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[fiorelli]

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Edited May 10, 2006 by fiorelli

[cmuir]

Hi

 

I'm facing the same dilema. Have to say, I went to visit a school for children with emotional/behvioural problems in my locality and there was lots of things about it that impressed me. I had difficulty working out how my son compares with some of the other kids. I thought that the school knew exactly what they were doing. They have specialists in-residence. I liked the visual timetables ? the kids knew exactly what they were doing from one day to the next. They had quiet room and even a room with padded walls (many a time, I've wished for one of those!). I guess the question very much depends on what your child's difficulties are? If the behaviour overshadows everything else, then it's definitely worth considering ?�I've considered it! Personally, I don't think that school is for my son just now. I feel like we're in unchartered territory as he's due to start primary school this summer at the age of 4.5. My main problem was that I don't know how my son's behaviour compares against the other kids. Have to say, I saw a lot of behaviour from the special school kids that reminded me of my son. I do feel that I have to try mainstream first and if it doesn't work out, I would definitely consider the school for children with emotional and behaviour problems. I keep hearing that as such whilst you can't ignore the reason for the behaviour (ASD!), the problems still need to be tackled and handled firmly. If the behaviour is a massive issue, then it makes sense to me to tackle that first, then go back to mainstream. I think it's a very personal decision and not an easy one.

 

Best of luck with your decision.

 

Caroline.

[annie]

Hi Fiorelli,

 

We was offered it for Alex and refused it. I felt at the time it would have been like going 'out of the frying pan and into the fire'. It just wouldn't have been the right place for him.

 

Annie

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[Suze]

I have no experience of EBD schools , but there are 2 kids dx with EBD at my sons school and they really don,t get on well with my son and vice versa.My son clashes terribly with them .........so for this reason my answer would be no.Hope my reply does,nt sound too narrow minded it was,nt intended this way.Also I would question the stratergies and provision at an EBD school, would an autistic child benefit from these and do weLl there.

[fiorelli]

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Edited May 10, 2006 by fiorelli

[Elanor]

Hi

 

Don't give up - you've got a lot to deal with, but you are not alone <'> <'>

 

Have you seen this thread?

 

http://www.asd-forum.org.uk/forum/index.ph...wtopic=5963&hl=

 

Do you think you have enough information to base a decision on?

 

If not, I suggest you put questions in writing to the LEA, to ask about what experience the proposed school has in dealing with ASD, what ASD-specific strategies they operate, how will your child be provided with the calm and routine that he needs, how will your (vulnerable) child be protected from bullying.

 

Take care of yourself

 

Elanor

[puffin]

Hi!

 

Based on personal experience i would have to say no. M attended a small EBD school for a couple of weeks before her dx was finalised with the LEAs aim of planing her there - stressing to us that the small classes were just what she needed - but the reality was that it was difficult for the school to meet her needs - even though the staff were lovely and the activities were great.

 

The main problems were

- it was a very small school and mostly boys - so she lacked a peer group - there were only 2 other girls both aged 13

- as M has AS it is important for her to have good role model's for social skills - this was definately a problem when she began to copy behaviour at home - this is a major disadvantage for ASD children

- the age range was too wide - age 7 to 13 - she was only 7 and the behaviour of the older boys scared her and she was bullied

- the unpredictable and violent behaviour of some pupils scared her - and she became very anxious and withdrawn

- most of the children had learning difficulties or were very behind with schoolwork - this was not a problem she had and lacked and intellectual challenge

- the only social contact she had was with a 13 year old being reintegrated into mainstream - she was very sad when the girl left

 

 

We took the decision that this was not a suitable placement and obtained a new mainstream placement at a very small village school (65 pupils) which worked out well

[Canopus]

I attended an EBD special school and can say that it was unsuitable for someone with AS. This is why:

 

1. Having to mix with obnoxious and nasty kids - most of which were NT.

 

2. Staff that couldn't understand problems resulting from AS who would regularly have a go at or punish kids who behaved in certain ways ranging from messy eating to taking certain jokes too seriously.

 

3. An arrogant headmaster with an old fashioned attitude who was difficult to communicate with that viewed problems resulting from AS as bad behaviour that could and had to be corrected.

 

4. The theme of the school - apart from lessons - was on harsh discipline and corrective principles. The staff generally believed these measures would turn badly behaved yobs into gentlemen.

 

5. Too many unwritten rules and social etiquette that you had to pick up via social cues. Quite often the only way to find out about a rule was to break it. This would result in a blasting by the staff or other kids and often incurred penalties such as detentions. This was a very intimidating system and totally unsuited to kids with AS.

[cmuir]

Hi

 

The school for children with emotioanl and behviour problems that I went to see was very impressive. I asked question after question at them, one of them being about the reasons for the kids have emotional and behavioural problems. In simplistic terms, the assistant headteacher, who is a very large woman, told me that they've found there are two groups of children. There's the group that call her a fat cow simply because she is fat and that's how they see her. On the other hand, there's the other group that call her a fat cow purely to be nasty. It was that comment that really struck a chord, because there is a big difference between the two groups. The school are very aware of that and teach the children in these two separate groups. I therefore don't think that this type of school should be written off. I guess it depends on each school, but the one that I saw I was very impressed. They are also fully aware of the reasons why kids have behavioural and emotional problems and do their best to help and guide them. They also work directly with their on-site specialists (social workers, occupational therapists, psychologists, etc) and parents. They also offer a lot of support when they feel that a child is ready to be integrated back to mainstream ? it's done slowly and staff accompany the child. They aren't just left. Inevitably some people will have had negative experiences. It's worth investigating and asking lots of questions. Just my opinion!

 

Best of luck ? not an easy decision.

 

Caroline.

[Jill]

1. Having to mix with obnoxious and nasty kids - most of which were NT.

 

3. An arrogant headmaster with an old fashioned attitude who was difficult to communicate with that viewed problems resulting from AS as bad behaviour that could and had to be corrected.

 

 

I post on another site; a chap who is involved in education posts on there occasionally. We had a similar discussion some time ago on there and this chap said that on the whole what Canopus has said above is pretty representative of the EBD schools he has worked at. He did point out that not all EBD schools are like this, but most are.

 

His view was that they were good for children with educational and behavioural difficulties, but the approaches (in the majority of cases) were not suitable for children with ASD. All of the EBD schools he had worked in (bar one) had treated all ASD children like an EBD child and punished them for perceived bad behaviour which he said 99.9% of the time was not bad behaviour, just ASD behaviour.

 

He also said that a lot of the teachers that worked in these schools didn't seem to recognise ASD as a disability at all (not all of the teachers, but a lot).

 

So, personally, unless the school was excellent & I had visited many times to prove this to myself, it's not something I would choose for The Boy. The purpose of the school and its approaches are geared towards EBD kids, not ASD kids & the two groups are entirely different.

[Canopus]

I think the best thing to do is to look at the school and ask technical questions about AS to see what answers you get. Try and find out the reason why kids ended up at that school and what their characters and personalities are like. Another thing to look at are the SEN support and the situation out of teaching hours. My school had no SEN support staff at all and most of the carers were not qualified or experienced in SEN or had ever had to deal with people with AS or ASD before.

 

AS wasn't known about in the education community during my time at school but things could have changed dramatically in some EBD schools since then.

[Kazzen161]

I think it depends on the school and on the type of Aspie your child is. If he is a robust, hypie type then he may cope fine, if he is a shy and retiring sort, he probably won't.

 

Is it W**v****** school they are suggesting? I have heard good things about it re:AS.

 

Karen

[fiorelli]

Karen, if that is the one in An......... you are on about, then yes, that is the one.

[Canopus]

If he is a robust, hypie type then he may cope fine, if he is a shy and retiring sort, he probably won't.

 

There were a few kids that probably had AS at my school who were quiet introverted types but would have meltdowns when stressed. Which category do they fit into?

 

Another point. If your kid seriously is having a hard time or is regularly bullied or treated badly by the staff then consider withdrawing them regardless what the head says. Sometimes head teachers come out with all sorts of excuses to convince parents to continue sending their kid to the school. Some of the statements the head told my parents are:

 

1. The new boy always gets picked on by the others.

 

2. It will take some time for him to get used to things.

 

3. I have told the carers about his problems so there shouldn't be any more trouble from them.

 

4. He will have to make more of an effort to fit in and co-operate with others.

 

5. The psychologist said there was nothing wrong with him. Therefore I am not convinced he requires any special treatment.

 

6. I do not think he needs any social skills training because he is in the company of others and will learn how to interact with and relate to staff and pupils in due course.

 

7. I have difficulty understanding why he does so well in certain subjects but so badly in others. My only explanation is sheer laziness and lack of effort.

 

8. He passed his annual medical check with no problems. Therefore I fail to understand his poor co-ordination in games lessons other than as an attention seeking tactic.

 

9. He doesn't enjoy attending this school, but I definitely think it is the best place for him. He won't survive in a mainstream school.

[Richt]

I mostly agree with previous postings. An EBD school is for normal children who haven't learnt to control their behaviour - generally because they haven't been parented by people who were "good enough" - so have no sense of what is normal behaviour and how to get what they want through negotiation.

 

This might be a bit simplistic, because sometimes the parents do all the right things, but they're not received by the child in the way they're intended - this might be borderline ASD or just a communication problem between the child and parents?

 

Generally EBD schools are interested in "behaviour modification" - teaching the child what is acceptable when and where, this works well for some "naughty kids" I think, mostly the regime is too incomprehensible for all than the most borderline ASD kids. If he's under 8 I wouldn't even think of it, I'd find a nice small primary school where the teacher's can care for the children and put up with differences (they do exist) alternatively a large one with lots of support staff.

 

Of course, this depends how he presents and who he is, only you know this at the moment.

 

R

[CarerQuie]

I personally would not send an ASD child to an EBD school because their needs to not relate to EBD.xx

[Canopus]

An EBD school really is the wrong tool for the job and I have first hand experience of such an institution.