raelien Report post Posted March 28, 2006 Well - last week i was told that Col had been violent in the minibus again - and this time he was being reported. So I discussed the matter with col and he said that he had swung his (empty cloth) bag at the helper in frustration over something. I thought little more of it. Then I get a call - 4.30pm monday this week from the county council to say that cols transport had been withdrawn due the fact the dirver had a colostomy bag and there was a health and safety issue with col hitting. They then asked me to arrange transport for the rest of the week while they sorted something for next term. Col was dropped off by the same driver who had said nothing to col and the guy left!! I was left to explain to col that he wouldnt be going in that taxi again. So - after horrendous effort I managed to arrange transport - But the implications that follow are immense. To start with - I had a little boy cry for three hours until he cried himself to sleep - becuase he had done something terrible that meant his freind never wanted to see him again - ( which is how he is interprettating the issue). And his whole routine has been upset at both ends of the day and he is over anxious and very difficult both at school and home. We still dont know if anything will be sorted after easter. how can they do this to my little boy - he is statmented becuase of his frustration issues and when I pointed out that we havent had a single violent outburst in six months at home or school so surley there was a training issue with the helper, I was shot down and made to feel that it was my sons violence that was the issue and not there service!!!???? Im so angry - I could cry. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phasmid Report post Posted March 28, 2006 No. You have a very valid point. Taxi driver or not, the LEA have a responsibility to ensure that anyone dealing with your child has been trained to understand ASD issues and that they will therefore act accordingly. Don't let them bully you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jill Report post Posted March 28, 2006 Oh I'm so sorry about this. I think the trouble is that the drivers and helpers don't have any training at all. The taxi that picks my lad up just calls it the "school run" and the helper is just his wife. Can't offer any help really, just some of these <'> Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paula Report post Posted March 28, 2006 I have just got a job as a relief escort on school transport and i can confirm that you dont receive any training on ASD at all.Fortunatley though i have experiance because of my son but im the acception to the rule. At a breif induction yessterday one elderly man said he hadnt realised sevearly autistic children screamed and lashed out no one had informed him.God help the kids on his bus. My son uses the school bus system for transportation to and from his special school i have complained on numerous occasions about the lack of knowledge on conditions these kids can have but apparently they dont offer courses on stuff.Anyone can be a school escort provideing they have a clean crb check its a rare occasion that its someone like me who already knws about some of the conditions. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest flutter Report post Posted March 28, 2006 Without seemin "non -inclusive" i would hav concers at a person with colostomy bag driving a bus/taxi with kids whit special needs, who can at any time do anything? but hey maybe i from other planet as i thought this ought to be better "policed" cos lots of kids with sen ( varied) that go in taxi's are on the spectrum somewhere. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
justamom Report post Posted March 28, 2006 If the driver had of had some form of training or even information regarding ASD children then i think that he would have been alot more sympathic towards your son. The staff on the buses etc at our special school also do not have any training and its a shame because alot of the kids that travel on the transport have eplipesy and its scary if a child has a major fit will they be able to deal with it.. justamom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CarerQuie Report post Posted March 28, 2006 When my son 'played up' on the minibus,they started a star chart to be completed by the Escorts and this soon worked.He earned a couple of rewars and then settles back down and has not been any more trouble since.xx Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jen Report post Posted March 28, 2006 In our local special school the escorts go into the school for the last 15minutes of the day to see what the children are like in school and also to pass messages onto parents at the other end. Jen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lil_me Report post Posted March 29, 2006 (edited) As far as I am aware in my area no taxi drivers or escorts get any training at all. Nothing is offered to them at all. Also more and more councils are refusing to provide escorts for school runs. So therefore it is left to the driver who is also trying to drive to deal with any problems. They don't even get told the childs condition and what they might expect if the parent doesn't tell them. Hence I feel it is vital that the parent explains this to the escort and driver, my partner is a taxi driver and picks children up, he can only guess what the issues are and what may happen. I know of drivers and escorts who've had several bad experiences. One had a nightmare with a little boy who hated red before as noone mentioned it and the driver wore a red shirt and the child battered the hell out of him to be honest. He was trying to attack him when he was driving aswell as when he got in the car, almost causing an accident, escort was busy with another child in the back who dislikes seat belts. All because noone told him about the boys problem with red ? Edited March 29, 2006 by lil_me Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elaine1 Report post Posted March 31, 2006 <'> good god, why the heck cant taxi drivers who do 'school runs' be trained just as any person who deals with our children would be?. You have put yr trust in that driver and helper to get yr child safely to school and home again, it makes my blood boil!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mother in Need Report post Posted March 31, 2006 Taxi drivers usually are just that, someone from a local taxi firm who's got a contract with the local authority to ferry kids around. I suppose they don't get paid extra for extra duties like real care; as a matter of fact I know drivers in this area are complaining about how little they get paid; I myself have only been offered ?3 for a half hour drive to ferry my own son to school, which barely pays for the fuel let alone my time and other car costs... I think this is wrong, and our kids should be transported by people with training and knowledge in ASDs and other conditions our kids (may) have. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mossgrove Report post Posted March 31, 2006 We had real problems when J and H started in Special school. The taxi form sent whichever driver was available and the escort had no idea how to deal with them other than to tell tham they needed to behave in an increasingly loud voice! We got lucky because one of the LSA's at the special school lives locally to us and also has an Autistic son so is absolutely brilliant woth them. The Taxi form were fine when everything was explained to them and they now have the same driver all the time, and plenty of notice if it is going to be different. The problem is that there is no training at all for escorts, so anyone woth no direct experiece of Autistic children is bound to struggle at times. Simon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paula Report post Posted March 31, 2006 When you get a position as a school escort on a special bus escorting special needs kids like i have recently you are given a hand book spelling out all the dos and dont. Basically it just says dont leave the bus unatended,dont engage in any confrontations with parents,put gloves on if youve to clean up mess,and the only mention of anything serious happening like an epileptic fit says you should transport if necessary straight to hospital inform the school wholl then inform the parents and continue on youre journey. We have to ensure the taxi driver is legitamate and displaying a porper id card up to date and give the bus the once over its up to us to report if we feel the bus isnt safe. Thats it.Its not right i dont agrtee with it at all.You should have to undergo some sort of training in what these kids might be like ie the behaviours displayed but you dont. Least ive got some idea. One of the reasons i applied for a job escorting i thought least ive some knwledg unlike some of them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raelien Report post Posted March 31, 2006 theres a gap in the market here - If only there was the funding! Strikes me that if you child spends more than an hour a day with a helper - then there should be legislation in place that ensure some kind of training. I had to undergo - basic food hygeine and a year Playwork course just to be an afterschool helper. with training in special needs situations. and some times I would only see the children for half an hour a day. It doesnt seem right. Col still hasnt got over it - and at night keeps asking why he cant see his freind and how he misses him. and now every time hes sees a mini bus with that logo he goes mad! never mind - got him to myself this week - and we are going to go to legoland - never been befoer and hes going with another asd child whos a lego fan so it should be fun - a good chance for this kid to show col round. Tescos clubcard vouchers - online - book your ticket - 1/4 price, arrived in 2 days. no fuss - thats what i like..... will let you know how he gets on - and wether or not they actualy arrange proper travel arrangements Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jen Report post Posted March 31, 2006 Councils put out tenders for taking children and picking them up from school. Obviously its the cheapest company that puts the tender in that wins the contract. Money talks cheap far no training special needs children upset. I think it does say in the Code that transport should ensure children arrive in school ready to learn. Jen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kathryn Report post Posted March 31, 2006 Raelien, I hope you manage to get the transport sorted out. I fight a running battle with my daughter's transport: they are certainly the weak link in her day. The head of the company is OK and I've spoken to him at length, but the information doesn't seem to filter down to the driver and escort. With great difficulty I managed to get the driver to agree that he wouldn't pick L up before 9.10am - she was arriving at college too early and getting stressed - same old problem with unstructured time before lessons. I thought they understood, but the other day the driver asked if he could pick her up at 8.45 because the other students like to get there early to socialise! I agree there's a gap in the market - I'd offer to do it myself for our LEA for a small fee. Seriously, if there really is no information out there, I might consider writing a basic guide for drivers and escorts - what do you think? K x Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raelien Report post Posted April 1, 2006 i think it needs it - and the only way we will get it is to do it ourselves, would be nice as well if the driver had a card for each child - with a list of dos and donts - IE - dont wear a red jumper etc... or make agreements with the child - that the child wont behave a certain way if the helper agrees not to wear red etc. I may speak to my local NAS group too about it - I worry that our kids could be with these people for sometmes over an hour a day with abslutley no training - I wouldnt leave my boy with a babysitter for that long - the only people i trust is family and the school. I wonder if there a way to campaign for training - Get letters to MPs etc. - This strikes me as a big issue, not just for Asd kids - actually for all kids. - Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
microsoft_admin Report post Posted April 1, 2006 Well - last week i was told that Col had been violent in the minibus again - and this time he was being reported. So I discussed the matter with col and he said that he had swung his (empty cloth) bag at the helper in frustration over something. I thought little more of it. Then I get a call - 4.30pm monday this week from the county council to say that cols transport had been withdrawn due the fact the dirver had a colostomy bag and there was a health and safety issue with col hitting. They then asked me to arrange transport for the rest of the week while they sorted something for next term. Col was dropped off by the same driver who had said nothing to col and the guy left!! I was left to explain to col that he wouldnt be going in that taxi again. So - after horrendous effort I managed to arrange transport - But the implications that follow are immense. To start with - I had a little boy cry for three hours until he cried himself to sleep - becuase he had done something terrible that meant his freind never wanted to see him again - ( which is how he is interprettating the issue). And his whole routine has been upset at both ends of the day and he is over anxious and very difficult both at school and home. We still dont know if anything will be sorted after easter. how can they do this to my little boy - he is statmented becuase of his frustration issues and when I pointed out that we havent had a single violent outburst in six months at home or school so surley there was a training issue with the helper, I was shot down and made to feel that it was my sons violence that was the issue and not there service!!!???? Im so angry - I could cry. i think you should tell col that he did nothing wrong and that the goverment screwd up again the goverment always get things wrong thats why the council always get things wrong tony blair is stupid Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
