EOTAS new teacher - 'we are all on the spectrum...'

[KOKOagainandagain]

... she went onto a say that she has the same behaviour sometimes (in an 'autism is stuff and nonsense' way rather than an 'I am undiagnosed' way.

When DS1 has reported difficulties with maths her first response has been to laugh and say 'you can't have tried very hard - did you mess about in the assessment? - I'm surprised you didn't get in trouble'. She gave him some addition of single digits which he was unable to do without using his fingers. She has told him he is not allowed to use his fingers. She has also told him that his is not allowed to be silent (not respond) but has to say 'I don't know'. But if he says 'I don't know' - she laughs and disbelieves him because she has just shown him or told him. He has working memory on the 0.3rd percentile. Worse (she really did not like it) was when he forgot what he had to say instead of being silent and also forgot what the orginal question that he didn't know the answer to was. He has gone from relearning simple maths to year 7 maths - he does not have a clue. Each time he has difficulty - ie special educational needs - she laughs and then when he looks bemused says 'oh, you were serious'. Her behaviour is making him feel 'stupid'

Her comments to me remind me of the worse kind of dismissive teacher that I have met before and which are responsible for damaging DS's self esteem and view of himself as a learner, school phobia and why he has a tutor in the first place. I told her that DS1 will not speak to her directly about something he is not happy with but will speak to me and that I will then tell her. I told her that DS1 did not like her laughing - that he did not know what she was laughing at/get the joke and was assuming that she was laughing at him. Her response to him was to ask him why he will talk to me but not her. She put down disasterous progress over the last four years as an indication that he didn't really have SEN but had simply chosen not to work/progress. The inability to respond at times is put down to him 'using' silence.

I have phoned the lea eotas co-ordinator to report this and to ask for a different tutor but she is in a meeting and I am waiting for her to call back. Any advice as to what I should say/how I should pitch this?

Can you ask what the minimum experience and qualifications a eotas teachers is supposed to have before they are placed with a child with autism and also for the rationale for placing this particular tutor with your Ds.

Ask THEM to justify the appropriateness of their intervention rather that you telling them why it is so wrong.

And, you know, after the phone all put the questions and their answers in writing to ensure you understood correctly.

Thanks Star - do you think that the lea will deny the request?

I had a phone call on Friday from the head of the complex needs group to say that the plan had changed and that DS1 would not be persuaded to attend the MLD complex needs group. They said he is ASD - not a suitable peer group - difficult to know what to do in the meantime (ie before tribuanal) as DS1 clearly needed specialist setting and there was nothing appropriate in area. Therefore DS1 was to have a home tutor for the next five months. The new teacher will be taking over responsibility for the medical pupils. All sounded positive until the teacher actually showed up. There is no way I am going to welcome her into my house and DS1's life for the next five months.

But I fear that the lea will claim cuts (as they did for not providing tuition earlier - staff shortage) and that there is no other tutor available.

What sort of experience and qualifications should I expect? Worse still, what if she has them and officially ticks the boxes?

You child s entitled to an adequate and appropriate education. He isn't receiving it. It it's the LA's responsibility to deliver this.

Practically you can fight tooth and nail to either get them to provide an independent tutor, direct payments so you can buy in your own tutor or tell the tutor to piss off, hire your own then JR them for compensation.

IMO, none of these routes will be worth the effort.

So instead, I would put up with this tutor as long as you can, gathering evidence of why she and her service cannot understand your child's complex needs that will support your tribunal case, then, when you have the evidence tell her in writing that your child has not only failed to learn but has deteriorated which means for his welfare you need to stop the sessions.

You could ask if the tutor sent to your home has qualified teacher status as laughing at a struggling pupil is NOT how anyone with formal training would attempt to engage ANY child, SEN or no. (note a TA has an NVQ - this isn't good enough. A teacher should have the right to use the letters QTS after their name). I suspect the answer may suprise you, and automatically give you an obvious next step .

Thanks - call has not been returned so I am going to start my continuous calling campaign (CCC).

Log the calls, then you can write or list all the unreturned calls.

It has a more powerful effect when you can say ono x date at y time I called Mrs B and left a message. On x date at y time I called again and left a message with a promise of a return call etc etc.