Do Schools Give a Damn?

[lsuddick]

This is my first visit and post on this or any other site about this matter. I hope I find myself in the right place fo some constructive advice, support or if you feel the need, criticism.

 

The light of my life is my 13 year old son, Michael. He was diagnosed with Asperger's some 5 years ago and is about to enter year 10 of secondary school. He is being "supported" in his education with a School Action Plus assessment.

 

I attended the subect meeting on 19th June 2009 and received the one paged summary of the meeting yesterday. Although I would love to post it I can't, short of retyping the whole thing. Suffice to say it was less than comprehensive! After 5 hours of delberation I decided to send an email to the school, a copy of which I have posted below. I also sent a copy to the local LEA.

 

What I would like to know is has anyone else felt this need? Did you do it and what was the outcome? Should I have done it at all? What is my next course of action?

 

THIS IS THE LETTER!

 

"It has taken me some time to come to the computer tonight, in order not to pen my immediate response to the subject review. I have deliberated long and hard about the course of action I should take and I believe that after nine years of being patronised and ignored it is time for the worm to turn.

 

Having read the summary of my comments during the meeting I find that many of my concerns are not recorded. However my indignation about this pales into insignificance when I read the thoughtful and considered action being proposed by the school to allay my concerns. You propose to,

 

[indent]"Inform Mr Suddick and Michael about after school activities available in September."[/indent]

 

Well I hate on rain on your parade but that is just not good enough and my wife and I find it unacceptable. I require you to address ALL of my concerns and make detailed proposals as to how your organisation plan to educate my son over the next two years. I am not prepared to sit back and accept the total lack of thought being administered in this matter. Much research has been carried out and many projects exist through which innovative, considered and proved programmes have been introduced, in order to develop the gifts and abilities of autistic children. Not in this case however. In this case all that I see, from all parties concerned, is a requirement to "tow the party line." Is there no free thinking from any of the parties involved? Please, do not come back to me with the argument of "government policy". I will rebut that argument with hundreds of cases throughout the country of children with AEN, who have been able to receive a meaningful and fruitful education as the result of some lateral thinking by educators and other specialists.

 

I am obliged to again refer to the subject AEN review, this time under the "Overview of Progress" heading. The first sentence proves to me that the people responsible for educating my son have no concept or knowledge of Asperser’s Syndrome. You have taken a thirteen year old child, diagnosed with this condition, placed him in a environment totally alien to him and required him to take a written examination in isolation. You are then amazed and make note of his disappointing performance. I hear of a mathematics teacher making comment about Michael not showing his workings out. I must ask, what do you expect and how many aspects of Michael's condition do you intend to ignore in the two years of purgatory we have yet to experience?

 

I will not accept any dalliance regarding this subject and expect to receive an expeditious reply. You will see that a copy of this document has been sent to the local authority and should there be no saisfactory outcome to this situation, I feel that I will have little alternative than to make public my concerns."

 

THANKYOU FOR CARING ENOUGH TO READ MY RANTINGS AND PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS,

[MOSEY]

Sorry to see how frustrated you are feeling. School is such a battle for our kids and requires us to be so forthright!

 

I cannot comment on how your education authorities work as I am from Scotland and our systems are a little different, but you should have rights under the parents act and should feel free to exercise them. As a teacher of kids with ASD as well as a parent though, I'd suggest that next time you write, try to be a little bit less emotional and more factual, outlining your actual reservations in bullet points rather than personalising them. That tends to get a better response as it seems less critical of the teacher, who is probably trying to help with limited resources and/or knowledge. It's hard when you are a teacher who genuinely cares but feel like a lone voice in the wilderness of the system and it is then a blow when parents seem disappointed.

 

As a parent, I empathise fully - have been there often. School has been a hellish time for my boy and I believe that comparatively, we have been lucky with our school. It's just not easy to be 'different' in mainstream education unfortunately! Wish I could offer further advice, but don't feel knowledgable enough of educational procedures in your area. Best of luck with your response and I hope that your letter generates a positive response for Michael!

Edited July 3, 2009 by MOSEY

[Cat]

While I can fully understand your disgust and anger I am not sure that I would of sent the letter that you have written but that is just me and we all have different ways of doing things.

 

What I would probably suggest you do now is to request another meeting to be called to address the concerns that you feel were ignored where other parties are involved if they were not already. I would also ask for the meeting to be minuted it is then harder for your concerns to be ignored. Was, for example there anyone at the meeting from an Autism Outreach Team or any kind of SEN specialist team? A professional from an Autism Outreach Team would or at least should be aware that a child with autism is not always able to 'tow a party line' and would be able to input this into the school. Do you have a parent partnership officer whom you could involve in your battle for whatever it is you are seeking. If your son is on School Action Plus then the school have access to all of the professionals who they require to go into school to help them to understand your son and therefore help your son. Are the school accessing these people? Are they attending review meetings? If not they why not. If you do not already have a copy of the SEN Code of Practice then I would suggest that you download one from here http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/sen/sencodeintro/ this really is the book you can throw at a school, not literally of course, if they are not taking the correct steps to support your son.

 

Going public would be my last resort as there are many other paths you could take to make the school sit up and take note first. You could for example involve the SEN Governor and write to the Governing Body with your concerns. Of course if you have tried all of the above and nothing has worked then that is a whole different ball game.

 

Cat

Edited July 4, 2009 by Cat

[purplehaze]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Firstly I would like to say how much I understand your frustration.

I have had many school meetings for my son and until recently got no where.

 

I agree with cat you need to get some professional support such as parent partnership involved. You can ask for a meeting to discuss some comments you feel were not included in the letter. You need to think about what you want for your son, what changes, what support will help him cope better. For example does he use visual support, does he have support in lessons, break time, do the school need more training (ASD advisory team can help with training) etc.

 

Good luck and let us know how you get on. XXX

 

 

[Sally44]

I too used the Parent Partnership to come along to all meetings with school or the LEA. They took notes on meetings and also pointed out an factual errors they made and told them what the procedures were when they didn't know them etc.

They also helped with IEPs/MEPs to make sure they are SMART targets. When that is correct the IEPs/MEPs will record when progress is being made and when targets are not being met. When that is recorded it then becomes the school's duty to get advice from outside professionals such as the Educational Psychologist or Autism Outreach Teacher as to why the target is not being met and what they can do.

 

Most LEAs also have 'training days' about ASDs. Does your school send anyone who works with your son to any of these training sessions? Some schools are interested and willing to do this. Other schools do not and tend to take the view that if the child is capable enough to cope then they stay, and if they don't then they leave. But the school should be meeting all of his needs. The question sometimes is whether it is worth staying and fighting on with a school that is showing such indifference. There maybe other mainstream schools in your catchment area that have many other children with ASDs and do things in a much more ASD friendly way. My own LEA has mixed mainstream/SEN schools. My son attends one of these and has a 'SEN' place in mainstream. However any child who is mainstream at that school benefits from the ways that they present the classwork because it has to be 'ASD' friendly for the 5+ pupils per class with an ASD. And you tend to find that parents talk to eachother at support group meetings and tend to send their children to the same schools.

 

My son has autism. For 3 years he went to a mainstream school. But I found that that school had no idea of autism or how it affected my son. They seemed totally unaware of what their responsibilities were and often did not get outside help. Part of that was down to the fact that all schools have a 'budget' of EP input etc per term. So if you have a child that is quietly falling behind but not causing any 'difficulties' for the whole class then they can get overlooked and the school tends not to use up their 'EP time' on such children. That may not always be the case, but that was may experience and the reason for it. Prior to that I did not know that schools have a 'budget' of allocated input from EP etc.

 

If your son is on SA+ he must have been seen by some professionals as that is part of SA+. They should have written something - maybe not a report, but at least an explanatory letter giving details of your son's difficulties and needs and giving school information on how to address and support those needs/difficulties in school. If you do not have this then ask school for copies of the findings of outside professionals who they called in at SA+ stage. If you find that the professionals never did put anything in writing, then I would write to them and copy in the school setting out the specific difficulties your child has which you feel is not recognised or addressed in school. Keep it unemotional and to the point eg:-

 

My son has difficulties in the following areas:-

 

Auditory Processing - he cannot take in lots of verbal instructions. I believe he needs frequent reminders from a TA to ensure he knows what he should be doing and all lessons should be printed out in bullet form (if he is able to read that).

 

XXX has difficulties asking for help or further explanations when he does not understand his work. SALT or EP should teach XXX and school explicitly in how to use 'help' cards. XXX also needs a 'nominated' LSA/TA who will be his key worker and who will be the main contact between school and parents. They will also carry out the programmes put together by outside professionals and will then generalise these learnt skills out to other staff members and into other environments eg. into the playground.

 

XXX has difficulties with emotional regulation and gets very upset about x, y and z. SALT or EP should put together a programme that should be carried out in school about recognising his emotional state and the emotions in others and this should be incorporated into his daily timetable.

 

XXX has difficulties with executive functions and finds it hard to plan, organise, prioritise, sequence tasks. He has difficulty understanding time and needs visual reminders so that he knows how much time he has to finish a task.

 

XXX has hand writing difficulties which need to be assessed. XXX would benefit from a scribe during examinations/or the use of a computer/or a computer with voice recognition software.

 

Then ask them what assessments they carried out and what their findings were and what recommendations they made to school as to how to address these difficulties and incorporate them into his daily timetable.

 

 

All the above are just examples which may or maynot be relevant to your son as everyone is different. But that might give you some ideas. The key thing is to get 'difficulties' 'in writing'. Anything verbal means nothing and cannot be proven. You also need to write in such a way as to get a written response from professionals which commits them to input.

For example after 3 years I found that the SALT had never assessed my son's interaction or play skills and that they didn't even have any ASD specific training. So I wrote into their department and asked them why in three years they had never managed to find the time to assess this area, as it was an area of difficulty, which had to be significant, to get a diagnosis of an ASD in the first place. I also requested a SALT that had experience and expertise in speech disorders and ASD. I got what I asked for. Sometimes if you don't ask for specific things from specific people then it doesn't happen.

 

The only way to get any provision 'legally binding' is through a Statement. But you need written evidence of complex needs for the LEA to agree to assess towards a Statement. It is not impossible, but I think you need some background information to help you know what you are aiming towards.

 

As already mentioned you need a copy of the Code of Practice for the SEN process. The NAS also run one day seminars about the SEN process. Your local Parent Partnership might also run similar courses.

 

You can also get Educational advice from the National Autistic Societies Educational Helpline and also from the IPSEA helpline. Both also have websites www.nas.org.uk and www.ipsea.org.uk.

[Tally]

Your letter is very emotional. The LEA are not concerned with your emotions and are likely to miss the valuable points you have made in amongst your comments about how upset and angry you are.

[lsuddick]

A very big THANKYOU to all contributers up to now. Lots of great information and ideas.

 

I would say that, although I agree that the contents of the letter are very emotional, I did wait for 6 hours after receipt of the summary before I wrote it. Knowing how I would have responded at the time of receipt I am veryglad that I did. Perhaps Monday may be a good time to supplement the original message with another to include many, if not all of the recommendations you have been kind enough to post.

 

I will post my next contact when compiled. Thanks again!

[Sally44]

In your original post you said that your son had not done well in his exams. I have mentioned some things that can be used as supports or strategies that can be used. Your child can also be allowed extra time. Or if he is not considered able to sit exams due to anxiety then his school work can be assessed instead.

But whatever they do use, it has to be written down and not 'verbal'. And it needs to be taught to him explicitly before any exam. How does he record and demonstrate learning at the moment. If it is a case of the added anxiety of stress of an exam that makes him not perform to a level expected of him then something like using a scribe or being allowed to use a computer etc can be used. But they must be familiar and comfortable with that before the exam. You don't just want a complete stranger turning up prior to the exam and announcing to your son that they are the scribe, because I presume like many of our children, he will need time to learn how to use the supports and he will need time to get to know anyone who will be helping him.

[lsuddick]

To All Poster's & Readers,

 

Having taken on board all your thoughts and advice (THANKS, ESPECIALLY SALLY ), I today sent the below document to the school via email. I also copied the thing to the LEA, local Parent Partnership and local Autism Outreach Team. You will see that it is less emotional and more considered?????

 

" Dear Sirs/Madam,

 

I refer to my e-mail of 2nd July 2009 regarding the subject AER. You will note from the distribution of this correspondence that, in addition to Children’s Services I have also copied this message to Parent Partnerships and the Autism Outreach Team. I have done this in order that all agencies who should be involved in this matter are fully aware of the situation and can address the points contained below.

 

AEN - General

 

The Manual of Good Practice sets out the general principle that targets involving children with AEA should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timed. A target should be worth achieving and if that is the case, it should be possible to judge whether or not it has been achieved.

 

Parent Partnerships can help with Individual Education Plans and make sure they are SMART targeted. When that is correct the IEPs should record when progress is being made and when targets are not being met. When that is recorded it then becomes the school's duty to get advice from outside professionals such as the Educational Psychologist or Autism Outreach Team as to why the target is not being met and what they can do.

 

· I do not have a copy of an IEP for Michael and would be obliged if you could forward me a copy.

 

AEN -Training

 

Most Local Education Authorities also have 'training days' about Autistic Spectrum Disorders.

 

· Does your school send anyone who works with Michael to any of these training sessions?

 

AEN –Education Path

 

I find that that school have no idea of autism or how it affects my son. You seem totally unaware of what your responsibilities are and often do not seek outside help. I believe part of the reason is the fact that all schools have a 'budget' of EP input etc per term. So if my child is quietly falling behind but not causing any 'difficulties' for the whole class then they can be overlooked and the school tends not to use up their 'EP time' on such children.

 

· Is this the case with Michael?

 

AEN –School Action Plus

 

Michael is on SA+. He should t have been seen by some professionals as that is part of SA+ process. They should have written a report or at least an explanatory letter giving details of Michael’s difficulties and needs and how the school should address and support those needs/difficulties in school. If this is not the case I require this point to be rectified.

 

· I would be obliged if you could furnish me with copies of these documents.

 

 

Michael – Difficulties

 

Michael has difficulties in the following areas of education and behaviour:

 

1. Auditory Processing - he cannot take in lots of verbal instructions. I believe he needs frequent reminders from a TA to ensure he knows what he should be doing and all lessons should be printed out in bullet form.

 

2. Michael has difficulties asking for help or further explanations when he does not understand his work. SALT or EP should teach Michael and school explicitly in how to use 'help' cards.

 

3. Michael also needs a 'nominated' LSA/TA who will be his key worker and who will be the main contact between school and parents. They will also carry out the programmes put together by outside professionals and will then generalise these learnt skills out to other staff members and into other environments e.g. the playground.

 

4. Michael has difficulties with emotional regulation and gets very upset about change of routine and stressful situations. SALT or EP should put together a programme that should be carried out in school about recognising his emotional state and the emotions in others and this should be incorporated into his daily timetable.

 

5. Michael has difficulties with executive functions and finds it hard to plan, organise, prioritise, sequence tasks. He has difficulty understanding time and needs visual reminders so that he knows how much time he has to finish a task.

 

6. Michael has hand writing & reading difficulties which need to be assessed. Michael would benefit from a scribe during examinations or the use of a computer.

 

Regarding the above I would like to find out what assessments have been carried out during Michael’s time at the school and what recommendations were and are going to be made in order to address these difficulties in his daily timetable.

 

AEN – General

 

I have two questions relating to Michael’s general education.

 

· How do you intend to address the question of the subjects he will study for the next two years?

 

· Are there any other mainstream schools in the LEA area that have many other children with ASDs and do things in a much more ASD friendly way?

 

Conclusion

 

I am both saddened and disappointed that I have found it necessary to resort to this course of action leading , I hope to propogate some soul searching and action on behalf of the people and organisations concerned."

Edited July 5, 2009 by Tally

[Cat]

I live in your LA and also run a support group there. Do you want to contact me off list? Send me a pm I might be able to help you if you wish.

 

Cat

[lsuddick]

Well, well, well!

Today we had a meeting with the school (Deputy Head & Senco). None of this just lots of this and this and .

 

We got everything[/color] that we asked for. Modified timetable, mentor support, scribed exams, minimum exam pressure, extra ciricula motor engineering programme etc. ###### Fantastic!!!!!

 

Many thanks once again to Sally, without who's input I would still have been howling at the moon.

 

Hurrah Blackadder!!!!!

[Sally44]

It may be that the school simply did not know what the difficulties were or how to address them. Your letter to them said exactly what his difficulties were and they have been willing to support those needs. That is very positive from the school.

However, it shouldn't really be up to parents to have to itemise their child's difficulties or for you to have to pressurise the school to do their job. That is what the outside professionals are for.

Make sure you get copies of the reports (if any) produced by professionals at SA+ stage. If school say these professionals did not give them any written advice then find out who they were and send them a letter asking them to detail to you and school what they assessed/observed and what their recommendations are. They should have identified needs (areas of difficulty), and should have made recommendations as to how those needs should be met in school.

As your child is mainstream. Does your LEA have an Autism Outreach Teacher that visits mainstream schools? I would advise you to find out who they are and ask them if they know about your son. If they need the school to contact them, then write to the school asking them to contact the AOT regarding your child. The AOT should be able to help school make sure that things are presented in a much more autism friendly way.

I would also involve your local Parent Partnership (your local council should have their contact details). They can come with you to any meetings involving school and can come for IEP/MEP meetings and make sure that the targets the school set are SMART (specific, measurable, achieveable, relevant, time based).

The National Autistic Society also runs training days on the Special Educational Needs process, which you might find very useful.

[lsuddick]

Hi Sally,

 

Thought I would put some meat on the bones of the meeting with the school.

 

1. Asked to be supplied with all the reports pertaining to Mike's status. They agreed.

2. AOT manager attended the meeting with us and was fantastic. She is now in the loop for all shool actions.

3. Contacted parent partnerships. Only one girl works for them and she was on holiday at the time of the meeting.

 

It was great and I cannot thank you enough!

 

My Very Best Wishes

[bid]

Not wanting to sound like a doom-goblin, but from bitter experience I know that whatever great things your school/LA promise you, the onus is on you to ensure that they actually deliver on these promises.

 

Don't assume they will automatically do any of it...you need to chase all of it. I would write outlining your understanding of the outcome of this meeting to all involved, with a realistic timescale. I also sent copies of all reports on my DS to the parties involved, as it's a mistake to assume they will forward them amongst themselves.

 

Keep them on their toes and I hope you get all the support your son needs.

 

Bid

[julieann]

Hi Sally,

 

I think this also needs a WELL DONE YOU <'> <'> <'>

 

To get so far in 9 days is amazing.

 

I do however agree with Bid [ the onus is on you to ensure that they actually deliver on these promises].

 

But with your recent track record I'm confident you can see they deliver.

 

Julieann

Edited July 12, 2009 by julieann

[Cat]

Hi Sally,

 

Thought I would put some meat on the bones of the meeting with the school.

 

1. Asked to be supplied with all the reports pertaining to Mike's status. They agreed.

2. AOT manager attended the meeting with us and was fantastic. She is now in the loop for all shool actions.

3. Contacted parent partnerships. Only one girl works for them and she was on holiday at the time of the meeting.

 

It was great and I cannot thank you enough!

 

My Very Best Wishes

 

Actually we have one of the better LAs believe it or not. Our AOT is award winning and if they are brought into the mix that will 'hopefully' mean that the school will deliver. Sometimes you really need to be specific about what you want and asking for it.

 

Cat

[Sally44]

Can we swop LEAs please.

[lsuddick]

If ours is one of the best then I pity the rest of the country

[Cat]

If ours is one of the best then I pity the rest of the country

 

I agree that the school should have got their act together without you having to take drastic action. It is wrong that parents have to Police the system and I always tell parents that they really need to clue themselves up and know what a school should and should not be doing when a child is on school action plus, not just in our LA in any LA. But if the AOT, PP and in fact the LA were until last week unaware that you were having these problems and issues they could not hope to sort them out. I have no idea if these people were already involved. But after one meeting with the input of others and of course because you made sure that you were not going to be ignored hopefully things are now going to change. As it stands at the moment schools do not have to ask for input from the AOT and the AOT have no right to access schools unless they are asked. EVERY school in our LA now has a copy of 'The Autism File' which was produced by the AOT and which has been specifically designed so that schools are aware that the team are available to them and is full of information and contacts that school could or should require. They are working hard in our LA to improve things in our schools. I can not quite believe I am saying this but they are. The AOT team are excellent and really do know their stuff and our PP officer works hard to. Things are far from perfect I know but some of us continue to keep our foot on the pedal for change and we are now listened to.

 

Cat

[lsuddick]

To Cat:

 

Have I upset you in some way, because you seem to have taken every opportunity of having a pop at me through this forum, or is there some hidden agenda?

 

Also I phoned and e-mailed you prior to this meeting, but received no reply. Don't forget,you contacted me!

 

I speak as I find regarding the organisations involved and will continue to do so. As far as the AOT is concerned I have found them excellent and have never criticised them in this forum or any other medium. The same goes for the one man band that is the PP. On the other hand I believe that I am more than justified in my criticism of our illustrious LEA, whose policies and provisions for the care and education of these children has done nothing but fail my son for 9 years This despite a continual dialogue with all the schools involved. How long should I have allowed this situation to continue?

 

 

 

 

[Cat]

To Cat:

 

Have I upset you in some way, because you seem to have taken every opportunity of having a pop at me through this forum, or is there some hidden agenda?

 

Also I phoned and e-mailed you prior to this meeting, but received no reply. Don't forget,you contacted me!

 

I speak as I find regarding the organisations involved and will continue to do so. As far as the AOT is concerned I have found them excellent and have never criticised them in this forum or any other medium. The same goes for the one man band that is the PP. On the other hand I believe that I am more than justified in my criticism of our illustrious LEA, whose policies and provisions for the care and education of these children has done nothing but fail my son for 9 years This despite a continual dialogue with all the schools involved. How long should I have allowed this situation to continue?

 

Many apologies. If you rang me I never received any messages from anyone to say that you had done so and I did reply to both of the your mails. I will forward a copy of my responses to you.

 

Cat

Edited July 13, 2009 by Cat

[Suze]

After reading through this thread , I cannot see anywhere that Cat is having a pop at you Isuddick.......you are coming across as very rude .

[Kathryn]

Glad things are sorted for you, lsuddick.

 

I hope you can sort out, via pm rather than on the public forum, what appears to be a misunderstanding between you and Cat.

 

Kathryn