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Use of specific areas in school

liloctoplot

Hi,

I'm wanting some rather urgent advice. I'm a 1:1 in a small primary school for a high functioning ASD child. As any ASD child he can not cope with any change of routine and in particular change of environment. We have a 'little room' next to our classroom which I can bring him into when he needs to get out of the classroom and calm down. We also do daily trainsition work (first thing in the morning), social work, feelings work etc. in here. This room was set aside for him when he joined the school last year and has over this time been adapted in various ways to aid his needs and how stressed he gets.

We share this room with a hearing impared child. This child is needing the room more often due to a recent change in circumstances and the fact that the room was kitted out with special curtains many years ago for a previous pupil. We have only recently been told this and are being required to be out of the room at set times of the day.

For my lad, this is already causing problems. He is beginning to refuse to go in the room when stressed and needing to be in a certain part of the room to calm down, when the hearing impaired lad is in there. The only other place we can use is half way across the school, through 3 different doors. I am the only Team Teach trained person in the school but I am not meant to use it as I was trained in a different school. I am not prepared to 'man handle' (for want of better words) my lad half way across the school, screaming and kicking in a stress fit because I can't access the room which is directly next us. The school are not paying out for other teachers to be team teached due to the budgeting issues at present.

Can I have some advice on what other schools have/are doing in this sort of situation, and any other suggestions people have that could help us here.

Thanks

Parents

  • Hi

    I have heard some schools when desperate for a quiet space have used pop up tents or similar, or even a corner of a room sectioned off. Maybe he could help create it or choose some special items to go in it such as Kalojaro mentioned or maybe a beanbag, big huggable cushion, twinkly lights, squash ball etc. 

    I can understand the lad with ASD will have built up a "bond" with the room and probably feel a bit of ownership of it and it is where he feels safe and secure.  To take this away could be devastating for many ASD kids and cause a great deal more distress than the issue he needs calming for originally.  I can also understand he may feel very resentful of the other child taking over his space.  I agree with you also, taking a stressed child across the other side of the school would be throwing fuel on the fire and seem cruel. 

    My son has HFA and I know we would all be in for a rough ride if something that had been such a big part of his security over a long period of time was taken away and given to someone else.  We would have challenging behaviour and his education would suffer.  If he was in a wheelchair they would not take that away.

    I understand it is not easy having children with autism in mainstream school but these children did not ask to be autistic, nor did they ask to be left with a choice of education where they do not fit in to a specialist school and mainstream cannot/will not support them.  They and there families have to deal with the gap they fall into and the massive mental torment they go through unnecesarily.  This is why although it is very hard for all staff in mainstream and the ASD child, they deserve not to be written off and treated less favourably than others.  They have a right to get the best opportunity to access education possible and have a future where they can meet their potential.

    It is great that you are on here asking for advice to try and improve the situation and prevent him and his family going through a lot of pain, suffering and potentially regression. 

    Good for you, keep pushing for an alternative.  Can the Ed Psych or O.T. help support you in what you are trying to achieve?

     

Reply

  • Hi

    I have heard some schools when desperate for a quiet space have used pop up tents or similar, or even a corner of a room sectioned off. Maybe he could help create it or choose some special items to go in it such as Kalojaro mentioned or maybe a beanbag, big huggable cushion, twinkly lights, squash ball etc. 

    I can understand the lad with ASD will have built up a "bond" with the room and probably feel a bit of ownership of it and it is where he feels safe and secure.  To take this away could be devastating for many ASD kids and cause a great deal more distress than the issue he needs calming for originally.  I can also understand he may feel very resentful of the other child taking over his space.  I agree with you also, taking a stressed child across the other side of the school would be throwing fuel on the fire and seem cruel. 

    My son has HFA and I know we would all be in for a rough ride if something that had been such a big part of his security over a long period of time was taken away and given to someone else.  We would have challenging behaviour and his education would suffer.  If he was in a wheelchair they would not take that away.

    I understand it is not easy having children with autism in mainstream school but these children did not ask to be autistic, nor did they ask to be left with a choice of education where they do not fit in to a specialist school and mainstream cannot/will not support them.  They and there families have to deal with the gap they fall into and the massive mental torment they go through unnecesarily.  This is why although it is very hard for all staff in mainstream and the ASD child, they deserve not to be written off and treated less favourably than others.  They have a right to get the best opportunity to access education possible and have a future where they can meet their potential.

    It is great that you are on here asking for advice to try and improve the situation and prevent him and his family going through a lot of pain, suffering and potentially regression. 

    Good for you, keep pushing for an alternative.  Can the Ed Psych or O.T. help support you in what you are trying to achieve?

     

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