P E

[KarenM]

DD hates pe she is miserable about going to school when it is a pe day. I think her life is a struggle enough without having to do it . Just wondered if anyone had managed to get their child out off it please? Karen

[Tylers-mum]

After going through a year where he would NOT partake in PE but instead done his own thing and ran round the outside of the hall, he has finally got the grasp of it and manages well with 1:1 support. He does now join in but he is very energetic and loves PE now and playtime b/c he can run round. His 1:1 said, 'It's almost like he's freeeeee!'. LOL

 

Hope you get this sorted. If it's a long ongoing thing then I can see why you are concerned but if it's new to her, give her time and she may be like my son and join in when she is ready to. It can be a challenging thing for our kids but give her time ok. <'> <'>

[lil_me]

We considered trying to stop my sn having to do PE as he seemed to hate it, but he's getting much better with it this year, we found out that one of the main issues he had with it was getting changed as he needs help, so we got him more help doing this. Its well worth finding out why he dislikes it so much if you can and see if there is something you can work out, as although my son hated it, he wanted to do it as he didn't want to be different.

[Flora]

Before we relocated from North to South my son was excused from all games lessons. He did extra IT lessons instead. The school he's at now refuse to allow this. Something I'm in constant disagreement about and a source of huge stress for my son. It obviously depends on the attitudes of the school.

 

Good luck!

Lauren

[bid]

Yes, we did!

 

My son's consultant wrote to the school saying he should be withdrawn from group PE on mental health grounds. He detailed why my son found the whole thing traumatic (sensory issues, dyspraxia, etc).

 

By specifying 'group' PE the hope was that perhaps he could do a more 'individual' activity, like circuit-training, etc. We didn't want him to lose out on exercise.

 

The school agreed to the withdrawal, but then tired to make us take him home from school for those periods...a form of illegal exclusion

 

This was resolved once I had invoved the DRC, and he went to the ICT room or the library. Apparently, the school was unable to organise any individual activity

 

After all that hassle, it had really come too late for my son A month or so later he came out of school, with a breakdown

 

Still, now he's at a special school for AS he is able to enjoy things like climbing- walls, which are much better suited to him.

 

My advice is to make sure you get a letter from your GP or consultant, and contact the DRC for the relevant legal information. They will also outline what you need to say in your letter to the school ,quoting the correct legal act, etc.

 

Good luck!

 

Bid

[BuntyB]

I can sympathise with this.

My daughter gets really distressed on pE days. This is because they play team games and because she doesn't have the agility or co-ordination to keep up she gets unkind comments from other members of the team.

 

I wish they would do non competitive stuff in PE, but her teacher says there is not much she can do except have a word with the other kids.

 

It breaks my heart seeing her so distressed, because other days she has been coping really well since her dx.

[KarenM]

Thank you for all your kind replys. My dd has another health problem aswell as AS and i just want to make her life as bearable as possible. I have phoned the school and they said if she is to get out of pe she will need a note from the doctors and it might cost 15 pound I have made a appointment with the docs next week.What is the DRC please? karen

[bid]

 

DRC is the Disability Rights Commission. Help line 08457 622633.

 

Bid

[KarenM]

Thanks Bid,

[lil_me]

Most GP's charging for anything these days, we rely on our sons consultant for anything like that as he doesn't charge, might be worth asking

[KarenM]

Thanks little me ,only problem is it takes a while to see her psychologist and she is desperate. I am waiting to see if we get dla and that will help a lot money wise if we get it . Karen

Edited September 29, 2005 by KarenM

[Colin_and_Shelagh]

�The National Curriculum requirements for PE...seem, from the perspective of a person with Asperger's Syndrome, more like punishment or torture than anything else.�

 

Clare Sainsbury, A Martian in the Playground pp109-110

[phasmid]

Hi Karen,

 

Bid's not the only one. We got Phas Jr out of PE as well. He hated it! Loathed it.!!Detested it!!!

 

We decided that this time could be better spent. We approached his current school with the idea of flexi-schooling. The school sat and thought about it when approched. We offered to give them lesson plans etc if they wanted them (they never did ask for them). They agreed to try . This saw Mrs P withdraw him for PE sessions. He went swimming (still PE) with her and also got permission to use school gym too. When his timetable didn't allow for this she took him out doing social skills work with him. Visiting shops and catching buses and so on (with her following in case he panicked). It worked really well.

 

The best bit is that his PE teacher boned up on things ASD. He then approached her and suggested a 're-intergration' plan. He put a lot of work into it. It worked! Phas jr now takes full part in PE with his class. The school have seen the potential of FS and are now using it with a few other pupils (for various reasons). They have only done this because we showed it could work. All power to Mrs P on this one. She was the one who did the hard work of being there for all the lessons. It was one heck of a committment on her part...and the schools (The LEA said NO school would go for this!) between them it worked.

 

More kudos to his PE teacher too. That little bit of effort on his part saw Phas Jr want to take part in PE lessons again - heck, he even did sports day again this year because he wanted to do it.

[Canopus]

PE is part of the National Curriculum and state schools have to impose it by law. The only way that one could get out of PE lessons is with a doctors certificate, or if SEN sessions are provided at the same time the rest of the class has a PE lesson. This happened to me at secondary school for one term although the timing was probably determined by when the LEA councillor was available and it was just pure chance that it coincided with my PE lesson.

 

I think that a strongly worded statement could exempt a kid from having to participate in team sports and certain other activities, but would only be honoured by the school if details of alternative physical activities are provided that can be accomodated by the school in the session provided. This could be problematic in practice.

[Zemanski]

Com is now getting an individualised PE/OT programme with one other ASD kid when their classes do PE. They have the option to join the class for things they enjoy like trampolining but otherwise do things in a less competitive, gentler way. The LSA they have is a PE specialist so she's pretty good with them.

 

The school wanted to use Com's PE time for social skills, etc. but I said they couldn't do that because Com gets no other regular exercise and because part 2 of his statement says he has physical needs because of his dyspraxia but the school were doing nothing to support his physical development.

Instead they now take him out of history and geography, both also part of the national curriculum - there is no real problem disapplying a child from any subject except the core subjects and ICT (a friend's dyslexic kid is disapplied from modern languages because he can't cope and it gives time for extra english) .

 

Zemanski

[lil_me]

I think I'd be pushing the school to adapt a PE lesson for your child the same as Com's has been done, every child is entitled by law to access the whole curriculum inc PE and schools should be taking measures to inculde them in any way possible

[Canopus]

It all depends on the facilities and the staff available. Some schools have better facilities than others for SEN in PE lessons. It can be very difficult for one PE teacher to be in charge of 2 activities simultaneously. Some PE teachers are supportive of physical exercises whereas others are committed to team sports.

[Zemanski]

For Com's lessons the LSA discusses the PE planning for the class with the teacher and bases her lessons on the same skills, the PE teacher is not involved except in planning.

 

Com's school does not have good PE facilities at all but even poor facilities can be used well if you try.

 

Zemanski

[Patch]

My son is in Y10 mainstream and statemented. He did PE at primary school, whilst he didn't 'love' it he coped. Although he was excused swimming after the swimming instructor forced him in the pool. At secondary school he found it much more difficult to cope - carrying a PE bag around all day, changing clothes and doing up shoelaces. He became very distressed, found the noise in the gym difficult. School receives advice from INSCAPE. He was excused from PE lessons from the Easter in Y7 and has never done PE since.

 

He travels to school in taxi with two other boys, none of them do PE. They go to learning support base and do homework or other schoolwork.

 

My son was also excused from drama lessons.

 

Hope you can get it sorted Karen.

 

Patch.

[KarenM]

Thanks very much for your replys you really are a great bunch. She has to do the dreaded pe today but hopefully not for long , She is getting no extra help from her high school with anything. We get the result a very distressed child I will keep trying to help her though untill things get better. karen

[KarenM]

did same post twice and dont know how to remove only edit. Edited October 3, 2005 by KarenM