Recommendation of good mainstream primary school for Aspergers child (Herts/Cambs)

[1busybee]

Hi, Having received my sons school report it is becoming increasingly obvious that his school have no idea of problems that he encounters due to Aspergers and also as he is able to function ok in the class, they show very little desire to help him. They dont seem to acknowledge or deal with his anxieties about things like moving in to a new school year next year and on one hand they tell me they are amazed at how well he copes with only minimal sleep they have also written about the fact he lacks concentration and this affects his ability to achieve. They dont link that the anxieties he has lead to lack of sleep which leads to poor concentration. We live in Herts and I was wondering if anyone could recommend a mainstream primary which is good at dealing with the problems Aspergers kids experience either in Herts or South Cambs. I do keep trying to explain to school but they just seem to nod and let it go over their heads. It frustrates me immensely that he is left to get by and we want to explore any other options out there. Would also love to hear what other people think are attributes of a good primary for kids with Aspergers. He doesnT need a lot of 1:1 just a bit of understanding and explanation of certain things.
Thanks and sorry for the rant just feel really frustrated that I feel he is being failed by his current school.

I was going to ask the same questions as Hothead re age and whether he has a statement or not (it does not sound like he has a statement).

Is he on anything like School Action Plus?. Have you actually looked at other schools?.

Generally speaking, provision in Herts with regards to SEN is very poor from what I have gathered.

Cambs share the same aggressive and somewhat unhinged solicitor.

But if I could choose it woukd never be Herts. The schools are trained heavily by the LA in SEN and believe all kinds of nonsense. The LA was once okay for SEN and had published good practice. They band this about as if it is still the case which has allowed a very poor service to ensue.

I knew they were bad but never understood quite how bad until I moved the hell out. Having tricky times with new LA for sure. No Authority gives you anything without a fight but I'm not seeing the level of vindictiveness that I saw in Herts. I'm not the only one with his experience btw.

Thanks for your replies-he s 6, just about to go into year 2 and he doesn't have a statement-I really don't think he would get one. Tbh honest he just needs a bit of extra explanation and understanding about the things that cause him difficulty iykwim. We are just beginning to consider alternatives for him. We have had some great OT input for him recently which we've started at home and school say has really helped, and made him into a changed little boy, even tho before they said he didn't have any problems!!! The OT now wants them to do some stuff in school with him and they're being extremely reluctant as it may mean he needs adult supervision for 5 mins couple of times a day!! He is, I think on SA+ well this is what it says on his ed psych report so I guess this is still the case. Does that make a difference? Starlight I've heard awful things about Herts. he went to a day nursery in Cambs and when the specialist lady came to see him her face fell when he told her where he lived cos she realised it was Herts. A lot of ds problem is related to sensory stuff too and I just don't think statements really take that much in to consideration. Think we'd even consider moving if we thought it would be definitely any better anywhere else....grrrr who'd have realised having kids would be this hard!!!

I would be looking to both move into a different county and apply for a statement. Essex is not that marvellous either and I live in Essex but Herts are in a league of their own when it comes to LEA nastiness. Infact IPSEA receives the highest number of complaints to their organisation in relation to Herts.

Re this part of your comment:-
"The OT now wants them to do some stuff in school with him and they're being extremely reluctant as it may mean he needs adult supervision for 5 mins couple of times a day!!"

The above also won't happen at all without your DS having a statement in place. SA plus is too limited in this area to be of any real long term use. I would also state that if he has AS then he needs a statement in any case. DO not assume that for whatever reason he will not receive one. Make the request yourself and use IPSEAs website www.ipsea.org.uk

Also he'll be approaching Y3 in a further year's time and with that is Junior school. He may well find such a place extremely difficult socially and this will have a knock on effect on his learning. He may well need extra support and help for him to be able to manage in Junior school in the form of a statement. You also need to think longer term as well i.e secondary school.

I know of a few children with AS in DS's school and without exception they all have statements.

My Ds's school did do OT exercises when he was on SA+ - it was part of the time allocated to him as part of it. They also made adjustments re sensory problems as recommended by the OT and Ed Phyc.
Now he does have a statement and I have had this written into the statement - so they do the OT with him daily and that the sensory adjustments need to be made. I have also had it noted that it is one of his problems and he needs to be allowed to withdraw from class/situations if necessary. There is a TA in his class who can go out with him when this is needed ( not too often btw). She is also there for the extra explanations etc that he needs. I just wanted to tell you that you can get it into the statement because if he is too wound up by sensory problems then he can't pay attention and learn and will be distracting others too. You can turn these problems into educational ones for the purpose of a statement.
I am not in your area so cannot help re schools though.