Published on 12, July, 2020
Dear Group,
I would be interested to hear anyones experience of having Aspergers syndrome and being in mainstream school. If a child has hyperacusis (hyper sensitivity to sound) along with their Aspergers diagnosis should they be in mainstream?...or would they thrive better in a special school where the acoustics are better (carpets etc.) and classes smaller?
My daughter has Aspergers and hyperacusis. I don't want to limit her academic or learning options as she is clearly very creative and hugely imaginative....but equally I am concerned about her health and wellbeing because on a daily basis she is overloaded and her stress levels are high due to noise and overwhelm.
If anyone has any experiences or advice I would be really grateful. Thanks you : )
Phew...what to say, some of us went through our whole school life with no one knowing we were Aspies at all.
My mother cried when I got my diagnosis at aged 56. "You could have had help" she said. Errrr, I doubt she'd have liked what "help" looked like in the 1970s,. But that said in hindsight, yeah. I wish my teachers would have been aware, but would I have wanted to be in anything other than mainstream education?....Noooo!!!
I would have had limited academic opportunity, a restricted curriculum, would never have gone to university, had the same job opportunities, would never have had friends on my intellectual level.
It's only my perspective, I know nothing of your kid, but instinctually, I'd say if she is of average to high or even very high IQ, fight for support within mainstream, so she is supported without clipping her wings.
By the way, 'creative and imaginative' was how my school reports described me; along with the fact I didn't mix much of course, lol. But ultimately my wellbeing was better met by stretching my mind than carpet to spare me sensory pain.
You might want to talk to your daughter about this. How old is she? Old enough to judge for herself, or still an infant?
I agree with a lot of this. Of course sensory experience is incredibly different now.
So long as she has access to fresh air and natural light and isn't forced into social situations, she might learn her ways to cope. I had teachers who would let me sit in their class during out door periods or spend time in quiet spaces during lunch.
I sometimes just wear these when popping into town, on the bus, etc. https://www.etymotic.com/product/etyplugs-high-fidelity-earplugs/ the blue ones are nice for small ears and I can hear everything with much more clarity.
My daughter does generally avoid social situations a lot. She often plays alone and seems to prefer that but she has been a target for bullying in mainstream because she is different. That could get much meaner at secondary level!
There's no way of telling, really. The key is in how the secondary manage the situation.
I was subject to a lot of bullying, which was handled very badly in middle school and my life there was a misery, but secondary school was great. Because it was bigger, I could just avoid the kids likely to bully me and because friendships no longer relied of this 'play's business, which I didn't really understand, but instead on shared interests and talking about ideas, I did have friends and did well academically.