What did your ASD child struggle with in Secondary School?

Five I've messaged you.

DS settled in better than we'd hoped in a class where he knew no-one. In first yr he was more prone to organisational problems and I was replacing bits of uniform and schoolbooks regularly. He didn't have difficulties with most subjects but ha struggled greatly with Irish which he's had to give up. I know that won't be relevant to you of course, but it led to nightly meltdowns during homework and in the end the principal got him exempted. It's made a huge difference. I don't know if your did could drop subjects maybe check out modern language options or exemptions if you think it will be problematic.

The only subject that concerns me now is religion as he is very opinionated and black and white in his thinking. He hasn't grasped spirituality or religious concepts he is rigid in his thinking and doesn't accept basic tenets that don't stack up for him scientifically. It lead to a stand off between him and a young sub teacher who wouldn't make allowances. She was quite hardline despite saying she'd never force a child to take part in anything they didn't wish to. She insisted he go to church with the class although it's not a religious school nor are we religious. She even asked for my consent to try to get him round to her way of thinking! So there were two of them in it I'd say.

He gets very stressed over exams even house exams and class tests. I am monitoring the foreign language situation closely though it is nowhere near as hard as Irish for him and is a requirement for 3rd level so may have to stay.

He got 5 hours a week resource teaching which sounds very little but it is the maximum here but with cutbacks I don't know if he'll get it next year.

DS settled in better than we'd hoped in a class where he knew no-one. In first yr he was more prone to organisational problems and I was replacing bits of uniform and schoolbooks regularly. He didn't have difficulties with most subjects but ha struggled greatly with Irish which he's had to give up. I know that won't be relevant to you of course, but it led to nightly meltdowns during homework and in the end the principal got him exempted. It's made a huge difference. I don't know if your did could drop subjects maybe check out modern language options or exemptions if you think it will be problematic.

The only subject that concerns me now is religion as he is very opinionated and black and white in his thinking. He hasn't grasped spirituality or religious concepts he is rigid in his thinking and doesn't accept basic tenets that don't stack up for him scientifically. It lead to a stand off between him and a young sub teacher who wouldn't make allowances. She was quite hardline despite saying she'd never force a child to take part in anything they didn't wish to. She insisted he go to church with the class although it's not a religious school nor are we religious. She even asked for my consent to try to get him round to her way of thinking! So there were two of them in it I'd say.

He gets very stressed over exams even house exams and class tests. I am monitoring the foreign language situation closely though it is nowhere near as hard as Irish for him and is a requirement for 3rd level so may have to stay.

He got 5 hours a week resource teaching which sounds very little but it is the maximum here but with cutbacks I don't know if he'll get it next year.

DS settled in better than we'd hoped in a class where he knew no-one. In first yr he was more prone to organisational problems and I was replacing bits of uniform and schoolbooks regularly. He didn't have difficulties with most subjects but ha struggled greatly with Irish which he's had to give up. I know that won't be relevant to you of course, but it led to nightly meltdowns during homework and in the end the principal got him exempted. It's made a huge difference. I don't know if your did could drop subjects maybe check out modern language options or exemptions if you think it will be problematic.

The only subject that concerns me now is religion as he is very opinionated and black and white in his thinking. He hasn't grasped spirituality or religious concepts he is rigid in his thinking and doesn't accept basic tenets that don't stack up for him scientifically. It lead to a stand off between him and a young sub teacher who wouldn't make allowances. She was quite hardline despite saying she'd never force a child to take part in anything they didn't wish to. She insisted he go to church with the class although it's not a religious school nor are we religious. She even asked for my consent to try to get him round to her way of thinking! So there were two of them in it I'd say.

He gets very stressed over exams even house exams and class tests. I am monitoring the foreign language situation closely though it is nowhere near as hard as Irish for him and is a requirement for 3rd level so may have to stay.

He got 5 hours a week resource teaching which sounds very little but it is the maximum here but with cutbacks I don't know if he'll get it next year.

Dd has aspergers and us in yr 8 of a non selective co-ed school but is in the top stream

She has done so much better in high school than I could have imagined

The fact that there is a timetable so she always knows what she is doing is great
It does throw her when the teachers take their books in and she forgets
She's also terrible at using her planner as the homework is handed out right at the end of the lesson when they are all rushing to leave

Lunch time she spends in either the library or the music practise rooms -they are supposed to be a different year group allowed each day but she's allowed in extra

She's made friends predominantly with a group of boys who apparently find her bluntness refreshing

I'm trying to teach her that if she wants to make friends with the girls then she needs to filter what comes out of her mouth and if its mean then not to say it!
Example being one of the girls dyed her hair blonde and the girls were all gushing over her saying how nice it looks. Dd said 'why is your hair ginger and do you realise it doesn't match your eyebrows?'

Generally though the transition to high school was a lot easier than anticipated

My DS2 is enjoying high school much better than primary. only problem area has been the fact that he is in one of the lower sets for maths and, inevitably, he is therefore in contact with some of the less well-behaved pupils, they are teasing him when the teacher leaves the room, i am monitoring the situation and will be phoning the school if it continues.
DS2 is not bothered about being cool and therefore never hides his genuine enthusiasm for learning, the teachers seem to appreciate this and are less bothered about presentation etc.
There is also a critical mass of geeky boys for DS to hang out with and a refuge in the pupil support area at lunch and break.

Ahhhh sodding... I know teachers like that and am so glad they've never worked with ds!

ah yes we had a blip when ds2's lsa went on maternity leave

Her maternity cover person came to meet ds at his annual review - she decided to ignore the bit in his statement where it says he takes things v literally ..

Lsa: now mini-sodding, I'm not like Miss X, I'm evil

Ds: goes white and is obviously mulling this over during the entire session

At the end...

Senco: so mini-sodding do you have any questions?

Ds2: yes, is Miss Y really evil?

He never really took to her after that and we all breathed a sigh of relief when his 'proper' lsa came back from maternity leave

If I could go back and do it again, I would word my instructions more carefully.

You need to keep the top button of your shirt done up all day except when it's time to change for PE, then you are allowed to undo it.

Unlike primary school, you'll need to carry your bag around with you all day but you can take it off and put it on the floor during lessons.

Both of the phrases in bold were obvious to me, so I thought they didn't need saying.

Hello, I have a DS 12 coming to the end of Year 7. The things he has struggled with are things that would be obvious to other children and therefore are not explained. For instance he was found wandering around aimlessly during his first PE lesson as he did not know where to go. The school has a sports centre, but he didn't make the connection that that was where he had PE. Also if he moved from one room to another during a lesson (which happens in science) he had to take his stuff with him.

The positives far out way the negatives in my opinion.
He goes to a lunchtime club everyday and has made friends there. He has learnt to do things for himself and manage his time. He is doing well academically and has won prizes during the year which has bolstered his self esteem.

One tip I would give is that when DS is dealing with a teacher he doesn't know or staff in the office, is that if he is having a problem with the situation to tell them he has Aspergers. We have found this has helped really well, even in the canteen they know and let him choose his own food combinations rather than what is set on the menu.

Also make sure you are known by the SENCO and the Head of Year. IME form tutors deal with the kids, not the parents.

Another tip I would give is to read the website and especially things like old newsletters to get an overview of the school year and what is likely to happen when.

This time last year I was just as worried and anxious as you, but DS and I have found everything to be much more straightforward than life at primary and DS went to a very supportive primary!

I have just been reading this thread, it was recommended to me.

I also have a Dd who is transferring to secondary in Septemeber.

It is good to read positive experiences. I think Dd3 will struggle with the things that people have mentioned such as organisation, hand writing, PE.

I have been lucky so far and have had lots of contact with her new school and they have already named a key adult to help support Dd3.

I hope your Dd gets on ok five

Similar experience to sodding, except my ds isn't dyspraxic.

Ds found it difficult just to stay in the classroom with some teachers... He had an exit card which ran he could leave the classroom and go to the SN dept' whenever he needed..... This really helped. He hasn't needed one this year (y10)

Ds2 is just coming to the end of y9 in the top stream of a partially selective comprehensive - he has dyspraxia and fairly mild ASD and had been utterly miserable for the last two years of primary

Because he struggled so much at primary I was very anxious about how he'd cope in the much larger secondary environment but he's actually been much happier

It helps that there's a critical mass of geeky boys in the top set so he's not isolated in the class. There's a very narrow (high) ability range in his class which means the lessons go at a faster pace so he's not bored and doesn't get intolerant of other people not 'getting' things

He is a rule follower so never gets into trouble intentionally

We practised getting into school uniform over the summer before y7 as he finds buttons etc tricky - we showed him how to take his tie off without undoing it

He finds lunch tricky as the dining hall is huge and noisy - I send him in with a snack and drink in his bag so if he can't face going in there at least he's got something

He got lost a few times in Y7 but very sensibly took himself to the office and explained and got sent out with a passing sixth former to help him find his class

He has a laptop which he uses for any extended writing as his handwriting is virtually illegible and soooo slow

Most teachers have been great - he has a very 'left field' way of approaching things which the majority have found refreshing as it gives a different perspective in the class

The only teachers we've found tricky are PE and DT where he's had problems due to dyspraxia and the teachers have obviously paid no attention to the comprehensive notes given to them by the SENCO ...

On the whole it's been a much more positive experience than we'd feared. He still has no social life - he does cricket once a week out of school but even though he's been seeing the same boys since he was 9 he never talks to any of them - and I can't see that changing but he's not bothered

Thorn rose your DD sounds exactly like mine!

Primary was actually ok for friendships in final two years but some 'friends' have now turned and she is dealing with a lot of low level teasing. Has support teacher she can go to and is now comfortable with telling her Form teacher and HoY.

Can't encourage lunchtime clubs enough...

Interesting, my ds is starting secondary school in September and has aspergers, I think he's in for a shock, they are treated like babies in primary school. Would help if I knew where he was going but that's another story:)

FiveHoursSleep: I think it's the same school (well, the boys' version). I used to be 3b1g (and variations on that) and I think we've compared notes on the schools on here before.

I have a DD in Y5 who shows many of the signs of ADD and has Aspergic and dyspraxic traits too. She can be socially quite immature. She strongly wants to go to the girls' school, so I'll be interested to find out how your DD2 gets on. The boys' school has an excellent Learning Support department and is very proactive with helping children with difficulties, but I know nothing of what provision the girls' school has.