Home-School Link Worker - anyone used them?

[keepyourmouthshutox]

School has suggested that we access the home-school link worker to deal with ds's reluctance to go to school. Apparently they offer advice on parenting, boundaries, rules etc.

Is school suggesting that I need better parenting skills?

anyone?

Rather sounds like it. But don't know for certain.

Yes, it does sound like it.

What a blardy affront!

Think have to find a way to say 'no thanks.'

Don't they know I have a tribunal to prepare for?

Home - link worker regarding reluctance in going to school... Hmmmmm

if it were me I'd spend a bit of time making up a strategies you use booklet up.. What you have tried.. How long for. And whether it worked..
I would make it water tight... And then agree.. And ask them what they could suggest to school to make it a place Ds would like to go to..

Bahhh humbug.. Silly fools

No they don't. They listen and find out what the problems are - in your case sons refusal to go to school. They then work with you to set up a positive way to move forward and liase/ get in touch with other agencies on your behalf (with your agreement) to help.

What I don't understand is if your having problems why not let someone help you - this is about DS and maybe someone looking from the outside and not involved may just have some perspective that may help.

If they step over the boundaries - then you tell them to Fuck off.

mumbar Ds is ASD. He has communication problems. etc. School could not understand it even though EP told them if he is behaving badly, it is his way of telling them that things are not right for him. They used conventional punishments for him which increased his anxieties.

Then Senco decided one of his primary needs was BESD, even though clinical psychologist said a lot of his negative behaviour was stress related. This caused us anxiety as LA decided to try to put him into a BESD school. Fortunately, LA EP and Autism Outreach could not support that decision.

Another way school tried to help was to implement another behaviour plan. This supposedly involved an impartial third party. I noticed once I signed the consent form that all my emails to the third party were copied to the school but the courtesy was not reciprocated. Also at all meetings, she stressed how well school was coping with his needs etc. This carried on until one meeting when EP and Autism Outreach were there and she noticed how seriously they were taking my concerns and that was when the impartial third party apologized for not paying more attention to our situation and explaining that her brief was to do with 'school situations only'.

Also, when this was suggested, I informed them that we were already attending a course on ASD and behaviour management but was told that it would do us good to deal with someone not involved in ASD.

TACC good idea about detailed booklet.

A frineds dd used a home-school link worker. SHe was school phobic & was out of school & agrophobic too.
The link worker was brilliant, she made her dd feel like she was part of the school still, arranging visits from friends & form tutor, making sure regular work was dropped off etc.
She also sorted a jump up the list for therpay to deal with her anxiety & put in place a gradual introdution back in to school when she was ready.
Also sorted door to door taxi transport.

The wording of how its been explained to you sounds a bit crap but maybe worth a listen to see what they have to offer?

We have issues with the school where DS (5, asd) apparently is doing so well and when he is at home he is the opposite with anxiety, difficult behaviours, lots of rituals, withdrawing himself into his bubble...

So SENco and EP suggested we need to see the family support advisor who links between schools and home.
She came over during the week.

I'm about it all atm, it was a bit weird tbh.
She simply asked me lots of questions and asked what i wanted her to report back to the school regarding my concerns.
She didn't give any advice about behaviour management.

In fact the only things she did say was that DS should be having his diner at about 5- 5.30 then have a bath then he would be relaxed.
I told her it wasn't custom in our house to eat so early (i'm not british and diner time when i was growing up was 7-7.30), and i told her bathing doesn't make DS relaxed, it makes him more hyper and creates a lot of tears and tantruming, so that doesn't work well as relaxation before bed for him.

She also said 9 pm for bedtime was quite late and most children of DS's age ought to be asleep by 7.30-8pm. She asked me if he was ever tired after school.
But DS isn't most children, he has always needed less sleep than my other 2 kids.
When DS1 (nt) was 5, he would have a mini nap after school while watching tv, DS never does. I'm sure he must be somewhat tired after a school day but he doesn't sleep if i try to put him to bed early.
I said to her we considered 9pm bedtime and sleep shortly after that an improvement on what it used to be like when he would still be awake at 11pm or later every single night.
She seemed to understand once i explained.

On the plus side she did look carefully at his IEP and at the summary of his DX recommendations from the autism team, and said there is quite a lot on there and hinted how can the school manage all this considering he hasn't got a 1:1 each day.

I don't know what to make of her visit.
Now i just hope she doesn't report back that his difficult behaviours are simply due to tiredness and bad evening routine.

Sorry long story about our problems with the school.

genie - I spoke to autism outreach who said that asd anxieties is often due to sensory overload and think conventional methods probably won't help with ds, whom she has known for over 3 years.

Hope you sort out your problems with school.

I think it is to show how much they are all trying to help so that my request to move ds to a unit is harder.

My daughter was seeing the home school link worker at her school in guildford (Mrs Barnes) and it has got back to me that the hsl worker has been repeating to people all our marital/homelife problems. - basically she has been gossiping. My daughter has suffered so much lately, I thought opening up to this women would help out situation but instead it has made it worse. Are these people not bound by privacy laws? I thought I could trust her. I want to talk to the headteacher but I'm worried I will just make the matter worse. Has anyone else had this problem? My daughter doesn't want me to make a fuss bust I really am very upset.