Having a wobble today and would really appreciate someone to talk to...
Just to give some background... sorry if this is long!
My DS has just turned 8 and has started Junior school. He has a diagnosis of Asperger's with PDA (he is very demand avoidant). He is academically bright but will not engage with lessons, and needs adult support for every transition, from the time he arrives at school to the handover to me at the end. He hides under the desk and needs adult support to coax him out (amongst many other frequent, daily occurrences).
At his previous school (Infants) things weren't handled very well and he started having violent meltdowns / panic attacks. He was excluded from school twice and ended up on half days for the last few weeks of term (thus avoiding possible permanent exclusion).
He is currently undergoing statutory assessment (after months of us fighting to get this far). In lieu of the statement the LA granted emergency funding to enable DS to make the transition to Juniors. School have been able to provide full-time 1:1 support and he has had a positive start there. Even with a 1:1 things are not easy, and there have been incidents but these have been handled well by the school. I really want him to stay at this school as they are going to start him on a programme of emotional/social education and they are generally being very supportive.
However, I'm hyper aware that it could take just one big/violent incident and we would end up with the cycle of exclusions again, and with DS in crisis.
The LA SEN Team rang the SENCO yesterday for school's input into the statutory assessment. The case officer then tried to tell the SENCO that DS is "high functioning"... The SENCO said that is irrelevant - he has PDA, and if you want DS to learn you have to be with him all the time. The SENCO has now written a letter detailing just how much support DS needs, and saying the consequence of him not having this support could be permanent exclusion.
I know the SENCO had to say this to the LA but it's upsetting and has really knocked me back. I know this would be a very real possibility if DS doesn't get the support he needs. I am terrified that the statement with come back as a NIL or not have enough hours specified. After all we've told them, it seems the LA are still not joining up the dots!
Plus, even if the statement comes back with full-time 1:1, I know school is still going to be a struggle for DS. Special school doesn't seem to be an option given his academic levels, and also the fact he probably wouldn't get a 1:1 there, due to the smaller class sizes? It is all churning round in my head so any words of advice would be very welcome.
Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.
SN children
PDA in a mainstream school?
CurrerBell · 25/09/2014 10:27
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Message withdrawn at poster's request.
This reply has been deleted
Message withdrawn at poster's request.
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