As we've almost made it to half term [yay] how're all our school starters doing?

[bigcar]

As a follow up to our starting school thread, just wondered how it's gone

dd3 has a wonderful new 1:1 and is so much happier, tired but happy. Educationally and socially she's not getting anything much out of being in school and her review last week recommended change of placement just need various people to write their reports and we can go back to panel to get permission to look elsewhere, so 7th of december will be the big day for us!

Can I just say my boy is doing fabulously! I am so relieved and happy.

Everyone is commenting on the diff between him this year and last year - it seems the retained reflexes therapy we started in the holidays has made such a huge effect that everyone at school can see the difference.

And - found out today - Ed Psych is finally going to assess my daughter. That only took 3 years and a change of school :)

fantastic news indigo

wow at change of placement Bigcar, I think i remember on the starters thread you were unsure she was in the right setting.

Big yay for IndigoBell on DS improving and Ed Psych assessment for DD.

DS1 started school in Sept and it has been up and down. He is doing well with letters/words/numbers etc but socially he is isolated, won't mix, wanders alone etc. I really have big doubts over the school but DH doesn't agree with me so we are at logger-heads. Though for a child not mixing he is doing well at catching their germs (2 x antibiotics so far!)

Weve had ups and downs, DD settled ok but shows signs of anxiety and frustration at home. School seem quite clueless about ASD despite other ASD DCs in school. Got Inclusion team in (very good :)), Parent partnership, spoke to senco, got a rubbish IEP....concluded we will be moving house and school next year! Or DD will not reach her potential or get the support she needs. Waiting for Autism outreach, got no 1:1, speech therapy starts this week.

DX report was due in the post on Saturday... a no show and I have the dreaded DLA forms! EEK!

We have had lots of ups and downs too.
And like Woolytree's DD, DS seems to be coping well at school but behaviours at home have taken a nose dive.

I'm having a short metting later with teacher to discuss what they are doing exactly to support DS and how he is coping.

Deep down i feel school are no recognizing the signs and are sweeping under the rug a lot of his difficuties...
EP and SALT are due to go in the week abck from half-term. I hope something good comes out of these two visits.

I'm totally stressed out and can't wait for the end of the week to have a break from the school issue tbh.

Also imo, DS having a dx of asd has made no difference at all...school believes what they want and have done what they want, they seem reluctant to follow the recommendations made by the professionals.

My ds started his new secondary school. It's a special school, as he has always been used to. (He has cerebral palsy and epilepsy and SLD).

We all worried about his anxiety and stress, but he has taken us all by suprise by loving it! So pleased with the school and my ds, he comes home happy every day.

Unfortunately his behaviour at home can be appalling. I think because he is now confident and is learning to express his opinions (complex language and speech problems) he is being bossy at home!

Dd2 is doing really well (almost too well), i have just had her first parents evening and her teacher is really pleased with her proggress. We have to review her statement in november but it should be staying the same.

DS2 is doing fairly well. He's got the 1-on-1 in class now, and I was able to observe her with him out on the playground for a short playtime today, which reassured me somewhat. DS2 is absolutely exhausted after school and seems to be verbally unresponsive at all (as well as stumbling constantly) on the way home from school. And we've had some spectacular meltdowns recently, but I think the nasty stomach flu he had last week (missing 2 days of school and completely throwing off his routine) is to blame for some of that.

I still feel a bit overwhelmed by it all, and worry about some lack of understanding on his part, but at least he's getting assistance in class, even if he is having some coping issues afterwards.

Dd2 is doing very well currently. Her 1:1 is brilliant (her old ABA tutor so not surprising!) and she is getting good support from outreach teacher too. Early days though, I hope I feel the same by Christmas. She has been doing three days so far, moving to five after half term.

DS2, as predicted, has been loving it, even if he's not fully engaged with what the other kids are doing. He's become more trusting, though and no longer solely relies on his 1:1 as his contact with the rest of his environment.

Ed Psych came out to re-assess him, today but didn't think he'd get his banding increased on academic grounds. He said what I've suspected all along that even though on the surface he appears to be very significantly impaired, his intelligence does appear to be within normal limits and it's his expressive language which is holding him back, which is already reflected in the social and communication part of his banding. He is disappointed that the ASD advisory service have completely ignored him and did say that if the school has no luck getting them in in a timely manner, I'd have every right to pester, since their involvement is specified on his statement.

wow - I logged on to start a thread with almost this exact title! have been wondering about it lots and thinking "well I'll ask at half-term"

ds is really happy, he's on mornings only and looks forward to going to school each morning. This is partly because we have an elaborate and infuriating set of rituals to be performed on the way to school which always puts him in a good mood and he has a very cosy, caring classroom.

I do wonder about the social aspect after half-term as the children are gaining confidence and forming friendships, but I've learned to Take Things One Day at a Time, so yeah, we're happy :)

ds is settling in quite nicely now. School have been good and his one to one seems really lovely. I actually think he has made a small leap in his imaginative play and conversation skills - subtle but there i think.

Not sure if that is school or because we're doing a very watered down version of Floor time or because we've finally accepted he has asd as well as delays and are working round him rather than at loggerheads. perhaps all three?

School are teaching him phonics, numbers etc which I'm tryistruggling to take seriously as it is so far beyond him at the moment.

But he is happy and coping. I'm so glad he is part time - already apprehensive about how he'll cope after Christmas when he has to be there till three.

No friends yet though he did like the idea of inviting a little boy back when I suggested it.

DD1 is settling in at Special school.

Grounds are very safe, which is great, as she doesn't have any sense of danger and has poor proprioception. All metal struts have soft-play covering so children can't hurt themselves. Doors have double handles, high and low, so that she can't get out without adult help.

Still though, since she started we have had 2 'bumped head' forms, 2 accidents noted in the home-school book and 1 deep scratch on her elbow which no-one knew about , so I will keep an eye.

Transport has been interesting - her escort doesn't do her seatbelt up well and is generally a bit naive, thinking that DD1 will suddenly comply for her, when she hasn't for anyone else

Otherwise, settling well. This is her first full week 9-3, and so far she has done swimming, dug vegetables from the alottment, played with wet oats, painting, sound and light room, assembly, peter pan production, where she stood up and told Captain Hook off for being a bully , and Harvest assembly where she was allowed to take the class gift box to the front.

She enjoys it, but comes home practically non-verbal. She doesn't like the 'sitting down bit' at all, and her teachers say that she needs A LOT of encouragement and prompting to do so, but time will tell.

so there seems to be good and bad for most of our dcs at least half term will give us good break, can't wait to not be doing the mad dashing around first thing!

lougle, dd3s classroom looks like the mad colour fairy has been at it, bit like the playground in an effort to reduce bumps and knocks for dd3 but we've still had a fair few. The stocks of brightly colour tape have taken a serious knock this term in our area

DS being failed at school. School and 1:1 are really working their socks off but it is all fragmented and he is falling further behind.

After half-term we are looking at a split placement with a private nursery where his home-tutor can attend with him, although we'll keep some of the sessions at his school nursery going because he loves it.

A good start at school for my DS.

A brilliant 1:1, he seems happy enough to go in, and he seems to be learning something too!
Roll on full-time school in November.

glad most dc are enjoying school.Ds is enjoying his speech unit though some concerns that his Pd ar eimpacting so there considering see if can get funding above the speech unit to see to that

the other problem is ds is very very tired sleeping 14-16 hrs and very grumpy on weekends which is unlike him