London Pre-Prep school for children with mild ASD

[justanothermum2]

Hello!

We are at a loss. All Pre-Prep schools we have applied to for our DS are rejecting him one after the other as soon as we disclose that he has mild autism. DS would do well in a normal mainstream setting with additional 1:1 support which we are willing to pay for. We prefer a pre-prep over state primary due to the smaller class size and more personalised attention. He is currently 3.5y and we are even considering for him to start school a year later. But I sense that the pre-preps just don't want to take the risk and mess up their leavers rankings....

Does anyone have experience with this? We live in Central London but are willing to move anywhere around zones 1-3 ish.

He is only diagnosed because we went the private route, on the NHS he still isn't even diagnosed and is simply a shy boy. It's so unfair that our son is now being penalised because we were decent honest parents who were open with the schools.

Please help, any advise is more than welcome!!! Likewise we are also open minded to hear if there are excellent state primary schools in central London where children with mild ASD thrive and are not being excluded to a separate ASD unit.

Thank you!!!

Sorry to hear this! How awful! I hope you find what you're looking for..

I'm intrigued when you say you went private route for asd diagnosis - via a private GP?

My son is showing some signs of ASD but I don't trust the nhs too much.

Another very random question here but do you feel your birth was difficult or long? I am looking into difficult labour and ASD in toddlers.

Very best

We went for a diagnosis via a private Developmental Pediatrician, self referral. The NHS waiting list was 18months at the time we were referred. Also I have heard NHS diagnosis might not be as thorough as private one and you could get misdiagnosed.

I had an emergency C section because of a failed induction after a successful ECV following a breach baby. ASD isn't linked to how the birth went, it's genetic and we know from who in our families.

Well on the plus side at least they're admitting that they're an absolute joke and can't provide even basic SEN support before you waste significant amounts of money on them. No excuse when they're not constrained by the horrific underfunding that state schools are. If you have an ASD diagnosis would this mean that you get your pick of state schools? It might be worth considering and looking round some of these before you discard the idea completely. You could always use the funds saved to get him a private tutor. It's worth remembering that in state schools SEN statements are very mainstream and might mean that they're much more experienced in giving your child what he needs. Good luck x

@mailpal we have a private diagnosis too. I did some Googling on private developmental paediatricians and found one I liked the sound of. I contacted them directly and made the appointment. Very quick birth for me.