Aspergers/ASD support thread

cobbingstones

Thank you to all.

Do i need to contact the council or the school? The teacher does mention that he has a gift but not a word about a G&T register.

Thanks again

rozmister

cobbingstones wrote: »

Thank you to all.

Do i need to contact the council or the school? The teacher does mention that he has a gift but not a word about a G&T register.

Thanks again

I don't know how it works area by area because it would be a LEA provision I think(with guidelines from higher up to help). Maybe speak to his school and if they aren't sure/can't help speak to your LEA. There will be a provision though, I'm pretty sure it's now a National Government Policy (it didn't exist when I was at school!).

soupdragon10

I'm sure the school should have information about provision for gifted and talented children as part of their policies and procedures. If they don't then you could contact your local authority to ask about their policy for gifted children, and what they have in place.

Has your son seen an educational psychologist? I only ask ask as that could be one way to start working with the system to open up your son's range of abilities and help both you and the school to identify the best way to support him.

cobbingstones

deedee71 wrote: »

I'm sorry but your whole post does seem a bit OTT and I can see where the suggestion your parenting is the cause of your son's behaviour comes from. He is rude and aggressive to other children, unable/unwilling to listen to a swimming instructor or follow rules and you seem to think the school is at fault - at the age of 4.

Instead of trying to give him a label which you clearly relish - "Aspie" - try introducing him more to the world around him and help him develop socially.

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

I don't agree with you, but thanks for sharing your opinion.

milliebear00001

soupdragon10 wrote: »

His teacher sounds very narrow minded - if he doesn't want to learn by play then why should he? It's also very worrying that they are concerned he will overtake the year 2's instead of providing work that will challenge him.

Schools should make provision for children who are ahead of their chronological age, in the same way that they differentiate the curriculum for children with learning difficulties.

Don't let the school just focus on his disinterest in playing and socialising - yes these are important areas for development, but need to be balanced with a curriculum that stretches him and doesn't allow him to get bored.

I just wanted to quickly respond to this from a teacher's point of view. When I heard that the SENCo is worried because he doesn't show any desire to 'learn by play', my instinct was to agree that I would be worried by this too. Not because I want your child to learn in a way that is uniform with other children, but because a lack of play is a major sign of all sorts of developmental disorders - autism included.

I am not at all suggesting that your son has such a disorder, but I would be concerned by a lack of play in a child this age too. She was right to raise her concerns with you, although they may not have been very well expressed.

I think her concerns about the social side of things are also very justified. It is quite correct that children (like adults) desire different levels of interaction with others, but it is very unusual for children this age to actively avoid any engagement with each other - that too, would raise concerns for me.

If there is poor behaviour, then that might be a sign he is becoming bored and disruptive (esp. likely if he is bright and frustrated) but it could also be a sign that he is struggling with the dynamics of the clasroom, and the necessary rules and regimes that exist there.

Please try not to see the school and teacher as the enemy. You have a deep insight into your child - please share it with them, but also take on board the fact that they have experience of dealing with hundreds of children every year, and will often know when something is 'not quite right' - defining what the issue is however, is a lot harder, and will be made easier if parents and school are united in having the child's best interests at heart.

meritaten

I am not too sure about his being Aspbergers hun. he sounds very much like a friends younger brother - who turned out to have a genius IQ and kids his own age bored him! he also didnt see the point of play! Ask for his IQ to be tested (you can also find the tests online btw and I would bet my last pound he would love to try them)!
Then, please dont let the school dumb him down! even if he is Aspergers he has a right to be taught at a level he is comfortable with - and if that means he overtakes other kids - TOUGH!!! how on earth do schools expect children to achieve their full potential if THAT school insist they learn along with slower children? bizarre!

JC9297

rozmister wrote: »

I would contact your local council about their G & T (Gifted and Talented) provision. It's called as a SEN and they should offer extra support to nurture his mind not stifle it. A lady at my work's daughter is registered as G & T and gets extra classes at school because of it. He doesn't sound autistic (in my experience) of autism he just sounds like a quite intelligent child with an analytical mind. Nothing wrong with that!

G & T is not a SEN. All schools should differentiate according to ability but they do not have to give extra support to children classed as G & T.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I'd suggest you see how he feels about music, whether it moves him or irritates him. Not in terms of coaching a child prodigy, but just because he may enjoy it. And as time goes on, music can be a very social activity or a solitary one, whichever is preferred.

If he doesn't like it now, he may respond at a later date, but it's worth trying.

other than that, what about big art projects? Huge posters, lining paper rolls, big brushes, pavement chalks, anything. He may be able to interact with other children if they are engaged on a big pattern painting activity.


if he is bright, the other children may not just be alien, they may seem insufferably thick to him. So he needs to learn to get along with people whose brains are not running at a million miles an hour - the only way to learn is to do.


Stuff the Asperger's label. He might be very smart, quick learning and rather cantankerous. Without a learning disability.

mountainofdebt

I don't have any words of wisdom regarding your situation at the moment, but can I ask you not to rush / push for a diagonsis of aspergers simply becuase it seems at the moment the easiest thing to do.

The reason I ask this is that years down the line, if he choses certain careers, having the diagnosis of aspergers on his medical record will cause no end of problems and may even close certain careers to him.

For what's its worth, my mum used to have different punishments for me and my sister; if she was naughty she was kept in whereas I was sent out - we were that different !

chelle230

this sounds so much like my 5 year old son. he is very advanced in reading and writing, he is in reception year but goes up to year 1 for these lessons.
he won't learn through play, and finds it very difficult to interact with other children. he won't play with toys at all. he likes to draw and colour, play on the wii, adn watch certain tv programmes.
everything has to be in order for him, his whole routine has to be regimented, and he is obsessive about time, and constantly tells everyone what time it is, and what happens when.
he started karate a few weeks back, which is something he looks forward to, but last nights class was a nightmare and he just would not behave.
his behaviour in general is pretty bad.
this was all confirmed at his parents evening last week, and with our blessing his teacher was going to speak to the inclusion manager at the school about getting a referral. I approached her today as he is getting worse, but have been told it will be quicker to go to our own gp, who will refer him on.

I'm tired, don't know about you cobbingstones, but he is hard work, especially as he's up at not long after 6am every morning, no matter what time he goes to bed.
he is the most loving boy you could ever meet, but he can flip, like jekyll and hyde.

at first I thought I was over-reacting, and sick of people saying he's a boy, he's only 5, but as you know it is a lot more than that.
I would love to hand him over to some of these people for onbe day and see how they find it. I feel like crying sometimes as it's so hard.

hope we both get the answers we need to help our children progress and reach their full potential