By jamesandbel |

Hi All,

Our eldest daughter (6) was diagnosed with aspergers at the end of last year. We were wanting to know what we can do to get her the assistance she needs at school. At the end of last year they were going to orginise a meeting between her old and new teacher and the councilor etc, but it never happened.

Yesterday was a nightmare, and today will be the same. I was wondering if there is anywhere we can start, so we can go back to the school and advise them they should be doing something to assist her with the transition into 1st class.

Also, with these apparent changes maybe being made as far as diagnosis goes, will children need to be re assessed if these changes come into effect.

Thank you in advance.

James.

I totally understand. My son is in a very similar position. It is essential that you make this meeting between yourselves, counselor, school principal and teacher(s) happen. I'm assuming you're in Australia. Has the school applied for funding for extra classroom help? Make sure they get the application in asap. I met with our school counselor and insisted she did this on the second day of the school year. You need to be in constant communication with your child's teacher and be there as long as you can in the mornings to help her adjust. It is a tough time, but you have to rally everyone to help with her transition.

I am hoping my son starts to adjust a bit better this week. Good luck with helping your daughter.

Jess

my son is 27 now was severely autistic and i found early on that the squeqy wheel is the ONLY one oiled u have to be very aggressive and realise lots of information that is available and u have a right to will not be given voluntarily fight for your childs rights and above all get all the info u can i used to just ring heads of regions and demand stuff i thought might be hidden just assume all is and get it i learnt a good lesson 25 years ago after his diagnosis i was shown western autistic and knew it was perfect for him assuming he was to attend the next year i was told no waiting list is long another year i got so angry i called kids his therapists playgroup and cancelled all the next day the school called saying that as he was no longer serviced he shot to top of list and would be going they knew this all along noone said anything

Austism and school is a battlefield. If something doesn't feel right, then it isn't. Fight (I mean advocate) for your child as you know them best and no one else has the vested interest that you have. Do not accept something that you or they are uncomfortable with. They will let you know in 100 different ways.

We have taken different approaches with both our sons who are on the spectrum.

Our youngest (nearly 9) is Autistic (high functioning) and after 4 1/2 years of jumping through hoops, attending meetings, watching the political machinations involved with teacher aides and Schools Plus we came to the decision to Home School our son, which we did for 9 months of 2011. This year we have enrolled him with Australian Christian College - Distance Ed and so far he and I are loving it. We are in the middle of taloring the program to him, but the pressure release on us as parents and our other 3 children has been immense. We always had a detailed Communications Passport for our son (1 for the teacher + 1 for the Aide) and at the beginning of Term 3 each year I would begin meeting with the Principal to sort out our approach for the following year including his Aide and Teacher. (Meeting at this time ensured that there was enough money left in the school's budget to allow for meetings at the end of the year. We would then arrange a Transition Programme to take place in Term 4 including him visiting his next classroom, spending time in their class and me meeting with the aide and teacher 1 on 1 to 'introduce' our son to them and give them time to think, ask questions etc.

Our eldest son (nearly 13) is an Aspie and in his final year of Primary School. Each year he and I have sat down and wrote an open letter to all of his teachers introducing him and saying what he enjoys, what he is good at and what he struggles with. We removed him from the public system during Year 5 and took him to a small Independent School. It has been such a great thing to do (although expensive) as it has allowed him to grow without the pressure of having to deal with playgrounds of 600+ kids. Academically we know right where he is as the social pressures are not as great and thus he is able to demonstrate what he is truly capable of. We still have bad days and moments but they are now glaringly obvious as to the cause and so we are not playing guess games and are able to give him strateigies to try.

As to High School in 2013 the jury is still out. We are beginning to talk to the local Public High School.........BUT we are left trying to decide what is more important. Socialisation (not always healthy in a High School Environment) or Academics allowing him the best possible chance of following his dream of being a Mechanical Engineer. In other words Home Schooling through ACC or the local High School as an Independent High School is not an option for us.

What have others done????????