Our five-year-old DS is in reception at a mainstream primary. He doesn’t have an EHCP.
He got a private ASD diagnosis after we took him to a paediatrician after he was excluded from a private reception, aged four, for behavioural problems (kicking, hitting out and trashing the classroom). He attended a forest nursery for several years with no problems (ages 2 1/2 to 4).
He started at reception with general SEN support and, after a rough few weeks, seemed to settle well. Then, about a fortnight ago, after Easter, he apparently started having rough days again and – on Monday – he was apparently out of the classroom all day due to shoving children and throwing a chair at a teacher.
His teacher sounds terrified of taking him on a school trip to a big park on Friday in case he displays challenging behaviours. She’s asked me about fifty times if I’m coming to supervise him.
I’m baffled because he rarely melts down at home. He’s a chatty, bright, curious little boy who can be extraordinarily kind to his toddler brother (DS2). He has a slightly restrictive diet, and is noticeably a bit geeky, but we can take him out-and-about with only minor adjustments (mostly me nagging him about whether he needs to wear sunglasses). He says he enjoys school, and the SENCO tells me he has friends.
We’ve been told he’s very articulate for his age and the teachers tell me that he’s been saying, “I feel out of control”, “I’m exhausted” and “I need to go sit on my own in the reading corner”. This is also what he’s learned to do at home to emotionally regulate when he feels it’s noisy or chaotic – he goes to his room, relaxes for a while (often reading a book), and returns when he feels emotionally prepared.
The school say they’re going to draft up a new plan with the SENCO.
I wondered if anyone had any experience with this kind of thing, especially the massive difference between how he is at home and how he is in school. It’s genuinely like I’m hearing about a different child.