to expect primary teaching staff…..

[Mollyweasley]

….to know and answer to the basic needs of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (including Asperger's syndrome).
to inform themselves if they don't, prior to the beginning of the school year when they know they will have a child with ASD in their classroom.

Autism is an invisible condition, it is not a reason to ignore it…. .

Chilli, that sucks. It makes me annoyed when teachers get away with saying things like that, it makes us all look bad.

*chilly, sorry!

Thanks Jessica. It was the head teacher!!

FFS chilly, that's even worse! I get that teaching is tough and time-consuming. I get that it is stressful. I don't get why you wouldn't want to take all the info available to help the kids. Especially when using tools the parents have developed only serves to make your own life easier! Arg! I need wine now.

Chilly our issue was with the headteacher as well and all the other teachers took their lead from her.

What Ineedmorepatience said x a million.

Arrogance from every angle - teachers, LA, NHS etc. Everyone felt they knew ds better than I did, with the result that recommendations were stereotypical and not relevant to him in any way.

It's what forced us to HE in the end. Nobody was interested in supporting this particular child in the way he needed. If he didn't fit their ticky-boxes, they hadn't a clue what to do for him.

In FE class profiles are common but don't ween to exist elsewhere in education.

They are a godsend to cover/supply like me, I may only see children for 1 day or even for 1 hour, so no I don't have time to get to know all the children.

But a well prepared class profile that tells Jenny's gran is ill and she is a child carer, that Billy finds change difficult and is allowed to go to a chill out area or Alex is dyslexic and needs handouts on yellow paper, Pheobe doesn't like to ask questions but will show a red 'traffic light' if she doesn't understand.

Sometimes it is useful to have a label, but for me, and I know most teachers get to know their class better, what I need is what works for that particular child.

It needs to be a team effort (for all children, not just those with special needs). What saddens me is when parents come in and they've had bad experiences in the past, and you can mentally see their fists clenched ready for a fight. There needs to be consultation between everyone to determine what needs to be done, and what can be done, bearing in mind the individual child, budget constraints and the needs of all children in the classroom. Eg, I can't provide a silent classroom all of the time, but I can provide access to a quiet space that the child is allowed to go to, and private dividers that students can put around their workspace when they want to work quietly. I can't always stick exactly to the schedule as things change constantly, but I can provide a visual timetable in the classroom and make sure I let the child know when something has changed. I cannot force the school to provide a TA or special equipment, but we'll work with what we do have and see if we can mcgyver something that will work. Team effort works best, every time.

In FE class profiles are common but don't ween to exist elsewhere in education.

I have one of these in my CRT folder. I've always done it, with photos of each child and important notes underneath each one.

Ds had a pupil profile too. Nobody in school ever looked at it, or any of the other information that was provided for them. And yet still, always the insistence that "we know best". Six years since we deregistered and I could still scream.