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Benefits of ASD Unit in Mainstream School

Snowflake

Hi all, this is all new to me so bear with me!

I have a four and a half year old son who was diagnosed with ASD at the end of Sept lst yr after a long drawn out assessment.  He currently has a Statement of Special Ed Needs and attends the Reception class at the local mainstream school.  He was of the age to attend P.1 but was held back a year due to his difficulties and the fact that when he started he was not yet diagnosed.

We are now at the stage of considering what is the best option for him next year re school.  He is non verbal and currently has an assistant to help him with every aspect of school (unsure if this will continue nxt yr due to funding).  I feel he has coped as it is essentially a nursery placement but am unsure if he will cope when there will be more demands placed on him in P.1.  He has started work with the Early Intervention Team in November and is making progress albeit slow.

An ASD unit attached to a mainstream school has been suggested as an option for our son.  I was wondering if anyone had any experience of this and if they feel it was beneficial for their child.

Apologies for the long winded post but as I say I am new to all this!  Any advice/feedback welcomed.  Thanks :-)

Parents

  • Hi Dee25 - thanks for your comment.  This is all very confusing!  In an ideal world I would like my son to stay in the mainstream school he currently attends as he has settled in well.  He currently has a full time classroom assistant but she is not trained in how to teach a child with autism and I have no guarantee he will always have this help (he is only in reception & is only there until noon at present).  My thinking is if he moves to a mainstream school with an ASD unit attached the teachers will already be aware of how to deal with my sons difficulties and can complement the early intervention he is currrently doing.  If he progresses well he will then be able to move into the mainstream section with little disruption.  The point you make about change is the one that I am most worried about! Although it will be worth it if it is the best placement for him.  I don't want to do him a disservice by having him in the wrong school just to avoid disruption.  I really feel he will struggle as more is expected of him in mainstream school.  The fact that he is non verbal is a real barrier.  He wouldn't even be able to say if he was struggling.

    As they say each child is different and each child with autism is even more unique - I hope your son is able to make good progress in mainstream school if he has high functioning autism.  Mainstream schools might be the right placement for some children with autism with additional support but my gut feeling is my son will need more support than a mainstream school can offer.

Reply

  • Hi Dee25 - thanks for your comment.  This is all very confusing!  In an ideal world I would like my son to stay in the mainstream school he currently attends as he has settled in well.  He currently has a full time classroom assistant but she is not trained in how to teach a child with autism and I have no guarantee he will always have this help (he is only in reception & is only there until noon at present).  My thinking is if he moves to a mainstream school with an ASD unit attached the teachers will already be aware of how to deal with my sons difficulties and can complement the early intervention he is currrently doing.  If he progresses well he will then be able to move into the mainstream section with little disruption.  The point you make about change is the one that I am most worried about! Although it will be worth it if it is the best placement for him.  I don't want to do him a disservice by having him in the wrong school just to avoid disruption.  I really feel he will struggle as more is expected of him in mainstream school.  The fact that he is non verbal is a real barrier.  He wouldn't even be able to say if he was struggling.

    As they say each child is different and each child with autism is even more unique - I hope your son is able to make good progress in mainstream school if he has high functioning autism.  Mainstream schools might be the right placement for some children with autism with additional support but my gut feeling is my son will need more support than a mainstream school can offer.

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