AIBU to think teacher should have consulted about this?

[Rinoachicken]

Don’t know the full story yet, will be speaking to school in the morning.

DS1 age 9 has just started year 5. He has ASD, always been well supported by the school. Last year discussed with the SENCO about some additional ‘social skills’ work for him as he really struggled last year with this aspect. He found the classroom too loud at times and this was managed by him wearing ear defenders at times or being allowed to work in the library.

He has come home today and told me all excitedly that he now sits at a table alone in the corner of the classroom and this is his permanent seat for the rest of the year. He loves it because he can concentrate better and doesn’t have to hear others chatting etc.

But I am concerned that this will only make it harder for him socially. It ‘others’ him and sets him apart from his classmates, who have up til now been mostly accepting of his quirks, just part of him. He will miss out on the class conversations of his friends (I know they aren’t there to chat but you know what I mean). He will also not be able to practice some of the coping skills the school we’re planning on helping him with this year, as he’ll be alone and not exposed to anything outside of his own personal bubble. His tolerance for others and ability to problem solve will not be able to be challenged and built upon. How is this helping him to grow and develop and be prepared for secondary school and beyond?

AIBU to think that such a major policy change for him should have been discussed with me BEFORE being put in place?

When I met the new SENCO we discussed the idea of trying to get an EHCP in place before he goes to secondary school. Perhaps this new seating strategy is part of that? Would be nice to know!

I put a work station in for my 1:1 with ASD. It should be the norm for any child in school with a diagnoses
Surely it should be down to the individual child, diagnosis or not? In ds's class there are 5 children with ASD, 2 of them need separate work stations. The other children with ASD work well on group tables.The 2 other children who have individual work stations have them for other needs.

This is another reason why things like this should be communicated - often advice regarding SEN is very generic.

OP please put pressure on the school for an EHP. If he had one then everything would have to be documented and planned. Does he have a statement? His diagnosis should be enough for official planning. Does he have 1:1 TA support? The work station is a good idea and it doesn’t limit interaction; it just means he’ll interact when he’s comfortable but have his space and quiet when he needs it. BUT children on the spectrum need to be told beforehand and involved. If he had an EHP you could also ask for a communication book which helps massively. Good luck OP.

I think it sounds like it would be a good idea to get one in place now.

EHCP's can take a while to get in place.

Ds is year 5 and we have been looking at schools for secondary, as I will be the focus of the next annual review.

Ehp plans can take a long time to actually get. And then sometimes it’s only by appeal. Just like everything else when it comes to sn

And unless things have changed again with the ehp plan some of the money can be allocated for additional things like clubs. I know it’s not as simple as that, but it’s just to highlight one of the benefits for your children now and in the future.

I agree with posters on the EHCP front.
It's much, much better to have them in place before secondary. We find it even more if a troublesome process than our primary colleagues (took until almost the end of GCSE to get one of my students an ASD diagnosis).

What I would say is don't get fobbed off at the end of KS2 by primary stalling because he'll be gone soon. Getting the EHCP is really key if you want a named school.

Are there any local drumming groups he could join?

This has worked really well for desensitising a child that couldn't deal with background noise in a classroom and improved social skills.

OP please put pressure on the school for an EHP. If he had one then everything would have to be documented and planned. Does he have a statement? His diagnosis should be enough for official planning. Does he have 1:1 TA support?

An EHCP is the newish name for a statement, not something additional.

Having an ECHP doesn’t guarantee 1:1 support and having a diagnosis of ASD doesn’t guarantee an EHCP.

You can put all the pressure you like on the school but if he doesn’t meet criteria for an EHCP, he won’t get one.

The problem here seems to be with the lack of communication rather than the actual idea itself. I wouldn't personally be happy that the teacher had done something like that without even broaching the idea to me. What worries me more is the lack of contact you seem to have had with the SENCO. Both at Primary and my DS's new high school, I had lots of contact with the SENCO. Communication lines are really important when your child has additional needs.

If I were you, I would be requesting a meeting with the SENCO to find out exactly what is being done and how it helps. I would also find out where they are up to with the EHCP application.

Having said all that, I wouldn't be so sure that even new adults in your child's life can't make the best decisions. My DS has been at his new school just over a week and after a few days, the SENCO sent me a fantastic action plan that she wrote and it's better than all the support he ever had in primary. She even used the words 'characteristics of Dyslexia' which had never even been mentioned to me before and has put plans in place to help him with that

*Having an ECHP doesn’t guarantee 1:1 support and having a diagnosis of ASD doesn’t guarantee an EHCP.

You can put all the pressure you like on the school but if he doesn’t meet criteria for an EHCP, he won’t get one*

I agree. It seems to be much harder now too than it was when my DS was diagnosed at age 6

There are several students in my classes with ASD and no ehcps. If I can accommodate their needs within my classroom, they aren't deemed needing an ehcp. I was told by one when we were looking into it for DS1 that we needed to prove he needed more than the standard £6k a year provision for each child, and he simply didn't. He had IBPs and IEPs, but these have been enough. He's now in year 9 of mainstream and still has no ehcp, and doesn't need one as the teachers/senco/I email each other with updates or any problems. This relies on open communication however.

I have 1 student out of around 15 in my classes with a ehcp. The others I have to find individual ways of working for them.

OP, I think it's come as a shock to you that he is sat on his own (especially if you are worried about social skills). However, if his way of coping previous was to sit in another room entirely this seems like it might be a step forward for him - although he may have his own table he will be in the same room and close to the other children so he will be easily able to join in with group activities if he feels comfortable at the time.

I also think it would be fine if you spoke to the teacher to clarify how this new arrangement would work with the planned strategies - such as coping skills - that you'd already spoken to the school about.

On EHCP - it is the Y5 EHCP review at which secondary transfer is discussed and any specific needs written in for that transition (and any specific secondary destination).

Secondary application comes so early in Y6 that it is essential to have a plan worked out in Y5.

So get onto the EHCP now - parents can apply for their child, it doesn't have to be the school. You may not get one - IME ASD without extreme behaviour and / or very significant learning delay is insufficient BUT at the very least it will help to document all his needs, targets and suggested interventions / adaptations well before secondary. If you apply now - as in within the next few weeks - you may get a conclusion - as in a decision yes or no - by the end of Y5.

My laughing face was because, in my opinion, there is no way at all that the new teacher can know my son in 8 days well enough to know how he would respond to this change.

The teacher is getting to know him, including seeing for herself how he responds to a change she thinks will benefit his learning. A change that seems to mean he is thriving in the classroom. If she had consulted you beforehand, what difference might that have made? What would you have said to her, that you believe would have made things better for your DS?

In my classroom, I decide the seating plan. I may consult a parent if there is an issue, but if I believe a choice will be better for a child, I will try it out. That’s my role as the teacher.

do you feel that it undermines a teacher's professional role if they have to work with parents, in making certain decisions, in order to ensure that a child with SEN has their needs met?

No. I have often consulted with parents, if I feel uncertain of what is best for a child. Equally, I have often tried things without consulting the parent.

This setup started with my ds too. It was the beginning of the end for him. They even had him facing the window with his back to everyone. Ds quite liked it as he could go into in own world but from a class point of view he was ignored, singled out as weird and ostracised from the class. No one played with him at break etc. He then didn't go to school for 10 months.

In our case, it's not so much about the desk but what the desk signifies to the child and the class.

We are almost at the end of ds1 and ds2's education (both with an ASC). Without doubt the schools and teachers that have worked best for my two are those that have communicated well with dh and I.

Sitting on their own would have delighted ds1 and ds2 at times (at one stage in his words ds1 spent most of the day in a "Cupboard" much to his delight which was a bit alarming but on investigation the cupboard actually turned out to be a small, storage room). What as a parent I would want to know is if the teacher alongside this strategy also has thought about how she will facilitate and teach social interactions which is after all the area in which most children with ASC need the most help with.

There is lots of evidence that feeling stressed affects the formation of long-term memories. If a child is placed next to other children in a classroom for the well-intentioned purpose of not excluding them - even though, in my experience, they will often feel excluded anyway because children are very skilled at making it clear to someone that they are “different” even without being rude - and this causes that child to feel the constant stress of trying to alter their behaviour (be it tics, desire to order the desk in a certain way, struggling to cope with sensory stimulation from the person next to them, feeling they have to try to make eye contact when they don’t want to) the chances are this will have a serious detrimental effect on their learning.

There is lots of evidence that feeling stressed affects the formation of long-term memories.
Yes, and health both mental and physical - so for something as important as being sat on a f

...sorry hit post too soon!
...so for something as important as being sat in a particular place (for a child who struggles with many aspects of the classroom and struggles socially) it seems a good idea to tell the parent, who is the one who will have to help that child through the effects of any stress.

so for something as important as being sat in a particular place (for a child who struggles with many aspects of the classroom and struggles socially) it seems a good idea to tell the parent, who is the one who will have to help that child through the effects of any stress.

I don’t think it’s a bad idea. I think it’s fine to tell the parent.

I don’t get the impression here, though, that it is not being told that the OP and others are objecting to. It is not being asked. And actually, as the teacher I have and need to have the authority to make changes in my classroom for the benefit of all the pupils without necessarily asking a parent if it is okay. I don’t mind communicating things if the parent makes it clear that this is important to them. But if I make a change and it is working really well, there is no urgent need to do that because the child’s learning and welfare have been considered and the strategy is working.

In my youngest's school I would have been consulted prior to the end of last year regarding things like this - we had a meeting toward the very end of the last academic year (we meet with the SENCO half termly to review and work out ways forward) where we discussed exactly these kind of issues prior to the new academic year starting - and one of the items on the agenda was where to seat DD2 in the new class as it was felt (both coming from us and from school) that rather than having a flexible sit where you choose seating arrangement that they'd had the previous year, having a designated seat with all her equipment nearby and her knowing exactly where to put everything would help her organise herself and her belongings and access the things put in place to support her.

Also met with the SENCO and class teacher last week to review how she'd settled in to the new class - would have done that as a matter of course over the next couple of weeks anyway but we did it earlier to make things a bit more convenient for all concerned.

So get onto the EHCP now - parents can apply for their child, it doesn't have to be the school.

That’s true, but be aware that school will still be asked for their input. I’ve only known one parent apply themselves after we showed them the evidence that that the child was achieving in school through their Support Arrangements Plan and differentiation in class. They were convinced an EHCP would bring with it 30 hours of 1:1 support.

They were turned down and were heartbroken but he is now home-schooled. In the end, I don’t think anything school did would have been enough.

My post didn't seem to post last nightm

It's worth pushing the EHCP whilst at primary, especially if they're already got a diagnosis.
With one of my former students it took until GCSE to get an ASD diagnosis and that ultimately will have affected their progress. Much as some of us took the same approach we would with a child with ASD, I know some didn't because they weren't technically SEND.

Sometimes (anecdotally) some primaries stop pushing for EHCP in upper KS2 because it's almost not their issue anymore, but I find transition to secondary is much better if they move up with everything in place, they've had family meetings with SENDCo, the information has gone to staff (usually by a week in) and so on.