Hi, I’m really tired

[Anonymous]

#3767

I have a 6year old son who is going through assessment for diagnosis with Aspergers. It’s been a long long hard slog and we’re not through it yet. He is attending school for 1 hour a day due to ‘lack of funding’ to support him and they don’t want to exclude him. He had moved from another mainstream school (as we moved house) that had excluded him 3 times in two months and 1 fixed-term exclusion in reception plus countless calls to us at work to collect him. Because of his unpredictable violent outbursts the current school have told us they have a duty of care to the other pupils and will not allow him to attend for more than an hour a day and we are going through the statementing process. We have been told his hour will continue until he gets a statement but have been told this could take 6 months to complete (not counting school holidays). My baby is lovely but he’s made out to be a monster and it’s so hurtful. After years of school/nursery thinking we’ve been somehow physically abusing our child, the only reason they felt his aggression would come out at school it does come as some relief that they have now recognised that there is a problem. We have another older child who has often been questioned as to ‘any problems at home?’. Does anyone else understand what I mean???? We have been told because of the situation that he will definately get a statement but does anyone know of any special schools in the West Midlands/Birmingham areas that we could visit? He is extremely intelligent (particularly in maths) and does not have any developmental difficulties. If you had a child that moved from part-time to a full-time special school how did the change play out? It’s such a long process to even get an initial appointment as people seem to think we’re neurotic parents. I’ve been told you can have a blood test – has anyone had this? I feel like although this is ‘normal’ life for us – it’s all new, so any advice would be welcome as we all feel exhausted. Thanks[xx(]

[Anonymous]

#4871

Hello Proud Mum,

It sounds as if your LEA may be dragging its feet a bit here.
I would strongly suggest that you join the National Autistic Society and make use of their Education Advisory Service.They will appoint an advisor for you to help with all aspects of the statementing,legal and tribunal system, even support in court if need be.

Your LEA has a legal duty to provide an education for your son and there is a strict time scale for the statementing process.

These links will help you with the education aspect and also in finding local support for you and your family.

http://www.autism.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=131

http://www.autism.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=941&a=9986

http://www.autismdirectory.org.uk/Pages/Browse.aspx?gn=292&ar=6&hi=-1

http://www.autism.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=914&a=7548

http://www.autism.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1567

Parents are often blamed for their childs behaviour when it is in fact a condition that is the cause of the problem and it is a sad fact that many people are just not prepared to take a few seconds to consider why a child may be behaving in this fashion, in your sons case it is probably his way of reacting to the stress of the classroom which he cannot cope with.
Overload of sensory input is a big problem for many autistic people, this combined with not understanding all that is going on around them is going to cause these reactions.

Once a statement is issued it may be that starting a school placement needs to be for just a few hours a week and build up attendance over time,in fact this approach shuld be written in to the statement.

My son was out of school for a year and now attends a special needs boarding school on a weekly basis, he started on 1.5 days a week and built up over a 6 month period to full time weekly boarding,he had never stayed away from home before and has adapted to this huge change very well.

The only blood test I can think of is a check for FragileX syndrome which is presented in a small number of cases of autism ,part of the statementing process is usually dealt with by a consultant pediatrician who may ask for this test, you can ask them about it if you wish.

Finally, take a look at http://www.jkp.com for a list of books and publications (many are also on the NAS site) relating to Aspergers Syndrome and Special Needs Education, once you have the titles and ISDN numbers you can always ask your library to obtain books for you.

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[Anonymous]

#4868

Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to the repliers. My son was permanently excluded today so God alone knows what will happen next.

[Anonymous]

#4872

Well, in some ways that may be an advantage to you.

The LEA is now bound by law to provide an education for your son and the hours required are also governed by law. If they have no SEN/emergency placement they must provide a teaching system at home.

I would definitely make use of the NAS education advisors now, and make sure the statement is produced and worded correctly, also make it clear what you want in terms of a placement for his schooling, it does sound as if a special needs setting is the only way forward, the LEA MUST provide you with details of SEN provision in your area and if there is no suitable placement they will have to provide an out of county placement,this obviously they will not want to do as the costs are very high.

You will find these 2 sites useful :

http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/sen/sencodeintro/

http://www.dfes.gov.uk

If you want the full SEN Code of practice phone this number and order your free copy:

You can order from the publication centre: telephone 0845 6022260 or email dcsf@prolog.uk.com, quoting the DCSF reference number DCSF 581/2001
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The Blue Room Forum …

[Anonymous]

#4869

My son has been formally diagnosed with Aspergers now. It comes as a huge relief as he’s not (as we always believed) a naughty boy. I do feel mainstream schools have a lot of catching up to do as this issue is so wide and affects so many people. Surely simply excluding children because of a behaviour is ridiculous and not even investigating whether there are any issues behind the behaviour. Getting there hopefully – I’ll keep you posted.
[xx(]

[Anonymous]

#4870

My son has just turned 7 and has been ‘schooled’ in a behaviour support unit now since May and it’s now October. We are in the process of finalising his statement and we were initially told that his needs could be met in mainstream school. We appealed and when the panel met again they agreed that his needs could best be met in a special school.

He does still have a time in the morning when he seems to be particularly anxious and will throw things around at the centre. He also often says that he doesn’t sleep because of nightmares where spiders are chasing him.

It’s been such a difficult time and we wondered whether anyone had any tips or proven methods to relieve anxiety in their children?

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