Is a temporary reduced timetable a good idea...

[minionmadness]

I've had a couple of thread recently regarding ds (6) ASD. He appears to have regressed since going into YR2. We are having issues ranging from not complying with request/demands right up to hitting and running out of class. We've not seen issues on this scale since he started school.

After an initial slow response, school have stepped up and have given 121 as a temporary measure and we have put together a behaviour management plan.

It's slow progress and I've been thinking that maybe doing a reduced timetable might be helpful in the short term. My only concern with this is that one of the issues ds is having is that there is a new boy in his class (he's been with the same group since he started, no leavers, no starters) that he's struggling to accept. Clearly there is nothing we can do about this but would a reduced timetable make this worse.

Any ideas...

My son went on part time timetable when he changed schools during year 1. It worked well for him as it allowed him to slowly integrate into school. You need to make sure that there is a plan in place for him to be full time again at some point. Some schools might see it as an easy way of getting rid of a 'problem' child IYSWIM.
Would your son feel that he is less favoured if the new boy is 'allowed' in school all of the time and he is not? A lot will depend on how he views himself as part of the class. With my son it wasn't an issue as it was a new school and he didn't bother with other kids at that age. But if your son feels it might be a punishment then it might not help.

My Dd3 was placed on a reduced timetable internally last year! She joined a small group of children for an additional PE lesson one afternoon and she worked with a TA 2 afternoons.

Would something like this work for your Ds, Dd3 did additional computer stuff and cooking on the days she was with the TA. It wasnt that well planned but it could have been and it did help to reduce her anxiety, which was the whole point of the exersise.

At the end of the day, your Ds isn't going to be learning while he is very stressed so if reducing his timetable reduces his stress it can only be positive!

Thats my opinion anyway.

Have you or school applied for an EHC needs assessment?

Thanks...

School have responded very well and his 121 (was with him in YR1) decides to do various other activities throughout the day when she feels it's getting too much for him.

We haven't applied for assessment as school have been (most of the time)meeting his needs up till now. It's only since going into YR2 that he's clearly not coping. School responded well but none of what we've put in place is having the desired effect as yet. The senco "desperately want to make this work for ds". clearly the subject is back on the table for me.

Given a choice ds wouldn't go to school so he wouldn't see it as being punished but I do understand your point though and something for me to consider. My worry is that ds has voiced such a dislike (very unlike ds) for the new boy that I am worried that he may try and hurt him. Ds can't understand why he is in his class and insists he needs to leave.

It's all very worrying.

ds2 - school refuser and high anxiety - was put onto a reduced timetable when the school felt they could not provide sufficient cover to keep him safe (he had made several attempts to jump from a first floor window so I could see their point).

It did reduce incidents so presumably anxiety so it worked to that extent although did not really increase his willingness to go to school by very much.

We initially agreed for a short (six week) period but at the end of this it was clear that anxiety levels were still very high so he continued on reduced hours until we managed to secure a change of placement. The school had had some success with reduced hours with another pupil who was extremely anxious when starting at the school and gradually worked up to full-time hours.

You do have to think about the long-term strategy. Is the reduced hours a stop-gap whilst school can work out how to support him better. I just think that unless changes in support are made the problems will return as soon as he moves back to full-time hours.

I do think you need to consider applying for an EHCP plan. School is not working at the moment for him and you need to find out exactly what the problems are because until you know this then the school are not going to know what is the best support they can put in for him. It is a huge change from Y2 to Y3 in the expectations of the teacher in terms of work and behaviour. I suspect your ds is blaming this new boy for all the other changes too.

ds1 took a dislike of a new boy in Year 5 - he was also autistic but about as opposite from ds1 as you could get so he was touchy-feely and ds1 hates light touch so as you can imagine there were problems. The CT did try to keep them apart as far as possible but it was yet another contributory factor to his stress levels.

We have also found over the years that the flexibility (or not) of the CT makes a huge difference to the ability of my ds's to cope. Problem is that this one is not easy to change - but keeping up the levels of communication does help and seeking support from the SENCO or HT can sometimes be helpful in getting the CT to use alternative strategies.

I definitely think you should request an EHC needs assessment. The start of the process is very simple and there is a template letter on the IPSEA website.

I would tell the senco (in a nice way ) that you are going to put in a parental request and ask for her support.

Good luck

It might be a short term solution but needs to be planned out properly with thought given as to how it will be managed in practical terms - how long for, plans for increasing again and with regular reviews.
And how will your ds see it? Will he think he is being punished? Get anxious about the work he is missing?

He didn't have 121 in YR1 but was allocated medium extra funding levels from starting school.

The worry for me is that currently they are having to give him 121 for the whole day due to his current needs. It's been 7 weeks now and we are not seeing much improvement or perhaps we need to give it a little longer.

If school are doing all they can to meet his needs and there are still issues is this grounds to ask for an assessment. What extra support would this bring. I hadn't realised that ds was getting good support in school until I read stories on here, so I appreciate we are lucky in that sense. That said my priority is ds and looking forward school is only going to get tougher.

I suppose I am worried that our great relationship (school and parents) will suffer if I apply for assessment when actually they have responded very well. Or am I being naïve.

Unless an assessment is carried do school actually know what his needs are. Yes, they are putting in support which is wonderful but is it the right kind of support. Has he been seen by an educational psychologist to see if there are specific learning difficulties for instance or an OT to work out what sensory issues he might have. Is the 1.2.1 an armed guard or is she actually teaching him how to interact with the other children appropriately. It is difficult when the school is being supportive but in hindsight I can see that a lot of measures my ds's school put in were aimed more at prevention of incidents by isolating the child rather than teaching the child the skills need to cope in the mainstream classroom. I think if you present it as wanting to find out what your son's difficulties are so that you can help him the school should not feel too criticized.

I don't think the school would react badly to you applying for an EHC plan because if you get a plan then the school will have guaranteed funds to support your son. Really you are doing them a favour!
Equally you need to apply in order to safeguard the support for your son. Without a plan then the support could be withdrawn whereas a plan would legally protect his support.

You are all right of course... None of us really now what his needs in school really are. All the well intentioned support in the world won't fix that. It would be so much easier to just do it when you have no confidence in the school.

I am going to broach the subject with the Senco and go from there.

Thanks...

no school is in position to indefinatelly provide 1:1 from their budget and I think your school may be thinking on the same path as you towards the EHCP. They need to prove they have tried and done everything possible but still cat meet needs as this will lead to a hopefully successful EHCP and more budget for them to make adjustments.

DS also started acting up in Y2, he had 1:1 in the last sememster but didnt make a difference to his running away from classroom. Reduced timetable and me picking him up around lunch time didnt help either.

Towards end of Y2 I asked for a statutory re assessment and after a few months him staying home we got a place at SS. I am not saying things improved overnight but he is now 90% in classroom and this was achieved with stepping back to visual timetables, filling in the academic gaps as what he was being taught may have been too much and also an experienced 1:1. Still not ideal and I may need to look at another provision as there is an enviromental issue that concerns me but I truly sympathise with you, I was so down a year ago :(

As others have suggested please set up a meeting with school, take parent partnership rep if needed with you or consult with them prior to meeting, call IPSEA or SOS SEN for help and advice and make sure you find out if school are thinking in a way of EHCP and even if they are not start it yourself and the school will perhaps see that from EP, SALT and OT report.

Good luck!