No help at secondary school

I thought I might pick this up although Coogybear has given very useful advice and hopefully it has helped.

A lot of parents report difficulties of this sort, and you should be able to find other postings with which to compare experiences. There does seem to be a lack of understanding of what high functioning means in terms of everyday living experience.

There are a number of adults on here with late diagnoses. You've probably noticed we make a lot of noise and frighten other posters away - or so we're told. There is a lot of controversy about adult diagnosis, in the sense if they weren't spotted as children their autism cannot be that bad, and we're just making a fuss about nothing.

The reality is we were probably lucky enough not to be picked up at school because we were high functioning. In the 50s and 60s, if you had conspicuous problems you were most likely to be institutionalised, and taken out of the loop as far as useful education is concerned. From then into the 70s and perhaps the 80s you were more likely to be treated with drugs more appropriate to adult schizophrenics, which flattened your emotional responses. Some adult diagnoses are amongst those who have long been administered inappropriate drugs, and acquiredf a history of mental illness support.

The point I'm making is that just because someone is high functioning doesn't mean you don't have problems. Schools (and Local Authorities providing support) seem to have confused autism with learning disability. Some people with autism have a comorbid learning disability, but the absence of a learning disability doesn't mean there is no autism. Auitism is about social interaction, communication, and in a very wide sense lifestyle. Above all it means you are visibly different, even if the difference is subtler in some than others. And it makes life harder.

Schools need to be challenged over this. So it is important you take issue with the school's apparent notion that high functioning means no problems.

In particular I keep raising the spectre of bullying, which isn't like traditional bullying, but more about ridicule and ostracisation by the majority of peers. This goes on out of sight of teachers. We tend to hear about the overweight kid being teased, but the way young people with autism get treated by their peers, is by our supposed modern standards, shocking. They are easy to make fun of and it is easy to get a laugh winding them up.

But even if good at learning a child on the spectrum will have trouble picking up and understanding classroom information, and may be confused a lot of the time.

Schools that come out with this high functioning no problem thesis are really failing in their disability equality duty. It might not be necessary for your child to attend special needs classes, but there need to be other measures in place.

You will therefore need to fight this school tenaciously for fair play

Hi,

 I'm no expert I'm afraid, but what I did notice in your post that their was no mention of Statement or EHC. I take it, by your reference to ARP, you mean Additionally Resourced Provision?

I could be wrong, but I suspect this means you haven't had a full statutory assessemt of your childs needs, resulting in a document which ensures legally binding provision.

Even if is the case, it seems poor form not to organise transition for follow on plans and support for your child or a hand over of sorts.

My suggestion would be to contact IPSEA. If you feel your childs needs are not being met then you may need to appy for and full EHC Assessment. Check with them.

You are right of course, you should be included in all decisions with regard to your childs provision. Get in touch with IPSEA and ask.

www.google.co.uk/search

Sorry I cannot be of more help

Coogy