In need of desperate advice ahead of meeting with school!

[Ruby1985]

Hello all,

I have a meeting with my sons school next week. He is 6 grade one with a diagnosis of autism. It has taken ages to get to this meeting with the senco and class teacher.
The school are being shady and not really saying what support they are providing (they have provided some support but I think he needs more). My son has changed a lot this year and is obviously in need of much more support than in reception I can see a big regression in him. He is very bright and can achieve very high but his concentration let's him down, so I really think he is in need of one-2-one. I'm sure the school will say he is not 'severe enough' they have said such rubbish before and that two year delay should be evident.

Please help me with what questions I should ask:
I have asked to see provision maps, type of support he is receiving and what they have planned for year one. I also asked to his school record as advised by a friend but not sure what would be in it! Does anyone know?

Any advice on further pinning down the school would be very much appreciated as I am thinking of moving him as a last resort although I know he will not be very happy if I do! So I want to try with the school and see what happens and I would rather not 'run away' but face the school

[MayhemandMadness01]

Ask about an educational psychologist - if they agree with you that he is behind then insist on having him properly assessed by a qualified professional in order to get exactly how far behind he is and what type of support he needs.

[Ruby1985]

Yes his teacher said he is struggling this year. But they keep on speaking about small group work to help him. Thanks a lot I will say he needs to be properly assessed by an educational psychologist to assess what his exact needs are

[lamya190]

I think you should ask them what they see as his main weaknesses at the moment and how they are helping him and supporting him. Also make sure you look at targets set and see how specific they are.
I would also like to know what's in a child school record anyone else know??

[MayhemandMadness01]

Children with autism often take longer to settle into new classes, the changes can be hard for them to process. However this can indicate a processing disorder which will affect his learning more than just his social communication and he will require additional changes to his curriculum etc. The ed. Psych will be able to look at this as well.

[Ruby1985]

Thanks a lot for that . Anyone else? Does anyone know what a pupils school record contains?

[LadyConstanceDeCoverlet]

Ask whether they have done any assessments of his literacy levels and what the results are; also what they are forecasting for his SATs results and how those compare with other children of his age. Ask particularly whether they think he's making progress and, if not, if there is more support they can put in place. If he's not making progress and they think they're doing all they can, that is good evidence that they should be asking for an EHC needs assessment.

[knittingwithnettles]

Concentration can often be a sign of sensory issues. What ideas do they have about this? Have they heard of SPD (sensory processing disorder) and how would they address this? If they haven't heard of it, ask about OT strategies, whole class strategies. Ie movement breaks, writing slopes, wobble cushions.
Small group work can work well, better than 1:1 in some situations, as child is still interacting with other children (well at least I found this with my son, 1:1 was a bit isolating)
Does your son have access to a Nurture group if he is distressed or agitated? Do they know about not backing him into corners for example or asking him to look them in the eye when listening to instructions (he might listen better when gaze directed away from teacher)

Try not to be angry; ask them to list what they are doing to help in very specific ways, rather than letting them give you a bland he's fine/well behaved (which could mean he is under the radar)

[Ruby1985]

Thanks a lot for your replies both great sets of questions to ask. Yes he has movement breaks but is still very active and cannot focus for more than five-ten mins on a task he finds tricky or not motivating such as writing etc. I genuinely feel he may have ADHD but recently an early bird trainer said that it's not always a good idea to go for another diagnosis as it's best to stick to the one which best describes his difficulties which sounds bizarre!

[Ruby1985]

Also if anyone knows what a child's schools record contains??

[LadyConstanceDeCoverlet]

I don't think anyone can really say with any certainty what school records will contain - so far as I know it just comes down to whatever the school has chosen to stash in the files. If you're asking for copies, try specifically setting out that it should include all reports, incident reports, assessment results, meeting notes, correspondence, and internal and external emails.

[lamya190]

Ok thanks a lot for your reply that's really useful to know

[lamya190]

I have been watching this thread so so eagerly as my son has recently been in a lot of trouble at school so was wondering if that would all be in there too so it would probably will then

[Ruby1985]

Yes thanks a lot for that I will ask for those things as they will be useful in the long run I'm sure!