ASD son...school?!!!!

[samira837]

Hi my Ds1 4 years in a couple off weeks dx with ASD very limited speech (just started saying word 2 months ago) doing PECS and working gr8t hm...now its about school I have decided that a main stream school is not for him but a special school or a ms school with a resource for kids with asd (have one just next to us). He is in "normal" nursery now and is doing fine the only thing is that when he started he did not have a dx and the nursery staff just let him do what he wanted 2 do as we just did not know what was up with him, now he have a mind sett that at nursery I do what I want and at home I behave and use my words!! Don't know how 2 brake this!! Anyway bk 2 the question is it a good idea 2 start him off at the ms special resources and if that dose not work move him 2 a special school or I'm I just wasting his and my time?!

Well you'll find it hard getting him into a special school or resource unit without a statement so you may not have a choice.

Samira. You do need a Statement of SEN. It can take months to get it written. School choices must be in by end of January, so unless you are in the middle of the Statement SEN process, I agree that you will probably have to choose Mainstream. Special Schools places are generally only given after a closed panel has decided if your dc needs a place.

Hi sorry everyone forgot to say we do have a statement
In progress but when I appl for school for ds1 they told me that I could not put down a SP school just mainstream school!! So don't know if I get the chance 2 re appl when statement is done?!!
Anyway is this a good idea that I start him off at the special resources first and if it dose not work move 2 a special school?!

Samira,

How far are you along this process of obtaining a statement?. A statement can take around six months plus to set up.

When the finalised document does arrive Part 4 naming the school in question will be blank.

Nursery made a rod for their own back by letting your son do what he wants in nursery. I would find another nursery if they continue to be this useless. Is there no SN nursery he can attend?.

Samira I would speak to your LA Case Officer and then ask about schools with an ASD unit. Go and visit them all, see the SENCO at those schools. Take DS with you, as they can be quite good barometers of whether the school is a good fit or not. Then when you have made your decision speak again to the LA SEN team and say that you want a place at this school. The school in question will only agree a place if there is sufficient funding to meet their needs. We have full funding for both my Statemented children. Good luck and keep fighting!!

Assuming you get a statement I would go to the resourced mainstream and then you would at least get the opportunity to go for inclusion as and when your ds is up for it.

Ds2 was at 2 nurseries, half the week at the sn one and half the week at a mainstream one. it was really helpful to see how he coped in the different environments. He ended up at a unit with one morning a week in ms for an hour which went up to 2 afternoons by Y2 and back to one afternoon a week through to Y6. The unit might also do reverse inclusion which is very good for all kids involved.

In our unit there seemed to be a cull after KS1 those that were deemed potentially able to include for something by the end of KS2 stay on at the unit, those that can't, moved to the special school which just happened to be on the same site. They seem to be called education villages and are cropping up all over the place now. fwiw I think it is much easier to go from unit to special school than from special school to unit

Getting the statement is the first hurdle though, look at ipsea and get a copy of the COP here its free and will guide you through the whole process of assessment/ statementing and choosing schools

PS He wasn't talking in sentences when he started school. Just one word at a time (No, juice, video etc and numbers 1-10) he used PECS even in ms. Good luck!