Going crabbing

[TwiglightZone]

Getting a Statement for my child has to be one of the most negative experiences of my life. Not least us both having to physically and mentally cope with 11 assessments in as many months. And then, for me, reading such terrible negative reports painting my DC in the worst possible way, with each report once again hammering home his extensive problems and my crap parenting (Funny, I've been a mum for 23 years and now I'm crap with my last child???)

Then there's the battle with the LA and the stressful, mental, emotional and legal fight that has been over 18 months.

It is all draining, stressful and so so very negative.

The most positive experience of the last few months has been home eding my son. If it wasn't that I know that long term it isn't right for him, I'd continue to do it.

In the run-up to Tribunal, we've headed for the seaside in our home eding experience. Yesterday evening, we went crabbing and DS caught one of the biggest crabs I've ever seen.

I have a life-long fear of crabs. Today I love them.

I'm going crabbing today.

Can I join you? We have got the diagnosis, we have got the statement but now the battle of trying to get specialist ASD provision just seems a mountain too far.

I just wish I was rich and could give up work and unschool Dd3!

I'm not rich either. I had the stark choose of either giving up work to home ed or watch my 9 year old son have a nervous breakdown if he stayed in school.

Sorry twiglet I wasnt having a dig!!

I didnt even realise your ds was out of school.

Feel bad now, I would never assume that only rich people can HE. I just really have to work or would loose the car and then camping hols would go too

I wouldnt rule it out if Dd3's mental health was suffering again though.

That's ok - please don't worry. It's been a bit of a strange day. One minute watching my son swim fully clothed (trainers and all!) in the freezing cold sea, and the next minute working on the Working Document. If only those prats of my LA had done his Statement properly in the first place!!!! Arseholes!

Right now I''m sat on the pier of the most beautiful beach in England watching all my DC crab - biggies and littles. Bliss! I wish I don't have to come home

How lovely twiglet

We love the seaside and plan to live near the sea one day.

At the moment we couldnt get much further from the sea but we have some lovely parks with streams for paddling in

oh Twiglight you also have a DS that swims fully clothed!

That is exactly what DS was doing this evening only he was digging up the crabs instead and seaweed hunting!

Good to relax and wind down glad I live near the beach I would be lost without it :)

What a lovely poignant thread I can almost smell the sea air!

Honk honk!

Is this the Twiglet Zone? Are you old enough to remember that ad?

I have a lot of respect for those who HE. I wouldn't have the patience or energy. I think I'd spend all day on MN.

Is your DS coming up to secondary age, Twilight? I think that would be when the level of the work in some subjects would get beyond me.

I'm in the no-man's land between all the evidence being sent in and the imminent Tribunal. Hence being in the Twilight/Twiglight zone

DS should be in Year 4. I can do Home ed at this age but as he gets older then I won't be able to. Hence the battle to get my LA to place him in the right educational setting.

Y4 up until Y6 I could cope with, but secondary languages, RE, biology, geography etc, maybe not. And the way history is taught now, referring to sources and giving your own opinion. It's all changed so much since I was at school.

I guess it depends on your DC, though. For some, concentrating on those subjects that they can manage and learning things that will be useful in their life is better than academics alone.

Good luck with your search for an appropriate secondary setting. My DS2 manages fine in a large, inclusive secondary but misses out on some of the life skills, social skills teaching that he doesn't learn naturally, that might be being taught well in a SS. He's a bit borderline, too academically average to get enough academic teaching at a SS, but too needy socially/ practically to learn these skills just by being around other people.

Thanks Ellen. I'm about to go to Tribunal to get my DS into a specialist dyslexia setting which will take him through primary and on into secondary. He's severely dyslexic (amongst other problems) and mainstream just isn't the right setting for him. He would not survive at all in mainstream secondary.

I've loved home eding him the more hands on multi-sensory stuff - especially history. We've spent the last year doing hands-on history with not a book in sight. Including visiting Hadrian's Wall and visiting Richard III's grave.

A specialist dyslexia setting sounds fantastic. Very best of luck.