Autism

[Murphee]

Can anyone help? My 7 year old nephew is very naughty in class (a class of 30 where 13 are diagnosed special needs)- he swears at the teacher whenever he can't do something. The school are saying that he ought to be assessed for autism, if my sister-in-law accepts this he will be given extra help. He never swears at any of us I believe he is receiving rubbish teaching - how can it be that nearly half the class are special needs?! His class teacher says he always improves if she spends time with him but she doesn't have the time. My family are concerned that if he is labeled autistic it will stick. Am I overreacting? Please help!

Is she a SENCO teacher? This will explain the high number of special needs children in her class.
Does he have any other AS traits?

Sorry, will re-phrase that question - Does he have any AS traits? I dont class swearing as an AS trait, that could be for a number of reasons

if you nephew needs help in class with his behaviour then yes he shouold be assessed to see if their is any SN with your nephew. its not as case of a label sticking, some kids require more help than others. A full assessment wont do any harm, but if he is SN then he will get the help he needs and not struggle.

Thank you. I don't know what a SENCO teacher is?

I don't know if he has AS traits or not - I don't know what to look for and he seems like an average 7 year old to me (whatever that is). I do see a lot of him. I just feel really surprised and my instinctive feeling is that the school may be labelling kids to avoid responsibility for their own failings. Apparently parents are taking their kids out of the school but my sister-in-law says the other schools in the area are no better.

I believe SENCO is a special educational needs co-ordiator(sp).Or something like that!

Some kids with AS traits (aspergers, a syndrome on the autistic spectrum that my DS1 has) display behaviours in specific situations- some save for when they're in a place they feel safe, others when they're under extreme stress. The behaviours can vary, and certainly swearing attention seeking COULD come within it, but isn't one I have come across thus far. Inappropriate noises, movements (eg flapping) and outbursts are more common.

AS kids tend to be individual: not social animals. They have social impairment (friendships, body language), language imapirment (overly literal) and imagination / flexibility of thought (eg routine fication / obsessive interests)

TBH I would go for the assessment because the Paed will not be influenced by the school IME- it's actually quite hard to get a diagnosis (trust me on this one!!!).

In DS' class there are about 10 children on the school action plus, DS is the only one with 'real' SN (ie a disability, not that I am saying a child with learning problems isn't SN, IYKWIM) the others all have reading or learning problems, so they are all classed as SN. Maybe they have lots of children with learning problems.

Thank you all - this is really helping me to get a better handle on what goes on in schools and to better understand what my own thoughts are.

If you feel you need more info on AS / Autism, try the National Autistic Society website: they'll send you lots of information if you contact them.

I would be very wary of a teacher suggesting syndromes: It's within their remit to identify potential problems but not beyond that: it's hard enough for the professionals sometimes.