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Not being treated fairly

Matt

Hi my name is  Matt,  i have Autism Spectrum Disorder and learning disability,  my question is how is somebody with this condition supposed to get around the road block of the education sysytem.

I left school four years ago and i'm currently  not in college as of two years agos Cornwall College in St Austell,  kicked me out because i wouldn't attend the Maths/English sessions, this was because i found it very overwelming and was not getting support. the course manager of ICT was the one behind this i was  confronted over the Maths business, it was questioned as to why i was avoiding the subject he looks at me and hes like are you autistic i nodded and hes like OH WELL THAT EXPLAINS IT BUT YOU STILL NEED TO MEET OUR CRITERIA!

I'm aware ive got entry level 3 in Maths and level 1 functional skills in English but they want to keep pushing to get to those higher levels, for me this is not something i'm comfortable with, this is what im struggling with. the grades ive got are better than what i got in school and i feel like that is an achievement.

I've benn  trying to  apply for an apprenticeship at level 3 recently,  and the college declined it ,   i do not hold a gcse/ equivalnt in these core subjects, thats why they're being funny, I also attempted applying for a level 2 apprenticeship and they said that i already had the qualifcation,

what i want to do is earn my self some poket money but get used to working a shop environment which ive never done before in my life, and the pratical side of working, not bum on seat in classroom copying from text books forever or taking exams forever im almost 21 years old,    , all we did at college was 90% theory and im really frustrated at the excuses that are being made.

ive looked online and came accross something that the system is apprently changed to entry 3 at the minimum , giving fairer access to apprenticeships/ further training for people with learning disabilities/disabilites  as of 2017 onwards "so they say" . 

Ive also found this scheme where it says what each level means and what should be expected from   at the specific level stated, for example "people who are below level 1 functional skills may not be able to compare prices, yet in the entry 3 that ive done and passed,  it was based around real life, which  covered comparing prices which i was fine with, funny thing is though when you get the real exams its nothing of what the scheme suggests.

  • in reply to Cassandro

    Hello thankyou for your reposnse and for your very walm welcome this would be my first time on here so i will defiantely  have to look into that  thanks for the tips  ;) 

    Ive said that many times myself, i can write letters i can speak fine, the  amount of emails ive  had to send recently,  looking at the  grading system acoording to level 1 fs its the equivalent to D-G rather close to the E i got in secondary school so a little better but obviosuly not what the Gods  expect.

      I will have to look into that aswell i currently have a job couch supposedely to help with jobs "positive people/ addaction" i didn't know whether there was ones specifically for learning disabilties? just i've heard bad things about the job centre locally, my sister went in there couldn't cope with the crowds so don't know how much support you get exactly with that?  nobody actually followed that up i was just kicked out of college no help and they were like oh yeah you can get a job,  my income for being in education stopped so my mother had to help me get that sorted, i guess at the time i never had that in my head at all, thankyou for mentioning it.

  • in reply to Matt

    You say you didn't ask for help with the transition from school to college when you found this difficult. If people didn't know you needed help they couldn't provide it but this is something you could change next time now you older and wiser. Most colleges will allow you to speak to the relevant support dept face-to-face, by phone or via email. That way you have a choice of three communication methods in case you really struggle in some areas (I hate phones) and there is a lot of support available for autistic students if you explain you need it.

    You seem caught upon the fact that you don't agree with educational policies. All types of humans and not just autistic people can have fixed thinking, were we can't accept the other point of view. It sounds like the people you had difficulty with in the maths dept are similar to you and there fixed thinking focused on what is and isn't acceptable behaviour. I teach and I know a lot of people who would see hiding under a table as being dis-obedient and naughty. It looks like if you do go back to that college it would be useful for your disability support team to speak to the people you found challenging last time to explain why you behave in certain ways and how they can get the best out of the situation. They could also to help you to understand the reactions of your course team.

    Do you think you pursue the qualifications you need to be able to apply for L3 apprenticeships or are you going to look at other avenues, such as getting a job instead?

  • in reply to NAS24859

    Hi thank you for your response, I'm struggling with it and the policy that are "legal" are not the same for all of us, as much as I agree with the system having to have set policies so that they know everyone has a good understanding and we'll educated because it wouldn't make sense employing just anyone. 

    I'm saying this because I'm a law obiding  citizen and have always attended lessons in school/college, and my attitude has always been about the work. 

    I went into college from school, not knowing where I was going did I get help with that? Of course one would think ask for help but my confidence in big changes isn't good I like things to be planned so that I know what's happening.

    One time I  hid underneath one of the tables because I was avoiding the maths teacher, not because I wanted to,  that got out to everyone because the course manager made a mockery of it but then I suppose government policy justifies that, makes it right.

  • Hi Matt,

    The impression I'm getting is that you're struggling as you want to be part of the education system but you don't want to follow the system's rules. I see two choices:

    1. If you don't want to follow their rules apply for a job in a shop rather than an apprenticeship scheme then you would not have to progress your English and Maths qualifications.

    2. If you do want an apprenticeship then you need to follow the rules that have been set out by the government and meet the qualification requirements

    If you want to progress in the world of work many employers look for C's in GCSE English and Maths, or Level 2 Functional Skills in these subjects. It could open many more doors for you if you could get these qualifications.

    It is a legal requirement that if you do not have L2 English and Maths you study towards these qualifications alongside your course. If you were unwilling to attend these classes it was right that the college withdrew your place on your course.

    If you do decide to study for higher level qualifications in these areas it sounds like you need reasonable adjustments in place to help you feel less overwhelmed. If you do decide to enrol again it could be useful to talk to the disability team about the challenges you have and how they can support you, for example:

    • Would it be better if you enrolled for just English and Maths this year, so you only had that to focus on that for now and you'd have less time at college to help manage your stress levels?
    • Would an adult education class be better for you as it might have a smaller number of learners?
    • Do you need one-to-one support providing alongside your course?
    • Do you need an assistant in class to prompt you to use calming strategies if you're getting stressed out?

    Its a key time for enrollment at college and many stand-alone English and Maths courses won't accept new students after the first six weeks of term so if you eant to get on with this before Christmas you need to make your decision quickly.

  • Hello Matt. Sorry to hear you've been treated unfairly by college. It sounds like where it went wrong is in them not making the essential courses accessible to you. Has anyone been able to take up that complaint on your behalf, like an advocacy worker? If not, you might like to talk to Disability Rights UK.

    Your English is quite good and clear, and I'd expect you could do the kind of work you're after. Have you tried asking the Jobcentre for a Disability Employment Adviser?

    Welcome to the forums by the way. To help people distinguish you from all the other 'NAS3nnnn' people on the forum, you may want to change your name or picture. You can do this by clicking the round button on the top right of the page, then 'Profile' and 'Edit Profile'.

    (Oh, another thing is that naming an individual, the course manager here is probably a bad idea and against the rules. You can edit what you've written by clicking on the 'More' button underneath the post, then 'Edit'.)