Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi All,
I am looking for some advice regarding my 14 year old son. He was diagnosed with ASD at a4 years old and has coped really well socially and academically up until secondary school. He is quite a clever boy who, due to good SATS results has been given target grades for his GCSE's of 7's and 8's.
When he was diagnosed the report said his most problematic trait was processing information. At primary school he had support from TA's and teachers (on the whole) were very supportive. Unfortunately this is not so much the case at secondary. He presents well and from the outside you could easily mistake him for being just quiet and a bit awkward and I have often had meetings with his teachers who are unaware of his diagnosis.
Admittedly, I am not impressed with the school but my son has a lovely group of friends and really does not want to move schools or be home schooled.
He is now going into his GCSE years and I want him to do as well as he can, to provide a many opportunities as possible for later in life. But his end of year report was quite bad. A lot of his effort was poor. I emailed teachers for feedback and the ones who replied said that his issues tend to lie with a lack of focus and concentration.
Has anyone got any advice, suggestions, tactics or magic potions that have been successful??
Hi and welcome to the community!
I'm surprised to hear you say that some of his teachers aren't aware of his diagnosis.
As a pupil with an autism diagnosis, does he have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan?
Either way, it sounds like it might be a good idea to talk with the school's Special Educational Needs (SEN) co-ordinator / SENCO, as the school is responsible for identifying and meeting his needs:
More information and advice from the NAS:
Extra help at school in England
Info for other areas of the UK
Hi, Thank you!
I am not aware of an EHC. I am unsure what this is.
I will email the senco at the school over the holidays and ask for an appointment for when he goes back in September. Even though he has had a diagnosis for 10 years, we have only come across problem since secondary, so I don't feel I'm as clued up as I should be!
I was also looking for things to help him over the summer ready for when we go back in Sept.
Thank you for the link. I will have a good look now
You're most welcome!
As you'll probably have seen by now, EHC plans are explained within the same article - it's a lot to take in all at once!
This article might be helpful, too. It includes the observation that "The most academically able autistic students are vulnerable to workload stress when they go to secondary school. It’s not that they are less able but often the pace, the switching attention between ideas, content and then the next lesson to another subject, challenges them."
https://reachoutasc.com/autism-and-behaviour-in-secondary-school/
There could also, of course, be many other contributory factors, as the article also explains.
I wish you all the best with your discussions with the SENCO.