kwjd Report post Posted April 11, 2011 We are all getting together this Wednesday at the school and Im wondering what to expect and what questions i should be asking, Our main worry is bout his school he is still staying in nursery and has been there for 2 years and he really needs to move up to reception but i really am not sure if staying in mainstream is the way to go. I contacted parents in partenship, snd i have been in touch a lady who is going to come to this meeting she has already been through the process and can help so that will be a good support. any advise would be greatly appreciated thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sally44 Report post Posted April 11, 2011 Do you mean he has been going to nursery (mainstream nursery?) for 2 years, or do you mean he has been held back 2 years? How old is he. What diagnosis does he have. What professionals have seen him. Who is involved presently (Early Years, Portage etc). If anyone is involved (including current nursery), what are they saying about school? If he is not able to access mainstream school he needs to have a Statement and placement sorted out before starting in September. A Statement takes 26 weeks from start to finish. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kwjd Report post Posted April 12, 2011 My sons 5 he is currently going to nursery at a mainstream school. He has a diognosis of Autism. A special needs speach therapist sees him in school. His teacher is the Senco. other than that and the hospital drs who diognossed him thats all the people involved that i know of. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sally44 Report post Posted April 12, 2011 How severe is the autism? Everyone diagnosed has "autism" to some degree. Those with Aspergers present in a certain way, those on the autistic spectrum tend to have greater speech and language difficulties. Some children are more severe and maybe diagnosed Kanners autism etc. So what have you been told? How is he coping in mainstream nursery. What extra adult help does he get. He is seeing a speech therapist, so he is verbal? It maybe helpful for you to post again in the "education" forum because my own son was "picked up" in reception year. So I don't have any experience or knowledge of "early years", however if your son is 5, I presume he will be starting school in September? I don't even know the different levels of SEN at nursery age. Others on the forum will - if you post in Education section. Also get in touch with www.IPSEA.org.uk and www.NAS.org.uk You maybe able to ask the LA to carry out a Statutory Assessment towards a Statement. That would mean the LA would ask the speech therapist, educational psychologist to assess him and produce reports. His nursery will also be asked for a report and they should detail all his difficulties/needs and detail the amount of support they needed to provide for him 1:1 or small group in terms of weekly hours and time they spent carrying out the speech therapy programme at nursery. For a child to get a place in a "special school" they need to have a Statement. This really should have been picked up by nursery/speech therapist and they should have ensured this process was started about a year ago. You can also phone your local authority and ask them for the primary schools that cater for children with autism. There maybe one or two primary schools that have moderate learning difficulties and children with autism. There maybe one or two primary schools that are mainstream, but have an autism unit on site. You can make an appointment and go and see all these schools to help you decide which one would best suit your son and meet his needs. Also speak with the nursery and speech therapist for their advice. You also need to know that children that have difficulties with speech and language also tend to have an increased likelihood of difficulties with literacy and/or numeracy. Obviously if your speech is not good and you don't understand language well, it is bound to have a knock on effect on reading and writing. There is also a higher incidence of dyslexia or SpLD. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
special_music Report post Posted April 18, 2011 Hi kwjd, how did the meeting go? In my opinion children with ASD thrive better in specialist schools (unless they have HFA). Also I worked in special schools as a teacher in Ncl for years - PM me if you want, I am happy to help if I can. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites