Did specialist school help your child?

[Arthurnewyorkcity]

Just curious really..

I have a 5 year old son with autism who is nonverbal. He will be starting special school in September and I'm wondering if you have a child who has gone to a sen school, if it helped them and if so, in what ways?
Thank you

I can't really say as mine only started reception in September (also NV). I was a bit hung up on the possibility of a specialist school limiting his capacity to learn, but seeing the level of support he gets every day and how happy he is going every morning, I feel confident he will thrive there.

@Pigeon66 that's lovely to hear. Does your son get dropped off or is he collected? My biggest concern at the moment is the thought of putting my child on a bus with him being all worried and confused. We could drive but it would make other things very tricky and want to help his independence grow.

@Arthurnewyorkcity We were offered a place on the school transport, but I prefer to drop him on my way to work and I get a payment to cover petrol from the LA. Quite a few of his classmates that are his age get the bus and seem to be very happy getting collected & overall most kids at the school get transport.

OP logistics aside, if he was still in a mainstream primary school a parent/grandparent/carer would be dropping him off and likely not worrying about independence until secondary. My ds is in a SS and most kids have transport but there are a number whose parents drop them off.

@openupmyeagereyes I know what you're saying and it makes sense to think of it like that. I just worry too much. My son is very limited in all his skills currently, no self care etc so want to choose the best option for him. We will see. Thank you for your reply

I think that a SS is more likely to help him in these areas than MS. They usually have a more holistic approach.

My son is now an adult. Non-verbal. He started in mainstream (why??) and very quickly moved to special - where he stayed until he was 18. It was wonderful - gave him a curriculum he needed and so supportive, even when things became really difficult. He belonged there and thrived. He still likes to drive past and look at it regularly. Kills himself laughing when I tell him the head will tell me off.

@BelindaOkra that made me smile reading that. So pleased it helped your son and family

@BelindaOkra that is lovely

Funnily enough we bumped into one of his teachers today. Huuuuge smiles. It was lovely 😻😍

@BelindaOkra how does your son communicate now? Was he able to access anything else after 18? Sounds like he loved school.

Ah my son’s story is a nightmare. This is quite outing but having never been away from me for more than 3 days before he ended up in an ATU the other side of the country aged 18 (nothing to do with school/respite - everything to do with transition to adults and corporate care).

He now lives 5 mins from us in his own home (purchased by NHS) with 24 hour 2:1 care provided by a small, wonderful CQC outstanding provider. I manage his team - who have pretty much all been with him for over a year now - (we had issues getting the right team so staff turnover was high initially). They are similar in age to him and like a bunch of mates.

His team know him well so communication is as easy as it can be. He uses sign, vocalisation, photos, the phone, and we are reintroducing LAMP which he used successfully as a teenager.

He has a busy life. Out everyday and enjoys being with his team.

In fact when he was sent to the ATU the teacher he saw yesterday turned up at my door with a care package box for me and sent a card to him when he was away. ❤️

@BelindaOkra thank you for sharing such a uplifting story. You and your son sound wonderful

My DD is in her 2nd year at SS and it’s the best decision we ever made. The school is amazing, she is in a small class of 7 other children and is surrounded by wonderful teachers and has SALT, OT every day. I was apprehensive about whether she would be able to meet her full academic potential at a SS naively before I knew much about it but she is reading and writing a little already which was unimaginable 18 months ago. They focus on life skills and independence and communication skills as well as maths and English. She has so much attention and focus on her as an individual which she wouldn’t have at mainstream. It’s also really nice knowing that everyone is in the same boat, other parents are a support, if a child is having a meltdown at the school gates everyone is respectful and no judgement because we’ve all been there!

We drive our DD to school at the moment and get the petrol money. I don’t feel like she’s old enough to be in a taxi alone yet but we might consider it in year 5/6, but a few kids in her class get taxis (year 1)

Hope it all goes well for you and your son x