TRAINING FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Have just completed day one of this course. (5 days but over a 10 week period) So far am pleased, have not learnt anything new but it's good to talk with others and exchange notes. She voiced concern that the help given at primary level is very often not at secondary and then the children get lost in the system... will let you know how it goes.

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sounds good true

agree with what you say about secondary, i hope it is getting better though

sounds similar to a 5 day course i did a few years ago

in our area we are just starting to develop units within a couple of secondary schools that specialise in autism

Im thinking of applying to one

Getting all the training on offermyself too, just in case

When my daughter started Secondary school the support was brilliant. However this has gone down drasticly in the last year.

Sen department went from 12 staff, including senco to 4 staff including senco. The SEN department is now the school sin bin - anyone being disruptive in class or aggressive are sent there. This is supposed to be daughters 'safe area' if things get too much for her. A room full of disruptive and aggressive students.

As can be imagined it has done wonders for the departments perception. Daughter won't go there because it is the room for 'bad' children

Plus the sen staff have to staff this room when the school is open! so out of four there are supposed to be two there at all times. Asked the SENCO as they obviously don't have the time to fulfil their duties towards those with statements how do they cope with those on school action and school action plus. These apparently are now taken care of by the department TA's, who are not answerable to her.

I have no confidence there is any consistancy between departments, and even less that there is any effective communication to monitor how these children are doing.

On the bright side, invited our local councillor to an open session for a parent support group I am trying to start, but as no one turned up had him all to myself for over an hour. He is also on the management board of the school. He went away with three pages of notes which he has promised to take up with the school and with the education department It was a shame there were not at least one or two other parents who could have shared their experiences in other schools.

I would heartily agree though, while primary schools seem to have taken on board inclusion and are doing a lot, and from what I can see so are FE, but secondary are still stuck.

you can only deal with what you are asked to if you have the resources, why has the staff dropped so drastically?

and the FE provsion needs checking out, we do it well and are recognised for it, doesnt mean the tutors know the hell what you are trying to do, especially the ones from industry, or the ones who believe they're are only there to deliver their subject....everything else is someone else job...i wonder who???

one of 'my' apsergers students was nearly left on the tube last term on a visit, two deaf students/and aspergers student were expected to get home on their own from Central London on another visit, along with the rest of the group, some of who are not the brightest sparks...much as i love them

anyway thats me gone off topic..and ready for the day

((((DQ))))

As you might recall the school went into special measures, the governing body was disbanded and replaced with a management body.

It was felt that the SEN department was too big due to poor management and practices. From what I can gather by removing responsibility for those on school action and school action plus from the SEN department??? the actual number of statemented children does not warrent a larger team.

Assumedly one of the 'poor' practices was where the SEN department created information folders on special need students which were forwarded to departments and relevant teachers.

So where as when daughter started the information was made available that she is routine driven, will not cope well with sudden changes, is likely to follow instructions literally when unsure, will not cope with sudden seating changes etc would not be available. Indeed such information could end up being adhoc and dependant upon the experiences and understanding of the department ta's.

While I think it is generally accepted the amount of innitial support she got in the first year was higher then it needed it to be there is no doubt it played a huge role in turning around a desperate and unsecure child from primary school, to a confident and happy child by year 8.

Please don't get me wrong about the department ta's, whome I have the greatest respect for, but these ta's are not used in the academically capable top groups so in effect she is now being left unsupported. In reality because of the amount support she received in the first two years, and for the right reasons, she is well known as are her difficulties. And as mentioned the SEN department remains her 'safe' area if she needs to time out.

Plus the SENCO, at least for this year, remains our first port of call if we have any problems or issues. To be honest I think we would feel the loss of that support more then our daughter if this changes.

However it does concern me that capable sen students could end up being left without support.

I do know there was one occassion this year where she was left standing in the corridor while the class went to assembly because of a sudden change in routine and the last thing she heard was the teacher instructing them to do was wait there. The teacher remained unaware she was missing until the SENCO spoke to her. I suppose I should be grateful she was not on a school trip at the time

department TAs still have a duty towards the G&T or higher groups if there are pupils with Aspergers etc in there, which is often the case

i did with one student check in with him every now and then (but he did have a statement) and he knew where i was, the same for all the other students who were in the higher grpups, but then it may be because i could do that as i saw them around, and they didnt get the opportunity to duck out and ignore me

it can be difficult to cover everyone though, i agree if you are one TA in a department there is a limit to your time and reosurces, however i would make it my duty to inform new teachers of needs if they didnt know the pupil, but then that was me being pushy, attending meetings etc

hopefully it will improve for her as the school sorts itself out, and it may be an opportunity for her to become more vocal about her own needs. Something for her to work on if that is possible. I am working on that with a student at the moment, not sure he wants to go with it though

I've been informed the department ta's do not work in the class rooms with those who are academically coping. There is one child in her class who is statemented, and is therefor covered by the sen department.

The impression I am getting is if a child is not statemented and is coping academically then there are no issues. But I also wonder if there is some 'office' politics going on since the current management seem to be doing everything they can to undermine the sen department.

and as less statements are issued then there will eventually be NO issues

suppose it depends on the department TA and how proactive they are, and who they are answerable to. Maybe i was lucky in the team i worked with and the HOD allowing me to do it 'my way', plus i had good relationships with the pupils built up over the years so i had the knowledge of them and they knew where i was

to the point now that some are now at my college and requesting they have their support/lessons with me

>and as less statements are issued then there will eventually be NO issues<

This was another issue I raised with the councillor. Without a statement Connexions do not get so involved with the students and it seems there is less support in the transition period between school and FE or work.

One of the things I want to do with the support group is to invite along speakers to talk about various aspects of special needs, including those who decide wether a child should be assessed, and someone from the LEA who has responsibility for sen provision. Hopefully a room full of parents and no escape route would help get some of them out of their ivory towers.

Who knows we might even get some straight answers about what is going on - okay I know I'm having a blond moment.

Finished the course. I would say if you have limited knowledge of ASD and are working in a primary setting it would be a good course. Unfortunately for me a year into working with my lad I'd learnt most of what they were telling us about.

What was great was talking to other people is a similar situation and finding that most of us feel that Aspergers (or whatever title you wish to put on these ASD children) is still very misunderstood and the children are the ones to suffer. The sooner all school satff are given some training on these issues the better