What would you wish that schooling could teach your child with SEN so that they can achieve in life?

[Emmasuz1978]

Hi All,

I am doing a bit of research at the moment in order to get an idea about what is missing from the education and support that children with SEN get in todays schools or has been missing from our education and teaching system for years. I am intrested in hearing honest and frank views from parents who have children or young adults with learning disabilities, emotional or behavioural needs etc in order to understand what do these children actually need to learn about in order for them to be able to live in the world as independently as possible.

As we are all aware our education system has become one of targets and funding which undermines the real needs of our children. I work as a Youth worker and Tutor with NEET (not in education, employment or training) young people aged 16-19 who may have disengaged from education and learning due to various reasons and from the stories i hear i understand where they are coming from. I have also worked for years with children and young people and adults with varying disabilities and have had an idea for an exciting project to hopefully work through some of these support issues.

So in a dream world what do you wish your child could be taught so that the transition from schooling to adulthood was not so hard. my ideas so far are:

1. travel training
2. Money management
3. dealing with emotions
4. Communication

my list is much bigger but these are just a few of my ideas from my experience so hearing from parents would give me a valuable view as in my eyes your are the experts.

So if this thread has interested you i really look forward to reading your replies :)

A big thank you

Emmasuz1978

I would put communication at the top of the list but I suppose it may depend on the age and ability of the SN people you are working with. Without functional communication, it's difficult to get progress in any other area.

Thats the thing willow dd has possible ASD with social communication/interaction difficulties, she is an intelligent child, but because her communication is limited she does not display her full potential and is slow in other areas.

Toilet training and appropriate behaviour in public. I am referring to a child with very severe learning disabilities and I don't suppose you are..?

Hi all,

I really appreciate your feedback and it is very valuable for me :) my aim is to be as individualised as possible but with an emphasis on achieving skills that are relevant to each child or young person. I just feel that it is a square hole round peg scenario and children are told what to do or a professional interprets from an education plan what the child should be learning. I am not against formal education but am a big advocate for specific lifeskills that are not dictated by a qualification awarding body. It is also about time that society spends more time trying to fit in with children and young people with additional needs rather than the other way round re: limited communication. Idealistic i know but it has to start somewhere.

Thanks again

social skills, help dealing with bullying etc. so I suppose broadly speaking communication.

I would completely reverse your list, with communication being at the top.

Thanks for your input Becaroooo and TotalChaos
The list isnt in any order to be honest as it will differ from individual to individual