Postive working partnerships (not)
- By flaminred
-
Mon 9 Jun 2008 21:22
As i am currently writing my college assignment about children with disabilities and the role that a positive working partnership between parents and education settings what has just happened to my son seems to be a prime example of how this dosn't seem to work in reality.
My son is 14 he Dyspraxia ADHD and Aspergers and attends mainstream school today he comes home form school and as usual when he has had a difficult day he starts "mouthing off" later he tells me that the SENco is leaving and that he is now seeing the school nurse "cuz that lady from the hopsital or what ever has asked the school nurse to keep an eye him"
I presume that lady from the hospital is his ADHD nurse but i am not sure and why and what the scholl nurse needs to keep an eye on him for i have no idea.
I have no problem with my son seeing the school nurse if it will be of benefit to him but since he gets upset by unexpected changes in his routine it would have been nice to be informed so we could have prepare the ground form him.
Since he has been at high school the flow of information seems to be very one sided and we only ever seem to find things out after the event.
ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Replies
- By EL
-
Re: Postive working partnerships (not)
Tue 10 Jun 2008 11:28Oh boy do i know where you are coming from.
The hassle i had when my Adam(Aspergers) was in mainstreen secondary was unbelieveable, i was told the staff in the communication base were all trained to deal with Adam. Were they eckers like! although the school's head SENCO was responsible for pushing the need for Adam to go to a special school the rest of em were bloody useless.
How many times do you have to repeat yourselves to these fools? why dont they listen? why cant they understand? trained my arse!!!
- By Skippy
-
Re: Postive working partnerships (not)
Tue 10 Jun 2008 13:07Hi,
As a mum to two with Autism alongside many other probs I know only too well of the probs mainstream has. Mainstream didn't work for my two at all and I fought to get them into a special school whereby they would at least 'see' a physio and speech n lang therapist and be put on the long wait lists for OT, sensory integration therapy etc. However, I would suggest to the school that because your son does need 'routine' etc that they provide a home/school diary. It's then at least a two way communication tool for yourself and school and they MUST then write in any up and coming changes, concerns etc and gives you chance to write any questions you may have. Both my kids special schools (yes I'm lucky, I have two only 10miles away, 1 for mild/moderate and one for severe learning diffs)do this as a matter of routine, and as it may be only your son who has the book, what effort on the school's part is it for them to complete it with a small sentence each day? Actually, don't ask them to provide it, just provide a small exercise book or whatever yourself and request ever so nicely, (lol) that they complete it/read it each day as a matter of your son's routine!
Aaaargh, I just couldn't go back to mainstream. It beat the hell out of my daughter's confidence so she now has really low self esteem and my son, well he was (unbeknown to us) shoved out in the corridor with his 1-1 as he was too noisy for class, they then complained his behaviour was bad, but couldn't see that by putting him outside the classroom without his friends, that he thought he'd done something wrong and because he couldn't talk very much, his behaviour was the only way he could express himself. Needless to say, as soon as I found out I pulled him out of the school until a place in a special school could be found. Inclusion my a***! Yes, there are some wonderful, fine examples of how inclusion should be out there, but I've yet to find one of them. I feel until the Educators are educated in disability awareness, and Autism, it just ain't gonna happen. Well that's my personal view, based on experience and many others tales in a similar situation.
All the best and also good luck with your college assignment.
Skip
- By flaminred
-
Re: Postive working partnerships (not)
Tue 10 Jun 2008 19:54The whole school have diaries but never any comments about thing in them just homework. Unfortunately there are no special schools near me the nearest one that would be suitable is well over an hours drive away i know of a couple of kids who go there and they get picked up at 7.30 am and given my son dosnt alway sleep that well cant see him being up and ready to leave by that time.
As you so rightly pointed out Skip inclusion certainly at secondary level dosnt seem to work. ( when i tried to mention the reality of inclusion at college i was politely told to keep my negative view to my self)
- By EL
-
Re: Postive working partnerships (not)
Tue 10 Jun 2008 20:30flaminred, Adam does not sleep too well either
when he was in mainstream i had a battle every day to get him out of bed before 8am, however now he is in a school where hes happy and comfortable hes out of bed like a shot at 6.30am 
if he is in the right place and right frame of mind im sure your son would adjust 
sure it would take some time and effort but the end result would most certainly be worth it
- By flaminred
-
Re: Postive working partnerships (not)
Tue 10 Jun 2008 20:47i am so torn it it such a long way and i just dont relish the thought of putting him in a taxi at 7.30 every morning and him not getting home till nearly 5pm. Not to mention the battle we would have trying to convince him that changing school would be a good idea. The trouble is no of his problems are "bad enough" i looked at a brill specialist ASD school but he would stick out there just as much as he does in mainstream,. There just dosnt seem to be anything out there for kids like him.