What do they actually learn in reception/ What do kids actually know going in?

[RBBMummy]

My son is Autistic and its given him certain abilities. He starts school in September and hes very excited. However i think hes expecting too much and i want to be realistic with him. He also doesn't understand that other children cant necessarily do what he can, but as hes my only child i don't know what other children can realistically do at 4 academically. If i can start talking to him about this now he should get it by the time school starts. I just don't know what im aiming for?

And regarding Y1, it sounds as if you have somewhat unrealistic expectations. You can read up the National Curriculum to see what they are taught in Y1.

Also it is worth being aware that since the NC was introduced in 2014, many teachers believe that they are not allowed to cover any subject matter from other years with the children. They believe they can only extend towards 'depth' but not forwards by teaching the next year's content. And many teachers are not very good at this 'depth' thing.

I think it is great that you are trying to understand what really happens in schools, in order to prepare your DS. But it seems you are starting with rather skewed impressions (the vast majority of children in my DS's year, which is a class that really loves reading and as a whole is probably quite advanced, have started reading Harry Potter in Y3 - your DS will have a long time to wait for his peers to catch up), so you seem to have a lot to learn.

Also you are perhaps asking in the wrong place. Most contributors here have no experience of how schools deal with 2E. Some will have experience of SEN and how schools deal with that, some will have experience of how schools deal with giftedness, but the majority will simply be telling you how school was for their NT, mostly above averagely able but not gifted, children. So not really relevant for preparing your child. Which is why I refer you to the G&T board.

Is it actually likely he will have kids in his class who cant read, write, count, ect at all before they start?

Well yes. But why is that an issue? Can’t you just tell him that all kids are different?

It is rather strange that a kid who is presumably reading very widely on a variety of subjects has no concept of differing abilities, Harry Potter has kids who are completely unable to do the same things Harry can, how did he understand that? If he's going to struggle to understand that his peers will not have similar situations, perhaps you need to direct him at books with even more extreme differences. The CBBC our school programme - and the similar adult focused ones, if you don't mind the obvious swearing - are good talking point triggers for different school behaviours with our child, but as Brillotic said, she is just highly able without any known SEN. There may be other books where the description of different ability kids are a topic you could encourage him to read?

I think the priority is not worrying about school, or talking to him, it's about getting him into some situations with his peers now so he can begin to recognise their traits, even if an understanding is difficult due to his SEN. Does he not attend any sort of pre-school education?

Those saying op’s son should surely be able to understand x and y need to remember the classic asd triad of impairment. Many children with asd struggle with theory of mind and understanding others have different capabilities, wants and needscfrom them.

Many dc on the spectrum also struggle with flexibility of mind and can have rigid preconceived ideas of things.

Op I completely understand why you want to prep your ds. I think you now have a good understanding of what he will need to be ready for so you can try to help him appreciate the realities as far as he can.

Good luck and congratulations on his academic achievements - he sounds like a super smart boy

multivac why not, its a good way to get a general understanding

Are his skills of comprehension better than yours? Because that comment makes no sense in response to my point.

Harry Potter has kids who are completely unable to do the same things Harry can, how did he understand that?

My understanding is that children with hyperlexia (often a manifestation of autism) often "read" fluently but may not understand the meaning of what they are reading.

Exactly! They can decode very well but comprehension is often not as advanced.

So that's quite an interesting definition of the word read! What would such a child get out of reading harry potter, or indeed much else?

Tbh that asynchrony is just part of having a gifted child (especially a 2e gifted child).

him being autistic means i have to prepare him as much as i possibly can

You need to start with the basics. The sorts of things he will be asked to do will be:

Put on/take off his own coat
Change for pe by himself
Toilet and wash hands without assistance
Sit quietly and listen to the teacher
Put his hand up before offering any input
Share resources
Take turns
Play with other children
Feed himself lunch
Follow the class rules
Ask for things he needs

Do you think he will be able to manage all of that by himself?

Regarding reading. There will be some children who can read well and others that have never attempted it. The range is vast and schools staff are used to that.

If he can decode, the next step would be to see if he can comprehend.

This means answering literal questions from the text and also making some inference.

For example, if the story said that Ted put on his wellies, waterproof coat and took his umbrella, what was the weather like?

How would your son answer that question?

sirfred, reading is a mix of lots of different elements - decoding, broad plot comprehension and more advanced comprehension skills like understanding inference and irony.

A dc with hyperlexia and asd who is a gifted decoder could read (decode) at 3. They might enjoy the exciting broad plot elements of Harry Potter eg magic spells, dementors etc and find them great fun without being capable of extrapolating in the way a neurotypical child aged eg 8 would be able to as to motivations and differences between people.

I think you should be focusing on the social side of things with your son as maybe that's what he will find difficult... Other childrens abilities should not matter whatsover, every child differs
-your son may flourish academically but how will he fare at physical activities like PE & sport?
-how is he at self care?
-can he mind his possessions? dress & undress for sport? do his laces? open & close his lunch box?
The academic side is only one very small aspect of reception. You need to manage ALL expectations, social interaction, self care, sports & PE & help him find his place. My dcs are very bright but I would place alot more importance on the other aspects of school that I listed above. It really doesn't matter what the other children know or don't know, focus on your own child. My dc started school reading, self taught & they were not the only kids at least 1 or 2 other kids in the class were on the same level...

My son started full time nursery (in his school) when he was 3 years 4 months. He was still in nappies until he started (not allowed) and he still isn't using the toilet properly and has been in reception since September. He hasn't been diagnosed with anything but is being assessed. He could count to god knows what by the time he started nursery (although was a late talker) and knew his alphabet etc.
He goes to a welsh school and his teacher couldn't believe (in October) that he knew the welsh alphabet already. He is learning to read in welsh (they don't teach in English until they are older), yet sits there reading English books to me.
However, he still really struggles with practical skills (dressing etc) and this is something the school have been saying about since he started. He also struggles to follow instructions in topics that aren't what he is really good at/ interested in His social skills aren't amazing, but not really bad either, he has made friends and can be quite outgoing in some situations.
I suppose what i'm saying is, its not all about 'how clever they are' when they start school. Its about so much more, they are learning to be independent, social, manners, making friends, physical skills etc, and your son may struggle in some of these areas. They are all so different. Just try explaining that to him and try to get him to understand that it's not a bad thing if everyone isn't as clever as him, they may be good at something else.
Wow that was long lol

brilliotic i honestly don't really think hes gifted, just has an innate ability to learn. And im well aware they will concentrate on his communication and interaction but since hes excited to learn and since it will be such a big change its best to just focus on that

Chienrouge no as hes autistic

Onceuponatimethen thank you! He can understand and enjoy books without relating to the characters or feeling their emotions. I definitely feel more equip to prepare him for school now

I hope your child’s school will be as helpful as my children’s primary.
DD1 is autistic but with an estimated IQ of 166, and arrived in reception with a reading age of 12.
The head taught her separately for part of each day, and liaised with the local high school to send down senior level maths textbooks for her.
As it was a small village school with a strong Christian ethos, the staff were very inclusive and helped all the kids with social interaction and caring for each other.
DD1 ended up with a maths degree and a well paid job, and socialises happily. Her autism has needed a few adjustments at work, but her employers have been very supportive with that.
As long as your child’s school is flexible and can work with their strengths, while accommodating the autistic problems, things should turn out fine.

I would be finding books more age appropriate than Harry Potter. If he is very good at decoding words then go for classic children's books with more challenging vocabulary. eg the original Thomas books (although not the one where the kids get a good thrashing!)

Lots of children come into reception not being able to read but there is huge variation of ability, confidence (and size!), partly because of the massive difference in age between the kids who are already 5 and the kids who have just turned 4. My youngest is just turned 4 now and can count to 25ish and do adding 1s, recognise about half the letters of the alphabet and knows their sounds. He can copy his name but can only write the first letter of his name without something to copy. He is obsessed with trains. He knows common shapes and colours but still gets pink and purple mixed up. He is very sociable and chats to other children and adults, is able to sit and listen and concentrate on a task, is able to ask for help if he needs it. (Possibly the most important thing they need to learn before school!) He is very good at climbing and a fast runner. I would say he is top end of average compared to his peers at preschool. Obviously there is another 6 months to go before he starts school and they all change a lot in that time. However other than practising taking his clothes on and off (for PE!), hanging a coat on a hanger and a bit more work on pencil grip I think he's pretty much ready to go.

Babdoc wow thats awesome! I really hope my son gets that great of an opportunity to learn. I know im not smart enough to compensate if the school does just let him skate by.

lostherenow Harry Potter is age appropriate. Reading is very different to watching a film

RBBMummy, hope you've noticed that Babdoc's DD is now a grown-up. Things have changed in the last 15 years or so in schools, most would say for the worse. Particularly, there is a lot less funding around, meaning that it is very rare that any school can afford to offer any child such an experience as Babdoc's DD had.

Also, Babdoc's DD is gifted/2E. You said earlier you didn't think your DS was gifted, hence not wanting to read the 2E threads on the G&T board. If Babdoc's experience seems meaningful to you in your attempt to understand what to expect from school, why not look at more recent 2E experiences - that will tell you how you have to go about things today, in the present educational climate, to get the best possible experience for your 2E child.

Btw I had overly 'optimistic' expectations for school. DS was excited to go, for all the learning opportunities. Turned out I had been wrong, DS was disappointed, struggled for a while... but soon started enjoying other things at school (social aspects). But DS is NT so probably found this easier than most children with ASD would. I think it is great that you are researching what to expect; but I really honestly think you'd be better served reading some particular threads in G&T (or start your own over there), or head over to SN boards.

He could:

Recognise his name and write the first letter

Count 1-20

Knew his shapes and colours

Toilet himself independently

Wash and dry his hands

Dress himself with no help

Take turns and share well

Sit still and put hand up at carpet time

Communicate his needs to an adult well

Make friends and empathise well with peers.

TBH as he went preschool with most of his peers and there was very little difference with them all. Non could read beyond very basic phonics. Very normal and absolutely fine. They’re all reading now and thriving.

Will he need a 1-1 OP?

If he isn’t able to understand ‘all children are different’ then I can’t see how the information you get from this post is going to help you prepare him?

What I mean is, the main thing you’ve learned from this post is that all children are different, with different abilities and strengths.