I don't beeelieeeeve it!

[bochead]

It was seriously suggested my statemented (mainstream NC levels) Year 2 lad rejoin nursery today. I had a Victor Meldrew meets Catherine Tate "mad Mum melt down".

"Wot a diabolical liberty"

Apparently it's most important my son is "happy".

Hey ho, hey ho to tribunal we will go
The lea are dunderheads hey ho, hey, hey ho, hey ho

At least you can rest assured that you are doing everything you can to help ds. Not much comfort I know. It just shows what an easy way out these ppl take rather than admit their responsibilty of giving your son a proper assisted education. Bacially a major cop out on their behalf!

What they are doing is totally unfair and I am glad you are going guns blazing to this tribunal. Bide your time yours and your ds day is coming soon xx

I'm afraid it really is the case that those who shout loudest get the most. All we can do on here is to try to help those who ask for our help, we can't help everyone. In my opinion it is governments who should be ensuring that everyone gets access to the support they need, whatever their background, which is why I vote the way I do. As individuals, we can't do much more. As Attila would say, you are your child's best and only advocate. He's lucky he has such a good one.

Oh God, get it in writing if nothing else, along with their reasons.

Then suggest to the LA an independent placement.

OMG that is dreadful! What the hell are the school playing at! They should be catering for his needs not sending him to Nursery ffs at your behalf

I would switch schools pronto, a 7 year old in a nursery ffs. If they can't cater for his needs why cant they say so instead of demeaning him

hope you gave them an ear bashing at that ludricous suggestion.

More like the new way of education politics local and national, more about political results then childrens real needs

but surely that means they'll be spending more money in the long term unless they expect him to miraculously jump a few years later on in his school life

makes no sense at all - like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand

hope you get what you want - have you spoke to anyone like SOS!SEN?

The whole of education policy is dependent on short term costs, and most support has high initial costs, which will not have shown sufficient benefit before the next set of elections which all any politician is interested in. So initial high cost provision tends to be ignored in favour of a cheap easy fix which will appeal to their core and floating voters. And helping those who have a disability is always going to be initially expensive.

EllenJaneisnotmyname

waht is needed is local support groups made up of parents (who are voters) to lobby their local councillors, and local MPs regarding the needs of our children, national organisations have different agendas, and od not even work together to help campaign for our childrens needs, so may be parents on this and other forums should work together in their own locality (LEA area, MP constituancies) to lobby thgose who can influence those who make the political decisions that affect the provision of our childrens support needs

I know, dolfrog. I try to do my bit, helped save my local SS from closure a few years back, now work as a 1:1 TA myself. I am in a local support group and I have arranged talks for mums of newly DX kids to give them some support and hope for the future. I'm not a political animal, though, and I'm afraid that's enough for me.

EllenJaneisnotmyname

I am not a political animal either, my APD is a real problem there.
When we set up APDUK it was and still is a national organisation, that work with the leading national professionals, but the real problem now is that as the awareness of APD increases we need more local information with regard to how the local assessment centres operate, how the support teams work, which schools are best at SEN support and which are only interested in climbing the exam results league tables, who is it best to contact regarding these issues. Then there are the politicians councillors, MPs and local administrators who need to be contacted and lobbied.
Not something I am able to do, my main ability is to find and provide the scientific research information that the more politically able are better able to use. So we need to find those who can organise a local parents group to understand the various invisible disabilities which are part of the wide SEN umbrella, and lobby the local political bodies and representitives on our behalf.

Dolfrog, you certainly seem to be doing 'your bit.'

Thanks guys - the support means a lot. These "professionals" try to isolate you, even from common sense.

A real gem in the meeting was being accused of giving my son a chaotic home life & all his problems being down to that! I was told kids need routine - anyone been here been able to AVOID routine when raising a kid with "asd traits" - I haven't lol! If I'm not careful his routines dominate my whole existence. It gives me two choices:-

1/ I need to watch and learn from Jeremy Kyle fairly fast or start rowing with my own shadow methinks in order to justify their stupity. I should rush & give him the chaotic homelife which will then justifying putting an able-bodied, normal intellect (in curriculum term) 7 year old in nursery and absolve the powers that be of ALL responsibility for his health and educational needs. Then my son will be "happy".

2/ I could plod along as per normal with "write from the start" every afternoon and his reading programme (designed by dyslexia specialist Gran), supplemented with a bit of natural science, literature, french etc, oh and the stuff I picked up from the ABA intro course I went on recently. While pushing the tribunal for all I'm worth as this is a chaotic home life we live lol!

For now I'll plod on with teaching him his 3x table: ) I'd rather come on here when I get a minute than watch jeremy Kyle anyways hee hee.

My ds doesn't have routine. He has classic ASD. As soon as I see that he expects something, we do something different. Always have as soon as I realised not doing would lead to a meltdown. I will always make the 'non-routine' thing much better than the routine thing.

I.e. he LOVES Shreddies (for their criss-cross pattern). He asks for them loads. When I realised he always expected sandwiches for lunch and had a bit of a meltdown when I told him it wasn't going to be (it was going to be quiche) I quickly changed tac and gave his shreddies, which he could cope with. Then the next day I gave him quiche once I knew he could cope with 'not sandwiches'. iyswim.

When we crossed a zebra-crossing and I turned left instead of right (just to adjust my clothes) he freaked out, so then I had to go left but whilst doing so got out the sweet from his bag that he had been given from someone's birthday at school.

It's hard work but we do it and ds is so flexible as a result.

The problem I have of course is that the school insist on doing things in exactly the same way with ds because 'he's autistic and can't cope with change', and tell me that he needs routine. Grrrrrr.

I get that, Star. My DS never had problems with routine until he started a rigid, structured school, as we were pretty easy going and unstructured before that. TBH any school day is pretty structured, I'm afraid. He still doesn't have a problem if the change is something he likes! (Like your DS's Shreddies)

I am lucky with the school dd aged 4 is going to, they are bending over backwards to help her, and when I suggested mabey she stay in nursery for another year, they were and said that they don't do such a thing, they adapt themselves for the child which is good and don't think that its benificial. So not all schools are like that, the headteacher does have an older daughter with ASD so has experience and knows how its like from the parents pespective.

Shocking response but ...very good evidence for you at tribunal that their proposals will not his needs.