Aspergers and Independent schools

[Lorns]

Hi! Does anyone have any experience of placing a child with Aspergers (ds 10)into the private education system? Does anyone know of any "Aspergers sensitive" schools within Hertfordshire????

my ds attends a private school,but we are in Berkshire /Bucks area.This is his 3rd school and its fantastic.

ds2 and ds3's school is good with AS (although not in Herts).

Thx yurt1 and octavia! I guess at the end of the day it really depends on the individual school. Would be really upset to spend so much money and find it wasn't accepting of my ds!

check out what it would mean for your educational psychology support.

Hi Lorns,

Have you had a look at the gabbitas website ?

I would have thought it depends on the effect it had on the child. My sister's son is tending to be towards the characteristics of that and is going to a boys prep school at 6, a bit like Habs in Herts (although she lives elsewhere) but he's very clever and passed the exams. Probably depends where he is on the spectrum. Don't know many other herts boys schools.

Depends on the school (as with the state sector)

Some are great, some are crap and some are middling

School that my two go to has quite a few students who are on the spectrum. (not in herts either, sorry!)

Ask the school about its SEN policy, and how many childrenb are on the SEN regester

my son with as goes to an independant boarding school . he boards mon-fri now and he is 12.
i was originally unsure of the whole boarding thing but the school was too far away to go every day, and it is a great school.
independant schools work really well imo for as children they are more structured and "old fashioned" with definate rules.
my son says his school is "fair" and this is really imporatnt to him. he knows where he stands.

sorry the school is in shropshire!

btw there are some very bad independent schools out there thta are really struggling for money, so theywill tell you anything. but some great ones too.

Thanks for replying everyone! Been very busy since saturday but caught up with your helpful comments!

Xenia - I will look at gabbitas website - thanks.

Oililymad - shropshire is a bit too far away - we need to be within 40 mins commuting distance of London!

So how do you know if the school is struggling for money? I would want a scholarship or bursary for my son. I guess if they flatly refused then that is an indication that they're struggling for money.

Likewise I'm choosing schools with small class numbers which could be an indication that the school isn't that good - despite league tables.... aaahhhh!!!!

Would this school be worth looking at. I have had no direct experience of this school though.

www.egerton-rothesay.herts.sch.uk/

Thanks reallytired. Funnily enough I have jsut contacted this school s it was recommended by Gabbitas.

Unfortunately on the surface they seemed happy to help, but once I'd said my DS has some behavioural issues within the classroom they said that if a child disrubted others in the classroom then he probably wouldn't fit in!

Why is it soooo very hard to find a school which can help? And no he's not got a statement - he's too bright!!!!

Being bright doesn't mean a child can't get a statement. My ds is bright but his behaviour means that without support he cannot access the curriculum properly and so he has a statement and fulltime 1:1 support. He has no dx as yet but has traits of AS and ADHD.

That's fab dustystar! My DS's school will not even entertain the idea. They say that he will only get a statement if he is on the point of exclusion.

Well they may be right but you don't need them to request an assessment for a statement - you can contact the LEA and request it yourself. Mind you from recent threads on here it seems that all the LEAs are making it more and more difficult for children to get a statement even when its clear that they need one.

dustystar - that's the conclusion I've come to! I'm going to press ahead.....

Good for you lorns and good luck Apparently its better if you request it yourself as it gives you more grounds to appeal.

I am new to Mumsnet as a member. I have been reading it lots but only just joined so I can have a voice! I don't understand the terminology - before I launch into my situation, what exactly do:
DS
DH
DX etc
mean?
Once this is clarified, I will write more!
Thanks in advance

ds is darling son, dh husband etc
hope that helps

Not sure that too many people have 'DX' as in 'darling'.... often X preceded by something slightly less complimentary..

But I digress. Sorry OP. Some friends of mine had a son who has (I believe) Aspergers. V bright, super-bright at maths but some behavoural issues. He went to Abingdon House in London and then a boarding school.

isn't dx a diagnosis ?

Lorns,

re your comment:-
"And no he's not got a statement - he's too bright!!!!"

They lied to you if you were told that.
Statements can also address problems with socialisation too, they are not purely for academic needs.

BTW your DS's current school are also talking bollocks if they say, "he will only get a statement if he is on the point of exclusion". Again it is all lies and designed to put parents off from applying.

As Dustystar rightly states apply for the Statement yourself and appeal their crass decision in the likely event the LEA say no (Herts as a county receive a lot of complaints).

Seek independent advice too from organisations like IPSEA, SOS;SEN and ACE to name but three. Avoid Parent Partnership as they can tow the party line.

IPSEA have model letters you can use:-
www.ipsea.org.uk

Private schools too work outside the remit of the LEA. Be very careful if you go into the private sector as like all schools some are far better than others.

DX is indeed diagnosis
DD - darling daughter
DC - darling children
SALT - speech and language therapist