'Thrive' at School

[Jade]

School asked me to sign a consent form today for a Thrive assessment for my ASD son aged 7. I had a quick look on the website and it seems to be aimed at emotionally disturbed children, no mention of the specific difficulties posed by autism.

 

Maybe I'm being oversensitive, but I feel like the finger is being pointed back at me and my parenting skills rather than aknowledging that the behaviour he displays is a result of frustration and fitting in with imposed rules etc. because of the ASD!?

 

It may help him I suppose, and possibly this is about the school trying to equip him with emotional tools before going up to key stage 2 (which will undoubtedly be very difficult for him).

 

Does anyone else have any knowledge or experience of 'Thrive'?

[Mandapanda]

Hi Jade

 

I'm absolutely sure I would feel the same apprehension and concern as you if I was in your position. However, looking at the website as objectively as I can, I think it actually looks very useful. As far as I can see it is a way of looking at what emotions are leading up to a behaviour, which I think is really good, as too often schools just focus on any bad behaviour itself and not what is leading up to/causing it. I suspect the problems could possibly come from their interpretation of the results and what could/should be done about it. Obviously you will need to be fully informed about the test and the results and what plan they come up with - an can then raise objections if necessary. They're bound to make you feel like it's your fault, isn't that what they always do to us?!

 

http://www.thriveftc.com/index.cfm?page=detail&i=72

[Sazale]

I've got a feeling my dd 13 has these sessions once a week at school but I haven't got her iep so I can check (I've sent it to DLA unfortunately) but it sounds like it looking at the link and I'm sure that it is referred to as that on her iep. My dd loves it! They do lots of messy play with her as she loves it and are working on brushing her hair with her as she refuses to have it brushed (combination of demand avoidance and sensory issues)! The SENCO plays with her and also let's her do her hair.

[Sally44]

If you have concerns or questions ask who the lead professional was that recommended it. It maybe the SALT or EP. Talk to them.

 

Ideally you would want them to deliver this programme. But it maybe someone who has been trained by the SALT or EP. But try to find out WHO is delivering it and WHO is going to monitor the outcomes and how are SMART targets going to be set for this.

[Special_talent123]

i cant find it on the link now i believe thrive is something to do so they can provide extra support to the child - i read in a book get an learner support assistant . Im wondering if that is what its for?

[bed32]

Looks interesting.

 

From the point of view of the school - they only have a certain range of tools available to them. If they have resources trained in the thrive assessment then it is natural that they should want to try them on ASD chlidren - I don't think there is likely to be any implied criticism of you in that.

 

Information on this is very sketchy, but it seems that parts of this could be applicable to ASD children. The assessment is likely to be applicable. What would concern me a little was whether any suggested interventions would be applicable to ASD children.

 

In my opinion the issues that lead to the emotional/behavioural problems in ASD children lie deeper than those in NT children who may exhibit similar behaviours. Interventions appropriate to NT children with genuine emotional issues may not be appropriate to ASD children

[Sally44]

It is important to know IF this approach has been used on a control group of ASD children.

 

My LA tried to use a teaching technique which the EP service told me was ASD specific [and it wasn't]. So don't just believe what you are told. DO a bit of research. I spoke to the Head of the research team and one of the assistant psychologists who carried out the initial and subsequent research and formed this literacy programme about whether it had ever been tested on children with an ASD. I was told:

 

"the control group was of children whose mother tongue was not native to this country. These children were behind in literacy, and were falling further behind.

 

No sample groups of children with an ASD or Dyslexia were used in this research and this literacy programme was never intended to meet the needs of these populations of children."

 

So the fact that he was making absolutely zero progress was to be expected. And the Head of the EP service had lied to me. And lied to the LGO. But, after years, nothing really surprises me.

 

My LA EP service had also given advice to the school on how to deliver the programme. And again, the Head of the research team said that they had altered it so significantly, that they could not longer rely on his research to support the programme they were using as they were now two separate entities.

 

I also found information on the LA website by putting in the literacy programme name into the 'search' box, and found some interesting internal reports on the progress made by certain children on the programme. And it was very clear that they were all non-english speaking children. Not an English child with a severe/profound speech disorder. That is something totally different.

 

Plus, not only was it ineffective. It was a programme that my son could not access, did not understand, was delivered in a way that stressed him and made him anxious. And he learnt absolutely nothing from it, and just became more and more anxious about reading and writing.

 

Anyway, the upshot is, that if the provision is not individualised to the child they are wasting their money and time and more importantly yours and your child's.

Edited May 30, 2012 by Sally44

[Jade]

Hey, thanks for all your replies. I had a meeting with the SENCO a couple of days ago and she briefly went through 'Thrive' with me. Although it is actually aimed at children with emotional difficulties rather than ASD I do think it could be interesting to see if this has any bearing and effect with my son. There have been events in his life that ordinarily would cause emotional difficulty to any child (treatment by his step mother who couldn't acknowledge he was on the spectrum, and my own post natal depression), but as you point out, I'm not convinced he will benefit from it, other than enjoying an hour of 1:1 each day. What could be beneficial is that they can follow up on whats happened within the school day with him, if he's been upset or in trouble, as I mostly don't get to hear whats gone on to be able to address those issues once at home (home and school is a big divide for him and he will very rarely tell me anything)

 

There seem to be a lot of check lists with this programme and I agree with you all that I need to keep in close contact with school about the strategies they want to implement. This is a new thing for the school and they are are trialing it out with 2 statemented children with ASD diagnosis (including my son) and 2 children with no statement or diagnosis. Assessment starts after half term so I'll let you know how it progresses.

 

Thanks again

 

Jx

[Sally44]

You could ask for a home/school book to give you the highs and lows of the school day. But they need to be honest in it. No point glossing over a really bad upset. They have to tell it like it is.

 

Also, children are resilient. I don't really agree that Post Natal Depression is going to cause him huge emotional problems. The Social and Emotional problems he has are due to his ASD, and not due to his mum have PND for some months after the birth.

 

And I think sometimes the PND is also partially due to a subconsious recognition that something is not quite as it should be. I had PND and was on medication for about 9 months. However I sought the medication not necessarily because of the PND, but because we were going to spend 6 weeks abroad with my husbands disfunctional family and the thought of that was unbearable. But I could not refuse to go. So I took the pills, and actually had a good time, and spoke my mind [whereas normally I am biting my tongue].

 

My son and I have a brilliant bond. When he was a baby I noticed that he did not appear to 'need' me. I could put him in a room with a jigsaw, and leave him there and he would only come to find me if he wanted a drink or something to eat. He also got very emotionally upset over the tinest of things - and sometimes I had no idea what caused them. He would bang his head and vomit because he was so distraught. And that was hard to watch.

 

Anyway, like I say, don't shoulder the blame. If it wasn't PND, it could be any number of things that life throws at us and they are not all damaging our children.

 

Anyway, hope this approach is helpful. But wanted to tell you not to take the blame for ASD behaviours. Believe me, professionals will be more than willing to blame you, rather than offer therapy/professional input/support because that will cost them more money than sending you on a parenting course. So don't become the scapegoat.

 

With my son I started from a position that his experiences were different to mine. And that when he behaved or acted like he was hurt/upset/confused etc that that was his true state. If you accept that, you can support him and teach him HOW he experiences things differently, and provide supports to help him cope. If we assume that our children experience things as we do we are forever blaming them for 'inappropriate responses' when their response maybe the right one for their experience.

 

For example, if he is hyper sensitive to touch, it would be normal to react negatively to having to wear certain clothes, fabric, or have labels causing you actual pain. Trying on new shoes maybe distressing due to how it feels - along with all the other additional sensory processing and environmental issues. If we accept those things we can buy clothes we know will feel comfortable, cut out all tags, shop for shoes at quieter times of the day, etc and get a much better response. No amount of behavioural therapy is going to get a tactile sensitive child to wear clothes with their tags in. Does that make sense?