you are so right phoenix, it is really nice to see how his other classmates are so fond of him, some of them are nearly mothering him at the momemt. If he goes to the centre he will get 6 hours intensive therapy a day. If he goes to school he will get 2-3 hours a day. If he goes to school, then it becomes a 9-10 hours a day for him (poor DS). At the moment his SALT is going to school with him everyday and trying to put things in place for him. Problem is centre is all special need children, so he will not get the interaction with NT kids and there is no guarantee that next year he will be able to go back to the school he is in at the moment because of school place shortages in UAE. It's really good idea to wait till x-mass to see how things go, he is settled, we don't really want to interupt that.

I can see how the school must be finding it difficult for your DS, what type of things are they setting up for him? Is he going to get extra lessons for different things?

how much therapy would he getthough from her..

were gettig fair bit of input from slat and specialist teacher to help his class teacher and Lsa ,learn how to teach him as quite understandly having a child that can not talk and has a receptive delay as well as mld is differnt kettle of fish to them .The non verbal side being the hardest.

hat about givng it to xmas then yu will have som idear of how it is going ?.How old is ds school mornings therapy afternoon does sound good comprimise its done me world of good see how ds class mates are accepting hm

Sorry, I did not complete my last post. DD is refusing to go to nursery at the moment, so got distracted by her cry. Although the school seems nice, DS's SALT seems concern about his education there. She doesnot think he is learning from his environment (this is the same salt telling us that he has no learning difficulties), think he will benefit from intensive speech therapy for another year and then start school. It has taken us long to find a good school and DS seems quite happy there. We want him to go to school and then have therapy in the afternoon as he needs that social interaction. Oh, it's so confusing, I can't help thinking DS's SALT is saying that because she has opened up this new centre and wants more clients. She defintely did not say it before this new speech centre was sorted. Sorry for the rant, we just don't know what we should do.

Phoenix, good to hear things are settling down. We are trying to push for DS to have one to one support as well, but we will have to pay for it (we were expecting this as it's a private school). The school is looking actively from what I hear, so hopefully we will get somebody soon. We will then have to arrange for DS's SALT to train that person. DS seems to like school, every morning he is quite happily putting on his school uniform, carrying his own bag. His SALT says she is worried that with somebody like DS who has no behavioural or sensory problem, the school will leave him to one side and not bother to include him. I have already asked for a going home book, don't know how I make sure he is participating as I can't stay with him, he will definitely start misbehaving if I do (thinks mummy will protect him from everything). He is not suited for a special need school as apart from speech delay he does not really have any other issues at the moment. How do we ensure he is learning like all the other children at school? Can I really trust the school that much?

Have finally put picture of ds an dd up taken his first day.

Glad everyone is settling into school .Tiredmummy of 2 my ds is only 4.2 as well one of the youngest in the year

We nowhave lunch time sorted so I can finally hve time to myself .Have ameeting ith thenew salt tomorrow m going to be pushing for ACC since it is now accepted that ds is not going to tak am taking copy of report in just in case .And top of the good news we have got a 2 day assement at Ican to help woith receptive delay also going to belooking at theschool as a option for wen ds is older even though would mean a move for all of us

Bubbla, my DS is 4.2. He has settled in well at school, we have had 3 weeks and only one day he had a little cry as he wanted to come back home. I am not sure he is making any friends yet as he does not really talk about school or mention anybody's name. I am not sure if he knows the name of anybody yet. His teacher is making an effort to talk to him directly and he is listening to her and the TA, but I am not sure yet if he is learning anything there.

Good to hear that your DS is playing with his friend, my DS did that at the last play date and made us very proud.

phoenix its nice to hear that he has some friends in class and children are really good with him

lets hope dinner time gets sorted out the school sound really good in trying to get him what he needs lets hope it can all be in place soon so you can relax in confidence

ds seems to be really liking school and seems to be getting on well the other children really like him and he seems really happy

his first sleep over went really well both boys were very well behaved and played well had bath together and bed top and tail ds has melatonin anyway but he actually slept in his own bed last night with his friend

his friend is good as his 6 mths older and understands my ds so he is patient with him so im hoping by having him stay it will strengthen there friendship in school also as thats what ds will need for them moments his not doing so well

ds is going well the lsa and teahcer are both on training next week on language course so fingers crossed that should help.And having been in clas is lovely to wtc how some of the children are with him definte little friends and some are even signing to

Dinner time is a issue but working on that one the dinner lady is rubbish wont sign etc and he was ment share a lsa with 1 other for lunch but poor lsa needs to be watching the other child more as she wanders of etc and poor ds is getting lef on his own in big noisy hall.

well nearing the end of the first school week he is really enjoying school he didnt want to have 2 days off for weekend lol

he has his school friend staying here tonight my friends little boy is in same class and he is stopping here the night so will be good to see how that goes they seem to get on really well with each other so fingers crossed

tiredmummy your ds has d came along way from what you write there

i found my ds changed alot once he got his melatonin the sleep was huge issue with sensory and behaviour issues

maybe you could do personal passport on communication and understanding from his view ds has no other real issues but he can obviously come across as defiant or rude doesnt understand his spoken to if speaking to whole class, needs to be told directly not asked , will always so no if doesnt understand whats asked i wanted all this written down also along with his sensory issues which are not apparent every day but obviously well may be one day in school and they can prepare and look out for this

so far his settled into school so much better than we thought and seems very popular with the other children he clearly stands out speech wise but luckily we gained a few speech sounds over school holidays so he doesnt sound so baby like now his words are clearer than they were

im really happy your ds has made so much progress though its so good to hear as last yr my ds was completely different boy too we would never have thought he'd be where he is now

i forget how old your ds is now?

Bubbla, my DS is like yours, if he is being told what to do he will, but he will not if it is not a direct instruction. Also if he does not understand something, he will say no. We have not done a passport as he does not really have any issues that is directly related to autism (any sensory,meltdown, behavioural type of things that can directly be attributed to autism), but what he has is severe speech delay. His speech therapist has done a detailed report on what level his understanding and speech is. May be I should ask the teacher politely if she has had a chance to read that report.

Last night DH said we should look at the positives, the progresses he made. A year ago he was not calling us mummy and daddy, he was having huge meltdowns, he did not have any bedtime routine (he would rather fall a sleep on the carpet, we spent over a year taking him out every night in the car to put him to sleep), he was not eating, brushing teeth was impossible, haircutting was a definite no no, he was not able to communicate his needs, he was toilet trained, but could not tell us if he needed cleaning. DH said a year ago we did not think all these would be happening in a year's time, so may be a year later he would surprise us with his speech.

oh fantastic boolifooli they do like to worry us lol glad his walking is much better too,

It was DS first afternoon at nursery and it went well. I have been worrying about how out of place he would seem and all that, but it wasn't so bad at all. Luckily his walking has been quite good the last couple of days so he was upright most of the time.

DS is I think OK with choices and slightly flowery language - I think he is OK in principle with being given instructions as part of a group, but I think in practice if he is given instructions as part of a group they won't be as tailored to his level of understanding.

also TC maybe you need to flag the talking to directly as ds is another who doesn't understand group instruction and will also say he doesn't want to do it if unsure of what he is supposed to do its the frustration isn't it that makes them all of a sudden back off as didnt understand what was asked

TC they all sound slightly precious he is still indeed a child who wont always want to do what is asked if that was the case id be called up all the time lol

does it affect ds as mine if someone says can you or more demand pick your jumper up please as if someone says to ds can you pick it up or will you he will say no if they say pick it up he will pick it up
if so maybe this can be discussed also don't offer choices just tell him what's expected

lets hope they stop being so precious and just let him be a kid and try and understand him a bit better

tiredmummy - sorry you are finding it a bit depressing, it's good though that the teacher is interested enough to ask these things. I agree with Bubbla- do a document listing what he can do language wise, so you hopefully just have to do it the once.

re:seeing the head. that bit was a misunderstanding - another child was taken to the head yesterday - but I am still - as teacher thought DS was not listening/being a bit rude when she gave the class instructions to do stuff on the computer, and DS just sat there and didn't go off and do it, as he didn't know what to do, and said something to the teacher allegedly about not wanting to do it (?). I mentioned the language delay to her, and how it can make the way DS phrases things seem a bit rude, but think I will have to make it crystal clear that DS does not always understand instructions. Another teacher came out to see me after school today as DS had committed the heinous crime of not wanting to pick up his jumper at playtime, and said No and walked off . Now whilst he shouldn't have done that, do I really have to be informed of tiny misdemeanours FFS.

tiredmummy have you done a personal passport with his about me so you can do communication etc all written from childs point of view we done this it covers likes, dislikes, communication, my autism ,toileting, food,

all the staff can then read this and understand his needs better from his point of view

do you have your statement in place are they doing anything to help him interract with other children?

my ds has never pooed on toilet but will go in a nappy but has been holding it for 5 days or more even medicated we were having to really over load with medicine until the inevitable happens but this morning i managed to talk him into trying and he did do it its an anxiety thing with my ds

well this morning ds went in got his book sat on carpet other children went to sit with him he was then showing another boy his book and talking to each other i could have cried for 2 yrs he would not sit with others at pre school

other children then sat around him and he stayed put with them chatting he doesnt talk the same as the other children his speech sounds are coming a long but his way of speaking is still quite behind other children have more playing talk and he doesnt

but i spoke to teacher and she said he plays with the other children talks to them and the other children seek him out to play and his quite popular in the class i could have cried and he comes out happy and its helping his sleep so maybe the problems will not be as severe as i was thinking we will have bad days but the fact his playing and talking is something he never really did at pre school at all

im so proud it was so nice to see him in the circle chatting with children i nudged my friend and said did you ever think you would see that she agreed not and then the teacher said the children all want to play with him was great as they never noticed him at pre school he had no play mates really

Bubbla, glad things are going well. I noticed you said DS is holding poo, we are having the same problem at the moment as this came from nowhere, he just does not want to sit on the toilet, would not do it in nappy or potty. Just wondering if this is the stress of starting school. We are doing well here as well, DS does not look at me when he says bye, but very happy to see me when I go to pick him up. Unfortunately, the speech gap seems to be so enormous between him and the other kids, he is looking more lost there. He was asked what he did over the weekend, obviously it meant nothing to him as he does not have the concept of time. Everyday the teacher is asking me what he can and what he can't understand and I seem to be always telling that he does not really understand the concept . Sometimes I cant' help feeling depressed.

Phoenix, when are they going to have support in place? Is there no time limit in the statement?

TC, that's terrible, how nice of them!!!!!

thanks phoenix his day went well he seems to be ok we role played what he has to do when he gets into class get book sit on carpet and wait for teacher as this is what upsets him he doesnt know whats expected i need to ask this week if anything from the statement is in place as i was sure they were to do now and next with him

his started to hold his poos again so having bouts of problems but managed to dose him up enough he has gone this morning so i know he will eat and behaviour will be better too

school seems to be helping with his sleep too he wants to go at 6.30 and usually sleeps 4 hrs then up to our room but his going over 6 hrs and sleeping in until 6 or half past instead of 4-5 am so even better still needs melatonin but it seems to tire his brain enough to really settle

TC sorry to hear of that threat to your ds poor thing hope you get that sorted

phoenix sorry to hear yet again not everything is in place so much for this being your time to rest i really hope it all gets sorted soon so you can catch up on some missed sleep and just relax

hope today went well bubblagirl and that seems very heavy total chaos.

We had few issues over lunch though we had 32 hrs statement turns out some of that was for preparation time so leaving lunch mostly uncovered but after problems on Monday head is onto lea asking for mor eto cover dinner but means till then for ds sake I will be covering lunch

bit , as DS has apparently been threatened with going to see the head for being naughty in the computer room. I say apparently because I am getting piecemeal bits of the story from DS. Will have to speak to teacher tomorrow to find out what went on (as no home/school book system). I'm not saying DS is a saint, but am not pleased with them holding the threat of the head over a 5 year old.

well im feeling so proud he done first full day came out happy shouted out big school is really really good ad apparently got on great while there so im really happy

well its his first full day today he still seems ok about going to school so thats good
today will be the real test as he'll be there so long i'll remind them about the book corner if it all becomes too much so they can diffuse any meltdowns before they start

Bubbla - smiled at your DS making the TA cry (in a good way). It can only be a good thing!

oh bless him lets hope your school pull there finger out soon and get all thats needed and the ot as long as he seems happy there so far then thats good it can only get better with the right help

gla dto hear its all going well for everyone .Ds stays till1 this week and has lunch everyday , though we have issues as ot not been in yet and he cant sit on stool so hes going to be usinga chair from staff room lol hope none sits on it after as hes messy eater

hi sunfleurs things seem to be going well for you too there

ds second day went well he didnt go in as good laying on carpet covering ears but he was actually with the other children not in corner on his own so that wa s start

when i picked him up after lunch he was very happy and seems to really have taken to the elderlyish TA so i asked if she had done 1-1 with him said yes anyway he gave her a kiss and cuddle to say goodbye and she started crying i think its the start of a great friendship there bless them

he didnt eat much lunch as she said he wanted what everyone else had lol but he ate his sarnies at least

anyway real test will be tomorrow full time but if his buttered the old girl up maybe she will make sure he has all he needs lol

so far so good anyway he walked away saying its a good school also they said he was playing with a little boy called ben who he had befriended and on the way up 3 other boys out side his little friend group lined up to say goodbye to him so his been noticed at least i thought that was relief and the TA said he was actually playing with other children so fingers crossed i know we'll have bad days but it started better than i thought so all good so far

So glad to hear it went ok Bubblagirl. It is all about pre-empting the meltdown isn't it? ie his packed lunch. I am walking on egg shells in the morning before school because I know one upset or telling off could feasibly ruin the whole day for him.

Shells you are so right, just getting through the day is a major accomplishment. We try to help ds with the friendship thing by finding out who has been nice to him (there is one lovely little girl in his class, who has really taken him under her wing) and then really emphasising that this is because they are "friends" and that is what "friends" do, so he begins to understand that friends are a good thing to have. When he started there, he couldn't care less lol but he is getting better.

Ds had a great week, we tried a few new things at home like giving him a massive breakfast as some of his meltdowns are if he gets hungry and also his Dad comes every morning now to take him to school and so ds feels so positive at the outset every day.

Fingers crossed it carries on for all of us.

lol i bet you are tired

he did say yesterday he was tired and only had a little bit of energy lol

his got his packed lunch today so no major tantrums there lol im going to ask if they will sit him on a table with his friends today though as they split them all up between the 2 classes and he wasn't with anyone he knew

so fingers crossed the result will be even better than yesterday today

Hi all. I'm so pleased its (tentatively) going well for you all. I do think its the worst time - the anticipation of not knowing how its going to go.
DS has been at school for about 7 weeks now and so far so good. The hardest thing for me has been watching him socially (although his school work is massively behind too). We invited a friend to play and DS just ignored him pretty much and the friend played with our 20 month old! I was gutted. We need to work on this.
But the main thing for me is that he's not too distressed and he's getting through the days reasonably happily. Other stuff can follow later I figure.

so glad it went well and he looked so cute this morning.Was he tired? ds is really knackered by 11 by 12 hes almost asleep next week hes in to 1 and lunch all week then week after its all day though we are away with appoinments alot.

Mind I can feel for them im going in and staying helping with him and 27 othe rkids and by 12 I am so tired could do witha nap to lol

so far so good he had melt down at lunch as i paid for a school dinner and he wanted sarnies that was it really bit unsure with things this morning while there but he coped well only half days so more playing than anything it'll be next week that all will be revealed lol

thank you i will be on here tomorrow letting you know how it went
i have to go in and have lunch with him tomorrow then bring him home the fri he will have lunch alone
then from mon full time
i'm making sure i get repeat of melatonin in soon before we even get near running out lol his so much more accepting of things if he has slept im not so nervous if he sleeps
keep me informed on how your ds gets on at school x

That sounds great, brilliant for them to do a home visit. They sound very committed. Fingers crossed for you .

this was all before the holidays so had all that time also to read personal passport etc

we did 4 school induction days and i handed them in his personal passport i has made and the 2 teachers and teaching assistants for his class had read it

they have 2 teachers who work 2 hlf days so hoping they will both be taking the time to understand him

induction days were for few hours each time and he seemed to get on well they also did a home visit and asked more about him and his needs so with any luck with all the info they gained before he started they should know and have more idea on how to deal with him also with the statement being prepared early for his start would have helped i hope

i wont be afraid to speak out and im really glad you have found a good school for your ds and getting help and advise

Great that you already have the statement. We removed ds from two seperate nurseries because they made it quite clear that they had no interest in dealing with him or helping us pursue a statement. At that time we had no diagnosis either so we were completely floundering around in the dark, with our "naughty, disruptive, doesn't listen" child. It was very scary. In the end we applied to the school he is in now as they have a SALT unit within the school and although I didn't think he would be in that unit I sort of thought they might have a better idea of what his difficulties were and the channels to go through. I was right because they have been great.

We now have a statement and loads of help in place for him.

My fingers are crossed for you and your ds, as long as everyone has an understanding of him and his needs there it will work out. There will probably be loads of trial and error but one thing I will say is don't be scared to ask for what you think he needs, if you don't ask you won't get. If it is the right place for him they will want to help him be happy there and will do whatever they can to make that happen.

so far the team around the child meetings whilst ds was at pre school the school senco attended and seemed to be every helpful and understanding to bubbla boys needs it will be clearer obviously once he has started school

the statement is in place and hopefully they have all in place for him for when he starts as he starts week after others so would have chance to have it all ready for him fingers crossed

phoenix he seems excited his uniform is hanging up and kept saying im going big school tomorrow are my friends waiting as i told him some of his friends have started i hope this term at school they will be friends

we ave play dates outside of school with 3 of the boys on several occassions so hopefully we can do this and he may become more comfortable with them

Oh Good Luck! The first couple of days are tough (try Terms for us) but it WILL get better, although there are always ups and downs. It is like everything else with this ASD malarky, it seems so awful and hard at the beginning and then you just deal with it and it becomes ok.

I hope like anything that you get have a decent SENCO, it makes all the difference. I know that we are so very lucky with ds's school, with the allowances they make for him and the efforts they go to. I hope yours will be like that too.

Hope all goes well Bubblagirl is ds excited about going?

on sunfleurs thats great bought tear to my eye reading that

our big day is tomorrow so feeling slightly anxious but not too bad he seems excited about going so i'll go with that and keep fingers crossed all will be well

im so happy they have taken the time to make things comfortable for him that brings me great comfort to know there are some good people who actually do what they should

Well after having horrible panic attacks for the last three weeks at the thought of ds, 6, ASD going back to school we have had a fabulous couple of days. They have set up a corner of the classroom for him, his own private area he can retreat to when things get tough complete with ear defenders hanging on a peg for him to put on when his sensory issues begin to bug him. They have put systems in place to deal with his meltdowns eg when he seems to be losing it they have a large ball for him to jump around on and a weighted blanket to help calm him down.

He has a new one to one who seems to get him as well. I know it is early days but I feel so happy I could cry, in fact I am crying writing about this but happy iyswim.

I hope it is going well for everyone else as well.

we must all put on pics of our kiddies in there uniform see how utterly gorgeous and grown up they look

oh yes i remember now what a pain though its good your ds doesn't mind the travelling

well i hope school goes ok and you dont mind having to go in its just a shame they couldn't be more prepared for him though

i think i wont cry when he starts school as ds is good at picking up my anxiety maybe i'll have little sob on way home lol

glad all went well tiredmummyoftwo

Bubblagirl , Going to Dorset collect ds afos since the nhs is so slow had to go private.Wort have to go back for another 3minths or so though hopefully will be able go to their clinic they hold in London.Thankfully ds loves trains and is reall6 good and people been very helpfull.

Glad dp coming in with you bubblagirl.There will be more mums crying than dc im sure

im glad your ds done well tiredmummy im glad they are doping what they have been told for him hoping school will do for ds as well as not good with group instruction either just off shopping no food from being away be back soon

Hello, DS did very well on his first day today. He cried for few minutes when I left, otherwise settled in well. His teacher made him sit at the front and talked to him directly as we requested (he still can't follow group instructions). Although all the other parents stayed inside the class for first two hours, I decided not as I know he will be expecting me there if I stay. So so far so good.

Bubbla, glad that you had a good holiday and bubblaboy doing so well. Sorry Phoenix, it sounds terrible that the school has not been able to put any extra help in place after knowing for months that he was joining.

yes dp will be coming in with us i made him take the day off lol didnt want him to miss it

i forget phoenix why do you have to do the dorset trips that long journeys isnt it how long will that go on for

will text you .and will have phone ready on thursday.is dh having morning of to?

yep i will be going in with him and staying till at least when salt come sin at end of month , then take it from there.Mind ds is going be of for almost a week , due to having take him to Dorset by train 5 hrs or so .so be doing over 3 days and then he has appoinmen ton one of the other days

hi phoenix im booking for 2 weeks next yr the location was perfect close to town opposite south pier and was met by views of the sea first thing in the morning from the window

bubbla boy doesn't really realise i think one minute he wants to go big school next minute he doesn't i think its more he'll go and how he'll handle the change im hoping he will but he is always so different in the school setting surrounded by lots of children

he has come along alot in holidays with speech sounds although needs to be reminded to use them and socially a little bit more social but ive been warned he'll probably take few steps back with such a huge change as school coming into things so i just keep my fingers crossed the support is enough when he goes

i know of 2 behaviourally challenged children in his class and worry that they will create and get the attention meant for him with the group TA wont panic myself too much

if you saved my mob number i did CAT it to you feel free to text any time you want to

thanks for the wine will need it

Hi all

I'm sorry they weren't up to speed on the Makaton and pecs. Are you able to go in and be with him for the first few weeks? Not ideal though is it, them getting used to you being there. How is he when he comes out at the end of the day?

glad you had a good break next time will join you , just with #dorset clinic ran out of funds

I Has the wine ready for you lots of.How is bubblboy feeling?

hi all im back form holiday nervous for bubbla boys school start thur

phoenix sorry to hear it's not all gone well for you you would have thought they would have had someone properly trained they never cease to surprise you do they lets hope they get it sorted out soon

holiday went well he coped well only had one bad day but we got through it and he cried as he didnt want to come home but now all unpacked and back to reality

hope every one has a relaxing weekend

lots of , sadly we hit problem already , ds cant comminicate as they are not up to his level of makton, no pecs nothing ,I went in first day and they kept having to ask me what he wanted, was saying etc.Then they did story with actions they opbviously not thought through as the action was saying something else to ds .One point they was talking about dancing but ds was seeing sign for helicopters.

Till salt gets in end of month only way its going to work be me going in every day and staying with him

Glad the first day has been ticked off the calendar Mad and good luck to everyone for tomorrow and Friday. What wine are you getting in Phoenix? Mine's a Shiraz. Matthew's first day at the main stream nursery isn't for a couple of weeks. Feeling okay about it most of the time x

so yesterday went well and dd2 had a lovely day

today, though, they have a military band coming in to do a concert... i'm guessing it may be step too far for noise-phobic dd2, but i'm keeping my fingers crossed.

she didn't fall down the steps () and this morning the same TA as yesterday appeared to help her in with her things, so hopefully they are all getting used to each other.

the mum of the girl she has been given a desk next to her stopped me and asked a few questions last night (her daughter had asked her), so hopefully word will go round fairly quickly and people will be happy to treat her like any of the other kids, and ask me stuff if they want to. i just never know whether to go all 'this is x and she has y' or to leave it until they ask...

ah well, so far so good!

good luck for next week ladies!

yeah thats same problem in juniors here its level acces one way only mindhave 3 years to work on them chaging that before Ds goes.hope today went well madwomanintheatic

I am bundleof nervers really am someone get wine ready nd mean crates of by Thursday

Nope ist a everything goes especially those in first few years of school

Hi

I thought this was a school starter thread too.

I've been posting about DS who is going through the ASD assessment process at the moment. He has possible AS but certainly has social communication difficulties of some sort.

School have just started to accomodate it. He is 6 and changed school in the middle of the last academic year. He manages well academically so his other issues can get overlooked. But they are largely routine/sensory based and I dread changes of routine, coats, shoes, and I really hate PE!

School have said they will talk to the ed psych this year but that he may just need support at particular times like start/end of year.

He likes school but I know he's going to be so distressed going back and I hate the thought of the first day with new teachers with me trying to encourage him to go into class and other parents staring at me

I know he'll be ok once he's in to the swing of things

hello! haven't been on this thread as thought it was just for newbies, but realised i could pop in!

dd2 started her new school today in grade 1 (she did yr r last year at a fabulous school and had full time 1-1). she has athetoid cp, but is (mostly) a walker and talker.

we just moved (o'seas) and they couldn't set up her support until we arrived, but the school assure me that everything will be fine and they can manage until she is assessed here and funding is through for her support.

so, i am slightly terriferied. she has already been subject to 'i can't understand what she says, why does she speak like that?' from another girl who will be in her class <sigh> which i think we got past. (although i was less than convinced by the 'oh! i understood that! she said...' two minutes later.... <ok, so talk to her then lol, not me....> and when we got to school i found a huge set of steps at the elementary entrance (it's a level access school lol... but obviously through the main entrance...)

panic panic, flap. flap. three and a half hours until pick up...

someone tell me it will be ok?

yeah the kids seem to cope bette rthan us .Yep think its the shock thing i am only just getting grip on it and i known longe rthn it took me to convince the 8proffesionals

ok, i am feeling sick with nerves and worry on how ds is going to cope on Thursday heaven knows what I am going to be like by day .Think is worry his Lsa is pretty new and has bever worked with a child that has Ld and major language issues .

Schools having makton training tomorrow ready and if can get sitter and persuead head to let me would like to attend so least i know if they are missing anything.but she has no pecs traing nothing and been old by another that she will need her confidence building to help ds .guess whos job that going to be

Hi Phoenix

yes, it is right at the top of my street and the one we are at now is a 10 minute drive so it would be handier for him to be there. Yes people will think he is starting much younger because he walks like a 1 year old and is not much bigger than a 1 year old too. I think you're right, after the first few days of funny looks he will just blend in. It's just that I've been thrown into the special needs thing without warning (haven't we all!) and am still trying to get used to the attention you get when out and about.

thank you for the warm walcome

oh and should said first sory
hello and welcome jump in anytime

is it local to you Ds was like this looked like baby into nursery , he now going to look like a toddler loose in school but found people soon got used to it and kids not even noticed.Ds struggles to walk , no seech andhas GDd but i can remeber how nervours I was when he went

Have you seen senco and will ds be getting any help

Sorry to jump in so late. DS, just 3, is starting mainstream nursery in 3 weeks. He has 2 issues. Firstly his walking is poor. He had a neurological illness last year and he didn't walk for months and although he can walk again now, progress is very slow. He's by no means as sturdy or as speedy as his peer group and gets very upset when other children bump into him. Secondly he's just off the charts for size and is clearly much smaller than most of the children he will be with. We are about to undergo blood tests for a possible gluten intolerance and lack of growth hormone etc. The LEA's Early Years Special Needs lady has done a risk assesment at on his behalf and feels they are very able to provide the environment he needs. He has been at a private nursery since October last year run by a lady with extensive experience with children with additional needs so I feel almost guilty moving him from the cosy position he is in now but feel if we don't make the jump now when do we? I have got very close to calling the mainstream nursery off and keeping him where he is. I want to stay with him for the first few days! I would probably feel like this anyway as he is my youngest. How do I deal with the constant barage of 'he's so small' from the other parents. It won't be as bad as I worry, will it?

enjoy yourholiday bubblagirl you earnt it , sorry cant come up but ds is still on grupmy side and want him well rested got take to dorset tuesday and school Thursday

Going need that crate bottles of wine

thank you

Have a good holiday.

i'm going on holiday on sat will be back on the 5th ds starts school the 10th but i know a lot start next week so want to wish all that do start next week lots of luck i wont have internet access so cant check in until i get home so huge hugs to the ones starting and huge glass of wine for the mums i'll be thinking of you all and will check in when i get back xx

your more than welcome to join my ds is 4.3 and starts ms school sept he has HFA and im so nervous about him starting he wont have any one to one so im hoping they will support him fully still

hope you feel better soon stress is terrible you can offload here {{{{big hugs}}}}

Oh can I join please? Ds has HFA, aged 6, is in mainstream and just going into Year 2. He has a statement for one to one and other support and the school make lots of allowances but I generally get called in to offer support at least twice a week, often more if a bad week. I have offered this and am happy to do it but I can't tell you the daily stress of waiting for the phone to ring.

I thought I would really enjoy the school holidays and I have enjoyed having ds at home but I have had horrible panic attacks throughout. My doctor thinks that it is a reaction to the constant stress I feel under when ds is at school, I am relaxed because of school holidays so my body is trying to off load the stress now, great!

Would be great to have a place to discuss the daily trials of having a HFA child in mainstream.

my ds was the same though spoke loads at home but in social wouldnt speak if it helps we have just been a play date with little boy ds hasnt seen since pre school broke up they wont be going to same school either and they played great he was talking when being spoken to i had to remind him to speak up but he did really well

this little boy also had a sister and she had a friend round they all sat at the table to eat together so it goes to show they can and will do it when there ready

i used to play games with ds as it wasnt he couldnt do it he just didnt know what to do sometimes in large social setting so we would play role play games of hello my name is x can i play with you

and also the greetings of what do we say when we meet someone "hello" now he happily says hello back when people say hello to him on bad days he'll turn his head away but because his sleeping there is not so many bad days

i like the talks very little ds on report says he whispers and can be very hard to hear at times lol so i just remind him to talk so people can hear and again when out i say speak up they cant hear you and he will

Thanks BBgirl, you're always so encouraging. I was a bit depressed yesterday - reading bad things in reports, even if you know and even if there are also good things in the same report, is always a bit yuk.

he will do it eventually talking around people your comfortable with is different to talking in large group ds took a yr to talk in nursery and even then it was with help its not comfortable you have to remember socially is where they are more affected with the right help they will start to respond but took ds a lot of one to one and help to talk more its more voices more commands and more to take in than the easy social setting of home its more confusing for them its good start to talk more at home so thats fab the rest will come in time

Small hijack for which I apologize but didn't want to start new thread - finally got the Ed Psych report on DS (3.4) at f/t m/s nursery. Skills apparently above his age, good. Happier around other kids than he was a few months ago, improving with turn-taking, good. But he still talks very little, and mostly communicates non-verbally.
At home he is quite talkative. Only this last week he finally started longer sentences, like 'I want a chocolate biscuit', and he is also saying 'DS is happy' and 'DS cries' (to mean he's sad) appropriately, without coaching on my part.
Why doesn't he talk more in nursery?? He likes his key worker, and knows the names of all the other kids. We're applying for a statement and all, but what could I do in the meanwhile, to get him to talk more to people other than us? Or am I just being too impatient, and he will do it eventually?

yes haircuts here took 6 months ofjust visting the barbers and a very patiant and nderstanding barber means s will now tolerate a quick trim but no clippers scisssors only.

We are just abut all ready for school now othe rthan trousers which due to ds being titch have given up on now.And still waiting to get ds some new boots but going hold fire till he has got his afos then order over spint boots so be no gym for ds anyway as he could not walk in pe pumps anway

we dropped it into the conversation now and again shells, then it was as if it was auto suggestion, we'd mention it and he would say he was going to get his hair cut (maybe he just got sick of the length of time it took me to cut his hair, easily two hours over a week, and the mess I made lol).

Oh I'm jealous of the haircutting. We've had years of terrible haircuts too. Maybe it will get better...

lol his well away now fantastic at least no lumps in throat he looks happy which in turn will make you relaxed and happy lol

ah well the dvd player went down well this morning.....he didnt even wave!

tiredm, we were the same with hair cuts, I was giving my ds slightly quirky hair cuts for two years, then he just turned some kind of psychological corner, dh took him to the hair dresser and ds was fine... amazing.

bubbla, I understand the nerves, ds is on his 2nd day in P1, he went in no bother today, such a relief, I think he is happier than he was in nursery atm - full days from the 31st, so `I am not getting too excited until we see how he copes with that. I still struggled to sleep last night, just the emotion of it all.

glittery that is great! my ds would struggle to leave a car with a dvd player!

DS starts on the 6th, we just ordered the uniform, it's all happening. I don't know why but I feel alright this time round although both DH and I had weeks of sleepless night when he started nursery. He settled so well at the nursery (only cried couple of days), I feel more confident this time. We also achieved another milestone re haircutting. DH yesterday told DS that he was going to give him a haircut and he was to sit still on the chair whilst that take place. So DS did, not a single attempt to stop it, only towards the end when hairs fell on his face and he said all finished. We had four years of messy hair cuts as it was done always in his sleep.

lol life of luxury chauffeur driven with movie lol school will become a great thing then lol im glad his happy with going seems so strange to hear so many have started already next will be little phoenix then bubblaboy i think were last to go i'm going to be so nervous well kind of

lol sound slike hes getting them well trained

ds was all happy this morning, didnt cry and when he came home said he had a good day! tomorrow the taxi driver is bringing his sons dvd player and Disney Cars dvd for ds to watch in the taxi....they'll never get him out!

hows today gone ?

we're totally in at the deep end with full days straight away but at least he knows what he's in for

its great that your ds has his sister there to keep an eye on him, she'll let you know if theres any trouble

aww glittery that is what I expect my ds will say - maybe I won't say anything about tomorrow?!

8.55 -12.15 until August 31st, then until 2.45p.m from then. I cannot believe how anxious I feel about it all, break time that worries me, even though I know he will be looked after and my dd is so excited about him being at school, she is doing this whole dramatic mother hen act around him just now - thankfully he doesn't take too much notice of her and he will love seeing her at play time.

that was helpful eh?
is it just a few days at 2 hours then mornings till september weekend?

when ds came home yesterday i asked him if he'd had a good day and he said yes, asked him if he was going back today and he said no!

Well my ds is at school, he seemed happy, wanted me to go in, but I didn't say I wasn't. I went in the door with him, his new 1 to 1 support introduced herself, she was in my dd's class last year, so dd knows her and she seems nice.

I feel like a rabbit in the headlights, not sure what to do with myself, 2hrs until I pick him up.

I said hello to a mum in the playground and then a woman started warning me about another child who is starting today, strange! Like I am not nervous enough without hearing someone rambling about a 5 yr old being a trouble maker, who swears constantly - supposedly!

The school did a social story for DS. It was very nicely done.
Here is my new school.
Here is my teacher.
This is where we sit on the mat.
This is where we have our lunch.

Etc. With lots of photos. It was a good idea. DS hated it and would just toss it on the ground. Oh well.

I think actually he might like it better now if it had pictures of him in it.

aww Glitter, hope he had a good day.

Shells, I have been gently reminding ds he starts school, we have a letter with a photo of his teacher, he has been slightly resistant, but has finally come round, though he doesn't really comprehend it all. We had to pick up school uniform today, and he saw his nursery 1 to 1 and his nursery teacher, he really loved his 1 to 1, she was with him for nearly two years but she won't be his 1 to 1 now. He was okay with them, I have tried not to mention them much, just focus on him getting a new teacher and being in school, in primary 1... deep breaths.

oh well done to glitterboy its his first day so bound to feel anxious by the end of the day he'll be loving it just us parents that will take longer lol

Im sure he will get used to it, just wanted to mae sure you missed him and felt guilty lol bet hes havng a ball really

well thats him away!
i followed the taxi in as i had some forms to fill in so i went in with him, he seemed fine but he cried when i said that the escort would be there to pick him up at 3 and i would be waiting for him at home.
felt rubbish as it was always me that picked him up from nursery but i suppose he has to get used to it eh?
the ladies were all making a fuss of him and i saw him as i was leaving getting wheeled about by the head teacher and the TA, showing him round all the different rooms and he seemed quite happy

yes i know what you mean just being able to spot when and how he needs something done at that point

we had home visit from school before the holidays and they took some notes and i explained he'll do this and this when he cant do this blah blah and they noted it all down so hopefully they can spot the signs im sure they'll do just fine like anybody it takes time to get to know someone and its all done by learning about them

so you will be there and your the best teacher the little things they'll pick up along the way

yes have done one but think its more the way he hadnles te makton and learning to read his gestures and body laungage knowing when hes reache dpoint where he needs to sit before he starts falling over all the little things i learnt in last 4 years

good luck glitterboy and to your ds brokenspacebar very nerve wrecking but im sure they will do just fine big high fives to them i know they will do great

phoenix im sure your ds will be just fine you will be ther eto start with to get right support its just a shame the support isnt already there from the get go for his needs but im sure it wont take long to get used to his way of things you dont the personal passport didnt you?

good Luck Glittery just think be able go back to bed

Glad its going well shells

Poor ds has no idear me thinks have talked about it and got pictures to show him, but he has not even met his 1-1 yet so will be having to stay with him while she learns his quirks and his own form of makton shes never worked as ata for a child with learning diffculties was ta for a child in wheelchair last yea rbut Ds is so full on

Ooooo good luck you two and for your DSs. Its so nerve racking isn't it. How are they both feeling about it?

I hope it goes well glitteryb6!

My ds starts on Tuesday, I am feeling pretty nervous about it.

ds starts school tomorrow eek!

we are in Scotland so its straight into P1 and as its a SN school its full days straight away.

my hall is full of bags... school bag, gym bag, swimming bag, bag full of syringes for tube feeds, bag of nappies, bag of various medications.

his uniform is all laid out and he's just off to sleep, will post tomorrow how he gets on!

yes that right shells wow 4 weeks already that gone quick but glad to hear his ok so far thats very reassuring and wonderful for you and him that his settled so well

I'm going to be thinking of you all.

DS is 4 weeks in now and going ok. We've got our first IEP meeting this week (is that what you call them? - individual education plan) so I'll be interested to see what they say.

oh dont ds does 2 days 9-12 and the straight in full time i really hope he will be ok oh as your ds starts before mine i'll still be on holiday i really hope all goes well be sure to let me know i'll try and get on line when away or if i give you my mob number then you can text me let me know how he gets on bless him

yeah they go back on the 3rd here ds goes in for 2 hrs then there of on the 4th and on the monday they do week of 9-12 nextweek 9-1 then thats it they are in am so nervours

lol sounds lovely thoguh well needed to get it done as when we come back off hols on 5th it will be too much of a rush and i have my spa day 9th and then ds goes school 10th i wanted to go away without thinking of the what needs to be done lol

lol yur so better than me I got 3 lots of uniform to label and not started .Been on beach all day dont know about knackering dc out am almost ready for bed mysef

well ive been really good and sat and labelled all school stuff last night its beginning to feel too real now

i'm going to look into few days away to somewhere maybe clacton could be good or Yarmouth its just so costly even for few days so im confused lol really want to take him to beach and not Southend lol

nope lol going me mini rebel and go in jeans.least should save the knees some

what about frinton,Walton Clacton way not to far on the train not exactly costa de sol but walton/frinton have nice beache

Sorry to hear feeling down

oh bless him guess no other trousers for school come smaller than that do they

im gutted about the holiday but to be honest we have rough time at home at moment so maybe best we didnt go away although could do us good who knows its not going to happen anyway so maybe i'll just take ds away fro long weekend somewhere near a beach on train so cant be too far he wont cope otherwise

just feel quite down at moment at least what with everything else going on ds is being fab for me and were so much closer just wish i felt happier maybe going a way on my own is what i need with ds

sorry about the holiday and coure now thei going school going to be harder.

have some school trousers in 2-3 but they are very generous full down round his ankles and turn up sof about 4 inches lol he is such a titch

ooh its going too fast isnt it in all ds has coped so well it was only the illnesses at beginning of holidays that set him back but always does his doing ok

he was all excited when he put on his uniform so at least that was a good sign what age trousers do you need?

glad all went well at chessington for all of you we were supposed to be going to Plymouth to stay on bubblaboys nanny boat but would appear dp cannot get time off work so im gutted really wanted to have a holiday before ds goes back to school and he wants to go the beach so its upsetting me at moment

chessington was great busy but we got exit passes or ds would not coped.But the staff went out their way was very impressed.

ds ha shis uniform no school trousers they are just to big he so diddy.And were going to go get his afos very soon and then got buy piedro boots thenhe be done but its scary howquick its coming around

oh fantastic it sounds promising for him then doesnt it that is good news

Hello all, just to update on our school situation, DS has been accepted. We went for a meeting with the head of student support yesterday and she was very understanding. DS will have his therapist going to school with him for the first month to settle him and train the classroom assistant on ABA and after that if it looks necessary they will employ somebody full time for DS. They also suggested carrying on with his therapy at school giving him a break etc. I will come back to this, DS wants my attention.

just tried ds school uniform on oh my goodness he looked so grown up bless him making me more nervous now but he did look so sweet

oh bless him phoenix well i am glad he has been good for you ds has had bad cold he always takes step back although his speech seems to have improved and today could have been turning point for wanting to go out bless him

hope you have good time at chessington that should be good day out,
the diary idea was fab as i would get day to day happenings so im asking school to continue with this as if he has bad night etc i can write this in the diary allowing them to understand his sensory issues for the day

Ds has been pretty good ,Were of to chessington next week with a local sn groups.

He has got his wheelchair as he was fed up being called a baby an all of a sudden he looks so grown up dont think be able to get him in for under 3 now

im going to push the idea of home/school book as ds wont be able to tell me what hes been doing

hope everyone is handling the holidays well and all children behaving lol took ds to soft play centre today and he really enjoyed it so that was good he hasn't been wanting to leave the house its been hard work

could you set up a diary that can be passed back and forth daily thats what me and pre school done and apparently me and school will do the same

Ah thanks. They are lovely. Some of the time....

I feel for you with the holidays stretching out. I always find its my worst time for envy of other families as they troop off to group activities and days out and things that just wouldn't work for us.
So I'll keep my fingers crossed for decent weather for you all so you can at least be outside happily.

Day 2 went ok I think but didn't get much feedback today. I think this is going to be my big frustration - that they don't have time to talk to me enough. Maybe I should suggest fortnightly catch ups or something.

Bubbla - sounds like you've done loads of prep. Well done.

shells just peeked at your profile ds's are gorgeous

shells im so glad your ds enjoyed his first day bless him my ds would be the same with no children and teachers lol

the passport worked im glad we done ours for pre school and have passed it on to school who all read it before his inductions so have better idea of how to handle him also had home visit from school teacher so a personal approach which was nice to say about any other worries or his needs i feel it just helps as it comes from child's words of how they feel and what they need

my ds last day at pre school was last week an all set for 7 weeks of not really knowing what to do lol so far so good though he seems to be coping well weathers a bit touch and go so hard to arrange what to doa t moment but were finding enough to do in doors with walks into town in the mornings for exercise

well i hope your ds continues to enjoy school

wow

Im glad ds enjoyed it, yes we finshed for the holidays last week

Ds has only had one visit to the school though he knows the outside of it as dd is there.

Going to copy the idear of the passport to they have a form uin the book all about your child but this will be easier to personliase

Hi all,
Well DS started school 'properly' yesterday after about 20 short visits! I arrived to pick him up and he was wearing a totally diff outfit so he'd had the inevitable accident. But the staff seemed cool with it. And he was quite excited about everything.

So, for now, I feel quite relieved. I fear there will be lots of battles ahead, but getting that first day out of the way was my first aim.

By the way Bubbla - the teacher LOVED my passport thingy I made and is showing it to all the staff. So big thank you for your suggestions.

One thing - at the teachers suggestion we went to the school in the holidays (we're in NZ so diff holidays) to play in the playground and look at the rooms (its not locked up here) and it went horribly wrong as DS very cross that the teachers and kids weren't there and got all confused. So that wasn't a good preparation exercise at all.

No doubt you're all knocking off for the summer soon. Hope you have good breaks.

oh great thank you , yep ds is very skinny to especially as looks like he might be out of nappys by then

I found a great small independent shop called ellesmere embroidery in lancashire give them a call they may post to you. Can't do link thingy 0161 7991099.
My DS wears size 20 as his waist is very thin they drop down to his hips and the length is then right.
You may be better with size 22, they will give you measurements over the phone anyway.
Let me know if they don't post, I'll be happy to

hmm what about debenhams mind I have same problem trying find ds school trousers we need a 2 year olds have triedmarks etc and3 means turnups of 4,5 inches or so and crotch by his knees lol my mini teen

Thanks Bubblagirl, I already bought the M&S Jumpers, they are still too big but I will try to shrink them in the wash. Sainsbury are all out of uniform but will keep trying.

i see m&s do 3-4 what about sainsbury jumper and washing on hot wash might shrink up slightly the joggers lose a size when washed

Hello, I hope somebody can help, I am looking for V Neck Royal Blue Jumpers in size 20"/2 year old for my 4 year old DS.

He will start school in Sept and his uniform is huge on him because he is small for his age.

I am desperate and have googled for hours without success. All Ideas and help will be really appreciated, many thanks.

oh dear i hope he is ok that must have been very worrying

old macdonalds farm sounds good

no didnot get note ds had swine flu spent 10 days in hospital

defintpey have meet up will be up some point to old macdonalds farm dc love it

yes the snschool admitted they was not sure about ds hes very much square peg round hole

oh well done for getting full help sorry sn school didnt go to plan i'll keep fingers crossed that they'll do all to help im sure they will

bubblaboy got 23 hrs but school say that they have enough assistance at lunch and break anyway so many per small group of children so feel bit happier about that

i'll get the crates bottle in and we'll have a toast to the unknown and the new beginning for them

let me know if over holidays at all you want to meet finally did mail you the other day not sure if you got never heard back

know that feeling ds last day at school tomorrow hes goes to big school in September

hes going into ms after all but with f/t statemet luckily manged to get them to agree lunch and break cover but am so nervous will need large drinks drink to cope with it

i'm feeling sad to say goodbye to all the wonderful staff at pre school tomorrow ds actually joined in with party today doing superman dance very close to me still but did go stand with the other children and or once didnt have hands clamped to his ears he was jumping about with the others was great to see

i just feel so sad to be saying goodbye to wonderful people that without there efforts and kindness ds would not be where he is today all his improvements are no doubt down to all there efforts daily cant thank them enough for everything

so holidays and then big school

well im thinking that maybe 23 hrs is good, its definitely as good as we'll get as ds improvements have been huge and if we wanted we could start on half days full 1-1 if he doesn't cope so im feeling that maybe its the right choice

they have now added access to SALT they say they accurately wrote his needs but then added few extra bits so obviously they hadn't school sound good to deal with his needs so i think im accepting this one to go any higher with hours his behaviour would need to be worse and needs etc so i think 23 is good

he has no behavioural problems so i can see why we wouldn't fit the next band so i think finally my process is done just hope now that ds will cope and school seem to be fab so i dont see they will let him struggle anyway

well nearly end of the pre school yr anyone else feel sad to say goodbye to them i definitely do they have done so much for my ds

well my ds statement has just came back they havent changed the hours still 23 hrs but have added access to speech therapist and have added few simple things i dont think we will get more than this as ds has come along a lot also had teacher and TA come to my home on home visit yesterday and reassured me there are enough staff to help at lunch and unstructured times without it being in statement so i feel more reassured also staff will do work on speech daily so i think i'll just accept it this time at least its 3 hrs more leaves about 1 half hours unstructured but it wont be as enough TA in class and at play so instead of fighting for something we wont get may as well accept i think school and he will cope as they seem to be on the ball with there own help

just pray i make the right choice by this

hi fs not saying your name lol my ds has also got HFA is starting to read and write and do addition and subtraction he has atypical speech sounds

im worried also about starting school but seem to see reception is based around play as well although i think the learning side would be what my ds needs as play has no structure for him he needs structure

i hope your ds gets on ok and has good TA also welcome to our thread

Hello,

My son with HFA is nearly 6 and will be starting "big" school in September. We live in France so he has already done 3 years of preschool. He has a high IQ and can read, write and do additions and subtractions, but has a significant language delay (expressive and receptive) not helped by living in a bilingual environment.

I am somewhat concerned about how it's all going to go because preschool is a lot about painting, singing and telling stories and apparently it gets a lot more serious and a lot less like play this year.

He had an "AVS" this year (a sort of personal in-class assistant!) 12 hours a week and will be getting a new one next year. I just hope that the new one will be as good as Christophe was this year because they are low paid jobs often given to people who have been out of work for a long time, so often they have no training at all with SN kids.

Anyway, just wanted to say hi and ask if I can join in?

nothing back from LEA as yet should be any time though

fingers crossed all accepted at the school for you im sure once routine of school has set in we can give them time alone if needed when home to just relax

Great news, at least bubbla boy is sorted till October. Have you heard anything back from the LEA yet re statement?

We have some good news too, DS probably has been accepted at the new school as they have sent an e-mail to say received application and will send invoice shortly. Hope this means acceptance. I am worried like you bubbla girl, don't know how DS going to cope with 8-2.30 school days and then from 3-6 therapy. I am worried that he will have no time for himself.

oh no good luck for tues you did say you were worried as you knew non verbal child had or was starting i'll keep all crossed for you

i can only hope if bubbla boy doesnt cope full time they wills tick to funding 1-1 until october term hoping its not just very good talk

pleased your going t get the etxra help for bubblaboy inSeptember,We wa turned down for sn sxhool due to the ms school haing to put things in place ready for another non verbal cild child starting in September.But panel have ageed to relook at it on Tuesday

well just wanted to check in and make sure everyone is ok

bubbla boys face is nearly healed just scabby at moment

still improving at pre school anyone else worried about the huge break before school though

my specialist pre school teacher is speaking to school for me about how we go about SALT does it need to be statemented etc and also school have offered extra funding so complete 1-1 for bubbla boy until oct half term to help settle into school
im worried though as wondering if he'd be best to go straight into the routine as everyone else but she's going to ask if we can try full time and if doesn't work will they still fund and switch to part time

outch poor Bubblaboy.

and yes if comes to it ms would be Setember yearly intake bhut school would have get training in place let alone interview appoint suitable lsa

well induction went well although first thing he was bale to get out of class room as ta wasnt watching him i hid in office until she was bale to coax him back in
went to pick him up they said he was really good and told them all numbers and letters but his face on one side was really grazed as he was running and flew straight over toy tractor landing on his face so that was bit of a shock to see nice bump on head and grazes above and under his eye and also his nose poor thing but luckily they were able to deal with him and he was ok

they have no idea do they of course you need to know ASAP if he doesn't get place in sn school of course ms school would need place for sept wouldn't they or would he start ms school later too?

{sits here ordering crate bottle of vino}

well now we get our fighting heads on and keep on until they have to get there asses into gear i just pray i wont have too many more re writes before its acceptable

I bet ,Lea said to me well ifhes not going September no rush im like no I want to know if hes goingto get a place early or If need take you to tribunal or worse case sceniro and end up with ms they going need know get things in place for ds

oh they are taking there bloody time aren't they must be very frustrating i know waiting for this re write is

im pleased its gone well.WEre still waiting hear from Lea caseoffer now on long term sick leave and no idea whos going take over .And head of lea who has meeting with has been away last 2 weeks and forgot to submit paperwork for panel this week so now got to wait till next week

well we have another induction tomorrow the last one before the big start in sept

w have had progress to he can now put teeth on lip to do f sound has taken 2 years but still adds a g so fgish fgar oh well im chuffed he can go f now

he has also started getting rid of the 3rd person not all the time but some times so he will say bubbla boy then i want so ive been helping with this and also he with help asked a little boy to play with him and played for good amount of time with him

so i hope the holidays dont ruin all progress made and he will continue to improve such small steps but im still so proud

and my goodness his maths head is coming on he keeps waking me up telling me what 6+6=12 and 3+3 his really progressing with maths

lets hope it doesn't disrupt his nights too much though as the melatonin doesn't seem to settle him back off again 3 hrs i had to listen to him the other night yapping on about numbers lol

hope everyone else is ok and little darlings are ok?

hi Cazcountry where abouts are you ,29.5 hrs sounds good

hi ben is 5 in october, he has epilepsy, and global development, and for tha he got 29.5 hours a week statement.. i so wish i could meet up with all you mums, it is so hard.. everyday is a new challenge..

hi caz you most certainly are not alone can i ask what your ds diagnosis is im struggling to get hours for ds statement im on battle with them at the moment my ds has ASD and atypical speech sounds

welcome to mumsnet

Hi Cazcountry. Its hard isn't it. My son has started doing school visits and I hate watching the others doing their letters and answering questions excitedly, while he sits in the corner and fiddles with lego... Awful.

hi i just joined today..
so nice to read about other mums like myself.. son sttartin school september, statemented for 29.5 hours a week.
its so hard all my friends kids are so ahead..
never seem to meet other mums that know what im going through..
so hello all..

oh fingers crossed for you x

Bubbla, that's amazing. I am also going to do it if DS gets through the admission process for the new school. We are hopeful, they have accepted application for two other children with autism, so there is always hope.

bubbla - sorry to take so long to reply.

that is FANTASTICALLY helpful. I'm totally on a roll and am going to put one together today.

may come back with more questions.

peachy - good luck with review.

just peeked at your pics your dc are adorable x

well good luck with that we have to remind ourselves to really fight for what we believe dont we its hard at times but i guess its what we need to do so dont let them fob you off

Don't feel silly LOL!

I ahve asked a few times but never happened: after my thread last night I ahve relaised that its coz I didnt push hard enough, we're halfway to a review anyway so I will amke sure it is tkaen on board as an issue next time.

oh right x post with you there

well i hope the school can offer some more support if possible then

i know you have probably tried everything felt silly writing that but i did see somewhere about if child's needs have changed and statement needs changing etc there was an address you can write to

There's no precedent of lunchtime help in our OCunty; we could challenge that but there's a chance he would be palced in an EBD unit which would be A Bad Thing.

oh bless him yes i think i remember your post now about ds i hope he is recovering well and monitoring he should have 1-1 is there a way you can fight for this help? especially on aggression basis and eating disorder i would have thought you'd have a good case

He can fetch lunch / be seated and Head mionuitors his eating he ahs eating disorders, but is doing OK atm and gained a few pounds last motnh- to put it in context his weight was just above 3st at 9 not long ago).

Head shouldnt ahve to though, but its his aggression in the playground thats bad: at playtime there ias timeout hel available, but nothing at lunch.

peachy you have your hands full my ds is HFA and im trying to get him lunch time help when he starts school do the school help him get lunch? im wandering if the school would at least help him get his lunch and seat him

yes ds cannot but i wrote it on his behalf yes any other need can be added but ds doesnt have dietry so hadn't mentioned that but any other need your child has medication, diet,mobility,anything you feel relevant for them to know

i wrote it all on ds behalf on how i manage him and what works best what i see upsets him etc

i also had all headings on separate piece of a4 then laminated it all if ds wrote his name on paper i added this also and a picture he drew

hole punched it all and put some string through or plastic binder so it all looks like a book

Yep, our passport and scrapbook are similar (with extra dietray advice and ideas section), but the book has pictures as ds3 can't describe things or people very well.

just an idea of how to set it out its obviously written in more detail would take me too long lol just how they cope what they dont cope with who and how they can be helped anything your child finds difficult you can use any ideas written above if needed

my personal passport i typed on comp a4 had his photo on front with name and personal passport written on it

then i added pages

about me
my name is bubblaboy im 3 yrs old i have high functioning autism
live with mum and dad
have animals cat, guinea pigs {then added names]
ALSO SAYS HAVE X AMOUNT OF COUSINS AND GRANDPARENTS GREAT GRANDPARENTS

oops sorry not shouting

dislikes
loud noises
having hair cut
people talking to loud
i copy other peoples actions dislike being told off
new surroundings
about how i give choices and prepare him
dislike being left out as i dont know how to play

saying how to gently approach if hands over ears
how to help him interact with others

so i need people to think of my feelings and be patient with me i cant communicate the same as other children as i have autism

likes

numbers, letters, shapes,
computer games
learning things
if i have bad day i like to play games all day mummy says its because my mind is working too fast for me to understand whats going on or what to expect,
i often stick my arms out and push im not being mean i need my space as it feels safer
i like doing silly things and playing with my mum and dad
i like puzzles

toileting
prompt dependent
don't like hand dryers {then how he would react and how to calm him}
needs to be asked as will not communicate his needs

my autism

my autism makes me repeat myself if i like something i say it over and over again
i run off and cry if all becomes to much im ok if left alone and calm quicker too many words confuse me

if im talked to in a tonelss voice i dont understand and think im being told off so i need a calm voice that i understand

i dont sleep well and this affects me i get frustrated and cannot handle being spoken to and noises seem much louder

i need patience as its not me but my autism and it makes me sad when i cant do things i normally can

i need alot of verbal prompts and may not respond when being spoken to im not being rude im just not always aware of things and people around me

i always remember whats said about something and will always repeat when near that something

my autism makes it hard for me some days im ok and others i find the world hard and people think im rude and im not it makes me sad

my autism gives me struggles and people need to understand them to be able to get the best from me patience and kindness is needed

mummy thinks im really calm and good and always knows how to make me feel better with cuddles and kisses and leaves me alone to deal with my thoughts when i need it , i always go to mummy when im ready

i may have struggles but im happy and a jokey boy who loves to be around others i love to learn and love to laugh so most of all my autism makes me

i learn best
when im away from distraction
sensory issues are dealt with {list sensory issues} and how to deal with them

i need to be in front of teacher to understand whats being said

when i have support

when im not too tired if i am i need more help

at home and school i need help with
social interaction,danger awareness, sensory issues,

says how i prepare him with now and next and constantly telling him

toileting
placement in class
loud noises needs help to notice when not coping

(sorry, ds1 10 hours..... it's technically small group support rather than 1-1)

WE also have personalpassports, senco in infants suggested for ds1 on transition but never did it so I did instead.

Did a similar thing for ds3 when he transfered to his SNU but in the form of a scrapbook as he needs more in the way of prompts- they really found it useful.I have three in school; ds1, 9 HFA / AS, 0 hrs 1-1 (needs lnchtime help but doesn't get) in MS; ds2 8 recently picked up dyspraxic being bumped up to SA+ for next term , ds3 in an LRC (same as SNU but different mame LOL) he's almost 6 and got 16 hours last term in MS, on trips we simply wrote 'only with 1-1support' across the consent form in bright red pen, it was easier for them to 1-1 than place him in another class so they did it LOL.

IEP fords1 and ds2 on Wednesday. DS3's first report today- think it will be a good one, teacher describedhim as delightful

Also have ds4 aged 14 months NT atm, will go to same school only if SENCO in infants mmoves one (as it is reputed she will). Applying to a SN education support charity for voluntary work from September (SNAP), do a fair bit of informal stuff- have someone coming over Wednesday to help with application for statement.

Still lots I need for ds1- he'd be better off in an SNU but there isn't for verbal spectrum kids here (ds3's is general but he's less aggressive). But am happy with ds3'saplcement at the moment, and ds1 / ds2 are palced in a great Junior school where we feel they are really on side.

ok, you've inspired me. i'm definitely going to do it.
is it like a little reader/children's book, or is it just on A4? I spose it doesn't matter, I'm just trying to visualise it.

but i was also able to get the consequences of his behaviour how he may react how to deal with that so its more knowledge to them and less distress with them dealing with him all wrong they can also understand what may have triggered behaviour and what to do next it was just peace of mind to know they had this to refer to

to be honest i would give as much info as possible the teacher responded really well and said i read your little book bubbla boy and so have my staff and they understand him more than i could try and explain and sometimes seeing it written down it goes in better than someone trying to get every problem out verbally

why not i found it really beneficial gave it to school all staff read it they were more aware of his needs when he went in for induction

it explains all from his angle so if im frustrated im best left in quiet corner do not keep talking to me just leave me in safe place for 5 mins to calm down

the fact his name needs to be called before he'll respond , doesnt like story time needs support, prompt dependent, will always so no needs to be asked 2-3 times before he really gets whats asked , anything and everything was written in

its a good thing as easy to read by anyone not knowing your child and gives great insight

I really like that idea Bubblagirl. Do the teachers respond well to it? I'm never sure how much info they want from me.

Think I will pinch that idea Bubblagirl for ds

its good his getting extra time id be if they timed him out for not joining in

could you do a personal passport for the school i did one for ds

it has all about him in his words so for eg

i try to join in but struggle without support

i get upset when im told off for not joining in when i find it really hard without support

i dislike getting told off for copying others behaviour when the other person isnt told off and im not being naughty on purpose

i done full personal plan on communication, social skills, toileting needing prompting to go etc,sensitivities but its all written as if child is speaking maybe this would give better insight to your ds

Hi everyone, good to get your updates. We've been doing school visits. Most kids here do 2 visits before starting on full days. DS however, has already done 10 and will probably do another 5 or 6! Its good really as it means the teacher gets the measure of him.

Less good is that I found out yesterday they'd put him in 'time out' for not joining in any activities. I've watched him try and engage (reading/writing/maths etc.) and its just way above his head so of course he's bored and doesn't want to do it.

I've made an appt to see teacher next week as its too hard to talk when I pick him up. I'm hoping she'll start to see that he needs extra support and just popping him at the back of the class is not going to work.

oh no well i'll keep everything crossed for you

nah think im going come a cropped just found out local ms have got a non verbal child starting this year a little girl with down syndrome ,so think this is going to shoot most my reasons for why I want sn school ,speech and laungage unit at another ms school wont take him as hes to sever and they dont take with Ld either

Fingers crossed your hear back soon,just takes so dam long

glad all is well

hope lea get back to you soon fingers crossed hopefully we'll both get what we need and want this time round

you should get the school you chose anyway i will probably have to fight more im staying negative then i wont be so disappointed when it does turn out to be crap lol

yes thank you dd is loads better fngers crossed back in school next week shes a mini dynmo.

Still waiting on hereing from the Lea seems my case worker and the Lea bigwig had meeting with have both gone on annual leave and no one else has a clue lol typical Lea

thanks phoenix it was such a relief i really didnt want to leave him alone but im glad he was ok

are you ok now? is family ok? x

well done Bubblaboy

well bubbla boy had another school induction today fully prepared him that id have to leave the school bought someone in to help him made sure he was aware i wasn't staying

it was only just over an hr today but he did really well didnt want to stop running when had outdoor time and didnt want to go back in but gradually edged nearer the helper and did go back and in and managed to sit and listen to story im so proud of him

im not doing well with the crossing out today i'll try again thought your lack of internet usage was too much alcohol fun

oh goodness sorry to hear that you didnt get away thought lack of internet usage was to much alcohol fun

nothing heard as yet but they are probably doing another re write so will see what they have to offer

well i hope your all on the mend now good to have you back

did not get away dd was poorly she was in hospital came home >THen day before holiday foot swelled up so we had long week staying in hosie no Holiday but company have agreeed to give us week when shes well.

but was a argh no internet missed you lot here keep me sane lol well ok halfway cant expect you lot work mircals

Ug nothing happing here head of Lea is away and so is case worker not herd owt from meeting though ment go panel this week or next over school.

you herd anything back yet?

oops done it wrong lol would have been crate anyway phew that was hard work lol

phoenix where have you been ive missed you whats happened we --would have had crate anyway-- whats happened

did you have good time away its been weird not hearing from you lol

just caught up witheveryone and bubblagirl forget crate glassof wine at this rate were going ned -crate-- glass of something even stronger,

tiredmummy

yep know that no sleep and sorry things so hard on the school front

thank you BB, all these links are really helpful as they don't come up when you do a search here. It's amazing how controlling things are here, they even blocked sites like tesco, I was trying to order some vitamins for relatives to bring for the kids and it was blocked!!!

We are going to a parents evening tomorrow night to a new British schoool which is opening up outside town. We have decided that despite the 40minutes there and 40 minutes back journey if they are willing to hire an assistant for DS, we will go for it. Although they provide school transport, I am not sure he will be ok on his own to do such a long journey. DS's therapist tells us that he should not be sent to a SN school as he will pick up negative behaviour and he does not belong there as his only problem at the moment is social, not having enough speech to initiate contact and not really knowing how to make friends. We are not facing any behavioural problem for which I thank ABA based therapy (I have to say our son is a completely different child compare to what he was in January before starting the therapy).

Shells, we have been to a support group which was mainly locals and whose children attends excellent SN schools based on ABA, but not for non-nationals. Only SN school which takes on non-national was just not suitable for his needs (it's mostly children with physical disabilities who require 24hours attention, not language based). So our only option is mainstream school with extra support. We have put in at least 4 applications, hopefully one of them will look beyond his label.

sorry haven't been ignoring forgot to check sorry that its not working out with the school lets hope something comes up soon

well we haven't heard anything back yet regarding statement so presume it'll be a re write i saw my friend today who had 5 re writes before it was acceptable so i hope this will be it

good luck if i come across anything else i will send links you never know something may or may not be of use

Do you know anyone else in your position with a SN child? Maybe there's some sort of support group? Or maybe your therapist can let you know if there are other families?

Its so crap for you.

Hello all, just thought I update you on my search for finding a suitable school for DD1. So far we have had no luck, and just put him on the waiting list for some schools which are out of town and will take me over half an hour to drive there on the motorway. I feel so frustrated, but it's not an option to come back to the UK for the time being.

Bubblagirl, DD2 is alright and well recovered, I am not sure I have. Thanks for asking.

In my desperation (as the therapist we have may be leaving), i called every school and centres on the list to see if there is any loophole for non-nationals. Unfortunately, there is none and my suspicion that the word 'discrimination' does not exist in Arabic dictionary becomes confirmed.

tiredmummy good luck for tomorrow poor ds2 hope his lip is ok?

i have got a message being sent to SALT who done the report for statement to see if she can do anything else so hopefully it'll get him what he deserves

Hello all, just to update you, today has not been that successful, the schools on the list are not even accepting application for waiting lists and the only recommended nursery did not return my call, I am going to follow up tomorrow. On top of that, DS2 had a fall at school and split her lip.

Bubblagirl, I don't see how the LEA can get away with not providing speech therapist as bubblaboy has atypical speech, you should definitely appeal if it does not go your way, you may want to write a letter of reconsideration with a report from the speech therapist (it worked sometimes when I was practising as an education lawyer, although I did not continue with it for more than 6 months, now I wish I had). But I would definitely want something in writing from the speech therapist, I just don't trust LEA and their employees. If you provide a written letter of support from your therapist, it will help you with the tribunal if you have to go there.

have received the letter to say they the lea have received my letter and are now dealing with it

have also spoke to speech therapist who will speak to the one who wrote my report so she may be able to write to them and tell them the consequences of not having speech therapy or direct contact anyway with a speech therapist will do

oneforward im really glad you had such a positive meet with the school bubbla boy has another induction and i plan to leave him with his pre school teacher there at the school today she is the senco from pre school but coming in to offer support at school as no statement as yet until he starts full time

so im going to try and go and have a coffee with another mum and leave him with her to see how he conforms without me there

tiredmummy wasn't sure if that would help,or not my knowledge is zero for over there but i hope someone may be able to push you in right direction good luck

well i will get back later we have big school and our last speech therapy today can only hope statement will pull there finger out and allow him direct SALT in school it'd be a bad thing to stop it now as he still cannot produce most speech sounds he may talk but its atypical they drive me mad

How did you get on tiredmummy. I really feel for you. Sounds like an extremely difficult position to be in.

<Parcel of hope heading your way too tiredmum>

Thank you bubblagirl, tomorrow will be busy, I will call the two schools and nursery, fingers crossed. The autism centre is for the locals.

Hope you have something more positive back. Meeting with school was fantastic! The head really has her head screwed on. In short ds will be benchmarked asap, IEP, social skills classes and after 1/2 term Psyc Ed in.
The question of SN type problems due to IQ or IQ covering SN problems raised and is going to be investigated, the emotional issues (OCD, collecting and hiding, and seperation anxiety etc ) are going to be addressed. I have a plan for surviving to the point of him starting school and been told that when he starts to stop worrying as it becomes their problem and they WILL deal with it. The is hope! [Grin]

<big parcel of hope heading your way bubblagirl!>

good to see you back sc13 it is correct what you say there lol 3rd time lucky i should know in about 2 weeks

Hello!! DS should start reception in January 2011, and I am of course terrified and completely disorganized. BBgirl, what a nightmare - those f** b*s!!
Sorry I haven't been on MN as regularly - work has been catching up with me after all...

for you tiredmummy the link above it may or may not help i have no idea about UAE but this site has some things you may be able to make sense of

We are in UAE, no they don't have any SENCO and being like business, all schools only want to take on normal children so that their ratings go up. Public schools here are for nationals only, so you can't get one of those, not that we think introducing arabic to him is going to work. Like bubbla said, it's the social aspects of it worries us regarding home tuition.

tiredmummy I'm not sure where you are, but that all sounds totally unacceptable. as bubbla says - they must have a 'senco' or equivalent. he has rights to a proper education and leaving him in a corner is not good enough!

Is keeping him at home for now an option? He might make better progress.

do they have senco that ca get involved at nursery to get some iep drawn up and help them to help him with some activities to initiate play etc this is what my ds nursery does name games making children call each others name 3 in group with my ds so he can learn there names and how to interact with another child they do 1-1 games with him and another child whether its playing catch or a game they need to work together on

we can leave him at nursery, but we have recently been sending a private SALT for extra help and been told that he was just left alone in one corner as he was not able to participate in any activities. They made no attempt to integrate him and although with the SALT being there they are now prepared to keep him one extra year, we have lost faith. Not that we have much option either as I have called every single listed nursery, but nobody has space for a 4 years old. What really upset me was that it has only been the 5th visit of SALT, he is already participating and trying to initiate contact with other kids, even if just holding their hand and jumping up and down.

thank you tiredmummy and oneforward i know what you mean baout lack of sleep i kept waking all weekend playing conversations in my mind and jumping out of bed to write my letter back its been hard

i would have left at home but i feel socially needs to be with others as his such a mummy boy and lacks in social skills i was worried about consequences of leaving him there

tiredmummy could you leave him in nursery and ask school if any vacancies come up if theres a chance ds could go into school
maybe in nursery they could do some iep to provide some extra help to prepare for school some more tasks that will be needed within school etc

Hi bubblagirl, really understand what you are going through as my ds will be 4 in July and we are currently looking for a suitable school. We are outside the UK and did not want to apply to any of the school in town as DS was very behind, so we were thinking about leaving him in nursery. But he has made huge progress since we made the decision to keep him at nursery. Now we are stuck with no school having vacancy and no school having any special need provision. The only British school near us asked me if he could read and write as it is one of their admission criteria. The obnoxiousness of the whole conversation put me of so much, I am wondering whether he should go to school or should we just keep him at home. Sorry for ranting. Good luch with the statement.

Good luck with it. Am making appointment with school. this worrying is driving me mad and the lack of sleep is a pain in ass! I get little enough as it is.

well im sending it all back today so wish us luck im aiming for the speech therapy part a si know he still needs this as he doesn't speak as other 4 yr olds do he has limited speech sounds so can be so unclear so im not allowing no SALT at all when he starts school so im fighting as far as i need to go now

he'll never learn how to talk correctly if they stop helping him now

well my ds wont even poo on a toilet only nappy so we have that to deal with but im taking small steps at getting him where he needs to be

its worth asking for that support from what i see the school can request if ds needs extra help at school so lets hope its something that they can do for him and also get ball rolling for any other help

I don't think he qualifies for that. He was assessed for an IEP whilst at nursery but it wasn't deemed necessary. Interesting as this is the same nursery we withdrew him from 2 months later after we discovered the psychological damage they were doing Have to make appointment to see school anyway as can't fill in his likes/dislikes form thing they want done so will discuss with them. I would like an edu psyc to assess him at some point and this might be a good idea to bring that up too. I think on the whole these are the only people who know what the situation is because simply they have to deal with it. Medical professionals are just too remote from the reality of it all.

Thanks for the hint though and will go look at other thread. Have retrieved my mantre "I must think about the positive" from bin and have at least the comfort that ds will now wipe his own bum so that is one more hope he can do before school thing to cross off. Even if he chooses not to do it again before school he can so will when necessary. small things hey...

here

im not so clued up on it but there is another thread about on here discussing it

what about school action plus is this what he'll be on when he starts? if not could you ask about it

Actually all specialists, dr and peads felt situation was fine as was. Dr called CAF because he felt I shouldn't be therapist, councilor, behaviourist and all the other things that we sn mums do and I should have time just to be mum. So instead of someone sitting down and saying ok we can help with this (which the school did) they just said they felt the situ was fine. And when questioned about the severe sleep issues I was told it will get better when he goes to school. 4 f**king months away. I have faith in the school as there is no-one else to have faith in anymore. (except the wise mnetters!)

I just wish someone could make the dx and statement process easier as it is supposed to help the parents and child and all it seems to do at the mo is cause so much more distress!

Hope you finally get your statement sorted!

I am going to go hide in corner and pretend I am still on holiday

did i get you all wrong sorry my head is spinning ive been sitting writing and re writing my letter to statement people to bloody re write it again

sorry its tough for you i guess your chasing up as much as you can at the moment with them
when they were dragging heels with ds i went back to gp cried and shared my fears they chased it all up for me and got the ball rolling maybe you could do this

good luck im glad school appear willing and helpful see if they can put anything in writing at all

Hun -we don't even qualify for a statement - so have to have faith in school [pleading emoticon] thankfully they have stated they will get one if needed. But wish that someone in medical profession would get off backside and do something. have to book what will be very tense meeting with dc's doc tomorrow and dreading it. Sent letter after CAF stating I felt med prof washed hands of situ and that 4 months was too long to wait for help! its going to be hell...

oh yes to start with all may well be exciting lol but once the novelty of being more structured and unable to do own thing kicks in very worried how he'll cope

but im also hoping maybe the structure is exactly what he needs to cope as pre school is so mad and unstructured most of time maybe the structure will help him focus and understand more
i guess we'll all have to just wait and see with anticipation

i'm glad your happy with your choice of school i feel fairly positive with the school but just not with help offered in statement as school cannot offer this help without it

Having just returned from an emergency holiday (either cope with happy about routine distruption or violent due to disruption I took happy and went) You have all made me feel very positive about the school we have for ds.

We can't get ds dx as boarderline and too young (or some such nonsense) but was honest with schools when looked around and found the catchment school was very positive (one school answer the special policy for kids with dx behaviour policy with 30 exlcusion in 20 mins) and even gave strategies for how they would deal with the individual issues and weren't worried about him having a statement.

We eventually had a CAF meeting were the medical profession washed their hands completely and passed it all over to the school. They had him in for a 1hr individual visit one afternoon last month which went so well that his teacher to be (head of special needs) said he was over ready for school and she was looking forward to him starting as you could have a good conversation. (wait til she discovers he doesn't shut up and can be very topic specific

Personally I am a little concerned about the group visit -especially as my mum is going to have to take him due to ex's work commitments and me having an interview as he does like large groups (though have been working on it). singing group thingy

Am very scared about what will happen a month or so into school when the novalty wears off and the real problems kick in.

Is anyone else worried about this too or am I just very lucky?

well round 3 i have written a nice long letter again with evidence of his communication problems through out reports and also SALT recommendation of SALT either in school or at clinic and pediatrician saying he still needs SALT

so lets hope this time they will listen and amend part 2 and then part 3 accordingly wish us luck i have my fighting head on now didnt sleep a wink last night through worry and feel relieved to have written letter and got it all enveloped up ready to go tomorrow as i only got 7 days this time from date of letter and it was dated the day before it was sent so i was 2 days down when it arrived

will let you know outcome of this one

hello brokenspacebar your ds sounds adorable and sounds like he has a lot of support on his move to big school

im too apprehensive about break time and lunch due to bubblaboy atypical speech and inability to mix without support

I just want to say hello.

my ds is 5 and starts P1 (Scotland) in August.

He is at nursery at the school just now, and they have been brilliantly supportive, and are working really hard to get him used to the idea of being in P1. His 1-1 or one of the nursery teachers takes him into P1 for 10 mins during nursery time. He will still see the same eys teacher he sees weekly, the school knows him and I am really quite hopeful atm - though I don't yet know what hours he will get for support, I am apprehensive about play time and lunch.

We don't know who his teacher will be yet... but I have met them both... hoping he will get the same one to one, who is great.

DS is anxious about being 5 (he prefers being 4 lol) and I have told the teachers it might be that he doesn't want to be told he is going to be a "big boy".

Off to read the rest of the thread.

bubblagirl - i really feel for you. what a battle. you must be exhuasted just thinking about it.

hello to all the worried mums. kettlechip - good that DS is already on site - so its familiar. But 4 is SO SO young to be starting school and no matter what they say about it being play-based - its still school.

I think meltedmarsbar is right and that good communication wtih the teachers is key.

our teacher is very good and responsive, but she hasn't seen DS in meltdown yet - and that may set her back a bit.

he hates even coping with the change of the school holidays, he's going to really struggle with such a big change.

phoenix when are you off? make sure you have great time i liked your dipping in the sea idea pack light more room for wine

ive cried and ranted and am suggesting they give him 25 hrs so it leaves just 1 hour a day unstructured i think he'll struggle but would be happy with this i could ask school if they could have someone take him to lunch get food and set him

i think im going to have to give in on some parts but will fight for what i feel is more important and the hours are 1 hr i think we can cope with 2 and half a day he wont

im just so wound up hoping my suggestion of 25 hrs will do they only need to offer 2 more as school give 5 there offering 18 they need to give 20 and id be happy

just few tweaks also to do with SALT and how some bits are worded but to be honest i dont think they will as haven't touched any of what i asked some of it is ok just some is so vague but i do see his needs in there still so may have to just accept that

no wine but have got lagers may have a few of them instead

i feel sad but i feel if we can get 25 hrs and compromise then he can cope with an hr with no help he'll struggle but an hr is better than 2 or more

dont want to just admit defeat but feel we may need to compromise as technically compared to some children he is more functioning and this may affect it but if i say i'll accept 25 they may do it to shut me up lol

i can then speak to school and all the bits im concerned about maybe they can deal with this from inside its only song time he will melt down this needs to be dealt with as this is whats making him not want to be at school gradually introduce him at song time would help there is a story corner i want to ask if he can sit in there out the way when singing as he is sensitive to the sound and cannot handle it but with support gradually introduce him to it

again for other things to be aware then 25 hrs would be ok as it would only be lunch unstructured he'd probably just run the whole time anyway and he may need that to unwind

its so hard horrible time cant wait for it to be over

hope you feeling bit better Bubblagirl girl round 3.Hope yopu gotself nice bottle of wine tonight

sorry hear your worried reducedfatkettle fingers crossed that school keep eye n him and flag up if he needs morehelp

of course you can join sorry your so worried too its not nice but he sounds like his doing well in the environment which is great

Can I join please? Worried sick about ds1 who will be 4 in August and starting in September. He has language difficulties - possibly HFA/auditory processing/God knows what. He has no dx, no statement and will be going to the small mainstream school he already attends for nursery twice a week.

As his nursery is integrated with his reception class, and he is doing well without any support, I don't know why I'm so worried. I think it's because I don't trust that they recognise how delayed his receptive language is. I think superficially he's functioning well but probably isn't taking an awful lot in. I really wish I could give him an extra year in nursery.

staryeyed were asking same thing just had meeting and the non verbal and GDD is why were asking for sn panel will sit sometime next 3 weeks

.Hmm dependin when it was sent in theres a final date less of course it goes to tribunal .

DS is 4 has ASD and is due to start school in September. WE are currently changing the draft statement. WE want Ds to go to a special school because he has no language and severely limited understanding of language. Doubt we will sort the statement before September so I'm not really sure what we will do.

its ok ds not been in ether or any kids goingto ms dont even know who teachers are till next week ,think their vists start in July

yeah think were all jittery about it ,can you get pictures of your dd teacher school etc so can talk about it

My dd2 has been at sch 2 yrs now - I remember all the pains and nerves you are all going though - you have my sympathies. Our set-up has worked very well after some close work with the staff early on. I have found that making an effort to communicate well with the staff has made a difference.

It is important to make a fuss sometimes: eg after-school activities, where they sent letters home inviting children to join in a "kids pirate party at kids club" which is run on site but in a mobile with no ramp. So it was open to all kids EXCEPT my dd2 who is wh/ch bound. I WAS OUTRAGED!!!! I got on to the head, the chair of governors, everyone. It is not appropriate exclude only the child in the wheelchair. They knew I was right and after lots of squirming I got an apology and since then they have been very careful to ensure activities are open to all, if my dd2 wants to come the club is moved to the main building.

hello everyone,
can i join your thread?
my dd has epilespy and is due to start school in september, i am very worried as the stress could make her seizures worse i have spoken to the school and all they said is they would have in 2 more afternoons than the rest of the class to get to know her new teacher,
i am abit worried now because your dc's seems to have been to their new schools and met thier teacher dd hasnt as of yet,
maybe i should talk to the school again monday?
hope you dont mind me sneaking in the thread i am really nervous about it

i'll check in later im going to town to clear my head and will get back and write another letter see if they can do something i only get 7 days this time

it says small groups or individual but doesnt say how small the group is or individual SALT time which he really needs

nothing is set out clear still its all the same they just added close supervision at lunch, trips , pe not 1-1 close

and again just added a section SALT will provide help to ta nothing else has changed but again they have said he can dress prompted but he cant he can only do pants

they haven't changed any wording at all in part 3 just added 2 sections that is all they have done

bugger , bugger . slides irish coffee over

when had meeting the Lea did mention depending which categprary ds fitted into was the max amount of hrs they could offer was done on a tick sheet thingy
nothing like ignoring the childs needs.

and esse3x tend not so specify 1-1 like to leave it to school to decide.Have they at least agreed to smaller groups in numbers ds was reworded that nomore than 2 others and they must be working to same level and similar difculties .but they then rechanged that

You going to go for a meeting this time or another rewrite

again no mention of ta being autism trained either its shite again

i cant be assed to deal with this now its pissing me off 3 extra hours no 1-1 still no mention of 1-1 for trips out pe or lunch so really im still none the wiser

oh it says close adult supervision doesnt state a 1-1 could just be teacher watching from a distance couldn't it at lunch play pe and school trips

they gave him 3 extra hours and this again isnt enough to implement help at lunch he needs 30 hrs for lunch and play help and they havent mentioned 1-1 at all again

im so unhappy this is so confusing his got 23 hrs its not enough if he has lunch help it leaves 18 hrs in class room help its just not enough its still as vague as last time

forgets about packing meh kids can wear same outfits all week , will just dip them in sea daily

offers hands and has glass of something ready

i'm shaking

its here aAAARRGGGHHH going to open it now hold my hand

true yeah oh good at least if it dont turn up today you can still be one of the first to know how it goes when it does turn up

yep lol addict that i am cant be without the internet got to be able do mn when ds declars morning at 3am

i hope my statement turns up today so i can tell you what is says

oh lovely phoenix that'll be really nice lets hope it is relaxing for you and you can forget about the stresses of home lol haven't got room for one more have you lol i want to run away from it all just for little while lol

have a really great time will you have internet access at all? i can chew your ear off on your hols

glittery glad they made huge fuss of ds bet he will be so spoilt lol he'll love school

5inthebed make sure you check your statement really well and phone some help lines and get part 2 and 3 checked over as this was where we needed re write whole of part 3 they used big words that meant shite to be honest scuse the use of that word but its true
when it turns up
go through all reports and highlight all the needs and difficulties and make sure part 2 has all these as part 3 will follow on from difficulties in part 2 if somethings missing then part 3 wont have it and make sure there wording is clear

anyway wont worry you too much on that right now lets hope your lea do there work properly

barmymummy it is such a worrying time when at the school yesterday i felt slightly better i think school could be good for them well ds anyway he'll be tested more with his brain he needs that
glad your ds was put back slightly gives you longer to prepare him if he doesnt know the school get you ask for photos of his teacher and classroom and school so you can use them daily in getting him used to the school

shells what sort of help is provided where you are does your ds get any 1-1 at all?

me to going be long 3 weeks though am of on holiday to somerset for week tomorrow

lol riven shouldn't laugh but just shows how close they must get bless em really glad your dd has such positive reaction at school

ds im glad will be in same class as some of the boys he already knows in a way i'm glad as the boy who is nt but severe behavioral problems is in same class they have gone pre school and ds actually likes him but they keep them apart as much as dont want bubbla boy copying the bad behavior

but i was thinking to myself last night might be a mean thought but made me feel relieved that this boy will take away any attention that may be on bubblaboy otherwise making him appear to be different as this boy will be the one the other parents may see as the distraction not bubbla boy i know that may be mean but in a way it brings me comfort

this other boy is sweet but really is so naughty terribly naughty swears, hits , wont listen does what he wants so at least my ds wont be the only one but he isn't nasty and he doesn't swear he may do but he hasn't the correct speech sounds lol also his more the quiet type the other boy does high pitch screams to get attention so im kind of taking comfort on his first weeks he wont be "look theres that autistic boy who disrupts the whole class"

it should be theres that sweet little boy who has extra help lol

and possibly the little boy who disrupts song time lol

im nervously waiting to see if my re written proposed statement turns up today everyone let us know how you all get on

phoenix i need that crate bottles glass of wine soon

dd started last september (still not full time) and had a statment with 39 hours 1 to 1 and is in mainstream. Seems to be working well and she loves school. The other kids treat her like anyone else and battle to sit next to her or help her work her communication aid. They even gave her headlice through lots of cuddles

Oh good - there are lots of us. Helps me to think I'm not alone. I know our school quite well as DS1 been there for nearly 2 years so I know lots of parents.

I'm already 'over' the sympathetic looks I've been getting (had to carry DS2 in one day as refused to walk) and the nice/concerned comments and the endless 'oh but he'll catch up' responses.

Makes me sound horrible I know, but no-one really knows what its like to be leaving your beloved little one in such a big scary place. All those big 10 year olds! And I'm worried he'll get lost at lunchtime... its a bit of a maze.

Good luck for SN school Phoenix.

nail biting here to ds due to start september in ms less get the sn school despartley want , goes to panel in the next 3 weeks

im scared silly with it all thought my baby going to big school and thinking how on earth will he cope looks so litle next to others.Though lol if call him baby he signs back not a baby

Oh I'd like to join too please. Have spent many a night worrying myself stupid over DS starting school. We have deferred him til January (sigh of relief emoticon) but I am still really nervous lol!

He was so bad starting playschool 18 months ago that I dread starting school. He has no statement (doesn't need it) but I can't help but worry that his little differences will become more noticeable when he becomes more anxious.

Would love to see how all your lo's get on, will be sending them all good luck vibes, xx

@ the fit postman!

DS2 starts Reception in September <nail biting emoticon>

We have all the reports/letters in ready for the statement, just waiting for the date of it. I feel sick to the stomach whenever the postman comes (usually I'm excited as he is quite fit )

DS2 currently goes to SN nursery in the morning 5 days a weekand MS nursery 3 (4 from next week) afternoons a week. He sees the MS school as a free play thing, doesn't do much learning, but he can write his own name if he traces over it. He never fails to impress me.

ds starts P1 at his new school in August, we went the other day for a wee meeting with all involved while ds spent an hour in what will be his class.
the 2 support workers propped him up on cushions to read him a story and generally made a fuss of him, he was "chatting" away to one of the other pupils and a wee girl came over and was kissing and cuddling him.
all was going fine till the bell rang and he nearly jumped out his skin but they gave him a wee cuddle etc and he was fine.
i picked up his uniform (v. cute) and hes going back in a few weeks for the full day

hi guys shell i only went to his school today but so far all seems ok providing his statement well the re written one when it arrives has his correct needs in it i think he'll do ok the class is quite large 20 odd children but with help he should cope will take him a while but im hopeful att he moment

scary time for us all isnt it knowing our children are so different but lets hope we c an get the correct help then there differences will not stand out so much

brandy hope you get dx soon so you know where you are with the help required

will write more tomorrow off to bed nice and early before bubblaboy wakes in the night

nice to meet you both feel free to use this thread as you please x

oh and he has a medical condition that requires monitoring and tablet taking

Hi my son is 4.5 and starting school in september, waiting for proper diagnosis, at moment ive been told attachment disorder/seperation anxiety, (got another assessment with CAMHS on monday) also dreading the transition going on how bad it was to get him into preschool last september

good thing is his class teacher is a SENCO and she has two assistants and only 14 pupils in the reception class, doesnt stop me worrying though,lol

I'd like to join although I'm in NZ so post at funny times. My DS2 is due to start school in July. He has speech disorder and ASD traits.

The system is weird here and its very vague what support (if any) he will get. At the moment we've been doing lots of visits and he spends most of the time at the back playing with lego. Occasionally he joins in.

I hate watching it. There are a couple of very bright kids who recite the alphabet, spell words and are generally so interested and model-student. DS is not even vaguely up there with them. Makes me .

The good thing is that its a small class and the teacher is very experienced.

Do you know your school bubblagirl? Whats it like?

anyway i'm of for now so chat amongst yourselves and i'll check in later or tomorrow depending whether all settles in our household at reasonable time

thought maybe as there is a pre school thread maybe we could have a going to be starting school or at school thread all welcome really

but we are waiting for our re written proposed statement to turn up tomorrow hoping all is going to be as we need it this time

im really nervous and anxious about him starting school bubblaboy my 4 yr old with HFA for all who may not know me

he had induction today but his sound sensitivity was played up with singing time so may have to ask if he can sit outside of the group with support when he starts and introduced to it gradually as at the moment he dont like big school dont want to go and doesn't like the singing so would hate for that to be what ruins his joy of going to school every day