What type of school do your little ones attend?

[runikka]

As you may remember, Daniel has ASD and we are just starting the statement process this year. He is due to start school next Sept (2009) and we have visited both a mainstream school with special need support plus a fully state run special school. I think they are both lovely schools but am erring towards the special school because they will understand Daniel so much better and could really bring him on. The thing that worries me is whether I am underestimating what Daniel can cope with and thus ruling out mainstream. The special school said they fully support children going on to mainstream and will say if they think a child in their care should be there.

I just wondered where you first placed your children and why and if any of you have gone back on that decision.

Thanks
Kirsty

I'm at that stage too. DS1 is 4 and will start school in 2009. I know I will need to research the options carefully. Like you I feel a special school might understand him more but his speech/understanding has come on a lot in the last 6 months so it's hard to say what he will be like in 2009.

I think that Daniel may change a lot in the next year and you will have a much clearer idea of what to do then. My DS2 is starting mainstream reception class in september - he has done an extra year in nursery to prepare him. This time last year, I was looking round special schools as I was convinced he wouldn't cope in a mainstream. But he has developed more over the past year. I am not saying he will be able to keep up academically - i don't think he will ever be able to do that, but his social skills have developed and I want to continue with that.
I think it is a bit too early to box off your decision about school yet - keep your options open for now!
Good luck - it's a nightmare!

We didn't really have much of a choice about whether ds1 (ASD) went to m/s or a special school. I must admit that I found the idea of ds1 going to m/s very scary. He has a summer birthday so was going to be one of the youngest in his class. He'd only been able to talk for less than a year, still did a lot of stimming, and had only been dry in the daytime for less than a month when he started in m/s.

The plan was that he would start in m/s and we'd see how he got on. He had some 1:1 and it was agreed that he was likely to need a statement for Yr1. In the end he did so well that he needed less and less 1:1 and went into Yr1 with no LSA. He's now in Yr3 at the same school and still doing well.

It was easier with ds2 (AS) as we already knew what the school was like as it was the same m/s one that ds1 goes to.

One thing I would say is that it will be a lot easier to start in a special school and then move to m/s than it will be to do things the other way around. In your position my instinct would be to go for the special school that you like and take things from there.

My DD has Down's syndrome.
She went to a Montessori pre-school and now is now in year 1 of a mainstream catholic school.

More than happy with both school and wouldn't change anything.

DS2 started at special school in September and changed to mainstream in February. The main reason for our decision was that he had learnt to imitate (through ABA) and was showing a lot of interest in his brother. His special school class just happened to have very few sociable and/or verbal children - so we felt that m/s would be better from this point of view. He has f/t 1:1 and goes mornings only, coming home for his ABA programme in the afternoon. We haven't regretted our decision at all - his interaction with other children has come on tremendously, as has his receptive language and motor skills. Ironically, the one area which doesn't seem to be developing yet at school is expressive language, but we're working on that.

I would say it very much depends on the school though. The m/s DS2 attends is excellent (though we've had our moments of tension ) - really focuses on the individual, prepared to work with parents etc.

I would add that there is no way that DS2 can even attempt the academic work that his peers are doing - but we are doing it for social, language and play reasons more than anything else.

My ds (HFA) attended MS throughout the infants. It was presumed that he would stay in MS once he moved up to the Juniors, but after a few months it was evident that he couldn't cope in a MS setting. Fortunately the school has a language unit so he now attends this. It's a more relaxed setting and the work is not as advanced as in a MN class. I do wonder though, had the unit not existed whether I would be frantically trying to find an appropriate special needs school, which in this area is zilch.

ds1 went to mainstream initially.

He lasted 4 terms and it was a total waste of time. Mainstream can work (it did for him at nursery) but I didn't expect uninterested teachers, no PECS training, no attempts to integrate into assembly etc.

He's now 9, has been at an SLD/PMLD school since the age of 5 and has thrived.

I think it comes down to individual schools though, the other SLD school in the borough would not have been suitable.

A lot of special schools have mainstream outreach units as well these days (ours does- although ds1 doesn't access it). Worth looking into- then you get the special school expertise but with access to a mainstream setting.

dd2 is in year 2 of m/s primary. She has DS and a hearing impairment.
I'm really, really happy with her being at m/s, I guess what makes it so good in her case is that she gets full-time 1:1 and the school is committed to inclusion and really value her being there.

She was in a special nursery before and that wasn't so good for her - almost all of the other children were non-verbal too so there was no incentive to speak, and there were a fair few little ones with considerable behavioural issues and twice her size. The special school were very, very shirty about me taking her out despite apparently being committed to mainstreaming when it's right for the child (which it v. clearly was for my dd, the ed psych said she was the ideal child for inclusion) - but that seemed to mean 1 day at a local mainstream school for them.

dd1 is in the first year of schooling here - Prep. She is in a transition programme. At the moment she attends mainstream school three days a week and then the special ed school two days a week. The plan is to transition her to year 1 - so she will hopefully go 4 days to m/s next term ( july) and then move to 5 days by the end of the year.

I do know that the research I have read states that generally children with down syndrome ( as my dd1 has) seem to do better in mainstream than in special ed - at least in junior/primary school. Think in terms of secondary it depends on the school.

As Yurt said - it comes down to what is best of your child. I know that a number of children with down syndrome who started in the early childhood sn unit are in special school. IN fact I think out of the 5 or 6 - dd1 is the only one in mainstream education of any kind.

DD2 starts ms in september - mostly physical issues inc oromotor but she is verbal. Round here ms is v inclusive - there will be 3 statemented for different issues in her intake (1 VI, 1 phys, 1 LD/comms) By yr 2 the split placements kick in - currently 2 children with DS on split placement, and there is quite a lot of thought at the transition to juniors stage as to where would be most appropriate for each child. There should be a way of delaying decision on placement for a bit - statementing at the speediest will take about six months, so you have a bit of time to play with. I'm a bit biased towards ms as there is a greater likelihood of 1-1 support, but it all depends on Daniel and where you think he will thrive.

We chose mainstream originaly based on the advantage of 1:1 support, but ds1 got through 5 LSA's in 4 terms none of whom had any training. the LSA makes a huge difference when it comes to ASD and likelihood of success. Unfortunately there's often very little choice about LSA's. My friend's dc had some happy primary years in ms because the 2 LSA's were very good - although at the end it was getting to 2:1 (ie 2LSA's to one child) which isn't so good.

DS1 (HFA) will be continuing on from nursery at the local village primary school, this September. It's not the best resourced school and we've had trouble getting a suitable LSA on Pre-school action+ (they managed to borrow one for 2 out of the 3 sessions he needed and they did not hit it off at all and his behaviour suffered for it) but the LEA have agreed to go ahead with statutory assessment and the school are as keen as I am that he gets a statement. They do absolutely love him at that school and I am keen for him to spend his time surrounded by people from his local community - he stands a far better chance of ever forming actual friendships if he can see the same kids at school he sees playing in the street or at the park.

He's not 5 till December, so the ASD advisor has suggested putting off starting whole days until either half term or the new year and concentrating on him building a relationship with a new LSA and just plain learning to be at school. He's not going to miss out academically from that, since he's already reading and writing and doing basic arthmetic.

DS has a definite DX of speech delay, I strongly suspect speech disorder would be appropriate, and allegedly probably does not have ASD. Like Coppertop, there's never been a chance of him being offered a special school place. He is currently in m/s nursery without support, and is doing well. So well that the nursery head doesn't agree he has a receptive speech delay as well as an expressive . He is going to carry on into reception, and after a term in reception, SALT department will supposedly consider whether he might do better in a language unit. The m/s without support is workable atm as 1)the school is in a deprived area, so very used to dealing with SN/language delay/shite pre-school SALT situation 2)they have 2 teachers and 2 nursery nurses to 30 children, so DS can get small group attention, but no 1-1. Not sure what will happen in the long term though - think everyone is working on the basis that either DS will magically catch up or I will magically disappear and stop asking awkward questions.