Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi Everyone
My son is currently going through the ASD diagnosis and is finding it a bit difficult to focus in mainstream school, he is only 5 years old and currently have no issues with learning as such but finds it hard to use what he has learnt in a functional way.
I have been asked to look at specialist schools for him and have started visiting them but we do not feel that this is the right environment for him and we would like for him to stay in mainstream school with the right level of support.
Is anyone else facing this tough decision at the moment, I would really like to hear from parents who have faced the same challenge
Thank you
This is very personal decision to make. We were facing similar decision few years ago. I would do what we did. Apply for EHCP which is needed to get into most special schools but also outlines exactly what kind of additional support mainstream school MUST provide.
Once EHCP is in place and your son struggles even with additional help than you will know mainstream is just not for him.
My son is 8 he’s got HF ASD and ADHD and yes it was very hard to find suitable special school and it has its pluses in a form of very well trained and experienced staff. In house SALT, OT and everything you can wish for and here’s but ... I’m not 100% sure how well he’s going to do academically and being surrounded by other children with difficulties has made his behaviour decline sharply.
Is this better or worse than letting them struggle in mainstream?
Only you can decide.
Thank you for getting back to me, my son is currently getting a decision on the EHCP and an answer should be made by 19th March and the school SENCO thinks it should be approved this is the reason she has suggested for us to look at Specialist schools
Day by day my son does something new, I would say that the biggest issue he faces at the moment is with his attention and listening and being able to follow the routine along with his peers in mainstream. He gets bored easily and will do not tasks that he is not interested in so it is easier to leave him to roam around rather than try and find ways to get him to focus as the support/budget cannot offer him that level of support
He has been seeing a pediatrician since he was 2 and still a diagnosis has not been made by the NHS but we have had a private one which does say he is on the spectrum.
Everything has been a hard battle and I feel that I have let him down because things have taken so long. we lived in a different borough and nothing was done for him when he was in nursery and only now things are starting to move for him I am scared to make the wrong decision for him and waste more time.
This is one of my main concerns when I did look at specialist schools, the kids did not at all interact with each other so how is he supposed to develop his social interaction when there will be children who cannot socialise
There are a lot to think about that's for sure.