• Replies 24 replies
  • Subscribers 25 subscribers
  • Views 6110 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

newly diagnosed son

hibbsy

Hello there, we are new to this forum and we are looking for help and support that anyone can give please.

Our 11 year old son has just been diagnosed with a-typical autism.He also has a speech and language problem, dyslexia (which we have known about for a couple of years) and a severe anxiety problem.

He has had a severe melt down at school as he is struggling with the pressures of the impending SATS tests this year and feels inadequate against his peers. He does have CAMHS involvement, SENCO support, and we are liasing with an educational psychologist, but we are stunned at this new autism diagnosis and struggling to come to terms with both that, and our sons low self esteem, awful anxiety issues and very low state of mind, it really is heartbreaking and we are struggling to know how to support him best. He has constant outbursts and meltdowns, can be rather aggressive at times, followed by tears upon tears and then becomes withdrawn and negative.

We are completely exhausted and concerned about the future and how we are going to get through this. Any help and advice would be so gratefully recieved!

Parents

  • Hi there.

    I agree that the thought of moving up to high school is quite frightening for us as parents. We had a meeting on Tuesday when we started discussing transition up to P7 (final year of primary here in Scotland), but also into high school! We were quite taken aback, but agree that it's necessary, as at the moment we can't imagine our son coping at all there. What we heard about the support he currently needs in school shocked us, so how he will ever get to grips with a different teacher and classroom for every lesson, plus school days which finish at different times, I just don't know.

    We're fortunate that we've got an excellent spectrum support worker. She will hand over to the worker who will support him at high school at the start of the next academic year, so that he has some continuity there, which is good. Although it's a shame that she can't continue to support him right through, as she's just been so supportive.

    I guess the thing is to push for as much transition preparation as possible. We're planning that by this time next year, there will be staff coming in to school from the high school to work with him and get to know him. Then by Easter he'll be going and visiting the school. They're planning on giving him more link staff than the other kids too. There should be the spectrum support worker, a guidance teacher (which all kids get) and a.n.other. This is so he's got more people looking out for him. Also, the SSW will be in the school 4 days a week, so she'll often be around, which is good.

    What really worried us though, was that the SSW said that she'd already told her colleague about our son, as he would need "a lot of support". Very frightening.

    Anyway, I think you need to really go for it and get as many visits and as much co-operation going asap.

    All the very best!

Reply

  • Hi there.

    I agree that the thought of moving up to high school is quite frightening for us as parents. We had a meeting on Tuesday when we started discussing transition up to P7 (final year of primary here in Scotland), but also into high school! We were quite taken aback, but agree that it's necessary, as at the moment we can't imagine our son coping at all there. What we heard about the support he currently needs in school shocked us, so how he will ever get to grips with a different teacher and classroom for every lesson, plus school days which finish at different times, I just don't know.

    We're fortunate that we've got an excellent spectrum support worker. She will hand over to the worker who will support him at high school at the start of the next academic year, so that he has some continuity there, which is good. Although it's a shame that she can't continue to support him right through, as she's just been so supportive.

    I guess the thing is to push for as much transition preparation as possible. We're planning that by this time next year, there will be staff coming in to school from the high school to work with him and get to know him. Then by Easter he'll be going and visiting the school. They're planning on giving him more link staff than the other kids too. There should be the spectrum support worker, a guidance teacher (which all kids get) and a.n.other. This is so he's got more people looking out for him. Also, the SSW will be in the school 4 days a week, so she'll often be around, which is good.

    What really worried us though, was that the SSW said that she'd already told her colleague about our son, as he would need "a lot of support". Very frightening.

    Anyway, I think you need to really go for it and get as many visits and as much co-operation going asap.

    All the very best!

Children
No Data