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conformity or not???

elay

My son took part in a school outing, I accompanied him and he had some difficulties to begin with. .ie. When receiving instructions. .interrupted the coach to correct/comment on what he said. .behaved a hyper & also took a panic attack & I had to talk him round & support!  Anyhow towards the end of the session he had settled and was enjoying himself.  As it was only a 2 wk bkock I had agreed to accompany him as I want him to participate and he defo struggles to do so without support! I was then approached by the deputy head the day before he was to take part again that it was felt because of his behaviour he wasn't allowed to attend today!  After having a think about it and discussing with ky son to ensure he still wished to participate..I contacted the school..I spoke to the dep head who advised that the head teacher had said he wasn't allowed to go because of his behaviour?  I explained that it is part of his illness .ie social awareness or lack of it and she replied he needed to conform. Mi said no he needs to be understood.

He wasallowed to attend the session but towards the end had a meltdown. .hitting his head etc. .when I collected him from school the deputy head came and spoke to him and said how disappointed she was with him!  I just feel that they are not taking his diagnosis seriously and are treating him like a bad boy who has a choice in how he reacts! I also feel that they wish to exclude him on the basis of difficult situations arising so what opportunities will he get!  Are they right and should he be expected to conform to what is regarded as the norm? :-/ 

  • The Univeral Declaration of Human Rights
    Article 26.

    • (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
    • (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
    • (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

    Full Document

    "Understanding, tolerance and friendship"...and no mention of these rights being dependant on an individuals ability to conform.

  • There is a great journal artical and study of child published by sage written by Yafai et al that is based on conformity and children with autism you can access this by putting in the key words 'Yafai autism conformity' then click on the second option (if you want to access it for free).

  • Make enquiries to the school about their Equal Opportunities Policy including Disability, and about their Special Education Needs provision.

    It is really of concern that they are treating your child as if he is perfectly capable of conforming. It doesn't sound like they are at all switched on as regards SEN.

  • I believe legally they are not allowed to exclude him from school trips, I'm sure I have read it somewhere.  It is discrimination according to the Equality Act 2010 anyway.

  • Hi - has he got a statement of educational needs which will provide some support for him at school, such as a TA?  This should make a difference for him.  However I would also question how much you are willing to put up with so as not to rock the boat.  I've done this in the past and from my experience it doesn't work and the person who suffers most is your child.  Sorry, know that's blunt, but in my experience it's true.  Also bear in mind he'll be moving to secondary school soon, which if anything, is harder for autistic children to cope with, so support definitely needs to be in place at that point.  I'd be tempted to look at other schools prior to his move to secondary and also check out the nas + ipsea pages to I knew my rights.

  • Thanks unfortunately. .he was only diagnosed approx a month ago. .he is 10 and I was in 'discussions' with the school as he was being bullied..this was denied for the best part of a year by the school however they finally accepted this was the case. This totally changed his behaviour. .he has become very withdrawn..suffers severe anxiety attacks, school refusal as he no longer feels safe & wanted, (he was told on several occasions he was making it up!  I've had various remarks that they don't have time for his behaviour. .don't have resources etc. I am totally hands on with the situation I take him into school everyday settle him in for about 20 mins before I leave!  I would go to the ends of the earth to make him feel wanted & secure however I am expecting too much or alternatively don't expect enough!  :-( I have another child at same school who is content and im trying not to rock boats! :-) x

  • If the school was aware of his disability when he was enrolled, they are under an obligation to make reasonable adjustments to allow him to study. If they were unable to do this at the start, they shouldn't have taken him on, although then there would have been questions about discrimination. They must not place you in the position of having to find another school once he is settgled where he is.

    An outing is no exception. Indeed there has been quite a lot of discussion about this. For example an outing that involves going onto a surface into which a wheelchair could sink (eg mud or soft sand on a beach) is inappropriate with regard to disability, that is a school cannot set up an outing without regard to disability and then try to argue the nature of the trip is unsuitable and try to exclude a disabled child. They should accommodate disability in the design of the trip.

    It is interesting that you went along to give him support. That is highly commendable.

    The school on the other hand seems not to understand its obligations to you. You should ask to see their disability policy, or the local authority's policy if it runs the school. You should also challenge their behaviour, particularly their way of talking to him as if he should rectify his disability to fit in with them.

    Schools are at present rather hard pressed. They have to pass overly dictatorial OFSTED reviews, they have to give grades to pupils from certain backgrounds in order not to disadvantage them, they have to perform against league table - a whole gamut of unnecessary and disruptive procedures. Unfortunately disability is getting side-tracked again notwithstanding the coalition government has a Minister for Disability I'm not sure if it means much.