Good arguments for independent secondary placement for a child with AS

[OneInEight]

We are having a meeting with LA about secondary school placement for my ds's. Both boys have struggled in mainstream primary with lots of exclusions. I think we are agreed that mainstream is not appropriate but we think the LA would like to place them at a BESD school whereas we would like out of area independents. I need some non-emotive arguments to help argue our case. Looking at the IPSEA website we have to show that the BESD school is inappropriate rather than the independents are better to have a chance of success.

Are you looking at a mainstream independent or a Special School?

Special for AS/HFA. I have kind of dismissed mainstream independents on the grounds of their behaviour.

You are tackling the problem in the wrong way.

The question should be - what does your DS need

And the answer is the school that can support those needs.

So if he has ASD then he needs a school that specialises in ASD - not BESD.

Challenging behaviour is often the by-product of ASD but get sepcilaist ASD help and the behaviour decreases.

At a BESD school he is likley to imitate the inappropriate behaviour of his fellow pupils and ASD children often learn by copying.

You need to prove that the local / mainstream / BESD placment offered does not meet your son's needs whereas the ASD specilaist placemnet you want does meet his needs.

Thanks Wet. I don't know what ds2 needs - maybe a magic wand or new parents - all I know is that what we have tried so far has not helped much (currently in an ARP unit but still hating school). In essence that is why I want a specialist school because I am hoping they have strategies to help him cope with the world where we and his mainstream school do not.

ds1 has been fine in the BESD primary so perhaps I am being pfb but the secondary is run on a different approach and I really don't think he'll do as well there. We also think it is not a good idea that they both attend the same school again as ds2's anxiety started we think in response to being teased about his brother's meltdowns.

Thanks Wet. I don't know what ds2 needs - maybe a magic wand or new parents - all I know is that what we have tried so far has not helped much (currently in an ARP unit but still hating school). In essence that is why I want a specialist school because I am hoping they have strategies to help him cope with the world where we and his mainstream school do not.

Wet is right.

I believe in your case, you will need to get an independent EP to assess him and recommend the right placement. You can find one on www.achippp.org.uk/ or ask for recommendations either on here or charities like SOS!SEN.

OneinEight - WetAugust's stating what your DS does need is correct, but you are on the right track in needing to prove why the BESD unit or the LA's other offerings wouldn't work, as well. This is all down to the fact that there is no onus on LAs to provide the best placement for children with SN - merely suitably provision. So you need evidence - from an EP, if necessary - as to why their option is not suitable, but your options are.

What's the atmosphere like at the BESD school, btw? Is it quiet and purposeful, or a bit chaotic? If he has strong sensory issues, then a private OT might be able to provide some insight into the type of provision needed.

Thanks all - you have got me over my writer's block on how to tackle this & I will be going over their statements with a fine toothcomb to point out where the BESD school can not meet their needs. Meeting has been postponed till December so have plenty of time to do it. I have thought about getting private reports but ds2 is so uncooperative at the moment that I am not sure how much it would help.

The atmosphere was like a prison (or what I imagine a prison to feel like luckily never having been in one with locked down corridors) ourvye but I thought that was a bit emotive to use!

Key phrases are.

Appropriate peer group
Their main barriers to learning are in the Autistic Spectrum condition and are different to children who have challenging behaviour due to psychological difficulties or emotional/ physical neglect
Children find extreme behaviours of others worrying and scary
Very easily led a d vulnerable. Asd leads them to be very trusting so at risk of peer induced persuasion or copying into antisocial behaviour.

High levels of anxiety due to misunderstanding of abstract concepts. Need an environment where ?SALT and OT are within a waking day curriculum and are woven into social skills sessions and embedded into the curriculum.

Do remember that special indie schools interview you and kids and look at paperwork surprisingly some (like more House in Farnham) don't want kids that are too special and won't take behavioural. All students have to do a one, two or three day assessment. We did several assessments round the country. Two rejected him and three accepted him. They will want to read paperwork and see statements etc first. You need to start now looking round and getting assessments booked in.

Brilliant flappingandflying - am going to be using those phrases! Thank you. We have been to see a couple of indies already & got details of others and they seem to think they can meet the boys needs based on the paperwork we have already.

That sounds like a horrible place to be in :(

And whatever your emotional gut reaction is to that physical environment, I doubt if it would be any less intimidating to an anxiety prone teen with AS/ASD.

Waking day curriculum is for residential, I think.

I agree with two pronged approach - why does he need x; why does y not meet needs.

Your journey has to be documented as having tried state/cheap and it failing, with evidence, therefore you have been forced to look for something else. You started by researching with alternative state, and cheaper but it's no use, he'd fail in those settings too. But luckily, you have come upon a school that appears to meet his needs perfectly, and not your Ds' fault that your LA have got nothing suitable of their own.

Be prepared to have to properly and seriously consider alternative state provision either alone or with bolted on additional services.