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Help!! - DS, homework, me and school! I need advice on my next move!

5 replies

Youarentkiddingme · 07/11/2015 11:02

Ds is year 7, late summer child so only just 11yo. He has ASD (HFA) and just received a dx of dyspraxia.

He is inherently disorganised and very typically autistic in that he doesn't engage in much outside his own interests although transitions well from them now he doesn't transition onto something he's not interested in with engagement.

The school has what I thought would be a fantastic homework system for him. Rather than set pieces with a deadline they have to complete tasks worth points over a set period of time. I believed it would allow him to do something he's more interested in and engage him more. However he doesn't seem to be able to engage without a short deadline.

I've asked school for support setting him up with tasks from the suggestions, giving him a weeks worth - they recommend 5 hours a week, and then helping him log the points he's received so we can work out what subjects to work in next. School have produced a teacher for him with regards pints received but still not sitting with him and setting him tasks. Ds just does not do this alone. What's really annoying is it was noted in his summer review how he was now doing homework in year 6 without promoting as had set it into his own personal schedule. It was 6pm the night before it was due but he did it unprompted for a period of 7 months.

He came home with a sheet with 3 pieces of work on during the first half term. He did these and then no more was out onto it. I spent many an hour supporting him and he completed full marks for most of the subjects.

The teachers give task suggestions during the lessons which the children write down - due to DS inability to copy properly and legibly this wasn't working and the school agreed to make him an online planner (he has a laptop) as he's lost his planner most weeks so far too! So far I've seen no evidence of this - but will be checking DS laptop thoroughly when he's finished on it!

After the pressure of last term and the number of hours spent getting tasks and planning things with DS I asked school for more inout from them. The inout doesn't seem to be useful though. Grrrr. Or regular as I've asked for.

I've asked DS to get copies of the task suggestions they put on the class wall each half term. He still hasn't managed to get the actual information I've asked for - although h s taken photos of some information.

So my question is what should I as a parent be doing? How much responsibility is mine? I feel my role is to make sure he's completing assignments and helping him fit them into our week - i feel the support re planning etc is the schools responsibility as they want him to do the home learning!

It just feels to me like I'm the one doing all the organisation and DS isn't gaining anything from the home learning - not as they intend anyway! I've just drawn him a planner (he'd done one independently but it didn't actually achieve what it needed to) and got him to make it himself on his laptop. He's now filling in the planner with one task for each subject.

Please advise oh wise ones.

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Idespairbuthope · 07/11/2015 22:23

I don't know how much use this is, but the school told me that if ds is completing his homework, they think he can do it and there's no problems so I shouldn't over help him. Maybe by him not submitting his homework they will realise there is a problem and the change his ILP accordingly. The first step will be his failure if that makes sense, then they will respond - theoretically.

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Youarentkiddingme · 07/11/2015 22:30

Inhale considered this route so many times. The thing that stops me is failure equals detention. Detention equals massive stress and extreme anxieties and behaviours from DS.

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PolterGoose · 07/11/2015 22:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Youarentkiddingme · 08/11/2015 07:05

There is a generic club. Ds goes twice a week and has done a few bits in there. He spends most of it trying to suss out what he's doing though. He goes to computer club and drama club (he is the lights technician - one of his special interests!) and was doing touch typing club but his ELSA sessions start this half term so he's doing it instead of touch typing as the only other time was instead of drama.the school don't do any intervention during school hours (which I'm having to get my head around!) so any mentoring/support has to be done after school. It's feeling like a right old juggling act!

We know have a good planner I helped him design and got him to make on laptop. We've set a weeks worth and have highlighted it yellow so he knows that's what he needs to do - he's going to highlight them green when they are done!

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Idespairbuthope · 09/11/2015 21:32

Can you speak to the senco about his ilp then? If he would get detentions, then maybe look at writing into his ilp that it is not through want of trying, it's through lack of support by which he'd be failing. That in turn would bounce back to the school or maybe specific teachers spending an extra 5 mins explaining things to him better. Also, make sure all his teachers have a copy of his needs x

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