iPad at school

[coffeeNpie]

DS, 7 years old, non-verbal, is in a special school for autistic children. It is an overall good school with therapists on site and they teach children life skills. They also have iPads and ICT equipment (keyboards, computers, LCDs) available in every classroom for either reward purpose i.e. child gets to use it when they have completed an assisgned task. Or they are using it for AAC and learning.

My DS wasn't too fond of iPads/screen when he joined the school. He used to enjoy painting and sensory play a lot. He even did mark making on paper with pencils and marker. It's been over a year at this school and his interest in iPads/screen have grown massively. He does not want to do painting or sensory play anymore. Or even hold a pencil. He can watch screen all day at home if he let him. We feel the iPad has been a big barrier to DS learning and he has not been making progress as much as we were expecting/hoping for. We have reduced screen time at home and replaced it with trips to supermarket, parks, trampoline and sensory play. But as he can see iPads at school, he keeps going back and wanting more of it.

I have spoken to his teachers and they say they have been trying to engage DS in other activities but he wants iPad only. He wants to watch YouTube all day. I asked the school to replace YouTube with age appropriate apps, such as drawing/colouring apps, puzzles etc. It worked for a bit but the school told me DS looks at and hears other children in the classroom watching the shows/rhymes and he gets distracted and upset. The school further said that DS will face the same problem even is he is moved to another classroom. DS recently had a physio assessment at school, and the therapist mentioned in the report that it was very difficult to engage him as he wanted iPad only and she found this behaviour different from his peers who love her toys and materials.

Should I move him to a different school? We got this school after going through tribunal and paying a lot of money to the sen solicitor. And we all know how immensely difficult and complicated the whole process is for SEN in-year admissions. Is it even worth to change schools? I have been told the other specials schools for autism are same more or less.

Should I get him assessed by an educational psychologist? I feel this current approach to learning is not working too well for DS. Can I ask the school to arrange a psychology assessment? Or should I ask the LA to do an assessment? I know LA would take ages to initiate this. I am also thinking if I should consider homeschooling? I don't know much about it but just that it is very hard.

Sorry for the long post. I am just too worried. Time is moving fast and I feel my DS will not be able to make progress with this level of screen exposure. What should I do? Can anyone guide please? I am too stressed and lost!

My son is 7 and he goes to a special school aswell they use an iPad with him and the other children aswell
i suspect it used sometimes as a babysitting device which is fine because the day is probably very hectic at a special school perhaps that is what has happened with your boy and he is now using the iPad to regulate
does him seem settled overall? And is he making any progress in his communication?
perhaps the school could provide him with a visual timetable with so he knows he has iPad time after he has done an activity rather than just having it to hand all the time for watching shows and has a separate aac pad for communication

Hi @4naanjeremy

My son is generally a calm and regulated child. He is not anxious going in school and does not have behaviour issues as such. He is non verbal though. And not making any progress in communication. They have only recently started testing AAC with him, so too early to say anything. He still use a lot of iPad at school and that has started affecting his speech and OT sessions. The therapists say he keeps asking for iPad and not concentrating on the activities.

It could be that other children in the class might be using iPad to regulate themselves. I did ask his teacher about the situation with other children but did not get a clear answer. They did say that they can't completely remove the iPad from the class. I do not know what else to do.

I imagine the teacher can’t really comment on the other children for privacy reasons
do you have an ehcp review coming up if so it would be worth mentioning a screen time limit in school as it seems to be a barrier to him learning at school
are the therapists private or therapists on-site at school?
do you have a homeschool communication book so you know what he is up to in the day
is there a class WhatsApp so you can talk to the other parents about their child’s progress to put your mind at rest as to what is their experience with their child’s development
try not to get to stressed I know it’s easier said than done the school are still get to know your son a lot of children with special needs get a lot out of using ipads and it really helps their communication skills but your son isn’t one of these children and they need to work with you and the therapists to change their approach

@4naanjeremy there are 3 months still in his ehcp review. I can't wait until then as I have been raising my concerns with the teacher over 6 months now.

The school has therapists on-site. They are aware of the situation and say that they have communicated ideas on how to help me son engage in other activities but I haven't really noticed any difference. The first thing he asks coming back home from school is iPad.

Homeschool communication is useless honestly. The staff write in two sentences everyday which are just very positive.

There is a class whatsapp group but I have noticed parents avoid sharing information or giving opinions. On top of that, the school recently sent an email to all parents regarding responsible use of whatsapp groups. This has made the group go even more quiet.

"but your son isn’t one of these children" - This worries me the most! I have asked the school if they can change their approach. I have asked them if they can group my child with children who may not be too keen to use iPad. I haven't got a very positive response or clear answer yet.

If he is not one of these children, it might not be the right school for him. But I am just so scared and stressed about the whole process of changing schools. I feel I am stuck.

Do you have a parent support service at your school?
We have one at ours and there job is to work with parents and staff to keep the link between home and school life so home and school life can work together
if you don’t have parent support service have you spoken to the head of the year or team leader of your sons group?

The year group leader attends all the parent teacher meetings and I have raised my concerns with her. I have also emailed her number of times now. She says they are trying to offer him other objects and activities but he is asking for iPad only. She says he is growing and can choose what he wants to do - that's part of his development. But I don't get it exactly - some days when my son is not happy going to school and choose to stay at home, should I let him as that's his choice?

I understand my son has limited interests anyways. He does not play with toys much but he did enjoy looking at fish tanks, bubble tube, bright light lamps a year ago. That time he loved stroking paint on paper using all the colours which looked like a lovely abstract art. He liked making marks, lines and circles on white board. He does not want to do any of these anymore. It is heart breaking.