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Views on attending Grammar school with Asperger's

Nikki

Hi all

My son starts secondary in Sep and he we have not been able to secure placement in any private school. We cannot afford to pay fees of specialist schools. His EHCP states mainstream secondary. The only place he has now is the local grammar school, where he passed the test. Since he masks well in school, I do not have strong evidence that he needs a specialist setting, he is quite bright. But DS has mobility issues,sensory issues,  social anxiety and processing speed issues. Not sure how he will cope. He also developed OCD recently. I will be appealing the council's decision, but till we get a hearing DS will have to go to the Grammar school. 

I would be grateful to find out if anyone has kids with ASD attending grammars and what is their experience like.

Thanks

  • As a bit of an expert on education, let me tell you that the best school is the one you visit when its NOT their open day and they seem to have their s**T together.  Monday about 10am is a good time to see how the senior leaders are coping! To see Whats really happening for children needing support, go to the support services at the school at 2.30pm and share a cup of tea (anyone taking chocolate biscuits into an informal school meeting, will get really good answers, openness and an invite back).  The other good indicator of what the school values is usually  seeing what certificates trophies they have and who they talk about on their Facebook page and their newsletters.  I have seen dire schools do the most fancy brochure and open day...  They get out equipment that only gets taken out once a year, awkward teachers and students get the day off or go on 'trips'.  Also bear in mind that Ofsted can be more about how a school WAS rather than how it now IS.  18 months can make a huge difference in a school nowadays.  My friend moans about a local school, saying its was terrible when she was there... that was in 1978!

  • I went to a grammar school in the last century - 1965-71 to be precise. I did not have a diagnosis then, but looking back I can see ASC traits in myself and many of my peers. Actually, I think a lot of the teachers were neuro-divergent too.

    We had a lot of activities including a Scientific Society, Aviation and Aerospace Society, Photographic Society, Chess Club, Literary and Debating Society - plenty to keep the geeks engaged during breaks, so no need to socialise. I also spent a lot of time in the library during breaks. The school was smaller than the local comprehensive, had a good pastoral system and a real corporate identity.

    The main thing was there was an expectation that we wanted to learn and achieve - positive peer pressure for good behaviour.  I don't know what modern-day grammar schools are like.  Hopefully the fact that your son passed the test for grammar school means that the school will understand that being autistic does not mean your son isn't bright - he just needs to learn differently.  Often the risk is that kids with SEND are seen as less able - this leads to frustration for the more able autistic students who are not challenged and lose interest.

  • My daughter is in year 7 at grammar school. Up until now she has been masking. Her ASD symptoms are now presenting and school SENCO officer thinks there could be some Aspergers. Grammar school has been amazing because they are used to ASD children. They’re usually gifted and excel. My daughter is surrounded by people like her. In a mainstream school she would not have coped at all. 
    school said that in this year 7 there are 15 girls with ASD. It really is quite common. 
    good luck to your son. 

  • School was good for me. It was University and Work which affected me.

  • in reply to aidie

    Hi Aidie, sorry I seem to have missed your post. Thanks for sharing your experience. This is very useful.  My son  is currently struggling to do any homework and refuses to do any school related work at home. Did you get any support through an EHCP at school to help you with homework, preparing for  GCSEs and further education?  Plus I feel the stress of coping with the pressures of school life makes him very angry and affects his mental heath.  His EHCP does not provide 121 support. I'm challenging it.  I often read about children's mental health getting affected due to the pressures of secondary. I dread to think how many son will cope.  

    I'm interested to find out what has helped kids with autism and comorbidities to be successful in secondary school and further education.  

    Thanks again

  • I went to my local grammar school and was treated reasonably ok --- i think i was lucky in that all the teachers at the time where very laid back. In the end i did well making it to university where i blossomed.

  • in reply to Arran

    That's true. Thanks for responding Arran

  • Suck it and see. He might be in with a better crowd of students at a grammar than at a secondary modern.

  • Hi @Nikki

    You may find the following information useful.

    The following page contains a lot of helpful information about education for a child with an autism:

    https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/education

    This includes information regarding getting extra support for your child in their education setting.

    You can search for schools that cater for children with an autism spectrum disorder on our Autism Services Directory: https://www.autism.org.uk/directory

     You may want to contact our Education Rights Service who provides information, support and advice on educational provision and entitlements. Please see the following link for further information:

    https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/help-and-support/education-advice-line

     I hope this helps!

    Chloe Mod.