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23 replies

namechange11 · 30/11/2007 23:59

Sorry that I had to name change for this, but I'm concerned that I could easily be recognised by parents of the school, and I don't like the idea of them being able to read potentially damaging posts that I've written over the years.

I am a regular, I read more than I write, but have been here for a number of years.

Where do I start? Got a horrible feeling this is going to be long

O.K, I went to pick up ds from school(yr 3, hfa) and (to cut a long story short) found myself in a discussion about ds's aggression at school. A parent instigated it, which invlolved class teacher, parent and Head.
There's so much that was said but the bottom line was that she feared for her sons safety and happiness all the whilst ds was in his class. She said she went to the governors who had advised her to go to the head to complain, which she did back in October. She now says that after talking to social services, she was told to go to the police, which she says she did.

As far as I'm aware, and the school regularly keep me up to date, there has been problems with her ds and mine but never anything extreme. I'm starting to question myself whether I've imagined the whole thing because it sounds so unbelievable, but she implied that her ds is now copying ds's mannerisms(used the staring as an example). The head said that she cannot possible blame a child if another child copies. She even went as far as suggesting her child will end up in prison if he continues copying. I'm, finding this really hard to believe now I'm typing it. Did I really hear that right!!

As far as the hitting, I do know that ds has hit out, there's no doubt about that, but ds is very naive (ASD!)in that he always tells me the truth without any thought about the consequences so when he says a child hit him first I believe him. He would without hesitation tell me when he hits another child, so I can rely on the truth. In the last month he has never told me about hittig this child.

She brought up that other parents were concerned, in fact, she said that at a party last week my ds was all they could talk about. I don't know how involved other parents are, I kind of keep my head down because I know I can never really become friendly with a parent because of ds.

She said that her ds can't understand when ds doesn't recieve the same punishment as other children, can't understand that a child doesn't know right from wrong, and has no boundaries(Was that a dig at me!!) My ds can understand right from wrong, but he's impulsive and can never think of the consequences, or any punishment that I give out.

I was very impressed with the Head's reaction to all of this. She said(and I can only imagine that could get a lot of backs up) that if she was so concerned about the safety of her child, that maybe he should be moved to another class. Parent said that would be akin to punishment.

She said that she's scared that one day she's going to get a phone call about her ds, and implied that my ds could do serious damage. Oh please....he's never seriosuly hurt anybody.

God, I don't know what to do, I try and punish him with his aggressive behaviour, by stopping him playing a virtual reality game on pc which is a massive punishment because he's obsessed with it, but he said himself that at the time he's not able to think about that.

Can the police really do anything? What can I do? Have I wrote too much? Are you still awake......oi!!!

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stleger · 01/12/2007 00:05

I don't know, I am in Ireland so no idea of schools there - but I'm sure somebody will talk you through Take care! I stayed awake!

namechange11 · 01/12/2007 00:12

Really?? I bet you just read the first and last line

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AttilaTheMeerkat · 01/12/2007 07:48

namechange11

Sounds like this other mother and son are the bullies/problem and have it in for your son and by turn you. This boy has a problem with your son because your son is "different". I also think this other woman has stirred things; who knows what her own son has told her about your child.

The long and short of it is that her son needs to leave your child well alone. Note as well that this other parent has denied her son a transfer to another class thus leaving her son in your child's class (punishment indeed, well if that's what is needed he should take the move) so this problem is likely to continue. She feels her son has done no wrong. You cannot reason with people like this mum and son who also have no empathy to boot.

I would also not have thought that SS told her to go to the Police - I would think if she had (which I think unlikely) that the police told her to stop wasting their time. SS as well don't want involvement in such cases; this should be dealt with at school level.

Your son needs protecting frankly from this other troublemaker. I would ask of his class teacher to separate these two as far as humanely possible if this is not already done (different tables etc).

The NAS and Kidscape may also be helpful to call; they've likely seen such scenarios before and could advise you.

The other thing I would ask namechange (and this is not related to the problem you write of) is whether your son has a Statement in place?. If not I would seriously now apply for such a document for him from your LEA.

HTH

Attila

AttilaTheMeerkat · 01/12/2007 07:52

She cannot appoint her own self as unofficial mouthpiece for the other parents either particularly if no-one else has approached you.

I feel this mother and son want to do nothing to try and resolve the problem. They just want your son out of there.

namechange11 · 01/12/2007 08:15

Exactly Attila, she wants my ds out. She seems scared that my ds's autism can rub off on her son, otherwise why make the ridiculous prison comment.
I'm not denying that my ds does hit out in the playground and he is being punished accordingly(he misses out on a lot of playtime) but this mother couldn't really come up with any examples of violence against her own son other than being scratched yesterday, which ds denies(he bites his fingernails right down anyway so couldn't make a scratch). She did bring up other examples with other children, and said that she's getting fed up of her ds constantly talking about ds and his behaviour.

Ds does have a statement, and throughtout breaktime is continually watched. She demanded that he should have supervision every minute of the school day, the head said this is impossible.

The head was very supportive, she deals with alot of SN pupils, and I really appreciate this support, but I'm really scared that if the other parents kick up a fuss, the head will be cornered and feel that perhaps ms isn't the right place for my ds.

Ds has been out of his regular class for the last few weeks, but normally he has his own workstation in the corner of the class so as not to disrupt the otehr children so much. The parent was angry that my ds was allowed to jump on tables and screw up other childrens work without recieving any punishment but this isn't true, it's just that the school have a different way of dealing with my ds.

Sorry, have spoken too much again. I will contact the NAS and get their advice, because this really is worrying me.

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namechange11 · 01/12/2007 08:21

Oh and all this happened in front of my ds, but he didn't seem concerned and I doubt he took any of it in but who knows. At one point, he got an eggtimer, turned it over and stated that we had 5 minutes

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yurt1 · 01/12/2007 09:06

What an utterly vile vile hideous woman. No wonder her son is turning into an oaf.

It's good that the school are being supportive. If this woman approaches you or your son in any way record it, and tell her that if she harrasses you you will go to the police.

Is there any chance of her son moving class (I don't think your son should move- he has ASD and a big change could upset him).

DS2 and ds3 spend a lot of time around their severely autistic brother and have no problem behaving appropriately.

She's totally unreasonable. I'd stay away from her as much as possible and try and keep open lines of communication with the school. It's their problem to sort out really, nutter parents are their remit.

Peachy · 01/12/2007 09:56

Hiya, i was directed to this thread as I have ahd similar experiences- I hope I can help.

My ds1 is also year 3, HFA / AS and in MS education.

The first time we came up against this sort of behaviour was around the time we first saw a Paed, my friend corvnered me on the way in to school and warned me that the other parents ahd got up a petition asking for ds1 to be removed as a result. I tackled 9completely spontaneously, now know it was a wise move from experience) the treacher in tears immediately and in front of everyone; she denied having actually received the petition as yet but made it clear that any attempts to remove DS1 would be met very unfavourably indeed. Surprise, no petition ever physically appeared though I have no doubt it was in progress.

Shortly after we moved away anyway, and to a school where SN was not the accepted admission criteria but where we got in on default of address (slightly different Welsh CofW admission system).

The fist year or so was Haellish, with the school trying to rpevent a DX for ds1 and destroying the statementing process (or trying to- we did get it through without them).

We ahd a lot of problems in this time from other parents, none of whom had a clue about ASD. DS1 can be aggressive, I know that- heck, its usually me or ds2 on the receiving end of it. His DX specifies 24/7 supervision, and I get higher rate care as a result- I'm not naive about that! But the aggression was not amterialising at that level in school, we'd have known as they'd have loved the chance at that stage to move him elsewhere.

DS1 transferred to juniors in September- and after a week letters started arriving to the head asking for his removal. We don't know why exactly and although I think I know who I can't prove it as we were not privvy to the contents, but the joke is that by this atge ds1 was being bullied badly (there's a thread from me further down on this talk board about the atest major incident).

Fortunately, this time round we have a sympathetic Head and Governors, who want ds1 to remain in the school and are working ahrd to help him and to address his otehr issues- dyslexia was dx'd this week, for example.

The NAS are excellent with advice on this, they calmly listened to me in tears for ages the aother day (I do that far too much- pg hormones!). The school are also now putting interventions into place; they are planning ASD awareness sessions for the kids to help them understand why ds1 does some strange things in the palygorund, sucha s flapping and screeching 'Piggggg' endlessly. I'd like to introduce the idea for parents as well (when i worked at homestart we did open lectues, just basic ones run by BIBIC, on ASD, ADHD, nutrition and a few other things). Taht will take time though.

I also have another ASD child who is mroe severe, he ahs severe speech delays as part of his DX and somehow that makes him more accepted into this aprticular environment- it's like he's their pet. (I am not suggesting this applies to all ASD kids- just that this school has issues with bright but disabled kids that they cant quite understand). He has been supported all the way through in his bid for a statement, and is being allowed a lot of leeway as the most severely disabled kid this school has ever accetped.

Seeing poeple treat your child like a pariah is heartbreaking, especially the first time. This woman in aprticualr is clearly crakcers, tbh. The Governors though should be supporting you and your child- how asd aware are they I wonder? Perhaps the LEA could help with that (dont get them to call, always make every call yourself) or if you use an agency like BIBIC you might find help there (we lived near a BIBIC centre so they came in and did awareness training).

Its also worth reaidng up on the disability discrimination act- a powerful tool- and that maintains your child has a right to an eduation in an appropriate setting for him (heck, thats also a listed human right).

Some times in life you will meet pricks, and ssadly ASD in MS education tends to bring you into contact ime with a certain kind of prize prick. you DO learn to deal with that a bit, but its a hard road and takes time. You are entitled to support from the LEA and the school, and as such you should make it clear that you expect to receive that at all times.

If you want a chat or support, please feel free to e-mail me- my email is peachesand cream 04 at btinternet dot com.

My thoughts are with you both- hopefully this is a one off for you and once the silly moo is sorted it will pass over.

namechange11 · 01/12/2007 10:33

Yurt,the Head actually suggested that if her ds was so unhappy that he should move class, but she didn't like that one bit. She began fretting about another child in a different class, she actually said that she would rather her ds be in the same class as my ds rather than this other child. I think this speaks volumes, she obviously has had issues with another child as well.

Peachy thank you for taking the time to write that. I appreciate it as I know you've had an awful lot to deal with.

I can't really fault the school, they are very ASD aware and haven't given me the impression (yet!)that ds is not welcome at the school. They have brought in an EP to advise, and I'm seeing her mid week. The experienced SENCO also spoke of contacting CAMHS, so I feel that they're doing all that they can to help, and I know ds has been a problem for them.

This outburst from this parent surprised me somewhat because ds has been having a relatively good week. The parent seems to be picking up on events that happened a while ago, she mentioned about how he 'stabbed' another child, and yes this was brought to my attention at the time, but it turns out that ds had put a needle in a girls pencil case. What an over reaction!!

Is this sort of talk going around the school I wonder, she made quite a few comments about how other parents are upset, and I wouldn't be surprised if I suddenly came across a petition too. I saddens me that parents are actually worried for their childrens safety, he's only 7 fgs.

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yurt1 · 01/12/2007 12:53

Yes, I thought she might not like the idea of her son moving schools.

Hard as it is I would say try and ignore her. She sounds unhinged, and it is the school's job to deal with the over-precious unhinged parents. If your son was acting dangerously the school would be taking no chances.

yurt1 · 01/12/2007 12:54

schools? classes

namechange11 · 01/12/2007 15:19

Yeh you're right, I'm going to keep well away, but I will record every incident that I'm aware of that actually involves her ds. If she has gone to the police she means business and I can't imagine she's just going to let this pass.

Thank you all for all your helpful comments, experiences and advice, it has really helped me no end, it kept me awake last night mulling over every word that was said.

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Peachy · 01/12/2007 15:36

If she ahd been to SS and the police they would have been in contact. Anyhow (and I may be wrong) under law the child isn't repsonsible until older; asuming the aprent is responsible, while on school grunds the school acts in loco parentis, no?

hence in my (unlearned) reckoning, they're stuffing themsel;ves with the SS police bit

sarah573 · 01/12/2007 17:30

Hi Namechange, just wanted add about the police issue (as an ex police office with 10 yrs experience) WTF is she on about!!! Your son is under the age of criminal responsibility. He does not reach this until he is 10. In the eyes of the law he does not know right from wrong, and cannot be punished for it. I cannot imagine any social worker in their right mind sending her to the police over this. I would have politelty sent her in the direction of the head teacher if she had a problem with a 7 year old during school hours, and told her - still ever so politely of course - to stop wasting my time. I cannot imagine the police getting involved in this in anyway, shape of form.

She sounds like an awful vile woman, who obviously has serious issues with her own children/parenting skills if she needs to behave in this way towards you.

Peachy · 01/12/2007 19:36

Another ythought namechange- get teh schgool to put the issues in writing

A) for DDA purposes

B) excelelnt when it comes to DLA renewal LOL

magso · 02/12/2007 13:46

Hello namechange. Cant add any good advise ( it has been already given by wiser posters), but just wanted to say I feel for you and your son having had a similar situation with my ds.

namechange11 · 02/12/2007 22:41

Thank you. Now I've got over the initial shock of this 'meeting' I feel a bit more relaxed about the police comment, I find it hard to believe that the police would have any involvement over school incidents that involve a 7 year old autistic child, and like you say sarah a child under 10 can't be held criminally responsible, SN or not.

I'm angry that I fell for this comment, and have spent wasted time dwelling over it.

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Dinosaur · 03/12/2007 13:55

namechange11, much sympathy - this woman and her son sound horrible, ugh. Sounds as if you've had excellent advice on here from Peachy and others - hope you feel a bit reassured and things calm down.

namechange11 · 03/12/2007 22:07

Thanks dinosaur

Yeh I've had great advice and I appreciate every word.

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Davros · 04/12/2007 09:59

I know you are not at this point yet, but keeping in mind the phrase "disability hate crime" may help and, if she threatens or does involve the Police, this is how you should describe the situation. More info below and you could always call the NAS helpline for advice. Grrrrrr

(the following from another email) "Disabilitiy Hate Crime is a real thing and getting more recognition now. I saw a man from Radio 5 on the BBC TV news the other day talking about it. There is a charity trying to deal with this which has a Helpline - For info or help/support contact the freephone Respond helpline on 0808 808 0700 or visit www.respond.org.uk for more info."

macwoozy · 04/12/2007 14:21

Thanks Davros

If this woman continues spouting off such rubbish, then I will definately contact that charity. I'm feeling stronger already (look I've come out of hiding!!)and I won't let anyone intimidate me like that again. Those remarks really hurt me.

Geri2 · 04/12/2007 19:07

What a horrible woman. Her Son obviously can do no wrong! Just wondering if you speak to any of the other Parents? She is stooping so low, saying how everyone was talking about DS at a party last week, that is just sooo nasty. Police indeed! what is the woman on!

Glad to hear your feeling more postitive...

macwoozy · 04/12/2007 21:36

Sadly, today this woman is going to think that by shouting her mouth off, and laying down a few of her demands, they will be met.

Ds has been in the language unit (whilst spending a bit of time in his regular class} for the last few weeks due to his lovely LSA being in hospital. LSA is back today, but the school have decided to keep him on in the unit for the time being, with the hope that his behaviour improves{less children etc). It's just unfortunate that in this womans eyes, it's going to appear that she's got ds out of the classroom, even though this decision has nothing to do with her outburst. Oh well, at least I won't be seeing her for a while.

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