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What/how to choose? Mainstream/ASD Unit/Special School

Octsmum

Oh dear.  We are looking for advice and opinions on the different types of school setting available to our son.  Our 7 yr old with high functioning autism has transferred from his mainstream infant school to the juniors and is not happy with the change.  The jump from infants to juniors is significant in terms of the way they work and he is taking his time to settle.  Personally, I feel it is all about him being allowed to take his time, but his behaviour has led the school and the educational psychologist working for the LEA to feel that he would be better off in a mainstream school with an ASD unit. 

The school has been great, and they have a track record for being very inclusive in their approach - there are other children with ASDs further along the school.  I feel more than a little disappointed that they are considering admitting defeat so soon - only a few weeks into the schoool year.

I have seen another post with a fabulous response listing the pros and cons of each type of setting, and we have already thought of most of the points listed there.  We are less worried about our son's academic progress than about him feeling that it is possible for him to move within NT circles comfortably and with minimal/no anxiety.  Our feelings have been complicated by reports that there are adults with autism who would not advise parents to send their ASD kids to special schools.  I am guessing/hoping that their experiences are out of date, since professionals' understanding of autism and how best to educate children with autism has improved.

We would welcome opinions on this subject from parents/carers and particularly from anyone with autism who has had experience of the various types of school setting.

Thanks!

Parents

  • Many thanks for your responses, I was particularly looking for answers from parents who had mixed feelings about autism specific education, so thank you lucymac.

    A month on, we seem to be coming to the conclusion that either an ASD unit or a special school would be more appropriate for our son than the mainstream school he is in.  The staff have admitted that they do not feel they have the expertise to do right by him in every way, and each day seems to be more about getting around whatever mood he may be in.  The result is that he ends up spending more time out of the classroom having 1-2-1 with his Learning Support teacher than with anyone else.

    Our reasons for wanting him to stay in mainstream are no longer valid.  We wanted him to have social interaction with his NT peers and hopefully see appropriate behaviours modelled, but this does not happen because his reactions to what goes on around him necessitates him being removed from the classroom environment, or he will voluntarily remove himself.

    We now think that it is better for him to be in a smaller class with 6 or 7 other children with autism than absenting himself completely from a large mainstream class!  We have to decide if some mainstream contact is appropriate for him from an ASD unit or if we should just aim for a special school, both of which are feasible in our area.  The other bonus (as we see it) with the special school is that he can be there until he reaches 19 if he wishes - change has never been a good thing for him!  The next step is for us to take a look and hope that one or other place will speak strongly to us that he is likely to be happy there.

    We just want to get this right.  I suppose that the worst that could happen is that we get it wrong to start with and have to think of something else, but we don't want to prat him about so much that he doesn't trust us and winds up totally hating school.  Home school is not going to be an option for us - just getting him to do homework is stressful enough and I am no teacher!

    This post is so long, and I still welcome any thoughts from parents and former students with autism out there... thanks!

Reply

  • Many thanks for your responses, I was particularly looking for answers from parents who had mixed feelings about autism specific education, so thank you lucymac.

    A month on, we seem to be coming to the conclusion that either an ASD unit or a special school would be more appropriate for our son than the mainstream school he is in.  The staff have admitted that they do not feel they have the expertise to do right by him in every way, and each day seems to be more about getting around whatever mood he may be in.  The result is that he ends up spending more time out of the classroom having 1-2-1 with his Learning Support teacher than with anyone else.

    Our reasons for wanting him to stay in mainstream are no longer valid.  We wanted him to have social interaction with his NT peers and hopefully see appropriate behaviours modelled, but this does not happen because his reactions to what goes on around him necessitates him being removed from the classroom environment, or he will voluntarily remove himself.

    We now think that it is better for him to be in a smaller class with 6 or 7 other children with autism than absenting himself completely from a large mainstream class!  We have to decide if some mainstream contact is appropriate for him from an ASD unit or if we should just aim for a special school, both of which are feasible in our area.  The other bonus (as we see it) with the special school is that he can be there until he reaches 19 if he wishes - change has never been a good thing for him!  The next step is for us to take a look and hope that one or other place will speak strongly to us that he is likely to be happy there.

    We just want to get this right.  I suppose that the worst that could happen is that we get it wrong to start with and have to think of something else, but we don't want to prat him about so much that he doesn't trust us and winds up totally hating school.  Home school is not going to be an option for us - just getting him to do homework is stressful enough and I am no teacher!

    This post is so long, and I still welcome any thoughts from parents and former students with autism out there... thanks!

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