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need advice ref. school ref. aspergers/autism - long

Puffle September 19, 2011 09:56
Hello everyone,I have a friend whose birth child was diagnosed with Aspergers/High functioning autism when he was in nursery/reception. He is now in yr 5. Here are some of the bits I know:- I am a lay person ref. this topic but read up about the various symptoms and to me this lad does not seem to have them. (i.e. language skills are fine, social interactions are fine even if younger than his age, he is compassionate, does not have repetitive behaviours and is not particularly obsessed with anything etc.)- boy had a major heart operation as a baby due to hole in heart- in reception boy could only stay in class for half days as he got too tired to last the whole stretch till 3pm. Only started whole days in yr 1. I think this might have to do with his heart problem?- boy wet bed until recently and wet his pants every day in class resulting in him having ''his own chair'' as it was always weed on, a whole lot of ridicule from everyone etc.- boy seems immature for his age i.e. emotionally younger than his 9yrs (about 2yrs younger) which gives him the corresponding problems...getting bullied, ridiculed etc.- at school he refuses to do e.g. maths to the point where the teacher is unable to gauge his ability / at home he does not do his homework and if he does on the odd occasion it is due to being pressurised by his desperate parents who in my opinion don''t do a good job communicating with him / mother says that her relationship with this boy is broken- he often used rude language which I think he must have picked up from the TV. His parents dont use such language at all. In year 1 he was supposed to write a postcard supposedly from a holiday by the beach and all he wrote was "the teacher is a stupid bixch!" Pretty articulate for a year 1 child. Now of course other kids have caught up on rude stuff so he learns more from his class mates.- he used to be ahead with his acadamics but the older he got the less people were able to assess as he was more and more unwilling to show his knowledge and hence he is supposedly below average. His mother says though that if he does want to do it he can.- he seems a bit obsessed with his willy and boyfriend/girlfriend issues (I think this is just to gain attention as he backs down if I don''t react to it but just pretend it is all normal/not interesting etc.)- his mum is totally obsessed with the fact that he is too short for his age, not being up to scratch etc. and states such things in his hearing (I advised her against it / bit unfortunate really as our lads are tall for their age and our younger son is taller than him).In my personal assessment from what I know of boy he is a smart cookie how does know his maths/literacy but who only shows it when he feels like it. Also, he loathes praise e.g. as a nursery child before he put the last piece into a puzzle he stated "Don''t praise me when I put the last piece in"...etc.I think due to the fact that he was such a poorly baby his mother overprotected him which in my opinion lead up to him being a spoilt mollycoddled boy who held on to old coping mechanisms like crying for the littlest things, whining to get his will, interrupting and demanding he be heard NOW etc.In the mean time the school said he should be on something called School Action Plus but they cannot provide it as they have no money. Hence nothing is done for him and this lad is bullied daily, has a bad relationship with his parents due to his refusal to do his school work, he has no friends except our kids who bear with him as I tell them to be patient with him and our younger son who is 2 years younger is well suited to play with him.So my question to you who know this kind of thing:- what can the parents do to get School Action Plus? (demand it/change school where it is given... ??) After all they DO have this high functioning diagnosis from some doctor as well. The mother is a foreigner and a bit shy also due to the fact that her English is not great. The father is English but he does not seem to have achieved anything for him at school and now yells at boy when he does homework with him (attempts it anyway).- what do you all think judging by the above list? Spoilt, affected by heart operation, Aspergers, just emotionally delayed?Thanks guys.Puffle
Edited 17/02/2021
Puffle September 19, 2011 10:05
P.S.: the boy was also said to have ADHD. Personally I feel he is just nervous as he has a bad time at school as well as at home. The poor kid is just not given a break.
Edited 17/02/2021
Lonsdale September 19, 2011 10:15
If I were these parents I'd be applying for an assessment of his needs in school as even if he doesn't get a statement, which has some legal standing, it might shake the school up.With regards to diagnosis, it is difficult to say, but perhaps a re-look by medical professionals might get a more up to date diagnosis.l
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Puffle September 19, 2011 10:20
apologies for my ignorance but HOW/FROM WHOM do you get such an assessment?
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pluto September 19, 2011 10:24
HFA and asp children do not necessary have language issues, their language is often a bit 'weird', like talking like they are adults, or endless going on about things.'I would say the hole in the heart is closed so it should function normal, tiredness is unlikely to come from the heart.Bedwetting is a relative commen problem, often to do with stress. It is not a 'sign' of asd.He might extra help in school, as he's obviously not coping.Why foul language? asd and mainstream kids use this if the mother does not put bounderies in place.Often disabilities and abilities become more clear when a child gets older. For example a 5 year old is bi-lingual when they can talk and understand 2 languages, a 15 year old is not bi-lingual with this ability, as he needs to write and read as well to be truly bi-lingual. Just an example, so maybe he was 'clever' at 5 but now no longer as his skills are far behind.He has one obsession than? sexuality, that is quite a commen obsession in asd kids.I looks like the mother has a lot of issues of her own, and I see the 'obsessions' run a bit in the family?The relationship with the mother has probably a symbiotic side, might have to do a lot with her needs.The school is well able to get support for the child if they have to, she might need to contact the autistic society for support and to guide her through the maze called school.As the child has a diagnosis support is avaliable.I would not 'question' the diagnosis, obviously the boy is not mainstream, use the diagnosis to the advantage of the boy.
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Lonsdale September 19, 2011 10:26
Parents or school can approach the local authority for an assessment. They can just phone council and ask for special needs dept to find who you actually deals with it l
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pluto September 19, 2011 10:36
Another thing he might have 'splinter skills' very gifted in certain areas and far behind in other. Very commen in asd kids.
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Donatella September 19, 2011 10:54
"boy had a major heart operation as a baby due to hole in heart" - assuming this is the case then he would have spent a lot of time in hospital? Have the parents also considered attachment disorder? Pluto has posted a very useful piece of information on the Resources Board which compares various diagnoses and the symptoms - there's a huge crossover between various diagnoses.It may be worth a look?
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Puffle September 19, 2011 12:21
Thanks everyone! I have put together some printouts which I will give the mum.I agree pluto that the mum has some issues that really don't help.In any case I cannot see why they don't seem to be able to leverage help for this lad. I have the mum similar advice as some of you mentioned.On your advice I looked at the National Autistic Society's website. My my, so much useful info. They really should be able to nail it. I even found there is a primary school near us that is mainstream but caters for such children with about 20 kids with SNs includingn autism.As usual, coming here is helping to get thoughts together! Thanks so much to everyone.
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Puffle September 19, 2011 12:59
Crumbs! I just noticed this is on the wrong board!! Should have been Adopters of Children with Disabilities......tut tut tut....
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chichi September 27, 2011 22:09
IPSEA- best people ever and wish I had known about them sooner when I had problems with proper educational support for my ASD child. I would add that ASD is a complex area (I used to manage an ASD service)and presentation (especially social and cognitive) can be quite subtle - our child was given ADHD aged 2 but clearly not the case we realised later. We started to seek help when we realised he just didn't see the world like everyone else, we would give instructions (eg get your coat) and then be annoyed when it was interpreted literally (eg gets winter coat not hoody in summer!)- of course in real terms this meant ongoing communication issues and later a concrete thinking and inability to problem solve thats very problematic (cannot cross a road aged 12). I would say use it to advantage child but try to positively reframe it - its about seeing the world differently, not an illness.
Edited 17/02/2021

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