Home ed Liverpool.

[gillythekid]

My DS is in Year 5 and having a terrible time. He has been on the ASD pathway for over a year now and is being relentlessly picked on at school. He is a really bright kid but is starting to fall behind as he has problems concentrating in the classroom setting and difficulties with intense pain in his hand/wrist whilst writing. We have requested that he be given laptop access but I'm not sure this is always possible. The playground is a minefield for him. I feel that the school isn't able to provide adequate support for him and wonder if he'd be better off learning at home where he's able to focus. He is massively underachieving. I also wonder what support and social interaction is available in the city?

Hi gilly,

Sounds like your poor boy is really unhappy at school, and while he is so unhappy he isn't likely to be learning much. Home education is well worth trying. You could give it a go for the next year and a half, let him have a good break from school and a chance to recover his confidence, and then consider whether it's working well or whether he wants to try high school in Y7.

The "Home education Liverpool" Facebook group has more than 800 members and they say there is a very active home ed community in the city. That would be a good place to start.

By the way if your son's experiences with groups of other children have been negative, he may not be eager to jump in to home education social groups. There's no rush. Feeling safe and loved with his family will help him heal. He might need to do just that for a good few months before he wants anything to do with other kids.

If you are feeling much in need of support ASAP, but he isn't ready, you could either find a time to meet up with other parents without him, or take him along to a group but reassure him that it's fine for him for him to sit on the park bench or in the car with a book or electronic game. That happens very often, and the other families won't think it's at all odd! Unfortunately your son's history is quite common, and many kids are still suffering the after-effects of their school experiences when they first start home education. For that matter, some kids who aren't fond of large groups of people will continue to prefer other environments even once they are on an even keel.

Thanks so much Saracen! DS is actually really social and loves making new friends, it's just that he has difficulty maintaining those friendships, usually when kids start calling him 'weird'! I have asked school for a meeting as DH and I are seriously considering taking him out if things don't improve ASAP. I have a lovely volunteer from a local organisation coming this week to help me get an EHC plan application together as DS isn't getting the support he needs at all. I've joined a couple of Facebook groups to sound the whole thing out but I'm worried that I won't have the patience to home ed as I slide into my peri menopausal freak out zone 3 years into remission from bowel cancer. I'm bloody frazzled!

Have you ever considered trying to get your son a place at Abbots lea? My autistic teenager goes there and its absolutely amazing. I was initially worried about a specialist autistic school, but main stream no longer worked - since starting there 4 years ago we've never looked back. We get amazing support from the teachers and my child is much happier there.

www.abbotsleaschool.co.uk

Hi I’m just starting to home school my 12 yr old son. Is there any groups in Liverpool dnd has anybody got any advice please

Are you on Facebook Bretty? There is a very active group - you just need to search for Home Education Liverpool and it should come up.