Ds15 tourrettes asd and exclusion

[rookjayy]

Hi this is my first time posting on mumsnet so please be patient with me.
My ds is 15 has adhd asd anxiety and dyslexia he also has a lot of tics but we didn't want him to have another label put on him which school are aware of.
Yesterday in English he felt a vocal tic coming so put his hand up and asked to leave the teacher said no and asked him to wait 10 mins.He suppressed it for 5 minutes and then said he had to leave and swore loudly outside.
He went to his head of house and explained what had happened politely and apologised,he wrote down what had happened in an incident form and went back to his next lesson.
Today he was removed from tutor and was told he'd be in isolation all day,he didn't agree with it but did it for 2 lessons.At break he went to find his head of house and wanted to know why he was being punished for something he couldn't help,the hoh said that they had to set a precedent and that swearing isn't tolerated on the school site.Ds had a meltdown about the situation and the school sent him home due to distress. His teacher didn't want his to be punished and they get on really well would I be unreasonable to report this as discrimination or?

[coffeecow]

I usually always take the side of the school but in this instance I would ask for a meeting to be reassured they fully understood what issues your child has and how they need to be managed.

[Bubblysqueak]

Definitely need a meeting with senco and head of year, a plan should be put into place to allow him to leave the classroom as needed , most schools use a card system in which a pupil will show the teacher a card and them leave to save embarrassment.of having to explain why they need to leave. He should also be provided of a safe place to go (so he is not swearing in the corridor) .

[HollowTalk]

I think the teacher should have let him leave the room. He knows he's not going to leave the room and cause trouble and not doing it because he's lazy etc.

Just as someone with IBS should expect to be able to leave the room whenever they need to, so should he. It puts unnecessary pressure on him otherwise.

[PollyFeather]

I think I'd ultimately be pursuing a diagnosis of Tourette's. I know it's another 'label' but this label is necessary I think if A JR has Tourette's and B the school see fit to exclude him for something that he cannot help. That's discrimination.

Regardless though, I'd raise this with the school and fight back. Discuss ways with them in which your son can be included and not penalised for what he cannot help doing.

[Shimy]

I think the source of the problem is more your own misunderstanding of Tourettes. Its called Tourettes 'syndrome', becuase it presents with lots of different symptoms of which ADHD, OCD, anxiety is part of it.

Getting a formal diagnosis is not "another label" but recognition of all the things he already has minus the ASD as that not part of trio in Tourettes.

As you have kept this a secret and not mentioned his tics, which vary in how hey present and wax and wane, school were not prepared for it so now that your ds is saying his swearing was a 'verbal tic', of course they don't believe him because its come totally out of the blue.

Get a formal diagnosis and have a meeting with school explaining everything to them.

[EeeByeGummieBear]

Just came in to say what pp have said- anxiety, ADHD, ASD can all be linked to tourettes. Please meet with the school and medical professionals to get appropriate support for you son. Tourettes action are a good source of information. Hope you get sorted

[lljkk]

How can OP claim discrimination without formal recognition of the disability?

as an aside, I have a colleague with TS; it certainly livens up the office atmosphere.

[Teachermaths]

Please get a diagnosis so school can officially be aware. If it's an unofficial "diagnosis" the English teacher may not have even been aware. You'd have a much better argument if he had a diagnosis.

From the schools pov he has sworn a lot in the corridor with no explanation (other than his mums diagnosis).

[SnuggyBuggy]

I think you need to let go of not wanting another label. It sounds like this condition is very real and can't be ignored.

[PotteringAlong]

You cannot decide you don’t want a diagnosis of Tourette’s and then claim to school is discriminating against him for not treating him as if he has Tourette’s...

You can’t have it both ways here.

[UhareFouxisci]

how you deal with this is really important as this will happen again when he is trying to hold down paid employment and it will get him the sack if he doesn't learn now how to deal with it.

actually way more people have tourette's than have a diagnosis as the symptoms are usually sufficiently mild enough and controllable enough that people cope, and only about 1 in 10 have swear words among their tic phrases.

it would be worth going to a gp as there are therapies that can help someone with tourette's to manage their condition which are pretty effective.

[dadinprogress]

You need his TS diagnosed ASAP. You can claim discrimination but without a diagnosis/Drs note, it will look groundless.
Tic disorders are so often misunderstood, and it can be hard for people to understand. There's lots of support out there if you need it.

And a secondary school that's this against swearing? They need to grow up.