Special School or Mainstream for autism?

[Twinminator]

I really don't know what's best

 

[lozzy21]

I think it all depends on how severe her Autism is and what support she would have at mainstream school.

 

[Peanut78]

From what I have gathered it also depends on the age/ level and needs at the time. Some prefer to send children for "special" school for specific years or to support specific needs i.e. speech development, but later feel it is appropriate to integrate into a mainstream school....

 

[Twinminator]

It's just I've read about people "fighting" to get their child into mainstream, as well as fighting to get their child into a special school, and I worry because I figure the professionals will know which one will best suit her needs, and because I will simply trust their judgement, will I allow her to be led down one route or the other without knowing whether it is in fact the right thing?

 

[lozzy21]

It all depends on the schools themselves, some mainstream schools have appaling support for children with extra needs so in that case id send her to the special needs school but then other mainstream schools have fantastic support and sometimes have units inside the mainstream schools so you get the best of both world.


I dont have a child with autism but im a support worker for adults with autism and personaly id be inclined to go with the special school or a mainstream school with a special unit than a normal mainstream school. They generaly have smaller class sizes, more oppertunitys to access things like sensory rooms and other theraputic activitys. The staff will be a lot better trained in how to meet your childs needs. A friend of mine has not long qualified as a primary teacher and she said they had one an hour a week for one term dedicated to working with children with learning dificulties and extra needs and that one hour was for every disability. They will be more accepting of any obsesions or traits that she might have and as she gets older shes a lot less likely to get bullied.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I send my child with autism to a mainstream school. I think you need to try it as once he goes SN I cant really send him back mainstream

I think it suits HIM but each child is different x

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Does she have a statement as you need that for Special Needs schools x

 

[Newt]

I havent voted cos my option isnt there. My sone has been accepted in a special needs class in a mainstream school. He will get specialist autism support and will play with the other children too
but it really does depend on the level of autism

 

[Twinminator]

Thank you for your input, I'm probably thinking far too far ahead, but Lauren got her diagnosis this week after her observations at the paediatric dept at the hospital, and the phrases they used in the feedback meeting are still raw I suppose. They were very good, they didn't scaremonger, but once they confirmed the autism I asked "how bad". They kind of looked at each other then said they didn't describe it in those terms, but that right here and now, she is "severely held back by her autism". Which I knew really, but still stings to hear someone else say it. She'll have two sessions a week with them at the hospital doing intensive play starting after the half term. They weren't entirely convincing about the fact she'd respond to it, she's a tough cookie to crack I know that. But the whole thing's got me thinking about the kind of schooling that's going to be appropriate for her, we've got our house on the market at the moment (too small for our needs) and I don't know if it's going to be important for us to be within the catchment of a special school or not (her needs are the only thing that has any bearing on where we move to, DH travels all over country for work anyway, and I'm a SAHM).

I'm just a bit frantic after that meeting that's all. Sorry all, it was probably a silly poll to set up, I just thought if I knew what other people do/would do, it'd help xxx

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Hugs chick xx I would see how they get on at preschool and things first. I think Portage can help with funding for 1-1 teachers and support in early years xx

 

[BrandiCanucks]

I work at a school for children with special needs and the majority of our students have some form of autism in varying degrees of severity. I also am raising a child with autistic tendencies, but not autism. She has developmental disabilities caused by microcephaly and an unknown genetic condition.

My best advice is that special needs schools can be very expensive and unless her autism is so severe that she would be completely unable to socialize or function in a mainstream classroom, or in a special needs classroom in a mainstream school, then begin in a mainstream school, especially if finances are tight.

Tuition at our school is $54,000 a year for 1-to-1 assistance. We provide education geared towards the students' developmental age, but also supportive assistance in the form of varying therapies, toileting and ABA and IBI. Most of our students have a portion of their tuition covered by governmental programs for autism, but the remaining tuition can be a huge blow to a family's income.

I want to send our daughter to the school I work at, but we are unable to afford tuition at the moment, and as our daughter does not have a diagnosis of autism, we cannot have any portion funded. Instead, we have chosen to start her in a mainstream classroom in a mainstream school and go from there. The option to switch her to a special needs school will always be available should we find that she needs extra support that a mainstream school cannot provide.

Alternatively, mainstream schools also work with special needs schools. A number of our students attend our school only two or three days a week and attend a mainstream school the rest of the week, or they attend our school in the mornings, 5 days a week and attend a mainstream school in the afternoons.

There is also the option of her attending a special needs school for a year or two, or however many years you feel is necessary and the special needs school works with the mainstream school to integrate the student back into a mainstream classroom. We currently have two students at our school doing this and it is working very well.

I hope this helped, from the perspective of someone who works within the special needs school. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them.

 

[Peanut78]

I work at a school for children with special needs and the majority of our students have some form of autism in varying degrees of severity. I also am raising a child with autistic tendencies, but not autism. She has developmental disabilities caused by microcephaly and an unknown genetic condition.

My best advice is that special needs schools can be very expensive and unless her autism is so severe that she would be completely unable to socialize or function in a mainstream classroom, or in a special needs classroom in a mainstream school, then begin in a mainstream school, especially if finances are tight.

Tuition at our school is $54,000 a year for 1-to-1 assistance. We provide education geared towards the students' developmental age, but also supportive assistance in the form of varying therapies, toileting and ABA and IBI. Most of our students have a portion of their tuition covered by governmental programs for autism, but the remaining tuition can be a huge blow to a family's income.

I want to send our daughter to the school I work at, but we are unable to afford tuition at the moment, and as our daughter does not have a diagnosis of autism, we cannot have any portion funded. Instead, we have chosen to start her in a mainstream classroom in a mainstream school and go from there. The option to switch her to a special needs school will always be available should we find that she needs extra support that a mainstream school cannot provide.

Alternatively, mainstream schools also work with special needs schools. A number of our students attend our school only two or three days a week and attend a mainstream school the rest of the week, or they attend our school in the mornings, 5 days a week and attend a mainstream school in the afternoons.

There is also the option of her attending a special needs school for a year or two, or however many years you feel is necessary and the special needs school works with the mainstream school to integrate the student back into a mainstream classroom. We currently have two students at our school doing this and it is working very well.

I hope this helped, from the perspective of someone who works within the special needs school. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them.

I think this may vary depending on what country and/ or area you are in....

If you are looking at public state funded/ provided services (which you usually are in the UK and Europe) you may also not be able opt in and out easily i.e. easily change your mind to attend a speciliased school if mainstream isn't working out - selection processes and waitlists are usually a major contender...

 

[Twinminator]

I think that's also the problem, not knowing how it all works in terms of pupil intake, cost, etc. There's a community special school in the nearest big town to us that has outstanding ofsted inspections, and although they deal with various special needs, autism accounts for more than half of it.
Oh god I don't know mixing only with other autistic children worries me that she will not learn how mainstream children socialise, then if she's in mainstream, will she go further into her shell...

 

[Lottie86]

It may differ from area to area but in our area when you fill in the forms to apply for a nursery or school place for your child you cannot apply to the special needs nursery or school. You have to apply to the local mainstream nursery or school and then fill in a section on the form about your children's additional needs and then all the forms get looked at by people 'in the know' and it is decided which children will get the limited places at the the SN nursery/school.

 

[BrandiCanucks]

Our school is privatized as the federal government does not provide funding for special needs schools unless the disability is one that physically holds the child back. They provide funding to the deaf-blind school here and also pay each student's airline fee to return home each weekend and summer, but will not provide funding for other special needs schools as they want to integrate all students together.

From my perspective. the students at my school socialize really well. That is one thing we work on them with all day. Each time we see a student, we stop them to say Hi and ask how they are and encourage them to say hi back using the teacher's name, and to also ask how the teacher is. This method has really encouraged the students' to come out of their shell and socialize as they would in a developmentally able society. We have one student who hasn't completely caught on yet, but she tries. Her disabilities leave her unable to speak.

But I've also seen children with autism thrive in mainstream classrooms. I've seen children who were completely withdrawn come out and be "social" in mainstream classes. They may play beside children, but not look at them, for example, or they may completely surprise you and be a leader in the class. Kids these days in mainstream classrooms also take to other children very well, so you may find she has instant friends and she becomes a social bubble.

No matter which route you choose, she won't be left without support. She won't be thrown into a classroom to fend for herself. She will have an assistant to help her with socialization and support aspects to help her reach her full potential. I, too, worried myself sick over things like this until I was able to catch a glimpse of how Zoe would be supported in both settings.

We're going with the mainstream classroom for now but we have agreed that we are prepared to pull her if necessary. Kids are not required to attend school until the age of 6 here, but can start as early as 3.

You WILL have to do a lot of advocating for her and it doesn't hurt to start now, but try not to stress too much over it. It may help to get her into a child development program as preparation for group settings, or even daycare once or twice a week (my daughter was socially withdrawn and once she attended home daycare twice a week, her speech and social skills flourished...but she still won't make eye conttact with you).

No matter which route you choose, the school will help her adapt using different techniques. For example, if she has trouble transitioning from one task to another, they may implement a visual schedule which is a board lined with velcroed pictures. As each task is finishing, they remove the picture of the current task to show which task will be next. It works very well with children with autism.

Try not to stress over it. I know it's easier said than done, but it will all fall into place.

 

[Mummy2Boo]

We don't have a full diagnosis yet for our son, but he has development delays affecting his speech and movement and displays autistic tendencies. We sent him to a private day nursery that takes mainly mainstream children and, after a bumpy start, he has done really well. It took him a good few months to adapt to their routines and to settle with other kids but now he has developed social skills. Most of the other parents don't even know he has any conditions! He has a place at a local mainstream school but we're working on getting him a Statement to ensure the school gets extra funding for further support for him. He is under SLT and OT with full support from the Community Paediatrics team locally and together we will arrange the equipment and support he needs.

Do you have a special needs health visitor that you could get put in contact with? My GP and HV have arranged this for us so we can get extra help as with my son's multiple issues, I struggle on a daily basis.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I think they go on a IEP first, then school action plus and then a statement if the first 2 fail. Its not easy to get statements.

 

[Mummy2Boo]

We already have IEP's in place and have done for almost 18 mths since he started at the nursery.

 

[Peanut78]

Perhaps someone who is involved in your daughters regular support i.e. OT, SLT, paed etc may also be best placed to advise what they believe may best suit your daughter at this stage....?

Personally I would be most inclined to take advice from those well versed in child development, rather than those from a more medical background i.e. therapists - SLT, OT etc rather than a paed...

 

[Twinminator]

I suppose nearer the time (of starting statutory schooling) I'll be overrun with all sorts of advice.
Forgot to say : The one major thing that adds to the difficulty of the school choice is that she is a climber, balancer and escape artist (they also described her as seeming to have to feel her weight through both her hands and feet to feel relaxed, as we might do sitting in a chair for instance). So it's how willing a pre-school would be to take on the physical and sometimes dangerous nature of her her behaviour xx