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spectrumlady

support in college

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What experiences do people have of getting support in college for socialising/peer mentoring at breaktimes ? My son is 18 and has just started, but is very anxious. He manages the work OK, but breaktimes are a nightmare, and he has already been "set-up" and called a nerd :tearful:

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Tricky. I'd guess it depends upon how approachable the college are, how much help your son gets whilst there generally, does everyone know about his difficulties?

 

Going through similar process ourselves - son, 17, started college, refusing any form of help but I can tell from comments made that he is being used as the butt of jokes but he feels superior to them and ignores it. Frustrating for me, but I can't wrap him in cotton wool.

 

How does your son react to being called a 'nerd'? If it doesn't worry him it may be as well to leave it. If it does perhaps you need to phone?

 

Barefoot

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Hello

 

A college that can negotiate my needs with me as well as my carers is the best. Has he asked for a support person to be with him at break/lunchtimes? Is there somewhere he can hang out that's safe during the break-times? is there anything he can take natural or otherwise for his anxiety?

 

What about trying to find another autistic/asperger student he could stick with, strength in numbers comes to mind here.

 

Alexis

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T's College as not been very helpful, she alway's as to ask for help when she need's it, but that's a problem within it's self as she dislike's approaching people, when she get's anxious she goes for a walk, sometimes by herself or with her friend's, I hope in time your son will find someone to hang out with, hope it improves for him.

 

Teresa :)

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Hi spectrumlady,

 

We're having a nightmare time trying to find a suitable placement for next year for our lad, who is 16. He has no friends or ability to make any and his independence is very limited to say the least, but it seems if he goes to college next year he'll get no help at all and will just be left to wander around on his own. There's no way he'll cope, but we're told the college don't have TAs, at present he has full-time one-to-one support but apparently next year he won't need any at all! :tearful: We're desperate, tbh. The ASD unit for 16+ is not suitable as he'd be too able and working at a much higher level to those there, but he won't get any support at mainstream college, so what are we supposed to do with him? :wallbash:

 

~ Mel ~

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If a young person with a statement of SEN goes on to college a section 140 assessment should be carried out to assess level of need. Under Special Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA) a college is legally obliged to make reasonable adjustments if they are needed.

 

I have just been looking round colleges for dd1 who's 16 and no longer attends school. Luckily for us our local college has an ASD base with an exclusive area for people on the spectrum to retreat to. Also, improving choices funding would enable my daughter to have a personalised timetable with one to one and a high level of support. Unfortunately, from what I have managed to glean from the internet, this funding is only available in Norfolk, Suffolk, Herts, Luton, Beds, Cambs, Peterborough, Essex, Southend and Thurrock :unsure::wacko: Whether I manage to persuade dd1 to give college a try is another matter...she is not independent in any way, virtually mute outside the home and clearly cannot 'do' reciprocal conversation at all.

 

Can't really add any more to what everyone else has said :rolleyes: Hope some of this helps.

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If a young person with a statement of SEN goes on to college a section 140 assessment should be carried out to assess level of need. Under Special Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA) a college is legally obliged to make reasonable adjustments if they are needed.

 

We were told by the staff at Jay's school that his statement runs out at 16, is this not the case? :unsure: It feels like everywhere we go people tell us something different and we can't get to the bottom of what actually is available. :wallbash:

 

~ Mel ~

 

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T's College as not been very helpful, she alway's as to ask for help when she need's it, but that's a problem within it's self as she dislike's approaching people, when she get's anxious she goes for a walk, sometimes by herself or with her friend's, I hope in time your son will find someone to hang out with, hope it improves for him.

 

Teresa :)

 

Sounds like selective silence to me.

 

Alexis

 

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Hi spectrumlady,

 

We're having a nightmare time trying to find a suitable placement for next year for our lad, who is 16. He has no friends or ability to make any and his independence is very limited to say the least, but it seems if he goes to college next year he'll get no help at all and will just be left to wander around on his own. There's no way he'll cope, but we're told the college don't have TAs, at present he has full-time one-to-one support but apparently next year he won't need any at all! :tearful: We're desperate, tbh. The ASD unit for 16+ is not suitable as he'd be too able and working at a much higher level to those there, but he won't get any support at mainstream college, so what are we supposed to do with him? :wallbash:

 

~ Mel ~

 

Colleges do have teaching assistants, well at least in Nth Somerset and Bristol areas. i know as i had one full time for every day including the break lunchtimes in Bristol.

 

Could he attend a different place further away? West Middlesex college is ASD friendly and i know that as the book "not stupid" highlighted the needs of both asperger and autistic kids. Failing that ask the NAS which colleges are suitable for your lad. The "taking responsibility" report (A Powell 2001) has some recommended colleges in the index.

 

Good luck

 

Alexis (who had a breakdown due to lack of support at a nth somerset college but has now successfully completed most of an undergrad degree)

 

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If a young person with a statement of SEN goes on to college a section 140 assessment should be carried out to assess level of need. Under Special Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA) a college is legally obliged to make reasonable adjustments if they are needed.

 

I have just been looking round colleges for dd1 who's 16 and no longer attends school. Luckily for us our local college has an ASD base with an exclusive area for people on the spectrum to retreat to. Also, improving choices funding would enable my daughter to have a personalised timetable with one to one and a high level of support. Unfortunately, from what I have managed to glean from the internet, this funding is only available in Norfolk, Suffolk, Herts, Luton, Beds, Cambs, Peterborough, Essex, Southend and Thurrock :unsure::wacko: Whether I manage to persuade dd1 to give college a try is another matter...she is not independent in any way, virtually mute outside the home and clearly cannot 'do' reciprocal conversation at all.

 

Can't really add any more to what everyone else has said :rolleyes: Hope some of this helps.

 

Sounds like another "selective silent" kid, i wasn't independent when i went to college but i soon found my feet.

 

Alexis

 

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I got diagnosed last year, via the college, and this year, I have some help, which helps, but does not do much for the depression issues, but it is better than the last couple of years at college, I thought I was going mad, I just could not understand instruction, and when I did get it, I forgot too easily, then I realised why it was I dropped out of technical college when I was in my youth twenty four years ago, and again nineteen years ago there wrecking my RAF career, and again five years later, same complaint every time, but now I know why.

 

I used to just get called lazy, or can't be bothered, when the reverse was the correct attitude, I was told I had a high intelligence, but my attitude was letting me down, so now I know, all those put downs and insults were not my fault, I was right in what I thought I was doing, it is just the overseers could not see the problem, Aspergers.

 

But at college, Art college, I have a learning disabilities advisor, and a learning skills tutor, who sits in on some tutorials to make sure I am understanding what is being said, and not adopting the wrong attitude and getting annoyed. The tutor has made the teachers aware, to beware of wording, as literal interpretation is what I tend to do, when on my own, and some people just have not a clue how to use their own language. ( oh, a nasty habit I have, I spellcheck tutors hand outs in seconds, and get stuck on bad punctuation or bad English, what I thought was dyslexia, is in fact getting stuck on word usage error, and trying to work out what is being said, by the bad word usage)

 

Anyway, I am finding it very helpful to not take notes in lectures, but to record the event with a dictaphone, which the college learning disabilities advisors supply, so, if the mind does it's usual and ranges ahead, or goes off on interesting, ( to me), tangents, the dictaphone records the lecture. A note on taking notes, often I can't read my notes after, as I tend to speed write using my own form of short hand, which is unintelligable to anyone else, and sometimes me, as I forget. If I write slowly, clearly and legibly, I miss too much, as I seem able to block out speech when I write.

 

But, after all this time, I am now learning to understand my weak points, and with hope, will come out with a BA hons in a few years time, far better than my usual dropping out of courses because of the same problems. Just to think, I spent my early working life doing low paid jobs, because of the sodding aspergers, if that had been recognised earlier, maybe I might have done better and not sank into the pit of frustration, depression and low self esteem.

 

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We were told by the staff at Jay's school that his statement runs out at 16, is this not the case? It feels like everywhere we go people tell us something different and we can't get to the bottom of what actually is available.

 

If a young person stays on at school, their statement remains valid, if they go on to a college of further and higher ed, however, the statement ends and a section 140 assessment should be carried out. Have you got connexions involved? They should really be working with you and enabling you to find out what's available. We're lucky in that we have an excellent connexions advisor who is really on the ball and knows her stuff :notworthy: Would connexions be worth a try in your case? I know how hard it is to find out what's available...you kind of run out of energy with all the battling and wading through stuff...or I know I do anyway. Really hope you get some help >:D<<'>

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Agree with Teresa. My daughter had a very good Connexions worker who was very helpful. You do need to ask for one who deals with SEN (in our area it's a separate department) because those who advise young people going down the typical educational route aren't necessarily clued up on the post 16 SEN system.

 

K x

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Thanks both. Unfortunately, my connexions woman seems to be totally hopeless. Everytime we talk to her she tells us something different. She wrote a letter, at my request, stating that our county cannot meet Jay's needs and they would be best met at residential out of county. Trouble is, after visiting residential college, Jay doesn't feel ready to take that enormous step. Connexions woman now saying ASD unit is best bet, whereas before she'd told us he was too able for it, she constantly changes her tune and is totally woolly and vague, she is driving me nuts. :wacko: Jay went to visit ASD unit today and hated it, we are FAST running out of options. :crying:

 

~ Mel ~

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Sorry to hear that, Mel.

 

On the whole we have been pleased with the level of support L has had in mainstream college although she has now been there four years now and is desperate to leave. They have a fairly good awareness of ASD, partly because there is so little alternative provision in our area so a lot of young people end up there.

 

K x

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