Special needs schools

[Sprogonthetyne]

DS has autism and started reception this year, it's not going well. The LA are assessing for an EHCP, the application went in in September but since then the school have gone from thinking he would manage there with suport to saying they don't feel they can meet his needs, so are updating their input on his needs assessment.

This has come about rather suddenly, as he coped well in ghe school nursery, so I hadn't really considered we'd be taking this route. I need to get my head round it rather quickly, so I can give meaningful opinions/ preferences and ask the right questions.

The main difficulties he's having stem from sensory overload, he's fine out of the classroom, and will happily sit reading books or doing work with his 1:1 but he can only manage 10 minutes back in with the other kids, before his behaviour changes completely and gets quite challenging.

I'm not looking to insist he stay at mainstream (which I know I could), I'm more concerned about making sure he is moved to the right setting for him, not just wherever will get him out of the mainstreams way. I'd also like to know how feasibile it would moving back to mainstream in the future, if his sensory sensitivity decreases with age.

If there's anyone about who's been through it and can tell me what's likely to happen next, or anything you wish you'd known sooner I'd really appreciate your experience.

I'm many years down the line with my own autistic son (he's 24!) However I also work in a special school and we have children transfer from mainstream all the time... and also back again.
If his EHCP concludes that he needs are better met in Special School... then personally I would say go for it.
EHCP... currently they take ages, and if you do not go through the draft with a very fine tooth comb they can be wooly as a sheep and next to useless.
Phrases like 'would benefit from'... scrub out.. ' access to' ditto. You want his needs specified and quantified (eg XXX needs weekly speech therapy, needs 1:1 etc,
In Special Schools children are generally in very small classes,..I consider mine quite large with 8 and 4 staff! The benefits , are in my opinion.. huge for children with sensory needs.
My class are aged 6-8. Three are verbal two have emerging speech, the rest are currently nonverbal. They mix with other classes at play time and the children who have learned to play have a fab time with their peers, all of whom have different special needs.
We have our own mini sensory room within the classroom. We have soft play, a larger sensory room, a hydro pool. The children all learn and work at their own rates .
My son started, non verbal at 4, gradually became verbal, and as he got older and more able (and able to cope) he was integrated with mainstream for some sessions (we have a joint site ) A couple of his peers actually moved back into mainstream and went on to take gcses... these guys were PECS users originally!
My son never took gcses (not that able) but at 24 has had a job since he was 19, went through special school all the way, onto special needs college, and now works at Asda, where he is loved, supported and earns a decent wage!
What I'm saying, is , nothing is set in stone. If your son needs a different setting now, when he's tiny, it doesn't mean forever, unless it suits him best. Special School places are expensive and they only go to children who need them.
My son was middle of the road autism and some learning difficulties. In mainstream he would always been the least able, in special school he was relatively able, had friends! And as a result is a confident young man within the restrictions of his disability.

Sorry that was long, in a nutshell..don't be afraid of special ed, be very on top of the EHCP, check out the local special schools and get a feel for them!!!

We moved ds from mainstream to special school the year before last. He was only partially verbal and his sensory needs meant he was spending a huge amount of time out of the classroom with his 1:1 (he started school with an EHCP). I remember thinking he would catch up and it was a real shock (I think I was in denial) when they suggested the move.

Anyway I looked at all our nearest special school, in and out of borough. Three of them were totally inappropriate for ds but then we found a new autism specific special school in our borough that was absolutely perfect. Very calm, quiet and safe as well as being ambitious for all their children. I found going round special schools the lack of ambition was the hardest thing to come to terms with. I didn't want to feel like I was writing ds off.

Anyway it was the best decision we ever made. The school is amazing and ds is so much happier there. All the behaviour support is in place, as it is autism specific they really understand ds's behaviour and how to manage him so that he doesn't get overwhelmed. They have an incredible very supportive pastoral care team as well as all the relevant therapists being on site.

What I'm saying is that special schools vary a lot, so as the previous poster says go have a look around and see how they 'feel'. You very quickly get an idea about whether it will be the right setting for your child.

Thank you both for your replies,

Livpotter - This sentence pretty much sums up how I'm feeling

"I found going round special schools the lack of ambition was the hardest thing to come to terms with. I didn't want to feel like I was writing ds off."

DS is academically quite strong, when he can focus (not often) his ability is towards the top of his class in most areas, and quite far ahead in reading (suspected hyperlexcia).

StillMedusa - your school sounds perfect for him from a social and sensory point of view, at the minute he's only managing to visit the classroom for a few 10-15 minute bursts a day, so is missing so much. The social side is also really important, at the minute he doesn't have any friends at school, so even when he is in the classroom he's isolated. Outside of school he plays with other kids really well when there's only 1 or 2 of them, but his erratic behavior when he's overwhelmed has (understandablely) put the other kids off.

Do you mind if I ask, are there any more able kids at your school, or other specialschoolsyou know?

So the school ds is in has groups separated by ability over year groups. Once they go into secondary they are split into two wings, more and less academically able. Currently the more academically able kids can progress up to about GSCE level learning.

However this year they are opening another autism school within the school that will cater specifically for autistic kids who are following the curriculum but are not able to cope in a mainstream setting, and this group will follow all the way through to a-levels.

You may also find there are some special schools near you that have links with a mainstream school which acts as a satellite for more academically able kids. So worth looking around.

@StillMedusa I love Asda for this. I used to live near one and there was a man with Downs Syndrome that worked there helping on the self scan checkouts for as long as I lived there.

We are in the process of moving ds(7) from mainstream to a specialist autism school. He started ms with an EHCP in place and 1:1 support and he managed ok until lockdown. He was spending part of the day in the class and part out but it was going broadly well. We have struggled a lot with school refusal over the last year or so since he's been back in and he's been on a reduced timetable for much of that time with increasing time out of the classroom. He needs a school he can cope with and he needs to be taught by a teacher, not a TA so we made the decision to apply to a new school that is opening about a 10 mile drive from us. This school goes through to sixth form and the children can do exams or more vocational preparing for adulthood type things. I feel like we have won the lottery actually.

No one can tell you what the best thing is for your ds but bear in mind that, certainly in KS2, the work gets harder and the teachers have little time to spend with children individually.

We have a mixed bunch at our school.. my class are fairly low ability, but the next door class room has children who are reading, writing, doing mainstream level maths... despite the school being nominally a SLD school... part of the ethos is meeting the needs of the child.. it makes no odds if they are Einstein if they can't access the curriculum long enough to make sustained progress.

In my area there are also schools specifically for children with 'high functioning' ASD.. academically able but usually with severe sensory needs/behaviour that challenges (We are Oxfordshire) so there are most definitely schools that cater specifically for more able pupils. My friend's daughter went to one... and is now at University!

There are also independent options, but generally it's more of a fight to get these due to the local area not wanting to fund it.

It's a case of really researching, visiting etc.