reached some sort of mutual respect (although even this is shaky at times) and understanding.

 

So it goes with all these schools that are trying to cope with a load of children with different abilities and not much support. They learn on the job with each child that comes along. They do not have an easy job and you just have to hope that they try their best for you and yours.

 

OR AM I JUST FEELING CYNICAL TONIGHT?

[Frangipani]

Hi

 

My son is now 19 he was one of the lucky ones that was diagnosed at 4 and received all the support he required and the schools lined everything up.

 

One year I had to placed my son in a private school, it was such a big mistake. They had absolutely no idea, not a clue, were absolutely ignorant. I never had problems getting support in the past, they just put him in th too hard basket and naughty corner. I got him out of their quick smart when I complained to the school counsellor and she basically had the gaul to say you would be better off putting him in the public system as they have more funding than they do. The big sell on what a wonderful school they were Ha Ha!!!

 

If you feel your school are in the dark, its truly worth going and speaking with them and putting them to the test to see if they are up to accomodating your child as there are many schools that are totally inadequate and you are just going to spend your days miserable and frustrated. Its a headache but can save you years of stress and grey hairs. Being in the right school is important to your childs success and happiness.

 

You are your childs best chance at success.

 

All the best

Edited January 17, 2007 by Frangipani

[DaisyFulkirk]

I think the problem much more than anything else is not schools that don't know, it's schools that don't care.

 

My primary school were very pragmatic, they identified what I needed and did it, not worrying about labels and experts and money.

[mummy]

It makes me feel really cross when I hear this sort of attitude.

Surely teachers must learn in training to put the needs of the child first and to differentiate when necessary.

 

Maybe you could offer her some written information or a letter from your little one's paed.

 

I remember working in a mainstream primary 5 years ago and a young child on year 2 who had William's Syndrome was humiliated in front on the class and even laughed at by the teacher for not understanding the lesson instruction.

 

I have since been working in a special school (The same one that the above mentioned child ended up going to) and have discovered that there are in fact teachers out there who value and attempt to understand every single child and make every effort to meet those needs whatever they are.

[hedders]

funny you said that about taking in pead report, tried that one last yr and was told to see the headteacher she kept saying she had no concerns bla bla bla wouldnt listen to my concerns and said to try parenting classes.

My pead is going to contact the senco who isnt very knowledgable neither

[krystaltps]

Teachers DO have training. At least, we have access to it as part of our CPD. A good teacher will attend courses and obtain the relevant literature when they have a child in their class who has specific problems/difficulities. I cannot believe this woman laughed at you... I really can't. That is just SOOOOOO unprofessional and insensitive of her. A teacher like that would not survive in my school.

As for all children under 7 not having SEN, that's absolute rubbish (and an attempt to avoid the expense of early intervention in my opinion). Children who have not reached developmentally appropriate milestones (in relation to same-age peers), no matter what the area of the difficulty, should have access to early intervention, if this is not done in the early years then the problem will carry on, not just go away.

Sorry for ranting, I'm just so angry on your behalf. Some schools are better than others, some teachers are better than others, and some teachers should not be teaching.

My son's teacher last year knew nothing about AS, and made no attempt to find out anything. Any suggestions that were made were met with a response that suggested he was just a naughty, disruptive boy and did not need any special provision. She seemed totally blind to the fact that if she had carried out some of the suggestions, her job would have been made so much easier. This was before his dx. He was diagnosed just before school broke up for the summer, and when I told her she actually seemed disappointed!! Not disappointed for C, but disappointed that he does infact have additional support needs.

His teacher this year is a totally different kind of person, even before the label was applied to him, she had read up on ASD. C is her first, and she does try things that I know will set him off, but she is TRYING... and that's what is important.

Teachers can't have an in-depth knowledge of all the potential difficulties a child can suffer from, but they CAN have an open mind, a willingness to learn, to try, to help, to listen, and to seek assistance from other professionals.

This attitude that you have been subjected to is NOT right. You should go over their heads and complain to the LEA. I'm not sure what your rights are (I'm in Scotland), but if you have something similar to the Additional Support for Learning Act, then you have every right to lodge an official complaint (about the teacher and the school).

Again, apologies for the rant

Please don't just accept their attitude, and lack of assistance for your DD, you both deserve more......

[hedders]

The teacher in question had the opp to gain info on a course for Autism and came away with her understanding that my dd doesnt have Autism as she joins group topics and approaches her in class, she was very confident and proud of this statment to me infront of all the other parents who are not aware of my concerns.

Then i had a lovely message from the support assistant again infront of parents saying the Head thinks it will be very benefical for you to go on our Parenting course.

Supportive parents have made a complaint on my behalf to Parentpartnership and also reminding me to be very careful what i say to the school.

I did contact LEA last may at the beginning of my troubles with school, they seemed to have a relaxed view that the school didnt have any concerns but did point out that the head wasnt to get involved and the SENCO should be dealing with it. This only made matters worse when the head phoned me saying that she will be the only one dealing with the situation and i believe threatened me with

"no matter what you do Im the only one who countersigns reports within the school not the SENCO "

Im going to contact the ed psy and enquire about Autism outreach service, that might be able to assess her in school, not sure if this may be a step forward?

Dont know how i can move forward in what path to take next? any soluations

A small part of me says what if im wrong and i have been making issues out of nothing. It just helps that my younger dd is under the same pead for social communication diffculties and concerns with development delay with my concerns also of ASD