using a removal room for a child with Aspergers

[Fiveyears]

my DS Y8 has Aspergers. He performs at a high level but he undoubtedly has behavioural issues. As a result he has a statement that equates to approximately 20 hours a week. He is now just over a term in to a school which is Ofsted outstanding and which also has a very good local reputation as a school that is inclusive. However, we have had numerous issues where we have had to challenge the school around the provision that they are providing for him. Thanks to some very helpful advice from Mumsnetters I have a meeting next week to discuss how the provision in his statement is being delivered. Today he came home from school and burst into tears: the SEN teacher has showed him the "removal room" and had told him that this room is the consequence of the failure to follow instructions. He was told that if he can't express what is troubling him before he enters a lesson or during the lesson itself then the school will have to follow the Behavioural Policy i.e. he will go into this room. The room is used from 8.45am to 4.15pm and he cannot communicate with other children during this time (he sobbed when he said this last bit). I completely understand that inclusion means inclusion of all pupils and that where DS is disrupting lessons that he absolutely needs to be removed. However, my question is whether the use of this room is a behavioural and not an SEN response and whether the school has to look at reasonable adjustments before using this. In so many ways, particularly academically, he should be mainstreamed, but this approach leaves me wondering if this school is not aware of how his needs can be best met. Should a child with ASD be treated in this way? I feel desperately upset about the state DS is in and the way forward for him. Thank you.

What behaviour would result him being in the room?

What would you like to happen when he is disrupting the class?

My ASD DS loved the exclusion room. He would happily take himself there when he couldn't cope with the classroom environment. Other students have been known to walk out of class and go to the SEN department - might this be an option for your DS?

Would he be allowed to go to the next lesson after some time out?

I wouldn't be happy with this. This is not inclusion- he cannot be disruptive, but the school need to show they are making reasonable adjustments to meet his needs- can he not go into the room for a limited amount of time? Ie for the rest of the lesson? The whole day seems harsh and obviously upsets your son

justtpbad I don't know the behaviour to justify the removal room but he sometimes refuses to work (reads for the lesson instead), or wont get his books and pens out (ODC and obsessed about cross contamination), wont do something because he knows how to do it (e.g. angles in maths and his lack of understanding as to why he needs to repeat work he understands). My preference would be for the TA to understand the difficulties he has and make reasonable adjustments or for work to be differentiated. I don't understand why the behavioural policy would kick in when he is not neurotypical and doesn't have the understanding around flexibility and imagination that others do. I want his statement to bring support not exclusion.

Lynettescavo I would like the school to explore how he can be included and for them to understand he is not neurotypical. My son cried when he saw the exclusion room as he described it as a prison and, despite his ASD, he immensely sociable and so the thought of a day in isolation was devastating for him. When he is at home and reflects on a day when he has had a meltdown he is extremely repentant but in the moment he can't pull himself back without support. He loves school and for much of the time is a model student and achieves at a very high level. We want to work with the school to support him and move him forward but the removal room feels like it is punishing him for his needs

The question I'd be asking the school is "How has using the removal room improved his behaviour"?

It is a strategy which is clearly not working for your DS, is not causing an increase in positive behaviour and is causing him distress. In light of this, I would be asking them to explain why using it is a good idea. After all, surely the desired outcome is for his challenging behaviour to lessen?

"but in the moment he can't pull himself back without support."

He can't because he doesn't know how to. I think there needs to be a conversation with school about how they plan to teach him the skills he needs to control his impulsive behaviour, rather than them just telling you/him that he needs to.

I'd be asking for an EP or ASD team assessment too, actually; clearly the school aren't able to devise effective strategies to manage his behaviours and there appears to be a fundamental lack of understanding of what causes them, and of how his ASD manifests. The school need extra support in managing his behaviours, so EP/ASD specialist input would be appropriate.

God that's hard. I used to teach an ASD student who was very sensitive to perceived criticism to the extent that I had to be very careful with addressing the class as a whole Will you all quieten down a bit? as he took the you personally and would think I was targetting him. He would have HATED this.

Another student I had had the removal room card so if HE felt he was going to blow at any time he would flash it and walk. This was monitored obviously by the removal room staff so it could be followed up whether it was an instruction/ a particular class/subject/time/member of staff but it wasn't for a whole day, that is Exclusion/solitary is for a behavioural incident like fighting for goodness sake.

The non-participation or doing something else entirely scenarios ARE hard to deal with....I had a boy who would do beautiful drawings rather than his classwork so he was told it would be a comment to mum in his logbook if he didn't complete the core or he would have to do it in his own time or for extra homework. This usually did the trick as did turning a blind eye if he was drawing whilst I teacher-talked as he was often taking it all in at the same time iyswim. I would occasionally allow him 5 min doodle between tasks to keep him on task.

Another boy hated repeating things he knew and deemed it a waste of time so was told the same as any student saying the same: you are repeating it for practise/if you have done it once before you will do it perfectly this time/ a chance for you to show off what you know. Didn't always work but didn't lead to meltdowns either.

Another boy was being forced to learn a language when one-to-one/key skills/social skills- situation/non verbal cues recognition/ extra English would have been far more appropriate.
I was told his target was simply to stay in class and try to take part....he sat there bless him and was zoned out/bored/bemused 90% of the time but he did have a quirky sense of humour and if I tapped into that then I could cajole him into bits and pieces (he was able to drop the subject at end of year 9 but should have been allowed to opt out earlier imho).

My point? All members of staff should be given strategy training along with a list of triggers/behaviours observed by the TA. The student should not have the onus of recognising or expressing when he/she is about to lose it as sometimes that is asking the impossible. The teacher should also be able to recognise some of the signs or triggers especially if there is spill over from previous lesson.
The removal room ought to be used positively with a card for student to take time out if needed as a sanctuary rather than a punishment.

None of that is rocket science. Yes your son needs to be treated like others and accept consequences to (in)actions/ boundaries in place BUT there has to be some flexibility in dealing with perceived inflexibility surely? Unless he is a danger to himself and/or others I would hate to see him removed like this as it isn't tackling the issue at hand which is how to engage him/ how to encourage him. I don't know - having a packet of disinfectant wet wipes for him to wipe his desk pre equipment could be part of his particular routine.
Many of my students were supported by their classmates btw They would let me know if something had kicked off previously and they were adaptable in understanding the outcomes/expectations for some of their peers might be different NOT lower, just different in approach. Differentiation is always hard...the all/most/some method tends to dominate but is often lip-service compared with how spot-on some primaries get it with differentiated tables and tasks. But all his teachers ought to be striving for differentiated activities rather than teaching to the middle.