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Original poster

Anyone had child with ASD/asperger's at weekly boarding school?

27 replies

ChocolateHoneycomb · 01/11/2020 15:09

Hi,
I'm going to ignore any general nasty comments about how evil boarding schools are, so please don't bother. I am just playing around with ideas at the moment.

I have a ds with asperger's, who thrives on strict routines and hates travelling to and from school due to major concerns about timing. Academically his performance does not match his ability due to various ASD related things, but he is achieving within age expected ranges and is ahead in some areas. Behaviour can be rigid but he has always been fine in a normal class and doesn't require special help but benefits from teachers who are very aware of his ASD. He HATES doing work outside school - is willing to stay for homework club some days as that is 'at school' but causes tension about doing it at home. A few people have said this isn't unusual in ASD.

I came across another boy with ASD who has loved weekly boarding, as the week is totally structured and homework done so the weekend is 'time at home'. I wondered if this might suit ds, especially in a much smaller school than he would be at locally otherwise. It would be from year 9 and somewhere between 30-60mins drive from home.

I didn't board myself but ds' dad did and he has always raved about how wonderful it was, but he doesn't have a diagnosis of ASD!

Just wondered if this approach has worked for anyone else, or if you tried it but it didn't work why that was?

Many thanks for any constructive comments or suggestions.

OP posts:
Zodlebud · 01/11/2020 18:37

The structured days could really work for him but you need to look very carefully at what they do outside lesson time. They are usually expected to participate in a wealth of extra curricular activities, particularly after school. Sport usually plays a big part in this, but there are often a huge array of other things to get involved in. The management of the downtime would be one key area.

Also, how is he with sharing space? In the lower years dormitories are usually shared with several other boys. There’s no real privacy and if he’s a neat freak then missing out on rewards for tidy dorms might tip him over the edge.

Also, mealtimes are often exceptionally noisy with the whole school often eating together.

It’s the more social things I would worry about to be honest.

Otherwise I am a huge fan of weekly boarding (although my daughter has no SEN).

CraftyGin · 01/11/2020 15:14

Not me, but have experience of both boarding schools and working with ASC students.

You need to choose the school very carefully. A lot of boarding schools emphasise keeping the students busy and active, often through team sports. This can be a disaster for an ASC student and it puts lots of stressful situations into one place. Eating together could also be a stress point.

There are specialist ASC boarding schools, such as More House in Farnham, and I think you should have a look at somewhere like that. They would also help you with the EHCP process.