Does your ASD child do PE at school?

[flowwithit]

We are having a problem getting DS, age 11 recent dx HFA, to do PE at secondary school. He used to do it in primary but never really liked it. Now he refuses.
We have been working on getting him in school full time but it has been a struggle and his anxiety is through the roof since moving to secondary. He is on meds to help this. I have been writing letters to excuse him 3x per wk. school have been tolerant and tried to help Ds but there is no SEN room for him to go to so he has ended up sitting in reception office.
He also frequently has sore ankles, knees ect which could be growing pains?so I think I need to have that checked out.

I am hoping to get some ideas on what to do
about this or what the school should be doing?

He could have hypermobile joints..is he very flexible? They could well be causing him pain related to PE...

Hi

DS used to hate PE and will not do it sometimes but he has tried it several times at his new school who have been very good at encouraging and supporting his inclusion in this.

Do you have an OT involved? Maybe worth a referral if not.

I have a sheet of info about helping children with ASD be involved in PE from our OT. If you can PM me, I will happily send you a copy.

Thanks for reply. I am taking him to a physio to have his legs checked out but then I wondered if I should be asking for paediatrician? I would not say his is v bendy but when he runs his legs seem unstable and a bit uncoordinated. His writing is ok but he likes a large pen or pencil with the grips on and he doesn't use knife and fork well. His hand to eye co ordination seems ok though.
I am worried school will get fed up with him missing games and he will get teased by classmates if I keep signing him off. He isn't getting much exercise other than when I haul him out for walk which he hates!

My dd 13 is currently out of all mainstream classes as she's been unable to cope. Before coming out of classes she had a lot of support from school. She was struggling to access PE. There should be a differentiated curriculum for children who are struggling to access PE due to their disability. My dd had a separate area to change and a support worker to help her with buttons etc and to help her to access the lesson. If she felt unable to take part he would take her to work on her gross motor skills. The school also offer swimming and other activities for if the children really struggle although you have to really push them for it!

Dhs school have what I think is a good system, whereby they put the kids into two broad groups for PE - the really sporty ones who want a competitive game, and those who just want to play for fun. He takes this group and says that in practice it tends to be made up of the boys who are probably somewhere on the spectrum! It seems to allow for a much more relaxed approach and they don't have any refusers - though it possibly helps that DH is the dad of one autistic and one dyspraxic boy.

Sorry - not really relevant to OP - unlikely to get your school to change and anyway it sounds as if your DS has a physical rather than emotional reason for not playing.

flowwithit

There's no SEN room for him to go to?. That's bad.

Have you spoken to the SENCO or special needs dept at his secondary school re this issue?. If so what was their response?.

Does your DS have a statement?. This is certainly something I would apply for if this is not already in place.

The other person I would be having a chat to is his Pastoral care person for his year group.

Hi flow, this is interesting as we are having a similar issue but not with P.E.(ds still in primary) as regards joint pains etc. Ds is suddenly presenting with a lot more anxiety than ever before and I know from your previous threads that this is a huge issue for your ds. But I am now discovering that many physical symptoms accompany anxiety-ds is currently having genuine stomach pains every morning and I think its because there is a trainee teacher taking the class at the moment.He also often has joint pain in the ankles/knees etc. A few of us have been discussing this on yesterdays thread about managing 'an angry aspie' if you have a look at it. I also agree that the school should really be accomodating your ds more with this issue. My ds is also sadly lacking in the excercise dept. I'm afraid-its a nightmare to get him to do any physical activity and he tires really easily..

Flow - I'm very lucky in that my DS loves sport of any kind infact its what keeps him motivated and has helped him intergrate with his peers. It hasnt come easy to him and we have had lots of tears and tantrums.

Have you tried getting him to go along to try a some sort of sporting club outside of school? Maybe something that is not a team sport. A friend of ours DS who also has HFA has had great success at judo.

What I would say is that he too has a funy running gait and if I had a £1 for every ache and pain he has everyday I would be a very rich woman not trying to belittle anyone but I really believe that my DS's pain senses are mixed up as he will moan and moan about the slightest cut etc but when he broke & dislocated his thumb didnt even mention it (school rang me!). He too isnt very good with using a knife and fork but is a pro at catching a rugby ball

HTH

Hi Penney. Sorry your Ds is struggling too. Anxiety really does seem to make ASD symptoms more obvious and difficult to deal with.
Thanks to everyone for posting it really does help to read everyone's experiences. It's sometimes hard to know what to do for the best or what to expect school to do. My Ds has tummy pains and teeth pains too which have been checked out as ok so I think he is hypersensitive to pain. He was given movocol liquid and I think that has helped with tummy also giving probiotic drinks. I think he may be using leg aches as reason to not do PE but still unsure of this.
Anxiety still big issue he is only just managing school. He says he hates it though. So i don't want to push him too much and I am thinking of asking school to help with games problem but as there is no SEN room not sure where I can ask for him to go?
Btw school is an Academy so I think they don't have to so as much? Maybe it's just wrong school for him but we just want to give him time to see if he will settle.

Even though your DS's school is now an academy this does not mean that their obligations have decreased any.

Certainly speak to the school and the SENCO - there should be such a person present within his school.

I think that your DS's needs are not being met there and will continue not to be fully met unless you act further on his behalf (this is because no-one else will). You after all are his best and only advocate here because this school do not seem all that bothered or concerned. I would also now look at other schools in the area.

Could they not let your ds just sit and watch PE or maybe help the teacher?

Maybe let him do as much PE as he feels comfortable with or join in when he wants to?

PE is compulsory as far as a I know.
My DS was really lucky in that his school organised special PE for children with SEN for their first three years in Secondary (MS school but lots of SEN children). Part of my DS' problem was spatial awareness and he just couldn't cope with team sports. He also had to be taught to pass the ball on. He used to think the idea was to get the ball and keep it!
It doesn't sound as though the OPs school is really geared up for SEN. Was this a school you chose or one you were allocated? I find it hard to believe that a Secondary school has no SEN room. Is the hidden message "We don't do SEN"? You may need to look elsewhere as Attila suggests.

My DS hated PE with a passion in Primary school and would try anything to get out of it. When he went to Secondary, although the children weren't 'streamed' he did seem to be put with a group who for the most part were not particularly sporty, so I think that actually helped his self esteem and encouraged him to join in a bit more. (DS will only play games if he thinks he is going to win or is the best, so I think this was a big issue with him at primary)

He still hates football and rugby but at least tolerates them, but is better with the other sports they do such as dodge ball, basket ball, athletics, swimming, badminton. Since going into Yr 10, most of the sporty types have opted for GCSE PE whereas DS has not, so he is now definitely with a non-sporty group.
Sadly, my experience of PE teachers at secondary school is that they are still very competitive bullies like they were in my time at school and they don't seem to want to be bothered with children who are no good at sport, no matter how hard that child tries. So a child who doesn't want to try stands no chance.

We tried to encourage DS to find some activities he likes outside school, so he does swim club, indoor climbing and goes to the gym. This has improved his sporting ability and confidence in PE massively and gives me something positive to say to his PE teacher at parents evening!!!!

If your DS really doesn't want to do PE, can the school not utilise him in some other way in the lesson such helper/referee, like they do in DS school when someone has an injury/illness that prevents them fully participating.

The greatest thing that DS likes about PE in Secondary school is that entering sports day events is voluntary (not compulsory as it was at primary school). Consequently he has not taken part in sports day in the 3 yrs he has been at secondary school.

The local 'outstanding' secondary school I didn't choose had no SEN rooms. 'Marginalised children tend to congregate in the library,' was what I was told during an open evening. So I can well believe it.

DS2 is in Y7 and his secondary sets for PE, in 3 sets, and this makes PE much better for DS2. The SEN dept also run a lunchtime 'sports ability' club where SEN kids mainly, do fun physical activities, more like party games, just in bare feet and in their school uniform. dS2 loves it.

The Disability Discrimination Act states that schools should make 'reasonable adjustments'

It's the Equality Act now and you are right about the reasonable adjustments. Otherwise the child can't access the curriculum and is being put at a substantial disadvantage to his peers.

I can't understand why everyone has to fight so hard for support if it's law. Takes so long to get dx then get school to do anything.
We have been told by psychiatrist we would not get statement for him in this area? We have not tried yet.
School only tell me they want him to do PE but don't try and help.

Thanks Appropriately for pointing that out, ive been having a break from it all and im a bit rusty now!

Flowwithit - Psychiatrist is talking rubbish, you can apply for a statement and get one (or not as the case may be) it has nothing to do with which area you live in. Although certain LA's are more prone to giving out false info such as you cant do that in this area.

When school tell you they want him to do PE, ask what help and strategies they plan to put in place to make it possible, as what they have in place ie nothing, is obviously not working.