To drop a language for a Asdan qualification?

[redbeard]

My DS 14 ,has ASD and severe DCD ,has been struggling with French for a long time , he level is 2C or 2B.

He does however do well in most other subjects, top group English ,middle maths, level 6-7 in others.

He struggles to cope emotionally in French and can get very anxious and really does not do any work, he has asked many times if he can stop doing a language .

He has now been offered the chance to do this ,but instead join the small literacy support group and do an asdan course with them instead .
I am not sure what I think of this idea and was wondering what others thought.

This might well help in reducing his level of anxiety.

Has school told you what the proposed course covers? there are dozens of topics. even if it's something that you don't think he really needs, it could be worthwhile for the reason given above.

I am not entirely sure what the course is at the moment , learning about careers in the forces was mentioned .

I just think that maybe his time could be better spent just revising whenever he is supposed to have French ,although I appreciate it is probably not as simple as that.

I have never heard of an Asdan course before , so have no idea what they really are , the only thing I can research about them is that they are some times offered instead of GCSE's if they are not acheivable.

tbh he's clearly not learning much in French is he?
So he might as well drop that (and the associated hw) and do the Asdan course instead, whatever it is!

My DD has done an ASDAN qualification, and was told it would earn her certain amount of UCAS points if she passed. An A Level equivalent type thing. I do not know what level she did.

I am therefore guessing that the ASDAN your DS would be doing will be the equivalent of at least a GCSE, so worth it from an academic point of view, particularly as he isn't gaining much/anything from the French lessons.

I don't think a lot of schools allow GCSE students to drop a subject and work unsupervised, which might be why they want him to do the ASDAN.

Thanks all, I don't mind him doing the course at all, was just wondering what it is , but also if it will be of any benefit.

He isn't learning any French at all , and I am glad his school are open to him dropping it, how ever they have said he will go to this class for rest of year 9, 10 and 11 so was wondering if just having more study time might be more beneficial.

I think the not allowing unsupervised work is probably why.

From what I've seen in my job, asdan is an old hat thing like an nvq for people with learning difficulties. I'm not sure how seriously it is taken as a qualification. But if he is not learning anything in French surely it's better to at least complete some achievable for him. A pass in something is surely better than a fail, whatever it may be in?!

It's true that this course is much better than a fail in French, which is what will happen.

I think I was just hoping for him to do something else instead , maybe take another GCSE , or just study.

It sounds like a great idea. My DS has ASD and just couldn't 'get' French at all. He was allowed to drop it and did some social skills work in those lessons instead. Ending up with some sort of qualification sounds good to me.

Thanks, the more I think about it , the more better it seems, and my DS is happy to just not be in French any more .

I am a bit sceptical about UCAS points being mentioned. When my DD looked at degree courses which gave a UCAS tariff, they wanted all the points to come from her A2 results, so they might just as well have stipulated A level grades. Her dance UCAS points were not counted at all!

I'm not too worried about him needing the course for college/uni entry as he will be taking other GCSE's and then A-levels hopefully anyway, just wondered whether it was a good idea or not.

Sounds a good idea to me. I'm a former teacher working as a TA now, but our school does an ASDAN qualification - it is the equivalent of two GCSEs and involves a folder assessed through coursework with, I think, 12 units in it. It can be tailored to individual interests, you can take extra units and drop others - you can do research projects, presentations, organise events . . . . taught well it can be a creative and really helpful course, allowing people to use their time to pursue strengths/develop some new skills/reflect on their learning.

HTH

Thanks , that really is very helpful. I didn't realize it is considered GCSE level.

It looks like it might also help with some other skills he needs help with too.

Hmm I don't know.He is only 14 so has another 1.5 to 2.5 years to go before GCSE.I have 2 language-hating sons who are living proof that you can be utterly crap and get a B.
Good universities make offers on A level grades.Points don't come into it.