DS and End of Term Grades

[ButterfliesnWaterfalls]

Hi all,

DS (10) is Autistic in Year 5. His concentration level is around 10 minutes. Needs lots of breaks. Doesn’t get 1:1.

Academically, he has improved and progresses every year (thankfully). His teacher emailed today to say he was a few marks off 5EX for Maths.

I feel deflated. I know I shouldn’t. I work hard with him and I know he tried his hardest with his tests but I just feel Maths is the one thing he would get an Expected for and he didn’t.

English - he’s working way below age related as he has no interest and hates writing and reading.

I know if he’s not working at age related now - chances are he won’t do well in Year 6 SATs. What does this mean for GCSEs and future academic career? Will he be able to go to University?

Do children with SEN get to experience uni life? What about work? Will he get employed?

AIBU to be worried. I don’t know how else to help him.

We have always been taught the traditional - get C or above in GCSEs and do A-Levels and go to Uni. But I don’t know what else is out there as an alternative which pays well.

Any ideas as to how I can help him?

You might have to redefine what success could mean for your child.
He might be able to attend university.
He might not want to go to university. He might opt for apprenticeships.

I know people whose children struggled academically but they’ve gone to university with qualifications like Btech.

Redefining success for him based on his interests is a important imo, though.

“Children with SEN” is very broad though as ranges from academically gifted to those less so.

All the best, OP. I’m sure you’ll find your balance

Hi, thanks for your message. Yes, you’re right. Redefining success based on his interests is something I was trying to do - I thought he’d be expected at Maths or maybe even excel at it, but the results show other wise.

I think that’s why I feel sad.

I’m just trying to think of what other alternatives there can be because most Courses require minimum C grade in English and Maths.

He's still very young.He can develop and change hugely over the next few years. Considering he has no 1 to 1 help, he has done ok. Keep encouraging him at home and developing any special interests.

In my experience SATs results are completely ignored by secondary schools. They are not a measure of how well a child will do later in their schooling.

I would stop focusing on whether or not he might go to uni when he is still so young and instead just focus on helping him to achieve the best that he can in his circumstances so that he is happy and feels proud.

My youngest, same age and year group, is currently under a paediatrician and being tested for adhd. He had speech delay, struggles with working memory and hates school. He won’t read books and English is really hard for him as he struggles to remember what he’s read. He was always pretty much on target with maths every year until his most recent report where he is now working below target on everything. He was upset for days as it is the one thing he has always just managed to have a positive in.
it doesn’t help that his older two siblings are at a grammar school and excel academically. But I just keep in with the positives in individual differences. He will go to a high school that will be just right for him, he will have more opportunities there to do more hands on subjects and access a local college for btechs and so forth. There are plenty of industries around us that offer apprentices from 16 in engineering or computing which I think would suit him much better. He’d still be learning - but also earning!! I don’t think university would be the place for him at all. But time will tell and we’ll adapt if required!! Different paths don’t mean failure!

A significant proportion of pupils don't pass English and maths and so there are plenty of non-academic options available at colleges. Maybe you could go on the website of your local college and have a look around what's on offer to set your mind at ease?

If he has significant needs then you need to think carefully about secondary transition. Have you considered applying for an EHCP?

Has he got an EHCP? If not, then definite have a look at the IPSEA site and think about applying for one. The school may say he won't get one, but this is not good advice. The extra support that an EHCP can provided may help him achieve more than he can at present - and will certainly be useful when he transitions to Secondary.

If he's almost at expected in y5 he can still get grade four maths at GCSE.
As long as you and school are supporting with literacy he will keep improving

@noblegiraffe yes, he’s got one. Things just take time, and more time since covid. His primary school are very good. And hopefully his secondary will be too.

It’s one exam in year 5. Things can change a lot in a short space of time so please don’t write him off just because of one result.

Focus on now. With any child you can’t know what is going to happen in the future even less so with a child with additional needs.

but for a bit of reassurance -

year 1 Ds couldn’t access any of the curriculum

year 2 he clicked for some basic maths and finally mastered reading basics.

year 5 he is working towards in everything still struggled with reading.

he is now coming to the end of year 7, he is in set 2 across the board I got a call from his English teacher last week to say how well he is doing and how impressed she is with his reading.

childeen develop at their own rate not on a government approved timetable! For us getting the right support through his ehcp was the game changer

On average someone not achieving 100 in y6 SATs will not be on track to pass the English & Maths GCSEs. That doesn't mean an individual can't though.

The alternatives to A levels is vocational BTECs or straight into an apprenticeship. BTECs can be done at Level 3 (A level equivalent) or Level 2 (GCSE equivalent) or Level 1 (lower than GCSE). You can work up the levels whilst resitting English & Maths GCSEs, or taking them as functional skills.

University isn't for everyone, but you absolutely can go with a L3 BTEC.

I agree don't write him off. However I would make sure you give a balanced message over the next few years about the options. Don't make him feel he has failed if he doesn't/can't do the A level -> Uni route.

We have learned that the world doesn't end even if you get zero GCSE passes first time round.

At our local colleges - and the courses are national ones, you can enter at different levels - the lowest level being not getting a '4' (a pass) in Maths and English and you will have to retake them
A levels and then Uni is not the only option for a successful career anymore
Apprenticeships are the way to go - when I was at school (a million years ago) apprenticeships were looked down on but now students (and parents) see the advantages
Unfortunately that means there is a lot of competition for them!

Would using a laptop help in English and other wordy subjects?
Ds started using a laptop after school assessment and in one subject he went up 3 grades, simply because he could actually concentrate on what to write rather than just writing.

Hi. Have you considering seeing if he has adhd too? I have child with asd who turnd put to have adhd - which we wouldn't have even considered except he has siblings with adhd. We also then looked at dyslexia which turns out he has too so means we took a different approach to reading and writing - word hornet / word wasp books are excellent to work through with him yourself. You can order them online

I would also focus on his successes. Has he improved his maths from last year?

Have a conversation with the teacher. Many borderline pupils can pushed into Expected by the end of year six as they learn exam technique. Is he working at Expected level within lessons? Expected is not easy to attain as the year five curriculum is so hard.

As my DC have finished their education now, finding what they are good at is important. High school can develop interests that naturally expand reading and knowledge.

My friends ds struggled through school and is SEN but has found he is an amazing coder and is looking at a career in cyber security.

There is nothing wrong with doing a trade, I have a vocational degree but all three of my brothers got a trade and they all earn more than me, plus they never had a massive student loan.

Hello. I thought you might like to hear the story of my cousin's son who has autism and is now 22 years old. I can't deny that it has been a huge struggle over the years but he has surpassed all the expectations of the early years. Yesterday he leaned that he had achieved a lli degree (just one mark off a first). That's one very proud young man and one even prouder mum.

SATs are not an indication of a child's abilities, they are an indication of how the child is managing to receive a one size fit all type of education from a school, in the circumstances he and they have, and are working in.

He's not meeting NT children's 'milestones' in an NT system, because he's not a NT child. He's doing well to manage in a system that's he's not designed to particularly benefit from.

Fitting the education to the child, often works better than trying to fit the child to the education.

There are many routes in life and the idea that if he doesn't manage x by y time, his future will be irretrievably damaged, or he'll never get on in life, is a myth created by those who benefit from such games.

We ended up home educating. Best thing we ever did, (in terms of Ds academically and socially, and giving him back a childhood) and he went to university, (was never previously on anyone's menu) and on to decent employment.

I'm now a mature student and there's lots of students with SEN's. Some quite honestly are using it to have an extended 'pre adulthood' and allow some basics to 'deepen down,' but that could be said of many of the non SEN students too.

Do children with SEN get to experience uni life? What about work? Will he get employed?

Nobody can know this about your child - all children with SEN are different.

I have a friend whose son was probably about where yours is at the same age. He's now in his 20s and he's a pastry chef at a very posh hotel. He didn't go to university and he still struggles with reading and writing. He has a perfectly normal life in every respect.

Why doesn't he have an EHCP?

He is still only little - by focusing on Uni now is not productive- and will lead to stress all round

Uni is not for everybody and can actually hinder your chances if you do the wrong course

As he enters secondary school he will develop different strengths but he should have an EHCP

Thanks for the messages. It’s really helped. I know he is doing amazing and has come so far and he is only 10!

Thanks for the personal stories, they’ve made me feel loads better.

He does have an EHCP - and I’m looking at secondary options and where to send him.

When/how does ADHD get diagnosed? I might email his teacher and find out. Also - I did mention a laptop for English but they don’t use that for him, or if they do, it’s not consistent.

@ButterfliesnWaterfalls my DS (13) needs to use a laptop, he has so much to say and will happily write and write (he’s only been happy to write since starting a new school this year as they helped him regain the confidence he lost in himself) but it’s totally illegible to even him.

Keep pushing for the help you know he needs so he can achieve his potential.