Teachers please: Pupil Referral Unit for a child with ASD.

[Sparklysilversequins]

Ds has ASD, he is unable to function in mainstream. There seems to be no suitable provision in our area, he is very hight functioning. It has been suggested he attend a PRU. I feel this is entirely inappropriate but am I missing something? Is this how it's done in these cases. Could I expect him to be supported there?

I am asking here because it has been suggested by MS teachers so I wonder what other MS teachers think? Thanks for any responses.

PRU in my area would be for students on the verge of exclusion, not for high functioning ASD. How old is your son? I'm not a teacher, but have worked within LEA and thought that for special needs if no provision available they were required to look to fund out of county placement.

Completely unsuitable, but sadly not unheard of.
They tried to send my DS (high functioning ASD as well) there when he was in Y2. The PRU doesn't even take children below Y3, but the LEA wanted them to make an exception . Luckily, the Head Teacher at the PRU put her foot down and said no.

I would contact parent partnership and NAS. Maybe even SENSOS! As well, a PRU is unsuitable provision. If they are admitting mainstream cannot cope, and do not have suitable special provision, then you have a strong case forgetting the LA to pay for a special private school. At least one of my friends hasforcedour LAto do this.

Thanks so much for replying. I've been told it may have been a positive thing for him and to perhaps give it a try. Every molecule in me was screaming against it but its so hard to know. I told them "no way" and it didn't even appear in the minutes of the meeting afterwards, so I definitely think it was inappropriate. He was only 7, so year 2 as well.

Tbh we've been fighting so long and so hard that he is being home educated atm and thriving quite frankly but every day I question if I am doing the right thing.

Am watching with interest as my yr 6 son (undiagonosed by cahms - probable sensory /PDA) is really pushing all the buttons at school and they are struggling to cope even with a 27.5 hr statement.

No.

PRUs are intended to be short-term placements to address emotional and behavioural needs.

I am assuming your son does not have a statement- has the school raised an SA1? They cannot possibly say that they, nor any other mainstream school cannot meet his needs and at the same time claim that he would not meet the threshold for a statement, particularly with a diagnosis of ASD (does he have a diagnosis?).

Has he been seen by the EP?

If he does not have a statement, request an assessment (SA1), now. You can approach the LEA directly, or ask the school to request one. If the school cannot cope with him, then they are not meeting his needs and an emergency assessment should be requested.

If he does have a statement and he is struggling in mainstream, then consider specialist provision, but NOT a PRU.

How old is he?

Is he on school action/school action plus?

Sorry, ignore my post- I missed that he is now HE.

I think I need to go to bed!

He is now HE but yes, he had a full statement when in school and still does, even though out now. Also diagnosis. He could not cope at all though and i was called in daily within an hour or two to either help him manage or usually just to bring him back home. He asks about going back sometimes so I am exploring all options and trying to keep an open mind. He is 10 now.

Tethersend it was the EP who initially suggested the PRU!

It's hard isn't it notapizzaeater? Mainly for them but also the stress of wondering how each day was going. Ds was never there towards the end. I would just go to the doctor every six weeks to renew his sick letter .

We very nearly sent a child with ASD to the PRU - on the advice of absolutely everyone working with him, including paediatrician, head of the PRU, external SEN experts and Ed Psych.

In that particular case, the bahaviour which made him a candidate for the PRU was unlinked to his ASD - as in he had acute short term behavioural and emotional needs AND ASD. The behavioural needs were not caused by his ASD, and the proposal was to use the PRU as we would for a NT child, though the threshold of behavioural difficulty to get him considered was MUCH MUCH higher than it would have been for a NT child as every possible allowance was made for the fact that it might be a symptom of his ASD.

In the end, we implemented a set of 'PRU-like procedures' to work with him in school, and managed without the full referral. Lovely child now, but boy, that period was tough.

Almost always 'no'.

There are some exceptional circumstances and would require an exceptional PRU, but for the most part they are entirely inappropriate.

If there is not suitable placement in the LA you are in they will need to fund one in a different LA or at an independent school, and pay for transport there too.

Is he still on the school roll?

No he isn't. But still full statement with LA, in case we decide to send him back.

Do you want to send him to school?

What's the specialist provision available like?

I am not sure. He asks about it sometimes though is thriving at home. His emotions have totally stabilised and a meltdown a rarity. I don't want to not consider all the options though, he's an intelligent boy. I want him to have all the opportunities he deserves.

He attended two mainstream schools and an ASD unit, they all broke down and at the ASD unit he regressed massively and was coming home daily covered in abrasions and bruises all over from being restrained. This was over a period of three weeks. We removed him after an incident where he was held down on a table causing facial bruising.

I want to do what's right for him but I just don't know what that is . HE has felt right but now he is secondary age and family and friends are asking lots of questions, it knocks my confidence.

There's a very well known autism school in the next borough. This would be what I would push for if we decided to send him back, but what if it just happens again? A lot of autism teaching techniques don't seem to work for him and no one seems to know quite what to do with him, though I know from research and study that his issues are not particularly unusual in children with HFA. I just can't see why no one seems to be able to deal with him or come up with something that works.

My Mum's friends son had ASD and was excluded from several schools. He was sent to a PRU as the cc had no alternative.

There was an out of County private school which was appropriate but the LA refused. The family ended up employing a specialist barrister to take the case on, to do a judicial review of the LA decision, and the local authority capitulated the night before the hearing. They knew they didn't have a leg to stand on and by settling out of court they avoided a costs order!

Mum said it cost the family about £15k in legal fees! The point I'm trying to make is that you need to be really hard nosed about it and don't accept the PRU if its not appropriate. Thee LA are ultimately worried about funding and will scrimp if they can- you need to show them that they can't in this situation.

The case I refer to above was about 12 years ago now and I suspect there is a lot if help now available on line. Don't give up and don't be bullied by the LA.

Eldest dd has Asperger's and went through this at school (at secondary). School just labelled her as having behavioural problems and we went via private assessment route. She was on track for PRU, eventually she became school phobic so I took her out, and took a chunk of time off work. She didn't have a statement (would have been two high functioning and by this time (she was 14) it would have taken too long to fight for it, which we would have had to.

We were able to go the private route - however we only found the right school via the Good Schools Guide who have a guide for special needs schools but more importantly offered consultations. That was the best £200 odd we ever spent as they came up with schools we had missed and one of those proved the perfect match. It wasn't an ASD specialist school (though they did have experience). It was family run and tiny with class sizes of around 8. It transformed her and she gained 6 GCSEs which given that she missed virtually the whole of year 8 was amazing. If she'd have gone to a PRU she'd be lucky to have gained 2 or 3.

I say this because only you know whether home educating is a long term prospect (remembering also that teaching your own ds gives you very little down time from each other and he's yet to hit the teenage years).

You've got a statement and if you've got the money to pay for legal support you may well be able to get him into a private school that would transform him and secure him the best future possible. As part of that process I would recommend the GSG consultation (it was a while ago and I'm assuming they still do them). If you find a school that you think is the right fit for your ds then you've won half the battle.

All the best