Tourettes

Advice on Special Needs and the 11 Plus Exams

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sallyj
Posts: 212
Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2008 10:45 pm
Location: Lincolnshire

Tourettes

Post by sallyj »

Our son has tourettes,only mildly,but obviously it is an 'unknown quantity' in terms of how bad it will become.Does anyone on here have experience of Tourettes in secondary school ?
Ed's mum
Posts: 3310
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:47 am
Location: Warwickshire.

Post by Ed's mum »

Welcome to the forum and best wishes to you as I know that you have had some bad news today.
I only remember one person mentioning this condition of the forum before - but you could do a search on the site to see if anything crops up -but as far as I am aware no one has mentioned having a child who has Tourettes.
What you definitely get, though many people may now be in bed, is lots of support and advice. Most people on this site are extremely friendly and helpful.
There are definitely some people who post on this forum who will have some experience in their capacity as SENCo or former SENCos.
I hope that you receive the answers/advice that you need.
T.i.p.s.y

Post by T.i.p.s.y »

Welcome sallyj. Unfortunately I cannot offer any advice but I hope you will get help on this site and keep us posted about how your son gets on at senior school. Is he in a mainstream primary at present and how is he getting on there?
sallyj
Posts: 212
Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2008 10:45 pm
Location: Lincolnshire

Post by sallyj »

lthough one of the youngest in his year he has been top of every class throughout his primary school. He has had 'twitches' since being a toddler,which everyone assumed he would grow out of-he hasn't ! We finally got a proper diagnosis of Tourettes earlier this year. Although it wasn't what we wanted to hear,we have accepted it is a part of who he is & not the end of the world. It is having an effect on his life though. We have already been told by one high achieving Lincolnshire school that his Tourettes would mean he was not welcome there ! When I said they were discriminating they agreed but still said tough ! As it wasn't our first choice we decided to ignore it-our son knows nothing of thier attitude & still sees it as a possible second choice ! GS was always our aim,but financially we were not in a position to pay for extra tuition,but hoped he would shine. We know now he was up against a lot of children from prep school backgrounds & several from down south who like us were willing to make the move-though ours is only a few miles-if thier child suceeds. I feel we have dangled this golden prize in front of him,then snatched it away,do we tempt him further-the stress is making him twitch far more-& appeal on the lack of two points based on his high standards at primary school,or do we admit defeat ? Should we mention his Tourettes at an appeal,after all he fights sometimes to concentrate because of it,maybe it 'stole' those two missing points from him ! I'm feeling very lost at the moment.
best for son
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2008 10:23 am

Post by best for son »

Hello Sallyj

Really sorry to hear your story, for a school to have that sort of attitude makes me see red. :evil:

I'm afraid I'm also not an expert on tourettes but have a little experience of what you are dealing with. My son year 6 is diagnosed high functioning autistic but over the last couple of years, we have been aware that he has mild tourettes, or the tourettes tendencies are part of the autistic spectrum.

Like your son he has ticks. Blinking, odd mouth movements, constant fidgiting to name some of the behaviour. I suppose I feel a little more relaxed about these things than yourself, as he has a statement and has one to one support. When he moves to Secondary school I hope and expect that he will be well supported and the staff will manage any difficulties appropriately.

This is why a school with good pastoral care is so important and you have a right to get this for your child. Allways remember that we do not live in a perfect world without any disibilities and our children are not alone out there. Actually I believe they help others especially children, to learn and get a better understanding of these difficulties.

I really hope you find a better school for your son that deserves his talents. :)

Love best for son
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Post by yoyo123 »

I don;t have experience of Tourette's in secondary school, but we did have a boy at my school with asperger's and associated tourette's.

stress did make him much worse and the 11+ build up is definitely stressful. preparing him for what is going to happen by talking to him about it , getting him familiar with the format of the questions and paper may help his anxiety.

Have you spoken to the Senco at his primary? Does he have outside help eg a clinical psychologist or speech and language therapist working wioth him, can you involve them. when it comes to actual secondary transfer see if you can involve the senco of the secondary school, visits to the school beforehand and meeting his form teacher will make him less tense.


Guest 55 was a secondary senco she may be able to help.
Alex
Posts: 1097
Joined: Thu Nov 02, 2006 10:10 pm
Location: Lincolnshire

Post by Alex »

Hi Sallyj,

Will answer you on the Lincolnshire thread or else I shall get in a muddle!
stevew61
Posts: 1786
Joined: Fri Nov 17, 2006 9:54 pm
Location: caversham

Re: Tourettes

Post by stevew61 »

sallyj wrote:Our son has tourettes,only mildly,
Hi sallyj,

Can't offer advice but can offer hope. :)

I know of a young lad who in year five/six who was twitching and found conversation hard. His parents confirmed that he had a diagnosis

Now in secondary school and he has it really under control, has grown out of it.

He comes across as a very pleasant if a bit shy young man. He is very popular with his friends, doing well at school and an excellent sportsman :).

Best wishes.


steve
sallyj
Posts: 212
Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2008 10:45 pm
Location: Lincolnshire

Post by sallyj »

Thankyou all for your replies.
My son has been 'twichy' since toddlerhood,but it is only in the last 18 months or so that it has been really getting him down.We waited for a long time to see a specialist,only really getting an appointment when his current class teacher got involved ! He has a full diagnosis off Tourettes.
No-one has ever offered us any form of support or statement. Many children with Tourettes are Aspergers too,but as he is such an outgoing friendly lad(on every team for sports,loves cubs etc)although the specialist thought he displayed some Autistic traits she felt it was unwise to 'label' him Aspergers at this time ! He has never needed any extra help at school-far from it-he has always excelled with top marks. He can be a terrible perfectionist,9 out of 10 on a test to him is never enough.
I feel as parents we have let him down. We couldn't afford private tuition...why didn't we move into an area with school that prepared thier pupils for 11plus.... we should have purchased more test papers...........I could go on forever,it won't change the fact that to the examiners a mark is a mark & that is final ! The oly other school we had considered is the one who has made it perfectly clear he is unwelcome,so unless we appeal I really don't know where we go from here. I want him to be happy,but I also want him to be stretched to his full ability educationally,something he won't get if thrown into the local comp.
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Post by Sally-Anne »

New member "sallyanne" has very kindly agreed to allow us to change her username to Sallyj to prevent any confusion with this humble Mod. :D

I have edited all the above posts to reflect the name change.

Many thanks for your help on this Sallyj. :D
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