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Alternative pathways for education, Not exams

Saaaa

Hi, I am new to the website.

My 14 year old son with ASD (and PDA and sensory issues) is having a terrible time in school due to his anxiety. He has an ehcp, and we are working with the LEA and school to make changes. I don't feel my son will ever be able to take a GCSE or A level, his anxiety levels become so high. We have talked with his consultant and there are medications etc they can suggest to help calm him on the day.......but 1) he has missed so much school time he has great gaps in his knowledge base. 2) is it therefore fair to 'drug' him inorder for him to sit an exam that he will probably not do very well in anyway, and further add to the trauma around exams.

But he is a bright lad. When not in school he is very productive. Since christmas he has taught himself electric guitar, Bass, Ukelele and now starting on Piano. He has played drums since he was 5. People have said if he can produce a portfolio of work he could potentially present this to a university, to obtain a place, if that were what he wanted. Does anyone know of any organisations that can help with this, or do you have a child who has had these issues? Any information would be gratefully received. He is very resistant to school environments and has built a brick wall up against Maths and Science. He has high expectations of himself.

We live in east devon.

  • I would be wary of the Steiner School in [removed by moderator] - it's very new and seems to be struggling.  

    We have a child with Aspergers who spent many years in a Steiner school, fairly happily at first, but then became increasingly unhappy at the poor classroom management in their class.  Some teachers at Steiner schools seem to think that this kind of education is just about letting the children work through their conflicts/bullying/etc. so that they become more resilient.  So they are reluctant to intervene when things go wrong.  As you can imagine, that's a pretty bad situation to be in for an ASD child.

    I should say that Steiner education is not supposed to be like this at all, but many Steiner-trained teachers don't actually understand what it's all about, or just don;t have the skills and capability to implement it properly.

    *This post has been edited by a moderator because it did not comply with community rules*

  • Hi Saaa; 

    I am a teacher in a special school. About two years ago I received a new chap into my class with PDA. He is far more acadeically able that the rest of our school but does not engage in any structured learning activities, the thgouht that someone is telling him to do something, even if he likes it, drives him up the wall with anxiety. 

    We have concentrated on helping him to enjoy school. Before he came to us he had been excluded for a number of years, he has worked hard to feel happy at school and that is he main achievement to date, he has a lovely time here and often ends up doing academic work incidentally. He won't do exams any time soon but is being exposed to lots of opportunities to experience and teach himself new things. 

    Although he was in a different situation to your son he is a great success story as he has shown that he is able to achieve satisfaction in an educational environment, albeit a very different one to a traditional school. 

    Your son is very lucky to have you looking into the options for him, I am sure you will find something in which he will be satisfied and successful, whatever that looks like for him. 

    Cheers 

  • Hi Saaaa,

    You might be interested in having a look in the Autism Services Directory - this link is specifically for educational services in Devon - www.autism.org.uk/.../cid=53~aid=295.aspx - and includes schools and educational outreach programs that specifically cater to children on the autism spectrum. Hopefully you might find something there helpful to your situation with your son's education.

    Best wishes,

    Ross - mod

  • Hello, thanks for your reply. Really helpful.

    There is a Steiner School in Exeter we have contacted and applied there but I feel they were inundated with Autistic kids etc. I phoned and email several times, we went to open days etc. They didn't get back to me. As I say I feel this is  because there is not adequate provision for high functioning autistic kids in devon.

    But onwards, I don't feel the school environment suits him. Overwhelms him. I love the analogy, feed and waterand watch it grow. I will remember that thankyou.

    I will print of your reply to keep yo hand. Much appreciated.