Autistic 9 year old
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Punchypool
Autistic 9 year old
I could really do with some help.
First of all, what a fantastic site this appears to be! I just googled up and here I am....
I am the proud father on a 9 year old little lad called Joseph, we live in Clacton on sea in Essex.
At five years old he was diagnosed as "high functioning autistic" bordering on aspergers.
Apparently he shows a lot of aspergers traits but as he had a speech delay to begin with he was diagnosed as more autistic than aspergers..
He has a statement and has a full time LSA with him at his junior school, he is year4 and is the yougest in his year as he has a late august birthday.
Apparently, like many austistic children, he is a very intelligent young lad.
Recently when he went to see his psychiatrist who asked us if we had considered him for the eleven plus.
He had given Joseph an IQ test. He said that taking aside the fact that Joseph, being Joseph, didn`t answer all the questions (he cant seem to grasp the concept of an educated guess) he still came out with an IQ of 120.
The psychiatrist and the psychologist, who he also sees at the local childrens centre, agree that, given the right help and tuition, he really ought to have a go at the eleven plus.
I would love him to have the opportunity/choice to go to our local grammer school (Colchester Royal Grammer) which has a fantastic academic record and apparantly welcome children with autism and aspergers.
Quite frankly, and I dont wish this to appear churlish, I believe the majority of children at a grammer and/or faith school might be a little more enlightened and tolerant towards "different" children such as my little boy. Allied to this, if he is as bright as we are led to believe, it would be nice if he could get the best possible start in his life, which as you can imagine, will be difficult with his condition.
This is where I need your help.
Apparently the essex 11+ is in november ( essex LEA do not take age into consideration ) he has got 7 months to go before his test. So time is of the essence
We have spoken to him and tried to explain it all, he seems to like the idea of this adventure (see how he likes it when he has to get stuck into the extra work
)
I would like to find a suitable tutor, hopefully with experience of children with autism.
Any help, tips and ideas would be really appreciated.
thank you all very much in advance... Michael
First of all, what a fantastic site this appears to be! I just googled up and here I am....
I am the proud father on a 9 year old little lad called Joseph, we live in Clacton on sea in Essex.
At five years old he was diagnosed as "high functioning autistic" bordering on aspergers.
Apparently he shows a lot of aspergers traits but as he had a speech delay to begin with he was diagnosed as more autistic than aspergers..
He has a statement and has a full time LSA with him at his junior school, he is year4 and is the yougest in his year as he has a late august birthday.
Apparently, like many austistic children, he is a very intelligent young lad.
Recently when he went to see his psychiatrist who asked us if we had considered him for the eleven plus.
He had given Joseph an IQ test. He said that taking aside the fact that Joseph, being Joseph, didn`t answer all the questions (he cant seem to grasp the concept of an educated guess) he still came out with an IQ of 120.
The psychiatrist and the psychologist, who he also sees at the local childrens centre, agree that, given the right help and tuition, he really ought to have a go at the eleven plus.
I would love him to have the opportunity/choice to go to our local grammer school (Colchester Royal Grammer) which has a fantastic academic record and apparantly welcome children with autism and aspergers.
Quite frankly, and I dont wish this to appear churlish, I believe the majority of children at a grammer and/or faith school might be a little more enlightened and tolerant towards "different" children such as my little boy. Allied to this, if he is as bright as we are led to believe, it would be nice if he could get the best possible start in his life, which as you can imagine, will be difficult with his condition.
This is where I need your help.
Apparently the essex 11+ is in november ( essex LEA do not take age into consideration ) he has got 7 months to go before his test. So time is of the essence
We have spoken to him and tried to explain it all, he seems to like the idea of this adventure (see how he likes it when he has to get stuck into the extra work
)I would like to find a suitable tutor, hopefully with experience of children with autism.
Any help, tips and ideas would be really appreciated.
thank you all very much in advance... Michael
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bromleymum1
autistic 9 year old
Punchy,
Not sure how helpful this is, but it sounded as if you are a bit concerned about how your child would fit into a grammar. Let me set your mind at rest. My oldest son attended a super selective grammar where quite a few of the children were somewhere on the autistic spectrum This isn't surprising - high intelligence in maths and autism can go together. These bright lads were treated in the same way as any other children; they made friends, they were joshed in the way kids are about their hair cuts or hobbies. And it was good for them too to be joshed about their single minded fixations. So if you are concerned that your lovely lad might feel the odd one out, I'd be very surprised if he was. Good luck!
Not sure how helpful this is, but it sounded as if you are a bit concerned about how your child would fit into a grammar. Let me set your mind at rest. My oldest son attended a super selective grammar where quite a few of the children were somewhere on the autistic spectrum This isn't surprising - high intelligence in maths and autism can go together. These bright lads were treated in the same way as any other children; they made friends, they were joshed in the way kids are about their hair cuts or hobbies. And it was good for them too to be joshed about their single minded fixations. So if you are concerned that your lovely lad might feel the odd one out, I'd be very surprised if he was. Good luck!
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elaineh
Punchy.
I have been a SENCo in a Grammar school and we certainly had children with various special needs. If he is statemented it makes life easier as funding will be in place to support his needs.
Yes autistic/aspergers/ADD etc etc children all can [and do!] flourish in a Grammar school - you might want to look in the SEN thread. You will find a number of similar postings.
Perhaps this thread best belongs there?
I have been a SENCo in a Grammar school and we certainly had children with various special needs. If he is statemented it makes life easier as funding will be in place to support his needs.
Yes autistic/aspergers/ADD etc etc children all can [and do!] flourish in a Grammar school - you might want to look in the SEN thread. You will find a number of similar postings.
Perhaps this thread best belongs there?
Dear Punchy,
I think you should go for it, but have a good back up plan.
Have a look at this forum's SEN section,
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... m.php?f=40
Start talking to your school about the exam so any adjustments can be made to make the test less stressful for your child, maybe the test could be conducted in a smaller familiar room with less distractions ( that's what I would want ).
Keep asking questions on this forum there are lots of people with similar experience. Please let us know how you get on. My year 2 boy has a similar diagnosis.
Best wishes & good luck,
stevew61
I think you should go for it, but have a good back up plan.
Have a look at this forum's SEN section,
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... m.php?f=40
Start talking to your school about the exam so any adjustments can be made to make the test less stressful for your child, maybe the test could be conducted in a smaller familiar room with less distractions ( that's what I would want ).
Keep asking questions on this forum there are lots of people with similar experience. Please let us know how you get on. My year 2 boy has a similar diagnosis.
Best wishes & good luck,
stevew61
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moonbeam
11 plus and aspergers
My son is 10 and will hopefully sit his 11 plus in oct/nov this year.He was assessed by ed psy in dec 06 and has come up as very likely aspergers.He is a bright lad and I feel like other writers to this site that a grammar school will be a more sympathetic environment for him and he will be less likely to be bullied as has happened in the past. Unfortunately I have been told he is not severely enough affected to have a statement and that he will be given no special consideration when sitting the exam.As part of his difficulty involves understanding language Ifeel he is at a disadvantage in understanding the questions and also has difficulty in applying himself to a paper for an hour.He consistentently performs well at the start of the paper but does badly at the end where his concentration has gone.This is a commmon trait no matter whether the english or math is first or last .Perhaps someone could advise me what I can do to appeal his case.I am in Northern Ireland where 11 plus is really the only option .Please help if you can
Hi moonbeam,
You do not say how you have approached the question of extra time so far. Have you written to the LEA and been refused despite evidence you have supplied which indicates your child has a disability or have you been told by an alternative source, i.e. Ed Psych or school?
In any event a couple of points spring to mind from your post...
Firstly, was the Dec 06 Ed Psych Assessment an LEA one, or an independent organised by yourself?
If LEA you may not be aware of this but they rarely make any recomendations of any use. I make no apology for this statement but the SEN system is failing bright pupils with SEN and the LEA EP's are not independent enough of the system to make impartial recomendations regarding a child's needs and how these needs should be met therefore their recomendations are either nonexistent or resource driven.
If independent then you should be able to trust the assessment.
Secondly, who had told you that your child does not qualify for special consideration for the exam, if it is your school then you should be aware that the teaching staff may not have the expertise to appreciate the subtleties of your child's needs. If from an LEA EP then I would challenge the recomendation, if Independent go back and ask them to clarify why extra time is not needed in view of your child's disability.
You do NOT need a Statement of SEN to qualify for additional time for an exam.
Thirdly You may have a case for Disability discrimination if the LEA is refusing to allow extra time for your child, if you have supplied evidence which indicates concessions are required.
Finally, hope this is helpful, it is quite difficult to give more specific advice wihtout knowing more of your circumstances. If you wish to PM me for more specific advice then I would be happy to try and help, you would need to register for this.
HP
P.S. I have 3 kids with varying degrees of SEN so I do know what an awful battle it is!
You do not say how you have approached the question of extra time so far. Have you written to the LEA and been refused despite evidence you have supplied which indicates your child has a disability or have you been told by an alternative source, i.e. Ed Psych or school?
In any event a couple of points spring to mind from your post...
Firstly, was the Dec 06 Ed Psych Assessment an LEA one, or an independent organised by yourself?
If LEA you may not be aware of this but they rarely make any recomendations of any use. I make no apology for this statement but the SEN system is failing bright pupils with SEN and the LEA EP's are not independent enough of the system to make impartial recomendations regarding a child's needs and how these needs should be met therefore their recomendations are either nonexistent or resource driven.
If independent then you should be able to trust the assessment.
Secondly, who had told you that your child does not qualify for special consideration for the exam, if it is your school then you should be aware that the teaching staff may not have the expertise to appreciate the subtleties of your child's needs. If from an LEA EP then I would challenge the recomendation, if Independent go back and ask them to clarify why extra time is not needed in view of your child's disability.
You do NOT need a Statement of SEN to qualify for additional time for an exam.
Thirdly You may have a case for Disability discrimination if the LEA is refusing to allow extra time for your child, if you have supplied evidence which indicates concessions are required.
Finally, hope this is helpful, it is quite difficult to give more specific advice wihtout knowing more of your circumstances. If you wish to PM me for more specific advice then I would be happy to try and help, you would need to register for this.
HP
P.S. I have 3 kids with varying degrees of SEN so I do know what an awful battle it is!
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abc123
sen
I would agree with HP's excellent advice and add that it may be that it your EP was independent that you could ask them to include a recommendation that extra time be allowed in exams.
It is difficult to get a statement but it is certainly worth pursuing - have you asked and been turned down?
It may also be worth speaking to the National Autistic Society and asking them for a speialist in your area for autistic spectrum disorders so that you can get an official diagnosis.
There are lots of webpages that may help you with information.
National Autistic Society
ACE - Advisory Centre for Education
OASISS - Office for Advice, Assistance, Support and Information on Special Needs
IPSEA - Independent Panel for Special Educationl Advice
Also there are some very good forums for parents and children where you can find lots of advice on education:
Asperger and ASD UK Online Forum
ASD Friendly
I hope you find some answers.
It is difficult to get a statement but it is certainly worth pursuing - have you asked and been turned down?
It may also be worth speaking to the National Autistic Society and asking them for a speialist in your area for autistic spectrum disorders so that you can get an official diagnosis.
There are lots of webpages that may help you with information.
National Autistic Society
ACE - Advisory Centre for Education
OASISS - Office for Advice, Assistance, Support and Information on Special Needs
IPSEA - Independent Panel for Special Educationl Advice
Also there are some very good forums for parents and children where you can find lots of advice on education:
Asperger and ASD UK Online Forum
ASD Friendly
I hope you find some answers.
