Those of you who might remember my constant moans on here may recall me mentioning that the week we finished the Early Bird Plus course with our class TA, the school moved her out of the class to assist with catch up work with children around the school
DS has managed fairly well with the change and the teachers have made more of an effort to be involved but this week, after 2 days off sick, he didn't want to go into class on his first day back yesterday.
The new TA (who is, we have been told, 'SEN trained') tried to get him in the class but he clung to me and tried to run after me. I think she thought he was messing about as she has not had to deal with this yet. In the end, I said I would take him out of view of the class and calm him down.
She says 'well I think you're making it worse'
I say 'trust me' and within a few minutes I had him happily drawing at the table outside the class. Kiss on the head and I'm on my way.
He told me when he got home that he had had a good day and that he hadn't wanted to get changed for PE but that he had told someone and they had let him stay in his trousers. That's progress I thought - both with him telling someone and them responding!
I spoke to the new TA on drop off today and said it was good he had felt able to speak to her. Her response?
'Yes, he was really testing my boundaries. I will put my foot down in future'
I said that he wasn't 'testing boundaries' and that she had done the right thing. To force him would mean that he would comply but would probably not want to come into school the next day or do PE again and that if it was important to make him get changed, then they had to have a strategy for supporting him with this.
DS is doing his visual timetable for once (TA says that she might be able to help him in the mornings!)but trips up on the way out of class. He always screams when he hurts himself (overly dramatic reactions)and I was about to rub his knee, when the TA says 'get up DS, you're fine, there's nothing wrong'.
Now I know I'm probably being oversensitive but this woman really pissed me off. It was like she had been told nothing about ASD and had simply formed the view that he was a manipulator/malingerer.He does have that way of not looking at people or responding and it can look like he's not bothered or rude but that is ASD!
If I didn't do what I did, they would have a problem with school attending and that would be something they would have to deal with.
Do you think I should mention it to the teacher? She hasn't been doing the home/school book the last few days either. They're all full of what they do when the spotlight is shone on them e.g. the ASD outreach team tell me how much help he gets, as soon as they're left to it, so is he. At the meeting with the ASD team the teacher had to leave but said 'see you at our Friday meeting' and off she went. Come Friday, she was nowhere to be seen. We have't had a Friday meeting for months.