Parents pull kids from school

By bobb |

By LIA SPENCER

A SPECIAL school in Casey has defended their methods of dealing with students who display challenging behaviours.

Several parents have pulled their students from Marnebek School in Cranbourne due to complaints about the school’s discipline policies and the “prison-like” outside settings.

One of the parents has taken her complaints to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) on the grounds of discrimination, and use of seclusion and restraints.

Expressions of Interest - Employment Opportunity for Students with ASD in Albury Wodonga region 2013

By Jason White |

Hello there, I am looking to speak with students in the Albury-Wodonga region who would be in their final year of secondary education and looking to transition to employment. I am coordinating a pilot whereby a group of students from the region with ASD are actively engaged in paid employment whilst completing their final year of school.

To be eligible, students must:

Social Enterprise Albury Wodonga

By Jennifer Tait |

I am currently researching the idea of Social Enterprise relevant to young adults, university graduates, school leavers, and high school students in the Albury Wodonga area who have Aspergers or High Functioning Autism. I\'m trying to find successful models used in Australia and overseas, and to learn about what is currently available for this group of people in the local area.

Irate dad says his disabled daughter was bound on a school bus

By bobb |

A FURIOUS father says his disabled daughter, 11, was tied up on a school bus, and is considering legal action.

Michael says Caitlyn was restrained by staff trying to stop unruly behaviour, including scratching at seats.

He said his daughter had told him force was used to bind her wrists with rope.

The principal of the Ballarat Specialist School said he believed shoelaces were used by bus staff to secure Caitlyn to her seat.

Police and the Education Department are investigating an August 29 incident.

A police spokesman said a Ballarat man was interviewed yesterday.

Parents' exhausting battle with education system

By bobb |

Kerrie Curtis with son Harry and daughter Isabelle.
Photo: Simon Schluter

Jewel Topsfield Education Editor for The Age, 24 September 2012

AS THE mother of three children on the autism spectrum, Kerrie Curtis is a veteran of battles with the Victorian education system.

Her latest fight is to get special VCE exam provisions for her oldest son Liam, who has Asperger's, an anxiety disorder and a learning difficulty. Ms Curtis' frustration is not with his school, RMIT, which she says has been absolutely superb.

However she says the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority has been ''extraordinarily inflexible''. Just weeks away from VCE exams she is still trying to apply for him to use a laptop in exams.

Meanwhile, she is fighting to get her son Harry's primary school to pay for the speech therapy and assistance with emotional regulation and social skills that medical experts say he needs.

to diagnose or not to diagnose

By Nicky |

My 9 year old has recently been given a suspected diagnosis of autism but with more aspergers traits. Because he has a severe language disorder the autism was diagnosed. He is unaware of this diagnosis as l have chosen not to tell him. He is yet to feel any different from other children apart from his language disorder.

My son has just been diagnosed

By Rohan |

Hi there, my precious little 9YO boy has just been diagnosed with Aspergers from his Paediatrician after assessment by an Occupational Therapist and Speech Pathologist. I felt the Speech Pathologists report was a little harsh, as it said he has a severe language disorder from all angles. The Pathologist's report took about 3-4 months to arrive and the Pathologist had to ring my wife up and ask several questions before completing the report. She got the feeling that the Pathologist did not know or couldn't remember our boy. My son is a good talker.

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By Baffled79 |

I am not sure where to start, nor do i have any idea how to navigate this site. I apologize in advance if I have posted this in the wrong space. I am a young single mother of three, My oldest child has just been diagnosed with high functioning aspergers. It has been confirmed by a pediatrician, we are now awaiting a school assesment, also he is seeing a psyciatrist and she soon will also be doing and assesment. I guess that now I have an answer I am even more lost than before.....what do I do now and where do I go from here????

Vic Education says too many donuts cause failure to learn

By bobb |

A court case is running in Victoria (see http://a4.org.au/a4/node/481) about education for a child with a disability. So far the department has said that the reason for the young man’s failure to learn is that, he ate too many donuts.

An expert witness for the Education Department told the court said standardised assessments are not as good as unwritten teacher observations because, teachers have a special gift.

The department lawyers and their expert witness said that people with an intellectual disability don’t learn, so no matter what you do with them they don’t improve.

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