Schools

Fats69

My child is considered high functioning ASC and I have been advised that he would be better suited to an ASC specialist school.  However, I have been unable to find anything suitable within London.  What do I do?  How do I secure his correct provision in his mainstream school particularly in a school which does not really see any problems?  If ASC is mild it becomes an invisible condition which makes it really difficult for others to accept the child is not neurotypical.

Topkitten

It is just a matter of luck as to whether any school has someone working there with experience of any sort of special issues as most do not. Consequently their lack of understanding is caused by ignorance rather than deliberate design. Until teachers have such recognition included into their training this situation is unlikely to change. Schools for dealing with specialist issues are very few and far between and most will only cater for one type.

TK

Fats69

So how do I best help my child?  Some of the specialist ASC school seems to be either for more severe ASC or behavioural challenges which have got the child excluded from mainstream school.   It is soul destroying looking for a school but not finding anything which will at least recognise he has some academic ability but also working with his sensory and social challenges.  

Topkitten

My eldest daughter is dyslexic which isn't anything like as serious but still caused her no end of problems. We could get no help at all apart from extra private tutoring. Then we discovered a local Catholic private school that would provide assistance but only if we sent both girls there. Fortunately I was, at the time, doing well at work and although we couldn't really afford it managed to cover the costs for both girls to go for a year or two. However, the extra financial pressure finished off an already rocky marriage and when it failed completely the girls went to the only school in the area that would provide any extra help at all. They didn't really have any specialist help for dyslexia but at least were prepared to provide extra support for her and more understanding.

As I said it's pot luck for any particular area and the girls had to travel quite a way further for both of the schools that helped but there was no other choice. All I can suggest is contacting schools and explaining and see if any can help, if only a little.

TK

Geoark

Hi @Fats69 and welcome to the community.

You can try this resource: http://www.specialneedsguide.co.uk/special-needs-schools-in-london

It might be worth searching for 'Free Schools' as I know when my daughter was at school this model was causing a lot of interest among parents with autistic children as a way of providing an education for their children while also addressing their non academic needs. I do not know how much of this interest actually translated into action though.

Within the mainstream schools, and secondary schools in particular, it is a minefield and where possible you should speak to the SENCO as well.

When my daughter transferred to secondary school there were two local ones I did not want my daughter to go to, but despite having done well in all her tests she was not accepted to any of the choices we wanted, and ended up in one of these two schools. To my mind it was the best thing that happened to her.

Our first choice for  her was a new academy which opened, it all sounded great but within a couple of years it was embroiled in allegations that they were quick to get rid of SEN students who would lower their scores.

In the mean time my daughter grew in confidence and while she made no friends in school she went on to get 12 individual GCSEs and went on to get a first at Uni. One reason for this was the relationship we had with the SENCO and support staff who were totally committed to seing her doing as well as she could.