How can we help to better support Neurodiverse children in schools?

[Trying2Learn]

Kind of a TAAT. Based on another poster who is saying they had no idea of what it would be like to parent a ND child.
Seeing lots of posts about how schools aren't geared up to support.

Background: I work in education but not as a teacher, work with schools across the country supporting a specific demographic but we have a lot of SEND. I've done the job for a while and am seeing a huge shift in how many ND children we support.

I am really interested to hear parents or carers opinions on this, as I don't get chance to engage with them in my role.

What would be your recommendations for a perfect school environment for a child who is Neurodiverse (either in a special or mainstream school)

"Neurodiverse" covers anything which is not "neurotypical". It's not one category.

I know neurodiverse children who need incredible levels of structure & routine and others who can't cope with it.

I know neurodiverse children who need constant challenge and stimulation and others who become overstimulated quickly.

etc etc

I really don't think there's an answer other than to say that diversifying what's on offer within and between different schools, so that parents/children can seek out a form of education which works for them.

Agree with pp . We need to accept the one size fits all approach is not suitable and inclusion should mean looking at the most suitable environment for the child and accepting that sometimes it is not a mainstream classroom.

Not in the UK but I presume it's similar but the system of autism , language and mgld classes in mainstream schools should be there extended to every school . It allows the child to work in the way that suits them best but also be integrated in a meaningful way

Therefore

I'd say maybe a focus on not excluding secondary pupils with SEN and rather on meeting their needs before it gets to that point

Advocacy for parents (if not provision then signposting)

Parent peer support groups (drop ins after drop off)

I'm an inner city support worker (sort of) and these things are the most often requested

There’s no perfect school environment as Neuodiversity is so diverse! One key thing is consistency though. We had to move DD schools in reception as the school were so inconsistent they were making matters worse. For example, meeting with SENCo agreed that she wouldn’t have to go into dining hall and would go to nurture instead. She would come home every day and the teacher would have sent her to the dining hall and she couldn’t cope. Raised it with teacher and SENCo and nothing improved. They would only have her in half days as she kept having meltdowns at lunch time (because they kept telling her one thing and doing another!) and the school said there was ‘nothing more they could do’.

Pulled her out and moved schools and her new school is fab (although the worst of the two on paper). They’re so good at managing her, shes in year 1 now and now goes into the dining hall (with ear defenders), does after school clubs and doesn’t refuse to go or cry at drop off anymore. But they were consistent from the start, took everything in small steps to build her confidence. If she was getting anxious or having a meltdown they would take her out for a walk round the school (even the head has taken her several times).

Being willing to adapt to the child and being consistent with your approach is massively helpful. But that being said, I work in secondary education (with SEN) and to do this well there really needs to be more funding, schools haven’t got the money for all the staff and resources they really need.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=p6of6izsK94

There is no one size fits all solution, but something like the LEANS programme in school could be useful in increasing awareness and support for ND children in school.

DH works in a school for pupils with ASC and they have a great set up. But- and it’s a huge but- they have very specific entry requirements. So the set up is great, for a very small sub-set of learners with ASC.

All learners have an EHCP with communication and interaction as a primary need. They must have evidence of capacity to work at an age appropriate level as the school teaches the NC to A Level.

occupational therapists and speech and language are on site. Additional SEMH support is accessed through trained support workers. Life skills are taught in a purpose built flat, sensory rooms on all corridors. It is a state funded free school, pupils come from about 200 mile radius.

Thank you everyone who has posted so far.
Yes, completely get that ND is very diverse, didn't mean to come off as dismissive and or generalising.

I'm wondering what schools with limited budgets and large range of needs can do better?

I'm wondering what types of provisions we might need more of in schools/as separate settings.

*100 mile radius! It’s a wide range, but not that huge. All pupils taxied in daily.

Some really simple things cost no money.

Have high expectations of dc - the only limit is their true potential. Not just writing them off.

Do actually provide the adjustments recommended for them eg don’t make children with dyslexia who are supposed to be laptor users write because that’s how a particular teacher prefers it.

Do not actively discriminate - happens all the time.

Do not be horrible to and blame the parents of children with SEN.

Teachers to cover send in training, so they know a little about the most obvious ones, regular send.
Properly trained senco who actually know tips and strategies to help send children. Some will need a lot,some a little. But just knowing what to do would be a huge start

I think the key is identifying each child's needs early and getting in an EP, SALT and OT at an early stage and then following their advice with proper follow ups. My son is 13, he now gets weekly OT from an OT. He needed it aged 4.

At the moment they system is: ignore parent, lets see if they grow out of it, lets use a generic set of sensory strategies without knowing if they are what this child needs, all done inconsistently.

Oh and flexibility over reading!
Phonics does not work for a lot of children.
They will learn to read without it. The point of phonics isnt phonics it's learning to read!

Better funding, not just for schools so that they can employ the necessary TAs, support staff and more reasonable class sizes; but the services that support children such as CAHMs, assessments, sure starts for families and other things that have been cut to the bone and invariably have an impact. Having better resourced and staffed schools with bigger budgets would allow for the appropriate support, perhaps different environments ie sensory rooms.

As is its not going to happen unfortunately so the free thing would be to remove the one size fits all template of success. For some children it's walking through the school gates in the morning, holding a pen or joining in with circle time- not just grades.

There is no point putting money into a school where not a single teacher has ever learned about Sen and the senco is literally just a so called co ordinator.

Some tips and strategies could be put in place right now and cost nothing or very little.

Human scale education. Proper relationships based on true respect and two way communication. Deep understanding and ability to be flexible. Small enough numbers to make that work and proper inclusive relationships with families.

Make sure the SENCO has a good knowledge of autism, beyond the usual expectations that it’ll be obvious.
(The senco at ds’s primary actively blocked children from being assessed, refused to start proceedings for EHCPs and had zero understanding of anxiety in ND children).

Mothers are very often an untapped source of information. We want our child(ren) to succeed. We may also be autistic ourselves, so may not come across as well as we’d like! Sadly this often means we’re ignored or are blamed, which, apart from being traumatic and upsetting for us, also means that you’re missing out on a great deal of knowledge that will help you to get the best out of our children.

I’d also highly recommend talking to autistic people. I attended several training sessions aimed at teachers, and from an autistic point of view, found it very one size fits all and bland, also it was relatively easy to identify areas that could make a real change (eg cluttered walls in the classroom, less formal atmosphere leading to lots of noise and chaos, smart boards on and buzzing, harsh lighting), but some of the things OFSTED like classrooms to have so they weren’t changed (laminated everything covering the walls), other things it was felt they couldn’t change, so despite knowing that a classroom was likely to be a problem for certain children, nothing at all was done, meaning that the childrens stress levels are intolerably high just by being in the room, let alone adding in more people, noise, expectations to work etc.

And what @Sevensilverrings said.

Reduce teacher workload. I could make much better resources for my SEND pupils if I were wasting less time on other things. I don't know how you since this one but more 'space'. If you have several children who all use the sensory break out room when they need to, this becomes problematic when they need it at the same time. And often schools that are supportive of SEND pupils (as obviously all schools should be but aren't) attract further pupils with additional needs, and this then becomes even more difficult.

Can I just say "Thank you!!!". Neurodiversity is being trumped around my place of work and it's grinding my gears. It's becoming a trend and I hope it soon passes as it's affecting the provision of children with ASD, where I am. All children are different and some approaches works for some and not for all.

From my working in a school hat, rather than a parent hat ..

The cheap things that helped most where whole school communication training by an autism outreach service - even the caretaker and me in the office. We were all taught to leave a much longer gap than felt normal to let the children reply to questions. Adults tend to fill in the gaps before children have processed information.

Yess!!! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

I work in an area (think Local service provisions). Fuck it. I'm just going to say it. Speech and language therapy and my team want to go to stake holders and have a say about neurodiversity (on how our reports should not be negative, that we shouldn't use certain approach which conform to neurotypical standards and blah) but no mention about going to the stake holders for better access and services for children with ASD.

Being really flexible. The option of part time attendance / flexischooling. Really good communication with parents so we can prepare them for what’s coming. Preparation for trips including a timetable for the day. Quiet spaces for sensory breaks. Lots of talk about neurodivergence and not encouraging masking but accepting and embracing their neurology.

I think all secondary schools should have an integrated resource. This would allow them to specialise in supporting a certain need group e.g. learning disabilities, or asd or ADHD and parents could select a school which had specific expertise in supporting children similar to theirs.

It would also force secondary schools to be more inclusive environments as all kids would share spaces with kids with significant disabilities.

More money, more staff, more resources

None of which is going to happen with this current government.