Hi
I will keep this brief as I am in urgent need of advice please.
My son is 10 - no statement - we were refused assessment.
We suspect he may be somewhere on the Autistic Spectrum but open to differing opinion.
Regardless, he struggles entirely to fit into school despite being passive, overly honest, and ridiculously 'kind' to his peers.
We have been seen by CAMHS and he has been diagnosed with 'low mood' at this stage. The assessment was on Tuesday so we will get more detail on this. DS is sad, lethargic, sleeps all the time and has attempted to strangle himself last term.
We feel that his school is doing him no good at all and he experiences bullying every day from verbal to physical. We withdrew him on Wednesday after he came home with his underwear ripped to shreds and didn't tell anyone all day.
The school have taken this seriously and followed reasonable policy but are not accepting of how distressing daily life is for DS. They want him back in school and say they will "keep an extra eye on him". School's explanation of events are that DS was failing to play a game of 'it' appropriately - winding up the other players to the point where they became frustrated and dealt with their frustration entirely I appropriately. I can absolutely see that that was almost exactly the scenario. DS doesn't 'get' most nuances of social situations we find - hence the tendency to lean towards suspicions of autism. He is pretty highly functioning so it's hard to call. However, he's always on the peripherary and very literal about things. Can theorise on Darwin ,etc and astronomy, spells diarrhoea (how?!) but can barely do math, tell the time or tie his laces.
Anyway, after promising. It to ramble... My enquiry is:
Which schools in Hatfield, welwyn, St. Albans, harpenden might be better able to cope with him and his difficulties - we need to find somewhere fast that is mainstream.
Suggestions very welcome so I can check the admissions vacancy list and then call schools.
thanks so much!