Autism

[AntiUnited]

special needs school surely is a better option where he can socialize with other kids without the abuse ?

 

[poh]

My 4 year old son has just been diagnosed with Autism and to me, it makes him. It's part of his character, love him to bits! Anyway, to throw all my bombs in at once, we're thinking of home-educating him as we really don't think there is a school out there that suits him or could do as good a job as we could do at home. Thoughts?

My grandson has Autism,been at school now 2 years and seems to have settled quite well,at home though he can be a real handful at times ( bedtime,bath time ) good luck whatever you decide.

 

[Nic B]

My little lad who is now 7 was given an Autistic statement at 3 years of age, which was a very early diagnosis having spoken to a lot of professionals. It took me quite a while to get my head around the whole situation and what it meant for us as a family, as well as my son. From early days my wife and I were determined that he should go to a "normal" (I hate saying that and apologise if I offend) and for the first year he was supported at the local primary school as his statement documented that he had a provision for a one to one classroom assistant. However, it soon be came apparent that the provision was used to pay the salary of the one to one, and not as I had hoped, to provide the individual with training and support. After many meetings and arguing with the schools we moved him out to another school that had a DSP unit attached, So he was still in mainstream school but had a dedicated and specialist area that was there to provide him and his teachers with support. Again, it transpired that the assistants did not have the levels of training that we had been given assurances that they all had.
It was then we had a Eureka moment, that or reality hit home, that if our son was to flourish he needed to go to a school that had the right provision, the right capability of teacher, and teaching assistant. In our case this was a specialist school and after looking for 6 months we found a school, fought our local council who dictated that we would not get a place and we won!!!
He has now been in the school since September and I can honestly say that it was the best thing we did. He loves school, the support we get from Teachers, the Head and other parents is amazing and I wish we had done this 3 years ago!!
I guess what I am trying to show is that as a parent your child is your number one priority. Stick to your guns and do what you believe is right for the development of your child who has a condition that others may think is bad behaviour, when in actual fact it is their unique way of expressing their feelings and emotions. It is difficult and there will be dark times but when I see my lad smile when I collect him from school and he tells me he cant wait to go back tomorrow it fills my heart with joy.
I know this may seem a little self centred but I hope if one person takes a bit of heart or positivity from this then it is worth it.

 

[RP2]

A family member of mine has a son with severe autism - he goes to a special school, and she keeps saying how wonderful they are with him, and he is a LOT better for going there.

My suggestion is to do what you think is best for your child, but not to write off the system, and the support you will be entitled to.

 

[peoffrey]

Like other disabilities, Autism varies from one person to another. It can be from the barely noticeable to the extreme. The latter of which can require 24/7 care for life.

 

[fbloke]

My little lad who is now 7 was given an Autistic statement at 3 years of age, which was a very early diagnosis having spoken to a lot of professionals. It took me quite a while to get my head around the whole situation and what it meant for us as a family, as well as my son. From early days my wife and I were determined that he should go to a "normal" (I hate saying that and apologise if I offend) and for the first year he was supported at the local primary school as his statement documented that he had a provision for a one to one classroom assistant. However, it soon be came apparent that the provision was used to pay the salary of the one to one, and not as I had hoped, to provide the individual with training and support. After many meetings and arguing with the schools we moved him out to another school that had a DSP unit attached, So he was still in mainstream school but had a dedicated and specialist area that was there to provide him and his teachers with support. Again, it transpired that the assistants did not have the levels of training that we had been given assurances that they all had.
It was then we had a Eureka moment, that or reality hit home, that if our son was to flourish he needed to go to a school that had the right provision, the right capability of teacher, and teaching assistant. In our case this was a specialist school and after looking for 6 months we found a school, fought our local council who dictated that we would not get a place and we won!!!
He has now been in the school since September and I can honestly say that it was the best thing we did. He loves school, the support we get from Teachers, the Head and other parents is amazing and I wish we had done this 3 years ago!!
I guess what I am trying to show is that as a parent your child is your number one priority. Stick to your guns and do what you believe is right for the development of your child who has a condition that others may think is bad behaviour, when in actual fact it is their unique way of expressing their feelings and emotions. It is difficult and there will be dark times but when I see my lad smile when I collect him from school and he tells me he cant wait to go back tomorrow it fills my heart with joy.
I know this may seem a little self centred but I hope if one person takes a bit of heart or positivity from this then it is worth it.

One thing that the old Labour government dont get enough credit for is the Every Child Matters legislation.

Although it came about from a moment of tragedy (Victoria Climbie) what it has done is make it impossible for a local authority to argue that cost is the main consideration when providing services to children.

We had issues with one of our kids, who has speech issues but not ASC, where we were categorically told that he would have to leave his primary school and attend a specialist unit - if his speech were to become normalised they could not guarantee a place back in his school (where his friends and siblings attend) as the school would not be paid to keep a place open by the LEA.

In short we were not happy with any of that and it was because I could quote ECM legislation that we got our son the support he needs in the school he has friends and family in and he has far surpassed the results even the S and L people expected to have a achieved in the specialist unit.

We have also, because of our stubbornness, changed the policy of he LA where they now HAVE to keep a place open for a child who is moved for such reasons. The AL have now invested in in-school support across the borough and we have changed for better the options open to families with kids with S and L and other problems.

ECM is the reason for that because we could simply make the point that the emotional well being is THE MOST IMPORTANT consideration for an organisation supporting kids and its not about the cost.

***rant over***

 

[citymacc]

The wifes nephew is autistic and didn't really communicate till he was older.

He has grown up a fine young man who holds down a job, has just moved into his first house and is getting married in the summer. He can also talk with just about anybody in any situation (which is more than I can).

If my lad turns out like that I'll be more than happy!<br /><br />-- Thu Jan 23, 2014 9:47 pm --<br /><br />

My little lad who is now 7 was given an Autistic statement at 3 years of age, which was a very early diagnosis having spoken to a lot of professionals. It took me quite a while to get my head around the whole situation and what it meant for us as a family, as well as my son. From early days my wife and I were determined that he should go to a "normal" (I hate saying that and apologise if I offend) and for the first year he was supported at the local primary school as his statement documented that he had a provision for a one to one classroom assistant. However, it soon be came apparent that the provision was used to pay the salary of the one to one, and not as I had hoped, to provide the individual with training and support. After many meetings and arguing with the schools we moved him out to another school that had a DSP unit attached, So he was still in mainstream school but had a dedicated and specialist area that was there to provide him and his teachers with support. Again, it transpired that the assistants did not have the levels of training that we had been given assurances that they all had.
It was then we had a Eureka moment, that or reality hit home, that if our son was to flourish he needed to go to a school that had the right provision, the right capability of teacher, and teaching assistant. In our case this was a specialist school and after looking for 6 months we found a school, fought our local council who dictated that we would not get a place and we won!!!
He has now been in the school since September and I can honestly say that it was the best thing we did. He loves school, the support we get from Teachers, the Head and other parents is amazing and I wish we had done this 3 years ago!!
I guess what I am trying to show is that as a parent your child is your number one priority. Stick to your guns and do what you believe is right for the development of your child who has a condition that others may think is bad behaviour, when in actual fact it is their unique way of expressing their feelings and emotions. It is difficult and there will be dark times but when I see my lad smile when I collect him from school and he tells me he cant wait to go back tomorrow it fills my heart with joy.
I know this may seem a little self centred but I hope if one person takes a bit of heart or positivity from this then it is worth it.

Amazing story mate with what seems like a really positive ending for yourselves, I'm sure it makes all the fighting and worrying worthwhile now. Many thanks for sharing.

 

[citymacc]

A family member of mine has a son with severe autism - he goes to a special school, and she keeps saying how wonderful they are with him, and he is a LOT better for going there.

My suggestion is to do what you think is best for your child, but not to write off the system, and the support you will be entitled to.

Thanks mate , we certainly intend to use all the support we're entitled to and are taking on board all the valuable info that has been posted on here too. So intersting and helpful to hear all these stories.

-- Thu Jan 23, 2014 9:54 pm --

My little lad who is now 7 was given an Autistic statement at 3 years of age, which was a very early diagnosis having spoken to a lot of professionals. It took me quite a while to get my head around the whole situation and what it meant for us as a family, as well as my son. From early days my wife and I were determined that he should go to a "normal" (I hate saying that and apologise if I offend) and for the first year he was supported at the local primary school as his statement documented that he had a provision for a one to one classroom assistant. However, it soon be came apparent that the provision was used to pay the salary of the one to one, and not as I had hoped, to provide the individual with training and support. After many meetings and arguing with the schools we moved him out to another school that had a DSP unit attached, So he was still in mainstream school but had a dedicated and specialist area that was there to provide him and his teachers with support. Again, it transpired that the assistants did not have the levels of training that we had been given assurances that they all had.
It was then we had a Eureka moment, that or reality hit home, that if our son was to flourish he needed to go to a school that had the right provision, the right capability of teacher, and teaching assistant. In our case this was a specialist school and after looking for 6 months we found a school, fought our local council who dictated that we would not get a place and we won!!!
He has now been in the school since September and I can honestly say that it was the best thing we did. He loves school, the support we get from Teachers, the Head and other parents is amazing and I wish we had done this 3 years ago!!
I guess what I am trying to show is that as a parent your child is your number one priority. Stick to your guns and do what you believe is right for the development of your child who has a condition that others may think is bad behaviour, when in actual fact it is their unique way of expressing their feelings and emotions. It is difficult and there will be dark times but when I see my lad smile when I collect him from school and he tells me he cant wait to go back tomorrow it fills my heart with joy.
I know this may seem a little self centred but I hope if one person takes a bit of heart or positivity from this then it is worth it.

One thing that the old Labour government dont get enough credit for is the Every Child Matters legislation.

Although it came about from a moment of tragedy (Victoria Climbie) what it has done is make it impossible for a local authority to argue that cost is the main consideration when providing services to children.

We had issues with one of our kids, who has speech issues but not ASC, where we were categorically told that he would have to leave his primary school and attend a specialist unit - if his speech were to become normalised they could not guarantee a place back in his school (where his friends and siblings attend) as the school would not be paid to keep a place open by the LEA.

In short we were not happy with any of that and it was because I could quote ECM legislation that we got our son the support he needs in the school he has friends and family in and he has far surpassed the results even the S and L people expected to have a achieved in the specialist unit.

We have also, because of our stubbornness, changed the policy of he LA where they now HAVE to keep a place open for a child who is moved for such reasons. The AL have now invested in in-school support across the borough and we have changed for better the options open to families with kids with S and L and other problems.

ECM is the reason for that because we could simply make the point that the emotional well being is THE MOST IMPORTANT consideration for an organisation supporting kids and its not about the cost.

***rant over***

Great work mate, really impressed with you winning that fight, not only for yourselves but for families in the future too!<br /><br />-- Thu Jan 23, 2014 9:56 pm --<br /><br />

Like other disabilities, Autism varies from one person to another. It can be from the barely noticeable to the extreme. The latter of which can require 24/7 care for life.

So true mate, such a varying spectrum, hence one thing working for one child (or adult) may not necessarily work for another. That's why it's so good hearing all these different stories.

 

[Damocles]

One thing that the old Labour government dont get enough credit for is the Every Child Matters legislation.

Although it came about from a moment of tragedy (Victoria Climbie) what it has done is make it impossible for a local authority to argue that cost is the main consideration when providing services to children.

To somewhat continue your rant, it's infuriatingly stupid that little to no changes at a national level are made without a child dying in the most horrific circumstances, from ECM with Climbe to Baby P and all the way back in the 1950s.

The greatest marker of change in social care is when people are tortured to death in view of their social workers

 

[Holcombe bloo]

My brother is Autistic and went to Elms bank high between bury and whitefield, they were an excellent SEN school at the time and brought him on no end. I really would be concerned to send any autistic child to a main stream school, but thats just my opinion.