Published on 12, July, 2020
hello thank you for taking the time to read this. my son has recently been diagnosed with autism and is 11 and is soon due to start mainstream secondary school in September, he is very sensitive to touch and noise and struggles in crowded situations and is very sensitive to clothing, he doesn't cope well to change and i'm very worried about how he will cope he already finds primary school difficult and masks a lot whilst in school which causes him for have a meltdown when he gets home, i have requested that i have a meeting with the senco but an waiting on this. i'm worried that my son will struggle more as it is a larger school and a lot busier, i'm sorry if this sounds like i'm droning on but i'm very worried and am hoping to get some advise so i can help my son with this next hurdle many thanks
thank you i didn't know that asda did those i will look in to this i've found some seamless socks that have really helped but i am forever cutting lables out of his clothing, as he constantly chews he puts holes in all his clothes many thanks
Hi it seems to me that you’re doing the right thing with meeting the Dency, hopefully they’ll be able to help you and put your mind at ease. Just wondered with regards to clothing are you aware that Asda does “sensory friendly” school uniform with no labels and softer seams? Think it’s called easy on.
thank you so much for taking the time to reply. this is really helpful advise, and everything that you have said is really useful i am going to pick a good time to talk to my son and i am going to jot these down and i will speak to his school i appreciate the advise and will be pushing for this meeting with the school to happen asap thank you again kind regards
Hi Annie,
This is going to be difficult for your son as moving to secondary school was difficult for me. My first piece of advice would be to not dwell too much on the future and give your son an advanced notice of what new things he may experience, when given an advanced notice about changes it can ease things when the change comes. He'll still find the changes difficult, but not as difficult.
As you've mentioned, this will require support from the school. The school could provide a space for him to retreat to for time alone if he gets overwhelmed by people or something in the environment. Sensory issues are more likely to occur when your son's overstimulated, you could ask the school to permit or provide something that can reduce or prevent overstimulation. When I attended secondary school I were released from class 5 minutes earlier or later than others to not be caught in the crowded corridors, and got to move from one destination to the next when the students spreaded and gathered with their friends, so you could request the same so he can have a chance at staying calm.
The part that will require most help will be settling into the school, since school will be different each day you could explain to him what to expect the next day until he settles. If he's interested in anything that he can carry around with him it would help to let him, you've probably noticed by now when your son does something he's interested in rather than stand in social situations it calms him down, brings the stimulation back down.
The last thing I think there is to be concerned about is the school schedule, how much time they give him to do his work and how much homework they give him. If there's any subjects he struggles with it will be helpful for the school to have a spare member of staff to watch over him in class and provide help when he needs it, and try to encourage him not to compare himself with others.
I would advise for now explain to your son what changes may occur, what's going to be different and if you're in contact with the school he's been transferred to explain what you can about your son and they may have more suggestions if they've had autistic students during their career.
I hope this has helped.