Anyone home educating a child with SN? ASD?

[drowninginlaundry]

... just wondering after another frustrating day hitting my head against a brick wall.

there doesn't seem to be a single mainstream nursery/school who wants to teach him. He is bright, he is not aggressive or disruptive - but he has no language and has this dreaded label ASD.

A school we wanted named in the statement for reception class said no thanks (yes, I know, they can't but they do) because, I am guessing, it would screw up their league tables. Another small primary has given me 15 reasons why he 'wouldn't be happy there'. His nursery simply can't be bothered, they speak to him like he is a half-wit (er, he's not deaf, he's autistic!) and make a big song and dance how he has been 'really enjoying playing with sand A LOT today'. Do I just have to try to work with school teaching staff and hope for the best? It can't be that he only has two options, MS or SN school? Or is it? Talk about trying to fit square pegs into round holes.

I'll go and calm down now.

[TotalChaos]

Riven has experience of this, can't remember offhand about anyone else. I know it's a horrible feeling going round the schools and listing your DS's problems just to suss out whether they have a clue about SN or not. Do you know if there are any m/s schools with an ASD unit, or a language unit, as that might be a better setting for him? An ordinary mainstream classroom may be an isolating experience for your DS because of the language problems.

[drowninginlaundry]

I would love a language unit, but ours don't take children with ASD.

Maybe we should move, become autism migrants and go where there are services. So where?

[TotalChaos]

double check with the LEA. I was told by SALT that language units don't take kids with any learning difficulties other than language - and guess what, in the school admissions listings, turns out that my city does have a language unit for kids with MLD (moderate learning difficulties) . Also it is probably dubious them applying such a criteria (no ASD) for language unit admissions. Might be worth talking to Parent Partnership if you've not done so already about your concerns with schooling.

[TotalChaos]

btw if you don't move, don't touch Liverpool with a bargepole!

[drowninginlaundry]

ok, so that's Liverpool out... any other ASD black spots

it would be funny if it wasn't so tragic

TC thanks for that, we in the middle of a SENDIST process right now so I am going to check if that's an option!

[TotalChaos]

From posts on here, I don't think Devon, Cornwall or Bristol are good for SALT or other services, And from ipsea website, Herts are trying to avoid statementing altogether .

[sphil]

Our m/s primary actively wanted to have DS2 ( severe ASD, basic language, no behaviour problems). It makes me so angry when schools see children with SEN as problematic - they should be GLAD to have them fgs. We're in Somerset btw and so far have found it very good, though services very spread out in rural areas.

[sphil]

Oops - forgot to say - we flexi-school DS2. He does half time at m/s and half time on an ABA home programme. School has been fine about the logistics of this - it's a little more difficult to get them to coordinate with the home programme but we're getting there slowly.

[ouryve]

DS1's mainstream primary love him, despite his autism, limited language and behaviour problems. He's in nursery there now but will be in reception in September, but it's all one big foundation stage unit, anyhow. They're having problems getting the support to come through, since it's a very small village school but the staff are knowledgeable and willing to learn and we're hoping the council give the green light for statementing, when they meet, tomorrow. Nobody so far has suggested that it'll be difficult to get.

We're in Co. Durham.

[drowninginlaundry]

ouryve that's so lovely to hear.

That's all I want really - somewhere where he is loved and cared for and not seen as a problem.

DH and I had a long (teary on my part) conversation last night about options and I just kept saying 'he deserves better than this'. We concluded that our options are 1) moving to the US, either West Coast or New Jersey to access brilliant services and education 2) home educate or 3) set up our own school.

Okay then...

[Julienoshoes]

Agree with riven totally!

There are thousands of families home educating children with all sorts of SEN.
There is a website HE-Special UK,
where they have a HE-Special Internet Support list the people there are the real experts on this subject, the parents actually doing it. The advise and experience they have on home educating children with ASD is second to none IMHO.

There is even a book on the subject! Home Educating Our Autistic Spectrum Children: Paths are made by walking edited by Terri Dowty;
Synopsis
'Mainstream educational provision for children on the autistic spectrum can be inadequate or inappropriate. An increasing number of parents dissatisfied with the education system are looking elsewhere for an approach that will suit their children's needs. In "Home Educating Our Autistic Spectrum Children", parents who have chosen to home educate their children with autism or Asperger's syndrome candidly relate their experiences: how they reached the decision to educate at home, how they set about the task, and how it has affected their lives. Following these personal accounts, the final chapters offer practical advice on getting started with home education, legal advice from an expert in education law, and contact details of support organisations'

and the He-Special website has A month in the life of........ blogs, where several different families describe a month in their HE lives, helping their children overcome/cope with, specific problems.

[yurt1]

Have you checked out the special schools? A lot now have outreach on mainstream sites. Both our local SLD/PMLD schools do that at primary and are extending to secondary. Another local special school has combined with a mainstream school on the same site.

It gives the advantage of as much access as a child can cope with- and a really big advantage - staff who understand the issues.

We did 4 terms in a mainstream school (ds1 severely autistic, non-verbal). They were cautiously welcoming but it was a disaster. The biggest problem being lack of training and really lack of a suitable environment (big noisy open classrooms, too easy to escape from etc etc).