AIBU? DS's teacher said " other children managed and they have ^real^ disabilities.

[HRHSaintMamazon]

they are learning about the local community and as prt of their enrichment they did a walk arond the local area.
apparantly on the way back ( they had been walking for about 40 minutes) DS sat on the floor saying he was hot and thirsty and couldn't walk anymore as his legs were "not working"

DS has ASD and very poor mobility particularly in his lower limbs.
Although he charges about like a bull in a china shop during play times this is always only in short spurts followed by periods of sitting or standing still to recover.

he finds walking quite tireing and can only usually manage a couple of minutes at a time. even walking to our local shop will takes ages on the return journey.

well when she was telling me i tried to explain that he had tese mobility problems and she was just so dismissive.
"well he was running for part of the way"
and "no i think he just cuoldnt be bothered"
and "well we offered to bring him back to school while we went on" - why would he agree to miss out n the trip?

and then to top it off she came out with "other children managed it and they have real disabilities" she was reffering to a girl in the other class who has mild CP.

i was actually so shocked that i just left.
am i over reacting?

YANBU - I don't think you are overreacting.

I would contact the head and ask for teacher training as she clearly doesn't understand his problems.

No, you're not.

Complain. Loudly. It sounds as if she doesn't have a clue about your son's problems, and she needs to have it made clear to her what his limitations are.

no he is still in mainstream despite me, the comm pead, and the school all sayng he should be in the SS the LEA are dragging their heels.

I have dropped in his latest multi agency report which outlines the problems he was with his gros and fine motor skills. the school already have copies but i have given it in to be passed directly to his class teacher ( she wasn't in this morning)

No you're not over-reacting.

Not only is she insinuating that your ds doesn't have a "real" disability, she is failing to try to understand the difficulties that he has.

My ds1 is similar in that he tires easily. I think it's related to him being quite floppy where his muscles are concerned. He uses up his energy on staying upright and doesn't always have a lot left for actually moving with.

I would have been seriously p*ssed off so no I don't think you're over reacting about this. It would make me wonder what else she thought ds "just couldn't be bothered with".

I think you need to talk to them yourself, rather than rely on them reading his reports. Make sure they understand exactly what his problems are and how they affect him.

And make sure they understand that ASD and poor mobility is a real disability - if the teacher doesn't "get" that then you are on a hiding to nothing.

I don't know how old your ds is but that is quite a long way anyway and I should imagine he wasn't the only one finding it hard. I wonder if anyone bothered to ask the girl with CP if she was ok? You are not over-reacting it sounds like she was very dismissive. at 'real disabilities'???

No, not overreacting.

i would be so mad my ds ASD is just the same one day can have all the energy in the world another cannot walk far tired all the time

his needs are not being respected htere fore you need to complain he has a real disability and for her to pass comment that he hasnt is completely not right and from a techer whio is supposed to support each child in her class is disgusting

Complain.
Complain again.

Bloody stupid cow. (sorry)

It is a very mean way of wriggling out of their responsibilities IMO. And one I too have come across. They think if they mention that there is someone somewhere in the world who is suffering more than your dc, then that completely lets them off the hook as far as disability adjustment is concerned.

Naturally, if you had not told them that he had mobility problems in advance, you would not be able to expect them to reorganise the trip accordingly (but she still had no reason to sound so dismissive). But once they do know, they are under a legal obligation to make 'reasonable adjustment'.

What a completely and utterly unacceptable thing for a teacher to say. Do you think she was implying that non physical disabilities are not disabilities full stop? Or saying that she doesn't think your son's behaviour today was due to his ASD? Either way what she said is insensitive to the point that I would question her fitness to be a teacher, tbh. Are you going to complain?

Your daughter knows her local community in the same way that my boys do, fio.

ditto what mamag said