supersec Report post Posted September 27, 2005 Just had Julian's six month assessment which was okayish. Bit further behind than we had anticipated but hey ho! Lovely Dr Black is so good she is very understanding and listens to what we say. She has intimated (but apparently can't say directly) that she feels that Julian would not cope with mainstream school - he is due to start next September but they are statementing him between now and end of October - and has suggested that we have a look at some of the special schools in the area to have a look. She did say that we should look at a local mainstream and see what they could offer but she felt that it was unlikely as none of the schools (to the best of my knowledge) have any autistic children in them or autistic departments/trained teachers etc etc. Julian also saw the Educational Psychologist a couple of weeks ago. She wrote to us last week and said that she felt that Julian's needs would be best met at a mainstream school as she feels that he is too intelligent to go to special school. My concerns are: 1. Julian does not speak any recognisable language; ergo he would not be able to get his needs across i.e. not feeling well, needing the toilet (training going well! ), needs time out, not happy etc etc etc 2. Julian gets very frustrated very quickly and i do not feel that the other children or staff in mainstream would understand his frustration 3. Julian is very tall for his age and looks about 6 or 7 but is 4 and i feel that teacher/parents/children would expect more from him 4. I worry that because of the above he will be bullied and no parent wants that. Who does the final decision lie with? Can I not insist on him going to special school rather than being dumped in to a school (that may well be very good with NT children) that won't and can't cope with him and his needs? Argghhhhhh confused. Caroline Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
helenl53 Report post Posted September 27, 2005 Hi Caroline Ed Psych will be looking to save money. Specialist setting is very expensive. However, my friend Tracy is looking out for you at a school near the airport Tell her Helly Hen sent you They will no doubt help you with the school decision - I would say that a paed wins hands down! Best wishes HelenL Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kazzen161 Report post Posted September 27, 2005 If he has a statement you get a say in what school (within certain constraints), if not you can only choose between local mainstream schools. I woudl contact your local support group and see what they say about the local schools. Do not discount mainstreams without visiting a few first (there are a few good ones out there). There are some special schools that can cater for standard IQ children (especially at Infant stage), there are also specialist schools that specialise in ASD. Karen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zemanski Report post Posted September 27, 2005 (edited) you have the right to state your parental preference in the statement when it comes and the LEA must abide by it by law (although there is a nice little clause that they use to try to wriggle out - but if they do that then let us know, lots of us have been there) and it can be any school within reason, even independent although they will almost certainly fight you on that if he has never been to an LEA school. When you fill in admissions forms it will say give something like 3 choices but you only need to put the one you want him to go to. They may argue but stick to your guns - you know what is best for him. if the statement isn't finalised before he is due to start I think you can hold him back at home until the term of his 5th birthday - you'll need to check the details of this if you want to do that - rather than start him in the LEAs choice. have a good look at as many schools as you can in the day time and meet the sencos Zemanski Edited September 27, 2005 by Zemanski Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
