my "passive" boy

[darky]

i have fought with my sons school over dx of aspergers. he is passive at school and does not draw attention to himself, as such lots of very complex needs were missed. i keep explaining to school that my son may paint himself one way at school, but hes totaly different at home! he very often vents his frustrations about school and homework at home, but not at school, but am i listened too? NO.

 

anyway, after another battle to get him to read, i glimsped at his reading record, "pupil" comments. so whilst my son was in that frame of mind, i got him to write what he thinks of reading:

 

"when i get a book they are always boring EVERYTIME!!! sometimes the words are hard and it makes me cry. I HATE READING."

 

i think this just might get them to listen to him!! he obviously wont show it at school, so ive shown them the next best thing!! i wont hold out hope, i rekon they just might say i put him up to it! i wish it was that simple!!

 

had enough!!

[BusyLizzie100]

It's horrible, isn't it, when you can see their pain and misery and the school says everything's all right. Why do our kids have to slip right down to the bottom of the pile, until they're totally failing at everything, before schools sit and up and take notice! Children are not 'pupils' in isolation; school is just a part of their life and teachers need to be aware that they are just a part of a whole.

 

Children with Asperger's are hit hard because their 'handicaps' can be so well camouflaged and hidden.

 

My AS son fits the criteria for being Gifted but his physical difficulties, along with all the rest of the AS stuff, mean that he dumbs down his fantastic abilities and is achieving what he needs to re the National Curriculum. He should be flying high!

It makes me mad, too.

 

Lizzie

[Canopus]

The state school system offers virtually no facilities for kids with high academic abilities. All that matters is that they achieve the National Curriculum targets. Most schools and teachers find high flying kids undesirable people although they rarely admit it.

 

There are no "magic bullets" when it comes to kids with high academic abilities. It is completely impossible for them to be moved into a higher year group because of the way the law works, and very difficult for them to be moved into classes attended by a higher year group for certain subjects due to timetabling problems. A certain secondary school in Gosport in Hampshire has abolished year groups and classes are formed by ability on a subject by subject basis with the facility to take exams when the kids are ready rather than at the end of Y11. The outcome of this remains to be seen and will take at least 3 years before a picture emerges. There are also many questions that need answering as well.

 

If your kid is interested in getting pieces of paper then they can take GCSEs and A Levels as private candidates at any age. If it is a core subject they get their GCSE in then they will have to continue studying it at school until Y11 and take the exam again at school due to National Curriculum requirements.