Special school vs mainstream

[justine1]

Hi everyone

 

I am taking the opportunity this holiday to look at specialist schools.It is extremely hard work!Firstly I am confused about where to look because I live in one county but will be travelling in to another county everyday,so do I chose one in the county near home or one near my Uni?

There are no schools near my home,not even good mainstream schools(he is going to the 2nd best already!)the nearest ASD school is about one hour from my home but will be nearly two hours from my Uni,but in this county.Whereas the other one near my Uni is 30min away from home 5 min from Uni,though in a different county.I am thinking it will be better for me to be closer just in case.

 

I also wondered,from anyones experience,what would the difference be if he attends a special school in terms of his exclusions/shouting out etc.I am hoping that by him attending a specialist school they wont need to call me constantly to come fetch him,is this realistic,if not whats the point?Obviousley I am hoping he would be happier but he could possibly be happier in a different mainstream but both me and his current school do not think mainstream is for him,he is getting 1:1 and it makes no difference.However he has no statement school say once he has the statement he should go straight to a specialist school,I do agree but wondered what everyone else thinks?

 

Thank you.

[JsMum]

Hi Justine, my son is in a specialist school due to no other school been able to meet his SEN needs, he also is in a residential school due to requiring a 24 hr curriculum as he cant access activities and mainstream settings without specialist support, he would of refused to attend a day school and we too had the difficulties of finding a spersific special school because the LEA offered J a moderate Learning Difficulties school, or a special school for emotional and Behavioural difficulties, again though he does have emotional and behavioural difficulties he would of been extreamly vunrable due to his social deficits and so we choose a specialist school that supported ASD plus ADHD emotional and behavioural needs and it is out of county mean a lengthy commute and the LEA fund his placement.

 

It was not easy searching, I had visited several schools and none of them was suitable until we found the one he is now and it fits him like a glove though there is still problems due to his social and communication difficulties they are meeting those needs.

 

In our area the special schools are for physical and with severe learning difficultes and severe Autism with J been high functioning Autistic and no physical disabilities it was really frustrating to find a school that meet my sons needs, I did begin to think they didnt exsist but they do, there is a few private independant companies that cater for AS and other SEN needs.

 

http://www.oaasis.co.uk/Free_Publications_...he_right_school

 

National Autistic Society also have a list of specialist schools, and your local authority should also provide you a list.

 

You will need a statement to access a special school as you need part 4 to say the school want them to go to, if he is possibly going to a special school then he should recieve a statement, if thats the case ask for the statement and request part 4 state the school you choose.

 

You have to prove that your childs needs can not be met in the special school they choose or if they stick with mainstream, you can also say that even with one to one there is no progress and insist on the special school you want.

 

You may need to go to tribunal but its worth it in the end, the changes have been mind blowing not only do you see the changes in your own child but you witness it in other boys too, its soo inspiring.

 

I searched isbi too.

 

http://www.isbi.com/

 

Good Luck with the search.

 

JsMumxx

 

Edited April 4, 2010 by JsMum

[Kazzen161]

If the specialist schools are independent (not LA) then it does not matter which county they are in - they will be treated the same. It might make a difference when it comes to transport though (the LA would want to go for the closest one if it was a day placement, unless its fees were a lot more expensive).

[justine1]

Thank you Js mum and Kazzen.That is most helpful.

I didnt realise it would be so difficult looking for the right school.I have seen just one school in my county that has an ASD unit for 16 kids,it looks really nice but it can only take kids from age 9 which is a bit of a wait for Sam.

 

I am waiting for his stat assesment,sent off all reports from his ed pysch,autism outreach,inclusion officer,his IEP's,three exclusion letters and letters from the HT,thank goodness the HT is supporting me and has in fact stated in her letter that Sam needs a specialist unit or specialist school.We are keeping our fingers crossed.I know it can take a while but I am hoping that it will be sorted by the summer holidays.I hope to go look at the schools and explain the situation,possibly get his name down etc just in case.

 

I had my eye on one near my Uni but now I have learnt more about it I can see its not for him,its a shame cause its a new build with its own pool and special equipment.However I have discovered two schools both about 35min from my house,one is also 15min from my Uni but the other is the opposite direction,that also seems to cater for more severly disabled children,both are in a rural location which seems nice.I think I will have to look first.I have also seen to different teaching techniques which is also confusing me.There is a third school which is a private school,very nice,I liked the words the used to describe what they offer and most of it is spot on what Sam needs,it is exactly 1 hour from home so he may get in,but I am nervous about a school that is soooo far away,I think 40min its my max!

 

Thanks again this is soo hard.I want Sam to be happy and think a special school will be good,at the same time I feel sad about the fact he wont be attending a mainstream anymore,but I will still look at the ASD units as an option!

[lynne]

 

 

Hi Justine,

 

The head mistress should not depend on you collecting him when the school can not cope. All these dates events, what took place and how it was handled should all be documented. This will help with your childs statement.

 

The headmistress needs to do than just say they can not cope with your son. They must demonstrate they have put in places procedures to deal with you son and document what went well and what did not. She also needs specilist advice and guidance, and needs to put this in place.

 

 

A lot of the problems our children experience are due to inexperienced teachers or teachers who believe they are naughty child. So training and being able to understand the child and the reason why the child reacts as it dose, will help the teachers to build up coping straterges.

 

Our sons school had problems supporting our child (even though he had 15 hours support with a LSA). The headmistress managed to get temporary funding increased to cover a full time LSA. But even with this level of support we would not of got our son into a specalist school.

 

We wish you well in obtaining the right son for your child.

 

Lyn

[justine1]

Hi Justine,

 

The head mistress should not depend on you collecting him when the school can not cope. All these dates events, what took place and how it was handled should all be documented. This will help with your childs statement.

 

The headmistress needs to do than just say they can not cope with your son. They must demonstrate they have put in places procedures to deal with you son and document what went well and what did not. She also needs specilist advice and guidance, and needs to put this in place.

 

 

A lot of the problems our children experience are due to inexperienced teachers or teachers who believe they are naughty child. So training and being able to understand the child and the reason why the child reacts as it dose, will help the teachers to build up coping straterges.

 

Our sons school had problems supporting our child (even though he had 15 hours support with a LSA). The headmistress managed to get temporary funding increased to cover a full time LSA. But even with this level of support we would not of got our son into a specalist school.

 

We wish you well in obtaining the right son for your child.

 

Lyn

Thank you Lyn <'>

My sons HT also just got funding for a LSA,also for 15hours p/w would be more but he is on flexi schooling right now,so when he goes back after the holiday this will be increased to 20hrs p/w.Before the funding he would go to nurture group two mornings p/w and have a TA for two mornings a week.So it is almost the same as what he has now.

 

The school have a behavioural support teacher who comes in once a week,she doesnt specialise in ASD though,she has been working with Sam since Sept '09.They are also starting a 20 week programme after holiday with a ASD teacher who will help with techniques.However they have had advice from both the ed psych and autism outreach but have almost ignored it,well they are not consistant at all.

 

The HT has stated in her letter all the help he has received and listed all the incidents.including him going under the tables and calling out in class.We are hopeful he will get a statement but not that confident that they will agree about him going to a special school but all I can do is hope.

 

[Sally44]

I think that looking around the schools will give you a good idea in itself. If you start to see other versions of your child, then that is the kind of school you need. And talk to the Head/SENCO of each school and explain the difficulties your child is currently having and ask them HOW they would address that in school.

My son used to talk to himself (replaying DVDs in his head) whenever he was in situations he could not access such as assembly etc. That would include words, action sounds, laughing etc. I think my son was doing that for a number of reasons. Firstly he likes to do it. And if you don't understand what is going on it is boring and you are bound to do your own thing. Plus it was also a way of screening out irritating or overwhelming sensory information.

At his old mainstream school my son was getting under the table, rolling himself up in the floor mats, walking up and down repetitively, banging his head on the table, crying and screaming. He appeared unable to follow verbal instructions and just hated school. He wasn't making progress and wasn't happy.

He was moved to an enhanced resource school for the beginning of year 3. This is still mainstream but they have extra funding for children with ASD and staff are trained and experienced. It did take him quite a while to get into the stride of his new school. But the routine and high level of structure has helped alot. He is happier, but it has not been incident free. My son has made progress, but it is not always generalised and he is not making much academic progress. That maybe down to specific learning difficulties on top of an ASD.

So I am now looking around at special schools as well because he may need a whole school approach that mainstream simply cannot do.

The more specialist the school, the more supports they have available. For example a language learning system such as THRASS is not going to be used mainstream or enhanced resource - only special school.

 

The difference between 'whole school approach' and 'add ons' is that a mainstream school may 'add on' input from a speech and language therapist who comes into school and takes your child for a session. A whole school approach by a special school for speech and language disorders is going to build into the curriculum and classroom learning all the targets that child needs. So lessons maybe plannned by a teacher and SALT.

 

Try to write a list of your son's difficulties and prioritize them. Write down what he is good at and what he struggles with.

 

I'm sure you know you need a Statement for a place at a special school. LEA maintained special schools are easier to get into then independent or approved schools. What are the professionals seeing your son advising? It can be difficult trying to place them. I was getting advice which ranged from "keep him mainstream" to "he needs to be in an autism unit". But the child needs to have any anxiety to a minimum and needs an environment where they can cope and learn and needs staff that are aware of his difficulties and are able to differentiate his learning so that he can access it.

[SallyPreston]

Hi,

 

Here is the link to the Priory Lodge School in Roehampton, it is a specialist purpose built day school in South West London for young people aged 7 to 16 with mild to moderate autism, Asperger's Syndrome and associated learning difficulties.

 

Priory Lodge

 

Thanks

 

 

[justine1]

Hi,

 

Here is the link to the Priory Lodge School in Roehampton, it is a specialist purpose built day school in South West London for young people aged 7 to 16 with mild to moderate autism, Asperger's Syndrome and associated learning difficulties.

 

Priory Lodge

 

Thanks

Thanks SallyPreston <'> Still waiting for his assessment not sure the LEA would give transport as that is quite far from where we are situated,also means a very long day for Sam he may not cope!

[Ria]

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum so hope I am doing this right!

We searched for a residential school for our son and found that they were for children with learning difficulties.

We found a school that was mainly for boys who were able and on the Autistic Spectrum, but also took children with other diagnoses of ADHD., Tourettes etc. It takes boys from junior school age through to 18 plus where they help them with where they go from there.

A lot of children get fobbed off into EBD. schools, but if their Autistic needs were met properly by the school their meltdowns would be less.

The school we found was Cruckton Hall in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. It was a very sad day when we took our son and left him there 3 years ago but it was the best thing that has happened to him.

He is not cured, but I have not been called to the school, he no longer hits me and rarely breaks things (his frustrations are verbal now) and he has friends now, boys similar to We have found it to be a good school.

Ihope this helps someone