Would you send a child with this profile to mainstream school?

[confusedbadmama]

Hi everyone,
Would you consider sending a child with this profile to mainstream school with a EHCP, or would you think a SEN school is more adapted?

Due to start reception in September
Completely non-verbal, severe apraxia of speech
Autistic
Not potty trained and isn’t ready to learn yet
Very sociable, but only with kids younger than him, no problem with separation. Doctor noted awkwardness and difficulty in understanding social cues when playing with children his age or older
Very limited understanding
Difficulty following instructions and frequent meltdowns when asked to do something
Sensitivity to noise
Difficulty self regulating
Can’t draw or write, just scribbles
Doctor said he was developmentally around 2 years behind.
Great interest in phonics and numbers, can type and recognise numbers from 0 to 100, can count in order, can summarise, recognise that 6 dots = 6 items, etc…
Knows his alphabet and phonics and all letter phonics, but can’t read simple words yet

Thank you everyone

SEN school

SEN school

In a mainstream class ? No. A mainstream school with a special SEND unit with qualified and experienced staff?Maybe.

An SEN school sounds like a much better fit for those needs.

SEN school would be a better environment with more staff to children to meet their needs and adapt learning to their students as individuals.

I have 2 ND DC and the sensitivity to noise alone would make me consider Special School. For a number of reasons DC1 ended up with a class of 34 one year. The level of noise would probably be too much for your DS.

Have you applied for the ECHP yet @confusedbadmama?

SEN school

No. Not mainstream- they couldn’t cope.
Special school would mean he can have peers like himself and make friends. At mainstream this is less likely and will result in low self esteem. You can also make friends with the other parents who are in a similar position to yourself.

Is there a reason that you’re considering mainstream?

It might be worth looking at some of the local Special Schools before you decide

We have a number of schools near us with specialist autism units on site, which allow children to mix and access elements of the mainstream curriculum as appropriate. Is this something which would be an option for you?

Dear god no.

Do you actually have a choice?

It often seems that parents don't get the choice and it also often seems that mainstream until it's proven to fail is the default.

SEN specialist unit or SEN school. You will be disappointed with what a main stream school will be able to provide. In specialist provisions the ‘extras’ are part of the everyday provision. If staff are off sick in main stream it is hard to maintain consistent support.

I agree totally. My DF’s youngest goes to a Special Schools and is a teen now. It’s lovely to see him with all of his friends from school.

It doesn’t sound like your DS will be able to interact with the other pupils and being excluded socially will affect him.

No. Let him go somewhere he can make friends on an equal level and other parents understand.

SEN. A mainstream classroom and the expectations in it would likely overwhelm your child. Do you think they would cope spending 6 hours a day in a classroom with 29 other children? Reception will have lots of access to outside but once in Y1 the expectation in the class is a lot of time inside sat on the carpet or at a table. Often children who can’t cope with this end up in breakout spaces with just their 1:1 adult. It is also very challenging for children who are non-verbal to build relationships with their peers in a mainstream setting. A SEN school
will have far more experience and resources to meet your child’s needs.

I am confused when you say he is completely non verbal but then say he knows all the alphabet and phonics recognises numbers to 100 and can count. How does he do this?
Is he in nursery now and has a senco given you advice. There is usually a meeting with various people involved with the child to discuss and make recommendations of the best place suited for the child. All this usually can take many months and a space has to be available. In my area they wanted the child to have tried mainstream and then to fail before they would consider a special school.

He has an AAC that he uses instead of verbal speech
if we ask him to type “86” for instance he will, or what number comes after 12, or if we ask him where is the letter B or what letter makes what sound he will type it.

He is not proficient with his AAC device yet but he mainly uses it with letters and numbers as that’s his main interest now. But he won’t understand that pressing the food button means he is hungry if that makes sense.

We just moved to a new city and couldn’t get his EHCP sorted until recently. I still have to meet up with the team. From my understanding it’s very unlikely he will get a place in a SEN school right now for September, so I’m really worried.
I didn’t know they would have wanted him to try a mainstream school first.

No doubt a SEN placement.

Thank you everyone for your replies

i will look into that, thank you so much

Sen primary schools are relatively uncommon (my LA has none) and demand for places is huge. There are often units in some schools which cater for eg autism, behaviour issues, but it has to be the main need in the ehc and again demand is huge.

But the LA can sometimes fund an extra place at a unit. If you want a unit or sen school, you could name it and see what they say.

But really it depends on how the ehc is written and the level of funding that comes with it.

When you say thst you couldn't get an ehcp sorted until recently, do you mean it has just been applied for, or just granted? Once you have the ehcp, they need to consult with schools straight away, so you can give your parental preference. Even if you don't have a school for September, it sounds like a special school is worth waiting for. The difference in my child since moving to a special school has been wonderful and his needs sound less severe than yours.

Thank you for your reply. I have just applied for EHCP, I haven’t heard back yet.
By waiting, do you mean he could potentially start in the middle of the school year in a SEN school or would he have to wait until the following September?

I would imagine a mainstream school will say they can’t meet need but that won’t mean the council listen.

Have you been to see any schools?

Hey, I have no advice but I just wanted to send my love as one apraxia mum to another! My sons 8 now and his speech is still hard to understand but it's improved so much. He has ASD, Apraxia of speech and hyper mobility. When he was younger I thought I'd never have improvements with his speech but 4 years of speech therapy and we are finally seeing improvement. My son goes to mainstream with a EHCP and speech therapy weekly. Good luck with everything 🖤🖤