Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Canopus

My statement - from 1989

Recommended Posts

I was statemented at 8 and I never got to see any of my statements until two years ago when I found a statement from 1989 thrown in the paper recycling bin at home. I was absolutely fuming after reading it. It was full of factual errors and went into detail over issues I would rather the school and LEA not known about. The main sections of the statement are summarised below.

 

Special educational needs:-

 

Social and emotional skills: I am egocentric and therefore intolerant of others. I need to learn how to relate to peers and adults alike without excessive acting out behaviour.

 

Academic skills: I am an able youngster who demonstrates a significant difference between my verbal skills and my daily written assignments.

 

Motor skills: I am poorly co-ordinated and appear to have genuine difficulties with my recording skills which are exacerbated by poor attitude towards having to do so. I also have real difficulties with PE skills.

 

Leisure skills: As a result of my poor relationship with my peers, I have opted for activities such as computers and reading which reinforce my sense of isolation.

 

Special educational provision:-

 

1. An intense social skills programme which will develop mastery of these.

 

2. A mainstream curriculum within a challenging setting with peers of potentially similar ilk.

 

3. Activities which promote my feeling of self worth.

 

4. A wide range of leisure activities which encourages group involvement and reliance on others.

 

5. Small group teaching with a high level of adult interaction to ensure attention to task.

 

6. A residential seeting which allows social training beyond school hours.

 

7. A special needs resource to promote handwriting skills.

 

8. Sensitive and supportive staff who can build trust and thereby change my behaviour.

 

Assessment by comprehensive school:-

 

1. Skills

 

Orally good, what I say is logical and of high knowledge. Occasionally my understanding appears juvenile or naive.

 

I have an aversion to writing, otherwise my English is technically sound. When I write my writing is usually of a high grammatical standard.

 

I am well above average in maths.

 

In drama and PE my co-ordination is below average.

 

2. Competance in the classroom

 

I will sit and listen but am reluctant to do any written work.

 

I work well when isolated.

 

Staff say I am lazy and slack.

 

3. Approach to learning

 

I rarely ever do any homework, but the few pieces submitted are usually of a high standard.

 

4. Social skills and behaviour

 

I do not get on well with my peers. I can be disruptive in certain lessons. I often get up to mischief and fiddle about with machinery and building fittings.

 

I am obsessed with computers.

 

Conclusions and recommendations:-

 

I have poor social skills which are further compounded by general clumsiness. This has resulted in dissonance as I have a cognitive awareness of the problems but unable to effect any change with regards to negotiate with or to approach my peers appropriately. I have a very good academic potential which is not being realised as this is relegated to secondary importance because of his overriding social and emotional needs.

 

If I am to fulfil my potential I need specialised help both academically and socially. In order to do so I require a provision which offers:-

 

1. A curriculum with an effective social skills programme which will offer the opportunity to role-play skills in order for me to achieve mastery of these in the long term.

 

2. A mainstream curriculum within an environment which will be challenging as I become dismissive of things I feel are inconsequential.

 

3. Plenty of activities that I value such as computing in order to promote my strengths in a group setting which will counterbalance my deficit areas with regard to social skills.

 

4. A wider range of leisure activities as I tend to opt for solitary activities rather than group activities.

 

5. A small group teaching situation.

 

6. A residential setting so that my difficulties can be worked upon in a variety of settings beyond school hours in order to promote generalisation of my skills.

 

8. A special needs resource that will investigate the longstanding difficulty with recording skills that may be connected to poor motor skills.

 

9. Staff who are sensitive and supportive so I will establish feelings of trust to enable them to work constructively with me.

 

A residential school that caters for children with emotional and behavioural problems is recommended.

 

 

Can anybody comment on this statement? Does it appear that I have AS? Do you think the solutions are appropriate or not?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh Canopus what a way to find a statement, that's not right is it. I guess your parents felt they were protecting you at the time by not revealing it to you. Still it's interesting that your parents chose to ditch it - they obviously believe you've come a long way since then.

 

I'm no medical person but like many of the folk on this forum I am the mother of a diagnosed AS boy and many of the traits described are quite typical of an AS person but what a horrible way to describe you, especially "lazy and slack".

 

My son would certainly fit into many of those assessments made at your comprehensive, infact almost all of it. Interestingly do you find maths difficult when the questions are worded oddly? For instance my son is really good at maths but can't do a simple sum if it says "find the difference between X and Y" rather "subtract X from y" - type thing. In other words he can do the maths but can't work out the English. He asks why does the maths have to be worded like that, when X - Y = whatever, would be perfectly appropriate.

 

Would it help you to have a written diagnosis do you think? The only reason I had my son properly diagnosed was so that he would be understood in high school and as a consequence may do better than he would if he was just thought of as an awkward kid with emotional outbursts and a tendancy to be "intolerant of others".

 

Daisy

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Canopus

 

I'm sorry, this must have been horrible for you!

 

It's a shame that statements don't seem to have changed all that much since 1989 - they're still often complete rubbish!

 

I'd be interested to know if you feel that this statement did indeed help you to fulfil yourself educationally and emotionally?

 

HUMBUG!

 

Regards

 

Barefoot

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That sounds about right for 1989 Utah Frith did not publish till 91 and DSM-IV did not recognise it till 94. Dont know who put it the bin , but they probable did not know any better either for my %.02 cents not their fault either.

 

As to AS sounds very furmiluar, I went through all that BS in the arly 80's and only finaly got a confimed diagnosis 2 months ago after several months of investigation.

 

 

J

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think that most of my problems were identified but no explanations were given for the reason for the problems. For example, why did the LEA and educational psychologist fail to realise that my aversion to writing and my reluctance to produce written work was because much of the work I was given was so stupidly trivial and easy that I saw no point in writing it down as I wasn't learning anything. There was no mention of AS, dyspraxia or dyslexia anywhere in the statement. The statement also contained a report from a doctor about my clumsiness and he stated there was nothing abnormal.

 

I am horrified with the action plan. It proposes to reform me socially whilst academic issues will be given second priority. I think the plan was to have me leave school at 16 as an NT teenager with no regard given to what GCSEs I have or what grades. A mainstream curriculum is mentioned which I interpret as being exactly what is offered at an average state school. There was no mention of providing extra help and resources for subjects that I struggled with such as history or literature because they were wordy essay types, nor was there any recommendation of an accelerated learning environment for subjects I was advanced in such as maths, science and computers. It appears as if the solution to my problems was to force me to mix with other people of my own age group and involve myself in group activities rather than solitary activities. The action plan also stated they wanted to improve my handwriting although nobody ever spared a thought that when I leave school almost all work will be done on a computer. My handwriting in 1989 was not beautiful but it was legible and up to a suitable standard for use in exams.

 

As Lucas said " It doesn't sound like your educational needs have actually been recognised" and I 100% agree with him.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Com knows about his diagnosis and a lot of what that means but I don't think he has seen his statement - to be honest it never occurred to me that he should. I will go through it wth him at the first oportunity (he's a bit stressed with the new school year at the moment).

 

one improvement in the system recently is that kids have a say both at the statementing level where they are encouraged to put in their own comments (which can be scribed or taped) for the statutory assessment and at the yearly review where kids now have a right to be present if that is their wish or put in a written/ taped 'advice'. - Com has attended one review.

 

I believe strongly that it is important Com knows what is being decided for him and why - he needs to know so that he can understand himself and his needs as well as he is able because one of these days he will have to be fighting his own battles (hopefully with support) and dealing with others for himself.

 

Zemanski

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I guess your parents felt they were protecting you at the time by not revealing it to you. Still it's interesting that your parents chose to ditch it - they obviously believe you've come a long way since then.

 

They were under no obligation to show me my statement and I officially had no right to see it. I asked my LEA if they would send me a copy of my statement but they wouldn't as a request had to be in writing by my parents. I think my parents just try and bury the past but it has left a scar on my mind that will never heal. I cannot forgive my parents for this. The trouble is that they have a tendency to believe everything the professionals tell them. That's why they consult professionals in the first place!

 

I am the mother of a diagnosed AS boy and many of the traits described are quite typical of an AS person but what a horrible way to describe you, especially "lazy and slack".

 

I don't mind this as I like frank descriptions no matter how hard hitting and offensive they may be. The bit that angers me is the conclusions and recommendations as the educational psychologist has suggested the wrong solutions for my problems. That is the bit I would have changed. I think if AS was known about and identified as my main problem then completely different solutions would be listed. It is known that AS is incurable and forced social skills training sessions in residential schools are likely to make things worse.

 

Interestingly do you find maths difficult when the questions are worded oddly? For instance my son is really good at maths but can't do a simple sum if it says "find the difference between X and Y" rather "subtract X from y" - type thing. In other words he can do the maths but can't work out the English. He asks why does the maths have to be worded like that, when X - Y = whatever, would be perfectly appropriate.

 

That is true. I have some difficulty interpreting oddly worded questions. That's why I opted for mechanics rather than statistics at A level. The questions are less wordy.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I'd be interested to know if you feel that this statement did indeed help you to fulfil yourself educationally and emotionally?

 

I ended up in a residential school. It was the third one I looked at as the other 2 weren't deemed suitable by my parents or myself. The first had social skills sessions but no academic lessons apart from basic skills in maths and English that was infant school work. Nobody took any exams. The interview was never completed as the head stated the school would be totally unsuitable for someone with high intelligence who wants qualifications. The second school had lessons but appeared to be a badly run institution by unprofessional and disorganised staff.

 

The school I attended had good and bad points but thankfully focused on proper lessons and not social skills sessions. It was a rather harsh place that didn't cater well for kids with AS and I didn't get on well with the headmaster who tried to run the place like Eton with all the poxy rules and regulations.

 

I suppose in a way I succeeded in the end as I got good grades at GCSEs in subjects I wanted and managed to go to college and university. One member of carestaff at the school claimed that never in a million years did I stand a chance of going to university. It is such a shame he never lived to see me graduate with an engineering degree.

 

What is interesting is that my LEA never checked on my progress when I was at that school. Some kids had a rep from the LEA down at least once a term to see how they were progressing. My LEA never even found out I took GCSEs early until after I left the school.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Canopus , I can relate to much of your statement , you sound alot like my son >:D<<'> .Hope you don,t mind me asking , did you ever have a dx of dyslexia or dyspraxia, and also why did everyone feel a residential place was best???

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Hope you don,t mind me asking , did you ever have a dx of dyslexia or dyspraxia, and also why did everyone feel a residential place was best???

 

My LEA did not believe dyslexia existed. Dyspraxia was not diagnosed and repeated examinations by doctors claimed there was nothing wrong with me physically although common sense dictated there was if you watched me playing team sports. A specialist from the LEA was concerned at my clumsiness and ineptness at PE lessons, but was particularly moved when he read that I couldn't ride a bike at the age of 8 and that my handwriting was a scrawl. His only explanation was that I was disabled and should receive disability treatment. However, my GP had not diagnosed me as disabled and my mother flatly refused to believe I was disabled in any way. Perhaps it might have been better if dyspraxic was used rather than disabled.

 

The reason for a residential school was because my social skills were poor when relating to most people of my own age, and that I was a withdrawn individual preferring activities such as computers, reading, or playing with things like electronics and lego at home during evenings and weekends rather than social activities with other people my own age. The educational psychologist thought I would benefit from being forced together with other kids all the time so I would socialise more and involve myself in team sports and activities. Hence "6. A residential setting so that my difficulties can be worked upon in a variety of settings beyond school hours in order to promote generalisation of my skills."

 

The educational psychologist failed to realise that I wanted friends, but only people (both NT and AS) who respected me, were compatible with me, and were of high intelligence and interested in academic things. I just didn't get on well with kids who didn't respect me or were not of high intelligence. It wasn't mentioned in my statement that many of the kids who respected me the most and I got on well with were in Y10 and Y11, yet I was only in Y7. I used to help them with their work and often knew more about certain subjects than they did.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...