Out of any topic I have covered this is the one
that is closest to my heart. Apart from my experience as a teacher, I also have
a son with ASD. Autistic Spectrum Disorder. It has been a long, long road, of
fighting, letters, meetings, but finally I am able to see the fruits of all the
rage, tears and heartache.
The first thing to realise is that as a parent or
carer you have to accept the situation. However, while you can listen to what
the school has to say, remember that you know your child the best. Always,
always remember that. Do not let so called professionals label your child with
any medical diagnosis, unless they are of course in the medical
profession. Even then though, remember
that you need to keep a very open mind.
I have come across teachers who, using a check-list downloaded from the
internet, have attempted to diagnose children. This is itself is very
disconcerting!
If your child does not have an obvious physical or
mental issue, the first contact will be from school, usually from the Tutor or Classroom
teacher. Accept what they are saying, and ask to speak to the nominated SENCO,
that is the Special Needs Co-coordinator of the school. At the same time make
an appointment with your GP, and ask to be referred to the appropriate body, in
order that a diagnosis can be made. This is harder than you may think but it is
so much easier to work towards the future with a diagnosis, a label of your
child's condition. I can still remember
the Psychiatrist stating that my son had ASD. He shrugged though and said he
was unsure if that was an appropriate label, but that he knew that we needed
that label!
The school should offer observations from an
Educational Psychologist, or trained staff who can bring together reports,
reports from observations, and so on, that can help to put together a picture
of the issues, and the ways that they can be assisted in school.
There may be a time that you need to consider a
Statement of Educational Needs, but remember that no one can tell you what is
best for your child.....you know best!
You may need to consider a Mainstream school, or Special School. What I
will say that in my case, I knew that my son was clever, but he needed support.
The Special schools in my area did not appear to cope with such children, so I
took the decision, in my case, to fight against any move towards Specialist
Education. I must point out of the sterling work done within Special Schools,
but with personal experience of the children who attended the various Special
schools, I knew my son was not suitable.
During my sons time at Primary School he spent an
unfortunate year with a teacher who could talk the talk, and turn on the tears,
especially in front of the Head. This
teacher associated my son’s behaviour with his being naughty, and could not cope
with him in a full primary class of 30 children. Rather than asking for assistance she stated
in his school report that he was not capable of accessing the National
Curriculum. I found out at a later stage that she spent hours shouting at him,
to my son shouting is just noise, and that he had been instructed to stand with
his head towards a wall, with his back to the class. The damage this teacher did will stay with my
son for the rest of his life. Please therefore ensure that your child receives
as much support as possible. Within a large class, with one teacher, the
pressures are enormous. While this is not an excuse for this teacher’s
behaviour, I can understand the pressures as a teacher she was under. Asking your child what happens during their day
is the first step to ensuring their emotional and social safety. Although I did used to ask my child, the
mixed messages I retrieved from him, and the fact that this teacher could do no
wrong in the eyes of the Head meant that I did not push enough to sort out the
situation. This stays in my memory, and
I never allowed a situation like this to happen again.
Recently the law has moved forward as regards the
equality of all children regardless of mental or physical ability. As it stands
laws exist that state that schools, mainstream too, should provide equal access
to all children, regardless of disability. Some Heads will discourage you, as
the school itself has to fund any building works to accommodate the child. So
be strong!
One issue that I remind myself that I was correct
was that in the initial stages of my son's diagnosis it was deemed that he had
behavioural problems. Had I not insisted he would have been enrolled into a
Specialist Behavioural School. (I am trying to be politically correct, I hope
you know what I mean!) I knew that the issue was more than behaviour, and my
words, over my dead body were used on more than one occasion.
Parents and Carers have a big sway when it comes
providing school with the finance to provide support via Teaching assistants
for their child while at school. At this stage the local Council are requested
to provide funding to allow a staff member to support a child in school. Apart
from attending endless meetings, write in yourself too, the more pressure you
place on the system, the more hours of support you will receive. Schools will sometimes match that funding, so
say for example you 'win' 5 hours support, this is actually 10 hours of one to
one support. Schools and the SENCO will generally decide how the hours are
spent. A big warning though, please make sure that the Teaching Assistant works
with YOUR child not the full class. I have been in many situations where the
child with the given hours is not supported, but that the class he or she is
in, is. Also make sure that the hours are being used. You have fought hard for
them, so make sure your child benefits from that support.
Other aspects of Special Needs are, make sure your
child has been placed in the right class. Time and time again, I have seen
children with specific special needs placed in smaller classes. Sometimes a
smaller class means that those children within that class are of a lower
educational ability or troublemakers, which could mean that they are in a
disruptive class, or a class that receive teaching to a lower potential grade.
This really should not, but does happen, and is another example of disability
discrimination which occurs.
And me? It took a long time for me to accept that
there was a problem. To me, my child was perfect, and I could not accept any
statements to the contrary. When I did accept the problem that was when issues
started moving forward.
My thoughts are with you. Fight for what you
believe is right. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment