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4.5 year is not autistic but school is trying to prove otherwise

54 replies

alpha001 · 13/04/2016 12:38

My son has started school this year. We are working parents and spend less time with him. Most of the time he is with nanny who speaks different language. So he is behind in speech and language. His behavior is very different at home and in school. He is a perfectly happy and healthy child ate home. Now school is trying to prove that he is autistic which he is definitely not. He like to play alone and doesn't like orders. It seems that they are trying to get rid of him. He is last July born and youngest in his class. I have seen significant improvement in him since he started school. Can they throw him out of school without our consent. what options do we have.

OP posts:
Kariana · 17/04/2016 18:53

He is significantly behind other children, this school is not a best place for him and they don't have resources to look after him. They are not interested in listening to us.

As a former teacher of children your son's age I have to say this is a very unusual thing for the school to say to you and suggests to me that either you have a terrible teacher or there is something wrong with your son that you are not seeing because you perhaps haven't interacted for long periods with other children of his age. I'd be inclined to the latter only because I have never met a teacher who would want to say the above about any child that wasn't causing a huge issue within the classroom. Most teachers are kind and compassionate and really care very deeply about the children in their care. It always broke my heart when I saw a child who was clearly experiencing difficulties which the parents refused to acknowledge. It's also impossible for schools to get rid of pupils with all but the most extreme difficulties so either he is extreme or they are exaggerating for some reason.

Either way please please allow them to get in the educational psychologist for an assessment. This will have one of several effects. They will find he is autistic (very unlikely at the first observation anyway as these diagnosis are rarely handed out and take a lot of time) and he will get the help he needs. They will find he is not autistic and the teacher will be reassured that with more support from a TA he will catch up with other children, thus putting her mind at rest and you will feel vindicated. Alternatively they will find he is probably not autistic but that he does seem to have different additional learning needs that need more than in class support - he will then be assessed further and will get the help he needs at this early stage rather than waiting until damage has been done to his learning. Surely you would want him to get the best possible start to his school career and therefore you should definitely go ahead with the assessment, which can only result in a positive outcome for your child.

If you honestly can't go through with this then another school is your only alternative. If they too come to you with concerns you will know that they are right. If they don't - well it may be that they are just bad a picking these things up and you may find out a later stage that something should have been done sooner. Of course they might pick nothing up because there's nothing wrong. It's a risk you would be taking.

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh because I'm sure it's horrible to be told there is something wrong with your child, and teachers - particularly inexperienced ones - can make mistakes, however I really do think that the best option for you and your child is to get an expert opinion in just in case. An educational psychologist will be completely independent of the school and won't be influenced at all by what the school say so you can be reassured by what they report either way.

On a another final note you are within your rights to ask for his current assessment scores from the school and for written details of exactly what he is behind in and why they think he is autistic (what signs/examples they have noticed). If you can get this then you may be able to check his results against the national average yourself, and compare what he can do at home with what he can do in school more accurately, or post here for advice from others.

Sorry for the long, rambley post. It may turn out to be the school with the problem rather than your son, but it's definitely worth checking just in case.

Squashybanana · 17/04/2016 19:12

Dear OP, you are finding a lot of reasons to justify the behaviour of your son, who you at the same time say is perfectly normal. You don't speak to him. He hears two languages. He plays with sophisticated toys so dislikes simple ones. He ignores people because he is headstrong. Yet he is perfectly normal? (Your words, I prefer 'typical/ atypical') . You are acknowledging his behaviour is different and finding a load of reasons to justify that. I am a psychologist and the drive to communicate and play runs very deep. It isn't typical for children to refuse to play with simple toys, however sophisticated the electronics at home might be. Any reception class there will be kids dressed up, pretending to go shopping, learning how to cut, sticking boxes together with tape. This is typical behaviour. Some of the clever children might make a more sophisticated model, or try to write labels on their pictures, or organise some of the other children to be 'passengers on the bus' or some such. What is not typical is for a child to refuse to engage in those games, fail to respond to verbal instructions for extended time periods, etc. It might be that he isn't autistic, He might have a language processing issue or a hearing problem or whatever. I really really don't think he is a boy who really hasn't been spoken to enough to develop speech (unless you were seriously, seriously neglectful) and who is too sophisticated for the toys on offer. Please let people investigate your son's needs and help him. Schools don't say they can't meet a 4 year old's needs lightly.

AlleyCatandRastaMouse · 17/04/2016 19:19

How is he with your mother tongue OP? For what it is worth we also had a SALT say our son does not have ASD but she was not correct and she did not have the specialisation to recognise ASD. I would imagine she has changed her tune now as she has had him in a group SLT setting and she has not been remotely able to manage his ASD behaviour so she has been on a learning curve.

NerrSnerr · 17/04/2016 21:18

Please listen to the school. They won't be trying to get rid of him, they want to help. How is he with your mother tongue? I assume you talk to him lots in that language? What does his nanny think?

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