PRU for a 7 year old with HFA, dyspraxia, hypermobility.

[Sparklysilversequins]

This has been suggested for me for ds. I think it is entirely inappropriate but was made to feel that I was being obstructive. He is currently Home educated as completely unable to function there. Can I just ask whether you think this is a realistic option because quite frankly I am furious it was even suggested but not sure if I am overreacting. Many thanks.

Depends if you want to continue to HE or not, if you do then you are unlikely to be able to see any positives.

I agree with polter Go and have a look.
There will be small classes, lots of highly trained staff and hopefully a very varied curriculum.

There will be children with behviour difficulties but if they are well managed and cared for it could be a really good option in the short term.

Good luck

Ds hasn't got behavioural difficulties though. Every issue or meltdown he has arises from being unable to cope with the constant onslaught to his senses. I can't see how they can change this. How would this be managed there? They don't have specialist autism provision. I also think that him seeing behavioural issues on a regular basis could hardly be beneficial to him. Pretty sure that would just mean more sensory overload. I haven't been there but have spoken and they do seem a bit wooly on the autism front tbh.

I totally agree that it isnt the correct setting for a child with Asd but in a situation where a mainstream setting has failed and the child has no setting then it could be made to work.

The staff in PRU's work with children withall kinds of special needs who end up in PRU's because their needs havent been met in mainstream.

If however HE works for you and him then maybe that would be better for both of you.

Good luck whatever you decide

ds1 (10 years, AS) was sent to a PRU attached to a BESD following his exclusion from school. We may have been lucky but it has really suited him. It is much calmer than mainstream, smaller classes and a high staff:pupil ratio. It suits him far better than mainstream so much so that we have asked that he join the main school part for year 6. He gets lot of social support and although lots of the children do not seem to be ASD the staff do understand ASD issues and are lovely and patient with him. He doesn't report seeing many (if any) behavioural incidents and he certainly has fewer meltdowns since attending.

Don't even think about it - it's totally unsuitable and a really poor substitute for the proper educational placement your DS needs.

The LA know that children with long tern special needs should not be educated in PRUs - they have been told this often enough by the Dep for Ed. Your son is very young. He has years of education ahead of him. He should be receiving secialist support in mainstream or should have a secial school placement. A PRU is neither of these.

Thanks Wetaugust that's more what I was expecting. Just to be clear, he is now 10, but all placements failed, including one in an ASD unit. The only thing we didn't do was the PRU. I was trying to explore whether it's something we should have considered as he occasionally makes noises about going back to school. It just felt so WRONG though.

The LA are just trying to take the cheap way out here Sparkly.

If your DS has had an ASD specific placement and that has broken down then you need to look at ASD specialist schools, probably in the independent sector.

What some posters on this thread have described are not traditional PRUs. Some LAs have centrally funded unts for vulnerable children who are recovering from illnesses etc and in some LAs they call these sheltered placemnets PRUs. The term PRU is usually reserved for thse tyope of unit that deals with behvioural problems that have led to exclusion form mainstream. The last thing you want is your son with ASD copying these sorts of anti-social behaviours - as childen with ASD tend to copy the behaviour of their peers.

The LA is wrong to even suggest a PRU so I'd remind them that PRUs are not suitable for children with long term special needs. Does he have a Statement - I presume he does. The LA should be reviewing this and amending it to state a school that can support his needs. You may have to do some investigation into possible suitable schools yourself.

But please fight the PRU idea. PRUs are temporary measures designed to get the chidl back to mainstream asap. Returning your son to mainstream would be returning him to fail again. That will eventually bugger uop his MH.

PRUs also only opeate up to age 16 so even if you played along with the PRU you'd keave him without education post 16. Whereas if he was in a suitablke ASD specifoc school he could stay untiil 19 (or even later if necessary).

By suggesting a PRU the LA will be relying on you not knowing your DS's rights and not seeking to enforce them

Oh - and if you need evidence of unsuitability - the LA are not permitted to name a PRU in Part 4 of the Statement. That's how unsuitable they are.