Help with mainstream schools?

Hi, I'm pretty new to the site - my son (age 6) was diagnosed with an ASD/prob Aspergers about 6 months ago.  I'm really looking for ideas from people about how to deal with my son's primary school. 

They are aware of his diagnosis and he is "ok" in mainstream school for the time being, but the school are soooo not getting that my son has this diagnosis and is not just a "naughty boy".  He has been suspended 3 times in the last fortnight as he has lashed out when things get to a certain anxiety level, rather than removing him / allowing him to remove himself from the environment the teachers are physically restraining him to a point that he is then terrified so lashes out at them.  They say that there is "no excuse" for his behaviour towards teachers restraining him and so I get called out of work to collect him.

I totally get that the teachers should not be worried about physical harm from a 6yrold but they are making the situation so much worse than it could be and are working on removing all the support we had previously. 

Who do I talk to to get help to make them listen?  At home my son is a loving, wonderful little boy (well...most of the time - he is a 6yrold boy!)  At school he turns into this little monster and I just don't know what to do??

  • Has your son been given any 1:1 support at all in school? If not, you may need to ask about a statutory assessment of needs towards getting a statement and some extra support.

    When my son started nursery it was such an upsetting time, he was branded "naughty" by other children and described as "violent" by his first teacher - he was so bewildered by the noise levels, activity and amount of children in his classroom that he couldn't cope and lashed out a lot. What made the difference was that the school applied for early years funding called TIS funding (not sure if this is applicable to every LA or what it stands for, sorry) to get support for him which he got 3 mornings per week. They followed this up with a statutory assessment which I fully supported and he now has 1:1 support in all his lessons. This nurturing from a named person, from the very outset, has really helped him cope: within days of receiving 1:1 support he was much calmer, no longer lashing out, and a happier child in himself at home too - because that adult designated to him helped him make sense of the situation and was on hand whenever he needed help or removing from the busy classroom for a time out.

    One technique that really helped him, which could be carried out by a teacher or TA in the meanwhile if there's no 1:1 support at present, was having laminated cards with simple pictures of activities, which were presented to him 10 mins, then 5 mins, then 1 min before a change of activity, because changing from one lesson or setting to another previously caused him great distress. Communication between home and school has also been really important, we have a home/school book that passes between us each day. This is because my son cannot always communicate things for himself. I have been told on some afternoons that he was in a bad mood/narky only to find looking in his lunch box that he has barely eaten or drunk anything; other times I have been told he felt feverish or seemed lethargic, only to find that he has been left in his school jumper on a really hot afternoon, simply because he doesn't have the level of awareness to tell somebody he is hot and he isn't yet able to remove his jumper independently. Whenever I have picked up on little things like that they have been very good at checking for those things if he acts out of character. The child also gets to know that school staff know everything that's going on at home and vice versa; if my son wants praise/rewards from me then he knows he must behave as well as he can at school - specifically not lashing out at other children or saying "no" to staff - or I won't allow him his usual treats.

    You could request to make an appointment with your child's next teacher early in the autumn term to discuss your concerns, present them with whatever information other specialists have given you, and any ideas you may have for helping your son; speaking as a teacher, there ARE many teachers out there who genuinely DO care about every child achieving their potential and who don't pre-judge and wait to make their own mind up about a child's character and behaviour once in their class. If this doesn't seem to make a difference, you then have grounds to request an appointment with the head. Another thing that can help is having another professional, such as a paediatrician, GP, speech therapist or counsellor, liaise with school on your behalf.

    I really hope things work out for you and get better - I have been there and I know how it feels.

  • Angela, one simple step is to get the school to create a 'time out' card, a little laminated card that just says something like 'I am finding things too stressful here, please let me leave the class for a bit'. Then your son can just hand it to the teacher or TA without having to explain, and he can leave and sit in a quiet place, preferably with a teaching assistant. My son had one of these and it helped.

    But longer term it sounds like he could do with a statement or at least being officially put on School Action or School Action Plus, which should trigger support from the local authority and the local autism team, assuming they have one (I think they probably have to).

  • Thanks for your input guys, the mission will start at the start of the new term...  I have also chased up the hospital as we are on a waiting list and up until today I didn't actually know what for so we have been totally in limbo.  The hospital are going to contact the school directly on my behalf to try and help sort this out as they agree with the messages here that the school are not taking his problems into account and this must stop.  Am feeling a little less desperate and alone now.

  • I may again be misunderstanding Zoe's reasoning here, but is sensory overload simply explained by lacking in thinking and social competencies?

    I am concerned that the main issue raised by the originator of the thread is how to get the school to respond constructively to the diagnosis and handle things in such a way as to minimise the sensory overload distress this six year old experiences.

    Is there any established advice out there?

  • I think the school may be on dodgy ground here.  By law, there are procedures that must be followed when a school wishes to exclude a pupil, including:

    • making sure that an appropriate investigation has been carried out
    • considering all the evidence available, taking into account the schools behaviour and equal  opportunities policies, and, if applicable, the Race Relations Act and Equalities Act
    • talking to the pupil to hear his/her version of events
    • checking whether the incident may have been provoked, for example by bullying or by racial or sexual harassment
    • if necessary consulting others but not anyone who may later have a role in reviewing the head teachers decision, such as a member of the governors discipline committee.

    Did the school take these steps prior to the exclusion/s?

    Also school governing bodies have a legal duty to do their best to make sure that the necessary educational provision is made for any pupil who has special educational needs.

    The school should try everything possible to keep a pupil with special educational needs in school. They may do this by:

    • seeking the advice of the local authority and other professional advice and support
    • asking the local authority to carry out a statutory assessment of the childs special educational needs
    • arranging an early annual review if the pupil has a statement of special educational needs.

    Did the school take any of these steps once your son was excluded?

    I'm guessing your son doesnt have a statement of SEN - my advice to you would be to set the wheels in motion to get one asap - this way you can get his rights enshrined in law rather than having to constantly negotiate with the school, who arent showing any understanding of his condition in my view, if they are treating him as 'naughty' when whats actually happening is he is lacking in the thinking and social competencies which result from his disability.

    The NAS Education Advice line will help you with both the statementing process and the difficulties around exclusion.

    I would definitely get everything in writing and do everything in writing - that way if you need to go to an SEN tribunal further down the line, or if you need to challenge any of the school's decisions, you will have evidence in writing.

    You could also contact your local Parent Partnership Service - they are set up to help families in situations like this.  You can find your local PPS here:

    http://www.parentpartnership.org.uk/

    Hope that helps - good luck

    Zoe

  • Tony Attwood's "The Complete Guide to Aspergers Syndrome" (2006 Jessica Kingsley Publications) seems to be respected by educators (at least further up the line) and Chaper 11 on Sensory Sensitivity provides useful material which could be shown to the school.

    There seems to be insufficient information about the effect of proximity, movement and restraint, especially when complex, but there is enough case study evidence on the web as to how people react when too much is going on around a person on the spectrum, particularly being grabbed or held. Proximity includes smells and sounds. Movements in the peripheral field of vision can cause greater discomfort so one of the helpers rather than the person face to face could be causing most of the distress.

    My own inclination would be to get the school to minimise the number of people present, and for one person to sit not directly in-line but to one side, so that straight ahead the person would be looking past your son and your son past them, everyone else well back. They should not attempt eye contact.

    That person should ask your son quietly what is comfortable for him, and how he would like to proceed. If he still feels pressured he should be allowed some quiet.

    Evidently the school has neglected to have any staff trained in such situations, but they would save themselves a lot of distress if they took a more appropriate and understanding approach.

    It might be appropriate to ask what disability training school staff have had, and what training in aspergers/autism specifically. It seems not uncommon still to find schools where disability awareness consists of wheelchair ramps.