What type of education?

[2pink2blue]

Had the annual review for ds1 today and I feel it has raised far more questions than given answers.

 

Ds1 has been semi out of school since Easter and since Sep has been on a programme of re-intergration into school. In some respects this has gone so much better than expected and in one way really appears to be working. However, there is now a push to increase the ammount of time in school and I'm not sure that this is really in his or anyone elses best interests. He has some sensory problems which make school very difficult for him and whilst he is tolerating this for the short times he is in it is partly because the teacher completely changes how she teaches for these sessions and partly because it isn't very long! I truly feel that his school are doing everything they can to help him but is it really the right environment for him?

 

How have people made the decision to look at full time home ed or special school when the placement at the current school isn't awful?

 

Ds1 is 6 and in yr2 and I don't know what is best for him. His twin is in the same class...makes the decision even more complicated.

I know this is really probably not enough information for anyone to give advice but I feel stuck. I think to some extent I was just going with the flow because the situation is so vastly improved from what it was at Easter when life was awful for ds1, us and the rest of the family.

 

Any words of wisdom/thoughts gratefully received!

 

[Sally44]

Does your LEA have any mainstream schools that also have an autism unit on site? Then he could go across to mainstream for the lessons he could do there, and then return to the unit when he has had enough, or for other lessons.

 

My son goes to that type of school. He has managed to remain in the mainstream, but he is in a smaller class of around 20 pupils with around 9 of those on the spectrum and the remainder of the children on school action plus. He is doing much better there. Prior to that he was in a C of E mainstream school with his sister. So it was a difficult decision to split them. But I thought the split is going to have to happen at some point, and I would rather it was earlier so that he gets the support he needs. Then there is some hope of them being together again at mainstream secondary. It is a very slim chance, but if he had remained at his former school the gap between him and his peers was just getting wider and wider.

 

If you do need a different school, go and visit what is available both within your own LEA and neighbouring LEAs and also private/independent schools. If your son is of average cognitive ability, then he needs to be in a peer group of similar cognitive ability, whilst also being in an environment that is suitable to him.

[JsMum]

 

 

 

I have to say that the only way you will know is to agree to it and see if it works or fails, if it works then great, but if it fails then you have the evidence to prove that this is not working,

 

J had to go throw the same, basically it has to fail before they agree to different education placement, its torture I know, we couldnt believe it, but I had to try and attempt to get J to school full time and believe me it was so painful watching a child fall apart because he can not deal with the enviroement, as J is sensory too, so it was very difficult.

 

Every day was a fight with him, he managed just a month out of a years education in year 6.

 

Its hurroundous I know.

 

JsMumxxxx

 

 

[2pink2blue]

Thanks for the replies.

 

To be honest I don't as yet know what is available for him so will need to have a good look round. I don't think there is an ASD unit attatched to a mainstream school within the LEA and the closest out of area would mean too much travelling everyday even if it was appropriate. I'm willing to visit schools and to see what is likely to meet his needs the best, I'm also willing to consider full time home ed.

 

Up until this point I thought mainstream and his current school could work for him. He has already fallen apart hence the withdrawl at Easter but we still considered his school as the best place to return to when he was able to manage. Now I'm really not sure. I will give the extra session in school a go, at the moment he is coping and it will be ok for the moment anyway but I'm not sure whether it is worth making him cope iyswim!

 

Ultimately I want what is best for him....I just wish I knew what that was!!!

[Kazzen161]

I think it helps to know what is out there. Once you have visited other schools (or heard about them from other parent's), you start to learn what is possible, and then you can make a better decision on what is the best option for your child.

 

eg: independent schools often have their own OT/SaLT so children get those needs met much better than in mainstream schools.

Specialist schools offer social, life and independence skills training.

[Sally44]

If your child has a Statement then it names the placement in section 4. If the evidence in the Statement is showing that an ASD specific school is needed, then that is the placement you ask for. So you don't just need to look at LEA schools. You can also look at independent and private schools and the LEA has to fund their place there. Those places are harder to get. But not impossible. If your child is not coping in mainstream and the LEA has nothing else suitable to offer then they have to look elsewhere because they are legally responsible to find a suitable educational environment for them. But if it does come to that ie. educational tribunal for the Statement and Placement, then it might mean using a solicitor to help you secure that placement.

[2pink2blue]

The placement will stay the same until February as his statement won't change significantly this time although we are including evidence to change some of the bandings. So currently the advice is for him to stay in mainstream. However, I fully beleive I will have the support of everyone present yesterday if we decide that mainstream isn't the place for him to be.

 

I think you are right Kazzen about knowing what is out there. I just whole heartedly believed that mainstream schooling was in his best interests until yesterday and something just feels different. I'm hoping that we can prove it isn't working before we get to anything like it was before and actually even though it is working at the moment it isn't right. It is so difficult to explain what I mean and I'm not sure as yet as to who I share these thoughts with to get the best advice.

[BusyLizzie100]

This is such a difficult question, but it's probably the one that most of us want answered! It's very subjective, not only because each of our children is different, with similar but often very different needs, but it depends very much what is available locally.

 

Our middle son (DS2) is verbal but has significant receptive and expressive language difficulties and a good deal of sensory difficulties. He is a very passive child. My feeling is that because of his passivity he has very much fallen through the gaps and, because he was infrequently disruptive at school, it was assumed that everything was fine.

 

He started mainstream school with 12 hours 1:1 on his statement and for the first two years it seemed to work very well. In Y2 the cracks started to show; the other children were developing and learning the unwritten social rules and he was not. The head was very keen on inclusion but it became apparent as the years went by that her idea of inclusion was not ours - to her it meant including him in all the activities but not necessarily making those activities accessible to him - there's a big difference, in my opinion.

 

More and more of the work and play and everything that was going on in the classroom and playground etc went over my son's head and his behaviour started to deteriorate in school (at home we saw it quite a lot) - school were flabbergasted and didn't know what to do.

 

In Y3 he was obviously behind in the work and starting to struggle more; at his annual review school asked for more input but was turned down. we went to Tribunal over his statement and his support was doubled. The school was well-meaning but lacked experience, expertise, training and support. The Autism Advisory Teachers (Outreach) did not help much because he was not presenting with hugely challenging behaviour and therefore not a priority.

 

At the beginning of Y4 it became apparent that, even with the massively bumped-up statement, things were not working. My son rapidly began to disengage; some ASD children may react in such a situation with challenging behaviour, but mine withdraw into his inner world and wrapped himself in the world of Pokemon, where he felt safe. It was very scary to witness.

 

Eventually the school confirmed that it could no long meet his needs, but that came after a lot of pressure from us. We had begun to realise that it was the wrong place for him since the end of Y2 but the LA would not give an inch and the school didn't want to 'give up on him'.

 

The next bit was the difficult bit - where else would he go? there are no ASD units attached to mainstream in my LA; the Outreach is supposed to make the mainstream setting viable for children with ASDs but this plainly hadn't worked with my son (and I know he's not the only one...).

 

The LA replied by saying he would have to go to a Moderate Learning Difficulty school (MLD) as this is the only other available provision. Our MLD schools do have autism units, but tended to be for the much more severe child. Even when two independent Ed Psychs and the LA's own specialist EP said that MLD was not appropriate for him, the LA insisted that that was where he would go. But our son is actually quite bright and sending him to an MLD school would have been worse for him in many ways that being in mainstream, eg the environmental issues would be very similar; he could experience many of the difficulties that he had at mainstream but at a lower academic level, which would have been even worse for him, in effect.

 

We geared up to appeal and, because of the overwhelming amount of evidence that we gathered, and thanks to the hugely supportive NAS Education Advocacy Service, and some lovely people on this forum, we finally got the LA to agree to our request: that he go to an out-of-county independent autism-specific school. (We'd love him to go to a school nearer home, but there is ABSOLUTELY no appropriate provision for children with reasonably high-functioning ASD in my LA. IT's pants.)

 

My son has been there since Sept and it is amazing!!!!!!!!! He is soooooooooo happy, it's so obviously working for him, and he is even learning too. It is absolutely the right place for him. I never in five years at mainstream saw him come home once as relaxed and happy as he does now. And that stretches through the weekend too; because his resources are not exhausted by incomprehensible mainstream goings-on, his tolerance levels are not so reduced and life is so much calmer for all of us at home now!

 

I feel that this move has opened up all sorts of possibilities for him, and that he has a real chance now to fulfil his potential. It is thrilling.

 

I hope that telling my son's (very much abridged!) story helps in some way, 2pink2blue.

 

Lizzie x <'> <'> <'> <'>

[Sally44]

The placement will stay the same until February as his statement won't change significantly this time although we are including evidence to change some of the bandings. So currently the advice is for him to stay in mainstream. However, I fully beleive I will have the support of everyone present yesterday if we decide that mainstream isn't the place for him to be.

 

I think you are right Kazzen about knowing what is out there. I just whole heartedly believed that mainstream schooling was in his best interests until yesterday and something just feels different. I'm hoping that we can prove it isn't working before we get to anything like it was before and actually even though it is working at the moment it isn't right. It is so difficult to explain what I mean and I'm not sure as yet as to who I share these thoughts with to get the best advice.

 

 

I'm sure someone with more knowledge will post, but I thought that LEA blanket policies and 'banding' of support was illegal???

[2pink2blue]

I'm sure someone with more knowledge will post, but I thought that LEA blanket policies and 'banding' of support was illegal???

 

By bandings I meant academic from B to C etc etc..not exactly sure what you mean.

 

[2pink2blue]

Lizzie, thanks so much for doing your sons story...it really is that kind of experience that helps!

 

Have been in and had a chat with both the Head and his class teacher with a view to how they thought the meeting went and what next. I know I am really lucky but I really do have a wonderfully supportive school which really helps. So the Head and I are going to look at what is available whilst looking into dual placement too. Dh and I are really going to look at whether home ed is the way to go and for how long etc. Meanwhile ds spent a whole afternoon in school on Monday had a great time and had his first playtime in longer than I can remember...so we'll see if this continues to go well.

 

So no further forward but a good look at the options may give us a clearer picture before the next review in February.

 

Thanks again Lizzie!

[Sally44]

By bandings, I thought you meant bandings of support.

Regarding academic achievement. Every child is supposed to make 2 increment increases per academic year. So that is worth keeping an eye on. If the child is not making that progress, then the school is supposed to get advice from the EP.

[2pink2blue]

Ok yes I understand now.

 

The advice when he wasn't progressing was to agree with our removal of him from school. He is starting to progress again now but the level that was originally set for his academic and his physical needs were too high. Mostly the statement isn't a problem but it needs a bit of updating ashe got the statement in reception and doesn't 'fit' him anymore. The overall provision etc in the statement isn't a problem.

 

The only issue is where we want things to go from February as that is when the next annual review is set. The school are happy to support whatever decision we come to as we are all working for ds's best interests...something I'm so grateful for as I know we have been really lucky with how much support we have received from them.

 

The problem from here is working out just what is best for him....