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Reasonable adjustments

AB4567_.

My young person (aged 16) was home educated from Christmas of year 9 after we withdrew them from mainstream school. (Burnout, sensory overload etc) They attended a local college for their Year 11 as part of a learner engagement programme where they found others with similar stories and felt able to be more authentically themselves. (no masking) They were officially diagnosed with autism, sensory processing difficulties and anxiety in April of this year.  Now they are back in mainstream for year 12 and overall determined to do well but one series of lessons in particular is a struggle due to sensory processing struggles. I am seeing them (again) be affected physically and mentally trying to manage this, with exhaustion, stomach problems, feelings of panic and simply being unable to focus on their work.

In the final 2 weeks of the term they approached the learning support co-ordinator and the head of the relevant faculty to ask if they could work in the library for just those lessons (3 hours per week) but have been told no. Responses have included being told that other autistic students are coping just fine, the exam for this subject is in 4 weeks so you "only" have 12 hours to go and the sense that they are being asked "can't you just deal with it."  They reported to me that they felt near to tears after the meeting and that college is beginning to feel like school. 

With the young persons agreement, I am now going to contact the head of faculty. I am going to try to be positive and collaborative, explaining to them just how debilitating sensory processing is for my young person and stating that it would really enable them to work more effectively to have a quiet space as they want to do as well as possible. 

If this does not work, what might the next steps be? I am not looking for a fight at all but a path to follow would be helpful and I would really appreciate any input.

Parents
  • AB4567_. said:
    In the final 2 weeks of the term they approached the learning support co-ordinator and the head of the relevant faculty to ask if they could work in the library for just those lessons (3 hours per week) but have been told no. Responses have included being told that other autistic students are coping just fine,

    My approach to this would be to find who they report to and escalate the issue once you have read the rules around disability discrimination to help frame the complaint. They may not report to head of faculty but to the Dean / head of school (it is worth checking their hierarchy).

    Are you UK based? The use of Year 12 etc suggests you may be in the USA and the laws will different so this will shape any advice we offer, but note we are barred from offering explicit legal advice and can only offer suggestions.

    AB4567_. said:
    If this does not work, what might the next steps be?

    For now gather as much evidence as you can. Get stuff in writing or record conversations and learn the law. You may be able to use a specialist lawyer to sue them later on with it.

    With the short time frame left of the course then short term I would do all you can to help lower the individuals anxiety to cope better with the difficult stuff. Give them space to decompress and plan some time after the course to persuade them to get some therapy to improve their skills to deal with the anxiety of the next things life throws at them.

    Life is unlikely to make many accommodations for them so if they want to take it on then being better prepared would be my advice. 

    Where accommodations should be made then they will probably have to fight for them but in a way that is non-combative and positive for it to have best effect.

    All in my personal opinion of course.

  • in reply to Iain

    Hi

    Many thanks for the advice. I think it's a great idea to find out what their process and hierarchy  is and (if necessary) escalate the request for a safe calm space to work in. I will continue to hope that it can be resolved quickly without having to go that route. There is a complaints procedure for students which we can look at, as the autistic young person has approached the well-being co-ordinator, the learning support co-ordinator and the head of the faculty but hasn't felt listened to. I would have liked to have kept out of it but hopefully, by adding my voice, these individuals can come to understand that this young person is truly struggling. I was also really struck to see that you mention equipping them and helping them to face more of this in the future. It is a sad reality that this may re-occur for them and I had already mentioned returning to their counsellor (they attended counselling after withdrawing from school as they were so drained and burnt out) to help them to unknot the feelings of frustration and anger they have been experiencing as a result of the responses that they perceive they have received. I think that being able to access mental health support is one  way to navigate difficult terrain. 

    The college is UK based and thankfully their main subject seems to be going well. This other subject was  an additional course (English) they need to sit (and pass) and hopefully that can be cleared before Christmas but I still think it is important to push for a safe space for them to work in the short term as whether it is 4 weeks or 4 months, if you're overwhelmed and panicking  you want a calm environment to arrive as soon as possible. Anyway, I do appreciate your thoughts and I hope this is all resolved positively 

Reply
  • in reply to Iain

    Hi

    Many thanks for the advice. I think it's a great idea to find out what their process and hierarchy  is and (if necessary) escalate the request for a safe calm space to work in. I will continue to hope that it can be resolved quickly without having to go that route. There is a complaints procedure for students which we can look at, as the autistic young person has approached the well-being co-ordinator, the learning support co-ordinator and the head of the faculty but hasn't felt listened to. I would have liked to have kept out of it but hopefully, by adding my voice, these individuals can come to understand that this young person is truly struggling. I was also really struck to see that you mention equipping them and helping them to face more of this in the future. It is a sad reality that this may re-occur for them and I had already mentioned returning to their counsellor (they attended counselling after withdrawing from school as they were so drained and burnt out) to help them to unknot the feelings of frustration and anger they have been experiencing as a result of the responses that they perceive they have received. I think that being able to access mental health support is one  way to navigate difficult terrain. 

    The college is UK based and thankfully their main subject seems to be going well. This other subject was  an additional course (English) they need to sit (and pass) and hopefully that can be cleared before Christmas but I still think it is important to push for a safe space for them to work in the short term as whether it is 4 weeks or 4 months, if you're overwhelmed and panicking  you want a calm environment to arrive as soon as possible. Anyway, I do appreciate your thoughts and I hope this is all resolved positively 

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