ITS TIME THAT OFSTED PUT A STOP TO ILLEGAL EXCLUSIONS AGAINST CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Yesterday was a rather productive day.

Its a day that two years ago, I longed to see.

Yesterday was all about reaching out, creating awareness and getting heard.

It was those important factors above, and a few more besides that encouraged me on the given tasks I had been set. Tasks I thought would never happen but was now about to suddenly surface.

The task was that of sharing our story with the world.

Two years ago I felt as if no one would listen. I was able to successfully bring every aspect of our story to light and people would take notice… Every aspect but this one! Now I’d been given an opportunity to change this.

It all began when the charity “Contact A Family” sent me an email with an attached survey surrounding the topic of “Illegal exclusions from school” Of course I had a lot to say on the given subject. I hoped that others affected would have too. The results could finally prove the extent of the problem and finally a campaign set in motion.

Thankfully this is what happened! The results have lead to the charity “Contact A Family” launching a national campaign highlighting the results of the survey entitled “Falling Through The Net”…

The charity’s Falling Through The Net survey, collected the opinions off over 400 families of children with disabilities or additional needs.

The results indicated that more than half (53%) of families have been asked to collect their child during the school day because there are not enough staff available to support them.

• More than half (56%) of families have• been told by the school that their child can’t take part in a class activity or trips because it is unsuitable for them.

• Almost a quarter (22%) are illegally excluded every week and 15% every day.

• More than half (53%) of affected disabled children are falling behind with school work and 43% feel depressed because of illegal exclusions.

• Half of parents (50%) are unable to work due to being called to school frequently.

The charity is making the following recommendations to improve the situation:

• Where exclusion is necessary, schools must follow statutory procedure to ensure decisions are lawful, reasonable and fair.

• The most frequently illegally excluded pupils with a disability or additional needs are those who have conditions which affect behaviour. Schools should take early action to tackle the underlying cause, and to put in support before a crisis occurs.

• Schools and teachers should work closely with parents to understand a child’s condition or disability and their extra support needs and ensure the child gets the help they need.

• Ofsted has an important role in identifying unlawful practice in the course of an inspection. School should be offered additional support to help them improve their practice. A grading of “inadequate” should be considered if schools continue to illegally exclude children with a disability, SEN or additional need.

Looking back through some of my blog post that I had written back when Little man was being regularly excluded from school (both officially and unofficially) I am reminded of the sheer frustration and anger this situation was causing for both myself and my child.

I’m reminded of them painful days full of tears and disbelief as we struggled to get of a never ending rollercoster of emotional terror.

My post remind me that I am in fact a much stronger person than I myself give credit too. Despite the forming of depression and a certain degree of hopelessness, I never once give up… even though I often found myself close to the edge I remained there by a thread… A very thin one.

It wasn’t just our family feeling the pressure, although at that specific moment in time I felt like the only one and that felling was a somewhat lonely one! There was many more like me and it was during those months that followed that I discovered many others like myself living in fear of the daily phone calls from their child’s school demanding they collect their child for whatever reason.

The Boy With Aspergers Facebook page which is an addition to this very blog has some 5,800 + members, many looking for the same answers, huge numbers struggling to work together with their child’s school in a productive manner. Instead these parents found themselves on our page asking the same question… “Are they allowed to continually request I collect my child from school and bring him home?”

Yes, they are…. But only if the statutory procedures are carried out by the school. Its when they fail to put these procedures into action to ensure such decisions are lawful, that they then become unlawful.

What happens to the schools who chose the latter? In most cases if not all… Nothing!

You see the Education Act states that it is a parents responsibility to ensure their child is educated once they have reached compulsory school age. If parents fail to ensure regular attendances AWOs (Attendance and Welfare Officers) likely step in and local authorities proceed to take parents to court if they fail to fulfil this parental requirement (for whatever reason). This can leave parents with a hefty fine to pay or even in some cases a prison sentence to serve. The thing is parents can be found guilty of an offence under section 441 or 441(a) regardless of the reasons behind the absences. Its simple if you are (a) the parent of the child and (b) they never attended school everyday regardless of the reasons, then that parent is automatically found guilty of 441 (the lesser charge of failing to secure school attendance) and will end up with a fine or find themselves on some type of parenting order. Its the law, plain and simple!

My point?

Your child’s school phones you up, sometimes on a daily basis and requests you collect your child as they are unable to contend with their challenging behaviour. You take your child home as the school requests you do, only the official routes are not put into motion… There is no exclusion letter setting out the reasons for your child’s exclusion. This therefore means that the local authority have not been notified and your child’s school have broken the law. Maybe you don’t know this at the time but when you eventually discover this to be the case you take action. Written complaints to governing bodies, LEA officials and ofsted! Yet nothing at all happens… Instead the school seem completely disregard it all and continue to operate in such a manner! How is this allowed to continue? If parents are taken to court and hit with hefty fines then why ain’t schools? After all laws are laws.

When I was called at the ridiculous hour of 8.30pm and asked that I keep my child away from school on the same day as a planned Ofsted visit I had finally been pushed enough. I took myself and child to the school and as he throw himself around the reception area in sheer anger and frustration I just stood demanding I speak with the visiting ofsted officer.

Next thing I knew she was stood behind me, placing her arm around my shoulder as she lead me to an empty class room for a chat. I remember it all becoming to much and I sat telling her through sobs and tears, the extent of the schools treatment towards myself and my child, paying particular attention to the ongoing illegal exclusions (including the one he was currently meant to be serving). I passed her evidence I’d collected, diary notes and some written thoughts from the little man himself. She agreed that the schools activity was illegal and promised to investigated. I tried making contact with the officer as the weeks turned to months but never had any luck. I was horrors with the schools final report and grade of a “Good” school. There was absolutely no mention on the subject. It even stated the schools understanding of children with SEN and certain disabilities. To say I was horrified is an understatement! I then lost every bit of faith I had left in a failing system.

Yesterday morning I gave a live radio interview to Paul Ross on the BBC LONDON 94.9 Breakfast show.

That same afternoon I found myself agreeing to a LIVE TV interview with SKY NEWS. Now I’ve done TV interviews before and have appeared on the news as well as sharing stories in national and local newspapers, but a LIVE interview was something new to me and admittedly as I stood waiting to enter the news room my stomach did an array of huge summersaults making me feel a tad sick!

I had to constantly remind myself of the pain we suffered… How awful life was for little man during those dark days attending mainstream school. I then collaborated a huge mass of messages in my mind, all surrounding the questions parents of excluded children would leave on our Facebook page messages I’d read on the Facebook page all searching for answers and support.

I just had to remember that by doing this I could help contribute somehow to making a difference for children like my little man and their family’s too! This combined with the great encouragement given to me from some great supportive people across social networks such as twitter and Facebook, was the virtual kick in the butt I needed to get in that news room and go for it.

Thankfully I was joined by Srabani Sen, Chief Executive of Contact a Family and the whole thing went pretty well.

So… Here’s hoping together we can bring much needed changes to the way schools deal with the challenging behaviour of children with additional needs.

Would be interested in hearing from others who like myself and many others have had fight this battle. If your interested in featuring in a post I’m planing on this subject please email me via the address on my contact page.

Links to media articles on this subject…

An article on the guardian blog from a teacher who says illegal exclusion needs to stop! Click Here

An Article in the guardian newspaper (I myself contributed too under a different name) plus it features the wonderful Mama Owl (aka Juile Sheppard) and her beautiful boy Logan. Click Here

Enable – The official Contact A Family Report featuring mine and little mans experiences Click Here

Contact A Family Article on their findings Click Here

I’m afraid I haven’t been given the permission to broadcast the Sky News Clip as yet. It was showed at 1:50pm on the 19th Feb 2013 live on Sky news (Sky and freeview). If you are a Sky account holder You maybe able to view this on Sky Go today if you would like to see it. I will share on the blog as soon as I have permission to realise the clip.

Please let me come too

I stood heart in my mouth, I no longer could find the words needed to comfort him, I couldn’t make this pain go away.

I tried to be strong, really I did! But it was hard, it was incredibly hard to see him this way yet again.

As he sobbed, catching his breath through his endless stream of tears he tried to speak “Mum, please beg them to take me… please”

He would normally explode in a fit of anger, haul himself into a wall smacking his head as he screamed and used endless obscenities as he raged. Not this time, it was like he had no energy, no fight left in his body… He was broken.

“What use will it do” I asked him…

“I knew he would do this, I knew it” he sobbed as he lay in a heap on the hallway floor.

I turned away so that he wouldn’t see my own tears for I needed to be strong, strong for my child.

Two hours later my son was still laid out on the floor, red faced with bulging sore eyes. He wasn’t having a tantrum, he just laid silently as if in a deep trance.

My child had been told he wasn’t allowed on a school trip, he would be excluded on that day instead! Do you think his reaction was a bit extreme?

I don’t!

My son had been uninvited from many school trips, coincidently excluded whenever one was planned. I was in no doubt that this was just because my son has Aspergers Syndrome.

This was however a trip he had looked forward to! One they had continuously used as a reinforcement tool for gaining desired behaviour. They excluded him for two days, except one of these days feel on an inset day meaning it would consequently role over onto the next day, the day of the trip! What had he been excluded for? Something so small I can’t even remember!

It wasn’t just the missing out that hurt my child, it was every single act of rejection he was submitted to, each one breaking down his self confidence a little more.

So, why am I writing this now… Of course I mentioned it before, back when it happened, his now in a special school and enjoys many trips. However, this is not the case for every child and when I hear of another child being continuously subjected to the same treatment, it breaks my heart a little more!

The UK is fall of children stuck in pupil referral units, treated like a criminal when many just have SEN and have been failed by the system. Others are out of school because no one is willing to take them (especially when they see that exclusion record with your child’s name on it) this was the case for my child for around 6 months.

In my opinion the laws surrounding exclusion are slack. Why is it that children are excluded on trip days, given a double dose of punishment. Surly regulations should be made much tighter!

If you have a child subjected to this type of treatment then it’s time to speak up. Your not alone and if we all come together we have a much stronger chance at getting heard.

Our worse ever meltdown & coping with little sleep

Image via Wikipedia

I was going through documents I have stored on my Mac and came across this. I’m unsure of the reasons I wrote it, though I think it was meant as a guest post concerning “Meltdowns and a lack of sleep” I don’t even think I sent it to whoever was meant to feature it, so I’ve decided, instead of cluttering up my Mac, I’ll share it here with my readers.

The post comes in two sections, “Worse ever Meltdown” & “How I deal with the lack of sleep”

Our Worst Ever Tantrum

I have three children, a daughter of 9 and two boys! my toddler is 2 and his brother, my eldest is 11 years of age and has a diagnosis of Aspergers (a form of autism that results in impaired communication and interaction skills) and sensory processing difficulties.

My eldest, AKA Little man, has had more meltdowns than I ever thought possible! His increased anxiety levels and inability to filter out certain sensory stimuli has made meltdowns exhausting for all.

We’ve seen it all! Hitting, swearing, kicking everything and anything, throwing objects, slamming doors, running off and non stop crying! But nothing was to prepare us for that Wednesday evening on the 22nd September 2010. My son had received a high number of exclusions from his then mainstream school. He was taught in isolation, (Kept away from other children like a monster). My child was never allowed to attend school trips or participate in activities, this was lowering his already low self-esteem and I was becoming extremely worried. That evening I received a call from the head-teacher who informed me my child was excluded for the third time that month. I was promptly reminded that the Friday was in-set day (translated that means staff training day!) So, he would be excluded for the trip. He has missed trips for as long as I can remember anyone would think we were used to it! But this one was important he was looking forward to it so, so much because they would be going by coach (transport crazy) It was left for me to break the news and his heart. He didn’t hit me, nor swear, he sat deadly quite for a minute or two, slowly absorbing my words! Then shockingly he stood up and started throwing his entire body into the wall almost knocking himself out in the process. He scratched his own arms till they bleed, he slapped himself in the face over and over again and punched himself in the head while chanting, “I just want to be normal” Some five hours later, and a smashed up bedroom, I found him laid in the middle of the room amongst his destroyed beloved model buses. His eyes were so sore and red, his breathing still heavy that he continued to catch his breath. Yes, I’ve been hit, abused or embarrassed in public. His kept me up the entire night screaming and crying, yet it was defiantly this meltdown that outweighed the rest, It is one that has stuck firmly in my mind… Because for me it was scary to see a little boy, my little boy, react in such a way he could have seriously hurt himself.

Lucky his now in a more understanding school better suited to his overall needs.

Coping with little sleep!

I remember my health visitors promise some 11 or so years ago! She looked me in the eye and said, “I promise you he will soon get into a routine… babies always do”! Yet she lied to me, because that isn’t true is it! Not all babies do! My little man is no longer a baby but a lively 11-year-old boy He has Aspergers (a form of autism) and as soon as he hit three months old, he stopped sleeping! I waited and waited for that routine to come, the one she had promised, after all she was a professional right? Well, here I am, still waiting for that so-called routine!

We all need to sleep in-order to refuel our brains and boost our energy levels. I’ve often stayed awake for nights on end (which wasn’t done by choice)! When my little man does finally sleep, I struggle! Maybe because it’s only a few hours till I should wake for it’s a school day and I fear the attendance officer getting on my back, or maybe because I’m scared I wont wake to care for the children at all. I find I’m touchy and over emotional some days, where others I’m fine, I just get on with things the best way I can! Sleep really does make everything seem better, I just wish my son would believe it and give it a go sometime! I’m no super mummy and more often than not, after a few days awake I just suddenly drop! My eye lids become so heavy as if they have weights hanging from them! Seriously I find my self sleeping as I stand, clean, bath or even board a bus… which really isn’t a great way to be!

Related articles

• Top Three Tips To Get You’re Kids To Sleep (aspergersinfo.wordpress.com)
• Christmas Meltdowns, Supermarket Style (aspergersinfo.wordpress.com)
• A meltdown free Christmas (well almost)! (aspergersinfo.wordpress.com)
• What Lack Of Sleep Can Do (teeceecounsel.wordpress.com)

Ignorance is bliss

It’s heartbreaking yet somehow comforting knowing there are other families facing the same battles.

I love that this blog has created a place to bring these families together.

Sometimes, despite our family & friends we feel so isolated.

Surrounding yourself with those that relate…

Is comforting & fills us with the strength needed to carry on with the daily …

battles the system brings!

I’ve heard so many horror stories from parents who in some way or another have been dragged through a system that leaves them both physically and mentally exhausted. Many will tell you, “It’s not their child’s condition that takes them to the edge… But the length’s they have to go to get that condition recognised and provided for!”  Most will come out stronger for it… what choice do they have? These are our children and we only want what’s best for them! Every child deserves an education, an understanding environment, a chance to succeed & be valued for the person they are.

Today’s post is not written by myself but from a dedicated reader who I’m so pleased contacted me to share her journey. In so many ways I related to her story, like I’m guessing many well… Helen is a single mother of three. Her eight year old son Max has a diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome and ADHD… She talks of her challenge to gain his diagnosis and have him educated alongside his peers. Though Helen has been fighting this battle for a few years she still has some way to go… Here she tells us why…

I am a single mum with 3 great kids Lydia 11, Imogen 10 and Max 8 and a half. I’ve been bringing up the kids by myself since Max was 9 months old. I suppose I’ve always known Max was different but things started to go wrong when he started school. I’d already expressed my concern to his reception teacher before he started but this fell on deaf ears and they wouldn’t even consider a statement even though his pre-school teacher had already recommended one. To cut a long story short,  every time I picked him up from school I’d be taken to one side by his teacher with a look of horror on her face and asked to explain his behaviour which of course, I couldn’t do as I’m not a child physiologist. I couldn’t understand why they seemed so shocked and surprised as I had already stated that I thought there was a problem but still they wouldn’t request a statement and I felt they were laying the blame on my parenting skills. The pressure became too much and soon i was overwhelmed. i was already being treated for depression(postnatal after Max was born and after the breakdown of my relationship) eventually i had a complete nervous break down and the children went to live with my parents for a few months while i recovered. they went to a brilliant school while staying with my parents and Max’s teacher was sure that he was on the autistic spectrum. When the children returned to me and back to our local school Max was referred to the schools pediatrician who diagnosed him with DAMP. Things still didn’t improve and by this time he was regularly being excluded. He was seen by the ED physic and she very helpfully suggested that Max’s issues were down to him not feeling he had  control in his home life(he was 6 at the time) and that mother was known to have mental health issues! Thank you! Although we’d had our problems, the children have a very stable upbringing and the girls were model pupils with no issues at all, in fact they were excelling and still are! At every meeting (and there were loads)! Some teacher/armature physiologist would suggest that Max was emotionally disturbed so I went to my GP and told him that if my son was going to be labelled emotionally disturbed then I would want a qualified physiologist to tell me so and offer him and me( as they were so convinced it was my fault) some support. I asked for a referral to CAMHS but was told it was a school issue! This went on for years with endless pointless meetings and bad advice and opinions from people who had not even met Max. In the end it took me to break down in tears with snot everywhere after being summoned to the school again when max punched the head mistress in the face(and by this point, can’t say I blame him)! And beg them for help. He was finally referred to CAMHS and diagnosed with aspergers (heavily affected apparently) and ADHD. Just after this another expulsion and after that I was expected to take Max to school at 9, pick him up at 10.30 take him home, take him back at 1 and pick him up again at 2.30. After the ADHD diagnoses I felt the pressure from the school to medicate Max and he was prescribed Ritalin. I was very uneasy about this and it worried me that the school seemed so keen. It may have made a slight difference in his concentration but I saw little evidence of this, it did however decrease his appetite and have him bouncing off the walls at night. Max has major food issues probably due to his amazing sense of smell and it’s a real struggle to get him to eat at the best of times and I probably don’t need to tell you about sleep issues! All I know is that the Ritalin made his senses and anxiety go into overdrive and was making him ill so after long discussions with the GP and CAMHS  took him off. This was frowned upon by the school and he was excluded that day. I went back to CAMHS and agreed to give another drug a go. Straterra. he took it for the first time on Thursday which was also his first day back in school after me keeping him off for a week because of the latest exclusion. While I was in the heads office discussing the new arrangements a TA came in and told us Max was being disruptive and seemed very tired and was told to take him home for a rest. He was up most of the night the night before because he didn’t want to go back so took him home and laid with him in my bed to try to get him to get to sleep. He suddenly started pointing at mid-air and asking me what was going on because he was seeing flashes of colours! I immediately referred to the literature that was given to me about the drugs but couldn’t see anything about it in there so I looked at the leaflet that came with the drugs in the packet. CAN CAUSE HALLUCINOGENIC EPISODES AND PSYCHOSIS!! I phoned CAMHS and was told not to worry and keep going and told the school about it and they dismissed it and said it would take time to get used to the drug. OH! That’s Ok then! When I took him back this afternoon he started seeing colours again and seems very lethargic and this is frightening him. He describes them as scary /pretty colours. Again the school are not at all bothered. Is it me?? Am I losing the plot to be concerned about this? Does it make me an over protective and neurotic mother to be worried that I might be giving my otherwise healthy child a drug that could make him mentally ill instead of a drug that made him physically ill just so he fits in with societies rules and makes their job easier? Nothing makes sense to me anymore, maybe I’m the one that’s ill! His statement was still 5 months away at this point and by this time I’d found your blog(a god send by the way) this helped me to realise that the statement would probably come back and bite me in the arse anyway so I told the school that I was very unhappy with the way things were going and was concerned about his lack of education so I wasn’t sending him back. On top of all this, I’d been offered a place on an early bird+ course arranged by CAMHS and specialist teaching but was told by the head the day before that I wouldn’t be able to go because they didn’t want Max in school for a whole morning. I was devastated. I desperately need to meet other families like us and need to learn as much as I could. Thankfully early birds have offered me a place in the summer and recommended a book by Tony Atwood which I’m reading at the moment. A meeting was called at the school last Monday where they persuaded me to hang on until the statement comes through and have promised to arrange to have Max until 11.30 and then for me to home educate in the afternoons. I suspect they were given a bollocking by the specialist teaching service for not supporting me. Ok, I’ll give it a go, but I’m not convinced. He didn’t even make through the doors this morning before I was asked to take him home and bring him back at 1.

My issues are that they have treated me like I am the worst parent in the world for long enough. I have done everything that has been asked of me and it’s them that keep moving the goal posts. I’m sick of being patronised by them and it really annoys me that suddenly everyone’s an expert on aspergers ADHD and Ritalin when they clearly haven’t got a clue. They keep telling me that they have never had a child in school like Max and refuse to believe that I do not have the same problems at home. Max is a funny, loving, good-looking (he gets that from me) charming little boy with a brain the size of a planet and he deserves much more than this. He’s being treated like an outcast! How the hell is he gonna come out of this with any sense of self-worth or prospects? Fast coming to the end of my tether and don’t know where to turn next. They treat me like I’m stupid and incapable of making informed decisions. Max has been badly let down by the system because they were too busy judging me! I am beginning to realise that we are at the beginning of a very long and exhausting journey and we will have to fight for everything. I feel very alone and isolated especially with the school timings, I feel like I’m under house arrest! Trying to take one day at a time at the moment but I lie awake at night worrying about the future. At the moment I think Max is shielded by his aspergers, he doesn’t seem to notice or care of other people’s reaction to him. I’m sure this will change in the near future as he gets older. Friends with kids have moved away from us and friends without kids just don’t get it and just see him as a naughty boy. Basically we keep ourselves to ourselves now and pretty much don’t see anyone. I couldn’t be more proud of Max, he’s such a brilliant kid! Him being diagnosed with aspergers came as a huge relief but it has also broken my heart as I’m sure you will understand. Another, unexpected twist has come of this as well. The more I learn about this condition, the more I am convinced that I have it as-well. Not to the same degree as Max but it explains a lot about my life. I have always felt like I’m on the outside looking in. I have always wanted to fit in but never quite managed it. Now that I’m older this doesn’t bother me as much. I find most people superficial and selfish. I’m quite happy in my own company and quite often go out by myself and just people watch. Even when I’m surrounded by people I still feel alone. It has never occurred to me before because even though at times I can be quite reclusive when I’m out and about I have a whole other person and I’m very charismatic (or so I’ve been told) and out going. It appears on the outside that I’m quite confident and comfortable in my own skin but actually I have a very low self-esteem. I read that aspergers can be more difficult to spot in girls because they are more able to hide it. It’s slowly dawning on me that I cope with some social situations logically because I don’t seem to understand the rules. I’ve spoken to my parents who are also learning all they can about aspergers and they are beginning to think the same. I reckon it has come from my dad’s side of the family. Not sure if I should push for a diagnoses or not as it’s probably too late anyway but it might help me understand some of my demons.

I’ve decided I’ll hang on till the statement comes through but unless he is offered a place in a school that welcomes him and understands him I’m pulling him out and home educating. There has to be a place for him somewhere and any where is better than this.

By Helen (Mum to Max)

“Hidden”

A few weeks back I came across an article in the Guardian… Unruly pupils ‘hidden’ from Ofsted inspectors!

Was I surprised? This isn’t news! Well at least not to those parent’s of the “unruly child”

Headteachers are employing an arsenal of tricks to keep naughty pupils hidden from inspectors, MPs were told today.

Unruly children may be temporarily suspended before Ofsted teams arrive, or supply teachers brought in to cover “terrible” classes of disruptive pupils because inspectors are known to be unlikely to observe those lessons, the education select committee heard. As a result, witnesses claimed, inspectors underestimate the extent of bad behaviour. The Guardian 18,11,2010

I should count myself lucky as my son wasn’t part of the statistic… despite his constant exclusions and isolation! There was one occasion I thought little man had been excluded for the benefit of gaining that oh so great report! However it turned out to be normal everyday inspectors… Well that makes it Ok then!

Well this hit the headlines on the 18th November 2010, and at that time as mentioned above Little man had not yet been “hidden” But how things were about to change! On the 23rd November, just a few days after commenting on the article I received a letter…. Ofsted were coming to the little dudes school on the 26th and 27th of November.

I just knew, from the moment I saw that letter that my son would have yet another crawl exclusion or sprint in isolation.. Like some kind of caged animal. Little man had only just returned to the classroom in the afternoons and back into school on a full-time basis while awaiting the decision on a statement of Sen and a placement in an “autism specific school”

Monday when I had collected him from school he wasn’t waiting in the office as I was told he would be. Instead he was in the hall hiding under PE equipment. He had hidden there purely because he wished to finish school at the same time as his peers. Not aware of the time due to him leaving his watch indoors, he had got in his hiding place far to early, meaning he was sat down there for sometime all in an attempt to stay with his class that extra ten minutes.

Tuesday we visited Camhs. It was near on impossible to have a conversation with the Dr, Little mans anxiety levels were scoring and it was heart breaking to see him so distressed. However he went to school that afternoon and joined his all time favourite lesson… French! He seems to have a bit of a thing for the French teacher bless him. That afternoon he didn’t need to hide. He stayed till the end and left the classroom side by side with his peers. Little man had a smile so big it lit his face and in his hand he held a plastic trophy and a small packet of sweets, prizes he had won from the teacher.

Wednesday again little man wasn’t in the office but in his classroom. The bell had not yet gone so I walked down to his classroom and waited outside alongside the other parents. Did they even know who I was? It had felt like forever since I stood amongst them all. Lucky for me I knew one or two so chatted in till the bell went. I noticed that the teacher wasn’t somebody I had met before, but a supply teacher. I worried that maybe things hadn’t gone well, so went in for the kill and asked her outright. I was told that all though she had not been in the class the whole afternoon, he was Ok… Just a little swearing. While speaking to his friends (Partner in crime) father, his class teacher appeared. After telling little man that he was still recording his behaviour (little man was becoming impatient with waiting and was banging the back of his foot against the wall) I asked about his behaviour and was told that it was not perfect… However most of the afternoon that he was there it wasn’t to bad and he had even produced four pages of work. I’ve been told he isn’t on the gold card system anymore yet the teacher pointed out that little man had turned his card but not to red 🙂

When leaving the school with little man’s partner in crime and his father, before waving good-bye I said to his father that I could see one-off our boys, or even both of them being pulled from the class tomorrow.

With that I went home and emailed a few people stating my concerns about the Ofsted visit and how my gut was telling me little man was going to suffer.

6.45 pm having just finished a meal over at my mothers came the call I dreaded but whole heartedly expected. I was told that little man being in his class with his peers in the afternoons wasn’t working….. I was then told that the plan was to isolate him for the whole school day! Of course I wasn’t shocked but to say it was to do with the behaviour he was demonstrating in class was a joke!

The anger and sadness I felt was so intense! For once why couldn’t they have proven me wrong? Done the right thing by the child. The constant exclusions from school and trips/activities, the days spent isolated were too much. His transfer to a school that understands him and includes him could not come soon enough. Yes I will admit at that moment in time I hated the person on the other end of the phone. Yet hate is a strong word, looking at my child it was the right word…. I hated them so much for proving me right, for letting little man down as always and yes I still hate them now.

I wont go into details about what was and wasn’t said during that phone call. But what I will say is that in a roundabout way it was confirmed to me that my child’s presence in that class room would have an undesired effect on any inspection reports.

I’m not blasting the over all performance of the school, In my opinion there are a handful of teachers who are pleasant and teach to a high standard. Others simply don’t make the cut because when it comes to the educational and mental well-being of children such as little man, the ones who are seen as “different” from the children without Sen or a disability they just don’t care! Then their are the ones merely doing as they are instructed to by those above them.

Since this day my son has been staying at home or going into school half day (Just how they like it) His routine! What routine?

It’s the Christmas period and I have already mentioned in a recent phone call, if Little man is removed from Christmas activities then his staying at home. Im awaiting an appointment with the GP because when your child turns around and says, “Mum, it would have been better if I was never born” it’s clear that the school are having a huge impact on his self-esteem and chipping, flaking confidence.

Looking at little mans educational reports, it’s clear to see his school are more interested in the contents of this blog! If that is the case then how cold one must be to carry on this treatment towards my child. I will not stop writing this blog as it’s my escape and though his school have referred to it as some kind of “hate campaign” against them! It is not! Given little man received the treatment that every child deserves then they would read words of prise and gratitude. If this blog was about my daughter… A Girl Without Aspergers! It would be just that! Sadly it is not!

Our very own “school” trip

So this week myself and little man had our very own school trip.
Ever since all this horrible business of little man missing out on school trips started his confidence has been at an all time low.

“Ok it may not be a “real” school trip but it’s our school trip” and I had to do something to help repair his dramatically disappearing confidence, to make him feel better about himself & more confident in who he is! I’m not saying little man isn’t sometimes a bit of a handful when out & about, his no “angel” but then again what ten-year old boy is? He does have difficult times & always will when his out on school/family outings but a great deal of his difficulties are caused by anxiety, over excitement and more recently… Pure apprehension of what’s a head. It’s like he won’t allow himself to look forward to anything as his learnt how quick it can be taken away. On a recent trip to swimming (sadly only his second time attending since the new school year) he suggested we didn’t walk with the class as a way to avoid something going wrong resulting in him missing out! How crazy is that? Sadly things didn’t go well at swimming but that’s another post for another day,and one that’s to long and upsetting to report on just now.
So the point I’m trying to make is… All the above is directly connected with his Aspergers and let’s face it he was born that way he didn’t ask to have the condition so therefore he shouldn’t be treated as if he has himself to blamed every time something goes wrong. If little man is just being a ten-year old boy then I will be the first to put my hand up in agreement and have done when needed.

Well, to be honest I was quite excited about taking little man on a trip! it was only possible due to the fact his currently on half day schooling. So as this was the perfect opportunity we went for it.

So… wondering where it was we went? “No…. for once it wasn’t buses riding on the 450!” though that’s not far off! We actually visited London’s Covent Garden where you can find the all exciting Transport Museum. Not only was this ideal given that it was full to the rim with little mans interest, *buses* followed by tubes, trams & trains, but it was also very educational. The Museum does have learning facilities within the building and after a little conversation with a helpful member of staff on the Ins & outs of little mans situation he was shown into the learning lounge where he could use the IT software or read one of the many transport reference books. What made it even more great was the fact he did these things a long side children on a more “formal” school trip. He didn’t try to interact with these children but he didn’t abuse any off them either. I was grateful to that member of staff, he didn’t judge him and regardless of my shared information on the good and the sometimes challenging behaviour associated with his condition, he responded by stating “Everyone deserves a chance, and just because his not responded well before, who’s to say he won’t this time?” I stood thinking “Wow, people like you are like gold dust”

Well, Lucky for me my friend had come along on our “school trip” I was in need of some adult non bus based conversation and while little man did his stuff on the PC me and my friend grabbed a ten minute break (that turned out to be our only break of the day) Still I’m not complaining we did have a fantastic day, especially little man and that’s what we were there for, to give him something to enjoy! Of course there were times when little man was a little over excited, hyper or even frustrated (mainly because he wanted to be on the next item of transport before he had even left the one he was currently sat on) but through a collection of strategies we were able to successfully keep him on the right track. We did encounter a small episode towards the end off the day when leaving the Museum at closing time (yes we were there that long) but it could have been a whole lot worse. It was essential to spot any potential triggers and remove them or him before they had any undesirable effects. undoubtedly there is no need to explain why this is to any parent(s) of children on the spectrum, because they are likely to be the ones that “really” get it! But for those who don’t or just think they do….. Let’s just say.. if I hadn’t approached issues in this way the outcome would have been explosive!!!

I’m so…. pleased with the way our creation of a school trip planed out. After some essential planing that took place in the weeks leading up to the trip, these included little mans ideas and views on all aspects of the trip, a social story, countdown tick chat (visual aids), and journey planing (Little mans job, of course!) things went remarkable well.

And the fun didn’t end there! After the Transport Museum we went for dinner, followed by a short walk around the city, a fun-filled visit to Trocadero where we experienced the realisation of the 4D simulator and drove the bump a cars till I felt sick, finally hitting Starbucks for an espresso followed by a large skinny latte with cinnamon sprinkled on the froth  yummy.

After waving my friend off at Charing Cross station. Myself and the little dude boarded our train. We found a spot that just had the two seats (little man hates having to sit with all these “strange commuters” his words not mind!) and as I suddenly realised I was beat and was potentially asleep I felt his arms interlock around me, very tightly. Then came the kiss that he gentle placed on my forehead. “Thanks mum, I love you” came a voice… Wow getting kisses is like getting a night on the town (rare) “I Love you”, well they normally pop along when his done something wrong or wants something. This wasn’t the case today! And it felt so great that it wasn’t. Me and my little man were happy… really…really happy, and that my friends is priceless!

 

 

 

Flexible school plan

Sleep is becoming a distant memory. How we take it for granted when we have it, and fall apart when we don’t.

Yes, by reading the above statement it is clear that I didn’t get a great deal of sleep last night! I first had to deal with little man (despite the fact I was just about ready to drop).  By the time he had finally entered the land of nod, I was then wide awake! Its crazy how you go from tried to over tired, then suddenly wide awake! Well, I’m sure the second coffee didn’t much help!

To be honest once I did lie down, I couldn’t switch of! My head was giving me an array of problems, solutions, outcomes and what ifs to just about everything happening in our lives right now. I ended up grabbing a pen and paper and jotting stuff down. I was quite literally taking notes on my own thoughts. Looking at  what I wrote this afternoon, it’s clear I need to get some much needed stuff of my chest. So what better place then here. After all a lot has been happening this school year. Note we are still in the first school term, meaning this is all within a five week period! I suggest a cupper and a comfortable seat as this isn’t the shortest post I’ve ever written.

Latest exclusions

Judging by the last school year, I shouldn’t be at all surprised with the way this ones planning out!

Since Little man went back to school in September his received constant exclusions. These exclusions were imposed all within the same month and given one after the other. Two of these exclusions were given for a fixed term of two days, and the third being for a longer period of five days. However that five day exclusion was messy and after a refusal on my part to send little man to a pupil referral unit/specialist school for children with social, emotional behaviour problems, to avoid a permanent exclusion, we were left not knowing what was going to happen in terms of Little mans return to school  for a few more days and everything was a tad confusing. It had been a pretty tough week for the family as a whole. Exclusion was not having any kind of desired affect on little man! At least there was no evidence that it was! It’s in my opinion that by excluding a child a teacher sometimes unintentionally contributes to the child’s long term challenging behaviour. I like many parents & carers make the same statement.… When excluding the child the teacher may simply be giving them what it is they want, an escape! A child maybe struggling with work, tasks, social situations, or just simply doesn’t want to be in school (Getting back home to their “safe zone”) Other times a child may be far to excited, anxious or confused, leading them letting it all pour out in an inappropriate manner. Then there is them times the child is in self destruct mode and exclusion is the only option. Little man displays a range of emotions and reactions to exclusion. Sometimes it’s clear to see that he considers the outcome of his behaviour to be a benefit to him. He comes home to an environment that he feels much more relaxed in. Other times little man shows anger, upset and a great deal of resentment towards those directly involved in the exclusion process. Little man will often show this degree of upset when he can’t understand the reason surrounding his exclusion, disagreeing with the action taken against him, quite often indicating that he feels misunderstood, or what he has done was justified as their was a reason behind it. Example being someone did something first or someone wasn’t being fair to somebody he considers a friend. In these incidents it’s hard to establish what has gone on. It’s all well and good being informed in a letter, displaying a list of reasons stating why your child was excluded because…… But when you don’t know what triggered of the behaviours then how do you address them? Little man becomes inconsolable when his excluded on the days a school trip or activity are due to take place. Little man has often stated that the reason he can’t attend is because his different! This seems to unfortunately had a bad impact of his self-esteem. This is when the system upsets me most! To me this is like handing out double punishments and gives the child a feeling of low self-worth. It’s rare he participants in anything his class undertakes and this I can only describe as dehumanising. Punishing a child by not letting them attend a trip for behaviour that hasn’t yet occurred is damaging. How will the child ever learn from the behaviour ? Little man must have the mentality of , “Why bother? I wont be going anyway. After he missed his last school trip that involved a ride in a coach there and back (Reason he was so… excited) he told me he would never believe them again! That he will not let himself get excited till his there! How heart breaking it is to hear your ten year old say that. I understand the teachers did to considered the whole of the class. However I think it’s got to the stage where little man is considered a doomed case. I think on a few occasions certain children have slipped the odd “Ginger” comment in there, I have spoken to a parent of at least one child who calls him this. Yet I’ve never been informed. Little man don’t wait for no one to be around before off loading his string of abuse towards the person who upsets him, he just does. Ok he is pretty dam stereotyped and often says the wrong thing! But sometimes these things are said without true meaning. A new word being, “wasteman” after I asked what it meant he replied, “Mum it means a dust man, who collects rubbish” we had to explain what it meant. This is a word his heard within his school setting and now loves to use.

LEAs Agreement to undertake a statutory assessment

After sending an appeal to the tribunal (LEAs refusal to assess), and the prospect of meeting with the LEA (dispute/resolution service) and the school re-admitting  the Assess one! The LEA finally agreed to assess little mans special educational needs. Finally a move in the right direction! The LEA also agreed to contact our preferred specialist school for an emergency assessment place. Though one has not yet been made available, I still have hope. ( what else can you have?) I received a letter stating they are awaiting a response from the school (specialist school) and I have made an appointment to go see them myself (after a lengthy phone call, where I pleaded my case to a very understanding receptionist). I can’t fault the LEA (for once) as they are doing all the right things and have moved very quickly. Little man has already seen the LEAs educational physiologist, though this didn’t happened as planed as he was not allowed to be in his classroom setting which she could have done with observing. Still if it means avoiding a massive upset then so be it! I think things went well and she saw enough. Yesterday we attend a medical assessment which was somewhat exhausting given little mans excitement at the buildings electric windows and his constant need to operate them. I am in the process of writing my evidence that has to be submitted within the next few weeks! Anyone with any tips on this, I would be most grateful to hear them.  So…. For now I just hold bated breath that all will be Ok in the end .

Risk of permanent exclusion results in a flexible school plan

We were informed on the last exclusion that little man now faced the risk of a permanent exclusion. As I’ve briefly touched one above, we were offered the placement at a specialist school/PRU . Yet after careful consideration, two visits to the school (One with little man) and a home visiting I felt it to be unsuitable for little mans current level of need. The locked doors and security guard  gave an impression of a young offenders unit. Though It’s true to, “Never judge a book by its cover” but little man has a fear of locked doors and this accompanied by a list of other issues was to much to expect him to overcome. So I stood my ground and refused (Looking out for my sons emotional well-being as well as his educational one). We didn’t hear much after that! We had a phone call from the head stating the PRU was expecting him on Monday, which I corrected him on. With this we were left dangling for a few days in till I took him back and as a direct result of this action a meeting was held. There isn’t much point going into the detail of the meeting (for once it was a reasonable one) I just wanted things discussed and options and ideas shared. Well, finally a plan was emerging, I stated I was happy to be flexible if they could be too. I didn’t think the current situation was doing my little man any good and did I really want his self-esteem suffering anymore then needed? Of course not! So we discussed the option of part time school or home schooling with flexibility. The head wanted to speak with the LEA to make sure everything would be legal and above board and for once we were kinda in agreement with one another (I know, big achievement that one) That evening the school left me a voicemail that offered a part time solution to the current situation! Part time schooling for a period of two weeks. We would then have a meeting and if faced with the prospect of no managed move for the remainder of his assessment, we would then have to decided our next steps.

So with that very…… Long update (So sorry about that people), I will bid you good bye. And as always thanks for all the support

The good, the bad, and the dam right ugly!

This post is brought to you today bearing Mixed news, developments, and gratefulness.

Let me start with the good news!

Many of my readers and loyal followers will be aware of my struggles in obtaining a statutory assessment of Little man’s special educational needs. Well, after a refusal, pending appeal tribunal, school resubmitting the assess one, the prospect of hours of mediation with the LEA on the 13th of this month and a whole lot of stress! The Special educational needs panel have made the decision to make a statutory assessment. With this the LEA also informed me that they well contact our preferred specialist school to ask for an emergency assessment placement.

I’m not under any illusion that it’s all rosie from here on! This is just the first step and given how hard it was to obtain it, nothing can shock me. The decision a lone has taken 7 months from that first request that was refused. It’s extremely frustrating how back on the 1st March when I first requested an assessment Little man had only uncounted One exclusion, and now it’s more like ten! A great deal of stress, tears and constant worry for what? It’s a disgrace that your child needs to be seen as totally failing before anybody looks up and takes notice. What ever happened to early intervention and every child matters? We have all these rights when it comes to our child, but who has regard for them? Do they not realise that by letting it get “This bad” is like allowing our children to become “emotionally unhinged” If this is the process to obtaining an assessment, I’m dreading the decision to statement or the content that statement may contain.

However for now I’m just pleased we are a step closer and things are at least moving in the right direction. Little mans emotional needs are my main concern as without emotional well-being there is little point of anything else. I just hope all his needs are taken into account when decisions are made in relation to emergency placements.

So.. here comes the big fat bad news!

With everything good that happens, something totally lousy often follows. Of course we are a prime example of this. Little man went back to school on the 28th September after a fixed period exclusion of two days. However he had only just about got his foot under his desk when…

If you haven’t guessed it already then Why not? 🙂 Yep Little man was excluded once more for a fixed period of five days. So that’s three exclusions in around 11 days (Oh and that’s counting the weekends) However this exclusion comes with a twist! IT MAY WELL BE HIS LAST! Permanent exclusion is on the cards and to be honest I’m not at all shocked nor surprised. After all Little man + current educational setting = affliction and scandal.

So it would seem that after all these exclusions, school know see what I see! IT’S NOT WORKING! You would think that after something has been done two-three times max, and it’s having no positive effect, it’s a done deal. I’m so furious that it took this level of action to come to the same conclusion I did back in March. I’m not saying he should get away with anything and everything, but their have been so many incidents that have been a direct result of anxiety. Of course there has also been times my son has been naughty (He is 10 years old) but I feel even then some less extreme forms of punishment could be given. Even an exclusion that was unavoidable can’t have a desired affect. How can it when his excluded so often?

If I was asked a year ago if I could see this happening one day in the future, I would have answered “Yes I could” Ok maybe not right now maybe not in a months time but sometime in the future. Now some would ask how? How could I have guessed this would happen, when a year ago Little man’s school stated they had NO CONCERNS? I quote “He is very well behaved at school” I heard this a thousand times, and often I questioned myself.. Was it me? Why was he only showing challenging behaviour indoors? It was quite simple really! Little man spent so much time at home and not at school it was near on impossible for them to say otherwise. Lets face facts. So much time was spent judging me as a lazy ass parent who just didn’t fancy taking her child to school. I don’t think so, life wasn’t a picnic and sleepless night, refusal to get out off bed, get dressed and go to school was an exhausting experience (Nearly as exhausting as this one) As soon as he got the “routine” and he started to see school as something that he needed to do, something that wasn’t an option, he recognises that he had to attend and did. With this the school recognises that yes actually he can be challenging and with this comes a new pattern! Exclusion, reintegration, exclusion, reintegration………..

I should know more then anyone that yes, Little man can be a “handful”. But as his mother I also know that he can be interesting, clever, funny, polite and caring.

On his return to school that day I had already noted in his contact book that he was anxious. What with missing his trip and a serious incident that happen at home, he was like a ticking time bomb. The reintegration meeting had only been a few minutes in when problems began. He refused to sign the new behaviour contract as a new sanction was added. This sanction was to spend time out of class and In the office with the head teacher. I feel he explained his reasons in a reasonable manner, minus two swear words. He stated that he didn’t like being in his office due to past incidents like.. Having to tuck school shirt in or miss play and confusing statements made by the head. Some statements made by the head have caused little man distress as the head hasn’t adjusted his language as advised by specialist teachers who have assessed little man. He still uses metaphors and other complex terms that little man just don’t get. Little man has often taken things he has said literally  and he can ponder what his said for days on end trying to work out what it was he actually meant.

With little mans refusal to sign his behaviour contract and his odd use of a swear word, it was becoming clear that the head teacher considered calling it a day. However before doing so he told little man he was going to in-force the contract regardless of him not signing! Well, little man pretty much lost it then. He was close to tears and ripped up the contract and all the copies that he could find. This was contract number three and back when he first signed that very first contract he was made to believe that by doing so he was in control and was making decisions for himself which gave him some control and responsibility . He now felt betrayed, like the school were somehow breaking a law of some short. From then on things got worse and sadly he swore at the head telling him he was a F***ing Irish idiot (Not great I know) Yes it wasn’t on and he had over stepped the line but by in forcing the miss play time sanction then and there was pretty crazy. It was like pouring petrol on the five. I stood in tears as I watched Little man flying through the corridors hitting himself and the wall. I knew then I should take him home! I knew then he would face yet another exclusion. So as I took yet another one of those phone calls that evening. The ones I’ve come to know all to well recently! I just hung up and cried. I didn’t just cry for little man, I cried for every child like him and every parent like me. (And yes there are many families in the same position)

Over 75 per cent of children who are excluded have special educational needs (SEN) and exclusion rates for children in the middle band of special educational needs are 17 times higher for children without SEN. 27 per cent of children with autism have been excluded from school. Government figures out today show that children with SEN are over 8 times more likely to be excluded than those without SEN. (Sonia Sodha)

Surly these statistics highlight the sheer state of the system. Yet what is being done to change these figures? Not much from where I’m standing.

So now we have a new set of problems. Yes, the LEA will assess and No I have no idea when and where. I will attend a meeting with the Head teacher on Monday, so Lets just wait and see! after all what choice do I have 😦

Lastly a thank you.

Message to all my readers, loyal followers, new friends and old.

I cannot thank you all another for your care & support. I didn’t know the world was made up of so many caring people. I thank you for your comments, messages and your time. I’ve made some fantastic new friends and I discovered so much along the way.

The facebook page has turned into a raving success with almost 3000 members and growing by the day. I am so thankful to have found a wonderful admin team who like me have a passion to raise awareness. They have helped create a great, supportive page and for this and their great advice to me and others, I’m truly grateful. Thank you ladies 🙂

How could they be so heartless?

Hello all..

As most will already know (Some more than others!) This week hasn’t been a good one. Yes,It’s been a complete nightmare in fact.

It seems like it’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything positive. What can I say? Life isn’t always kind (More so the people in it!) I feel I’ve been pretty decent when choosing what to and what not to write in a post. There is a great deal of stuff I hold back, for a number of reasons. Yet those who read the blog often comment to express their outrage in the treatment little man has faced, and the hurdles we as a family have had to climb.

Yes, we have faced some trying times (More this year, then ever) but… this week just took the biscuit.

I’ve stated more than once my upset towards my sons exclusions. No mother wants this for their child! I touched upon my child’s battle to attend educational trips and activities, how his self-esteem is becoming crushed every time his considered to be a “liability” by those that don’t truly understand (Or chose not to.) As stated above! I’ve held back on the finer details on all these issues. I’ve done this for many reasons, one being the reaction and treatment I received from my child’s school in relation to past post. Now I’m pretty feed up with people making me feel crap for expressing myself, after all isn’t it my human right to speak? This blog is my place to let some tension out. I wont be made to feel wrong for doing so..

I love my son! He, like his brother and sister are my world. Their isn’t a thing in the world I wouldn’t do for them.. not one! Little man didn’t ask to be born with AS. He didn’t wake up one morning thinking, “I’m gonna act like a complete brat today” Yes he can be naughty, he is a nine-year old boy. But.. there are times that behaviour are results of his AS, you just need to know when! Little bad wasn’t always “challenging” at school, far from it in fact! Little man was more quite, and when he was there (Sometimes he would just refuse to go, no matter what I tried) he would often cope, letting it all out once home. This seems to be a common problem for many parents of children on the spectrum! Their child displays “odd” or “challenging” behaviour in one setting, but not the other. Sometimes I wished that was still the case. This proves that once little man had a good routine in terms of attending school, he became more challenging in the educational setting due to an array of things. Sensory, environmental, anxiety e.g. These are a few challenges little man and other children on the spectrum encounter daily. Little man has trouble dealing with these pressures. Little things become massive, voice tones become confusing and somewhat sarcastic or aggressive. There are triggers EVERYWHERE!

Little man was given Six fixed period exclusions from March to July last (school) year. This school year he has already bagged himself another two. Shocking seeming we are only just in September, the very first month of the current school year. I mentioned before that I consider some of his exclusions to be unjustified. The trips well yes, I feel he has been excluded from these in a way that can only be described as discriminating. No more is my child told he cannot take part in educational trips and activities, he is now just excluded on the days they take place! I feel totally powerless watching my son be rejected from one trip to another. I am outraged at the way the school have dealt with exclusion and how they have no regard for our privacy. The current situation is a total mess! I am appalled at a number of their recent actions. These actions are completely unacceptable! They highlight a great lack of respect for me, Little man and the family. I feel we are disliked! My child for the way he is and me for the way I advocate for him. I feel we are treated this way from those I should trust. There is no longer a part of me that trust them. This totally saddens me. I’ve tried working with everyone. It goes no where. It’s one big disappointment in every way.

Last week Little man was given a fixed period exclusion. He missed swimming due to this exclusion. He had been having a terrible week, to the point I had to keep him home one afternoon, and contact the education welfare officer. This was so I could express my concerns over a current problem he was having involving his sensory processing, and how others were not able to understand his genuine upset. I was advised to return him, but expressed my fear that in doing so may result in him getting into trouble due to his anxiety. I would rather he stayed home through a decision made by me then have yet another exclusion on our hands (One brought on my anxiety and frustration.) The next day Little man returned! Did I have a sick sense? Maybe! Yes, little man was excluded by the head teacher at 6pm via the telephone.

I hate that we are never notified of exclusions earlier, or better still on collection from school. Getting Little man into an evening/night time routine has been difficult and having them excluded him at these unreasonable hours is just not on. I feel that having to always inform him of his exclusion is unfair. It’s not great being the one to inform your child that they have been excluded, will not attend a trip or another educational activity. It’s never been an easy task, but never as hard as his current exclusion, the one he is currently serving.

I’m not referring to the above exclusion but the exclusion we were given on Wednesday evening at 6.20 pm. This was not a simple exclusion but an extremely hurtful one for little man. I knew it was coming due to something little man was told not five minutes before the call. (This is a whole other shocking incident, that I will not yet comment on) Shock and disbelieve hit me when I was told he would face yet another two-day exclusion. He had been back two full bloody days! Teachers training day was this Friday meaning day two of the exclusion would be Monday. This was the day Little man was to attend his trip (The big trip) the trip he had looked forward to. Why? Because he would be going on a coach! A few weeks back Little man had a massive meltdown in the supermarket. He didn’t sleep and was displaying challenging behaviour the entire night. There was no possible way both the children could attend school that next day. However I went to speak to Little mans class teacher. It was discovered that the teacher had left the class that afternoon telling the children to display good behaviour while he was away, or No Trip! They had no idea where they were going as of that time, yet little man was incredible excited. I was told by another Teacher (TA) that little man was becoming very upset as a peer was not doing the right thing! Little man thought this meant the whole class would miss the trip! I spoke to little man that evening and he explained that his class peer was not being very good and the whole class would miss the trip. I had to explain this wasn’t the case. Little man was pleased saying.. “No one will ruin this trip for me” He was double as excited on discovering the type of transport we would take (Yes I did say WE, and we means Mum! I would be their to.) He repetitively  asked each day how many more days were left to go. Now this has happened! I was expected to tell him. I was the one who had to hurt him. Maybe he knew deep down this would happen, maybe this is the reason he acted the way he did when his friend misbehaved.

Angry I was fuming..  1) This was even happening. 2) The way the exclusion was decided and when. 3) The fact I had to tell him. 4) Yet another trip missed. 5) This is a double punishment!

Little man cried till his eyes were sore. He spoke between catching his breath. He was broken. There was nothing I could say nor do to make it better! The whys kept coming, followed by “Please mum go and speak to them and ask them, Please) Its Saturday early morning and I am being completely honest when I say his still hurting.

How can they be so mean! I do not agree with this exclusion, it was done for reasons I don’t need to spell out. It was another knock to his self-esteem. This treatment is nothing other than horrid. Exclusions on trip days are a double blow. Not only will he feel he doesn’t fit in he feels he wasn’t wanted on the trip. Can you blame him? It’s not just the out of school activity he missed Thursday, Mondays trip, or last Fridays swimming! It’s all the other activities his been excluded from last year. It’s far to many. Please correct me but exclusion isn’t working so why use it? I wouldn’t mind but some weeks I find out his done something that to me is considered more serious. Then there are times like these! He is excluded for something far less serious resulting in him missing out on trips and activities. How does this system work? Forgive me I’m lost.

Lastly I want to say that yesterday my blog was given a good going over! Sadly for the wrong reasons. Maybe an update on exclusion number eight was sought after, or print outs were needed, who knows. I want to say that this blog is not written about anything other than my life with a boy with Aspergers. Sadly this is our life right now. This blog is aimed at others like me (Parents, carers or families parenting an AS child) It’s also their for those on the spectrum and anyone else wanting to learn more about how life can be with a child with AS. Some days are good and others not so great! But this is it.. Right now our life is a battle. I can’t stop it, no matter how hard  I’ve tried! Therefore whoever wishes to read this blog, then do so for what ever reasons. But those who do should understand that this is what is happening right now in our life. My son is already low in confidence and the above is not helping fix this. No aggressiveness or treats will be expressed within in this post, just pure tiredness and great upset at this horrible mess. The fact Little man now awaits an appointment with a specialist because he makes himself say sorry to god repetitively in his head or aloud, every time he acts a certain way, to avoid bad things happening is a worry and only highlights how bad things are becoming.

I hope the school have a fantastic trip without the disruptive little aspie, known as my son.  It wasn’t just a “Trip” for little man it was his chance for him to feel valued and build his self-esteem!

I just want to be “NORMAL” mum.

It breaks my heart when I see my son so broken. I feel that so much has happened so fast his cognitive and emotional state has suffered. His confidence is also hitting an all time low. Little man needs lots of assurance I look at him and see a ticking time bomb. At home he can seem just fine then something happens to knock him down and the bomb starts ticking again. No child should have to feel like they are not “Normal” nor should they have to try figure out what it is about them that contributes to them being excluded from everyday life. Does every Child still matter? Is inclusion just being pushed aside? Just because you can’t see autistic spectrum disorders don’t mean they are not there! Every time a child gets left behind so does a bit of their ever flaking confidence. I myself would find the guilt intolerable if I contributed this. The more acceptance and understanding from society the less a parent gets told by their child ‘I JUST WANT TO BE NORMAL MUM.’

What I want and need to say to my child

Little man…..

..From the moment I discovered you where there I knew you would be special with many gifts and talents to share. I couldn’t wait to hold you in my arms and meet the little boy I had created. I would spend hours a day thinking about you, what you looked like and the person you would become. You were about to make me a grown up. Yes, I was young at just 18 but I was determined to be the best possible mother to you in every way. I had already done so much so young and had not long returned from working and living in Greece. I had a fantastic time and if it wasn’t for your dad I may off just gone back. Just knowing something this amazing was taking place right inside of my tummy was a breath of fresh air. Your great nanny Peg had just left for heaven and I could not see a way through something so painful you gave me the strength to carry on. Its like Nan had left leaving a new beginning in place of the one we had just lost. You were already more than just an unborn child. I loved you from the moment I discovered I was carrying you. Already you had changed something inside me I felt stronger than ever, you made it Ok to smile again. I felt extremely lucky and still do.

Four days overdue on the 1st October 2000 you proved you liked things done differently when you decided that it was time to let the plug out the bath so to speak . Yes, as I waddled like an over weight penguin around the supermarket it really wasn’t exactly the best of timing. Little man your dad ran away with embarrassment as he was convinced mummy had peed in her pants. Needless to say I was more than grateful to be out of there and safely in the comfort of the delivery room. 6.05 pm without a sound you were born. YOU SOMEHOW DECIDED LABOUR WOULD BE A GREAT TIME TO CHILL OUT IN THERE!! SO WE REQUIRED A LITTLE HELP. I was stunned at just how relaxed you were. With lots of red hair weight of 7 lb. 1 oz and a who the hell are you? Expression on your face you were handed to me and I held you for the very first time. You looked at me as if you knew all about me I remember thinking wow I’m now responsible for this little person! That and Wow where did you get all that red hair from? It was then I promised you I would always keep you safe and never let anything happen to you.

It’s rather comical! As I write this you laid stretched out on my bed. Your legs are so long your feet almost reach the end of the bed. It’s been another long night and when you eventually fell asleep on my bed at 3 am why sitting up discussing 194 bus doors I thought it was probably best leaving you there. Thing is you’re not that little 7 lb. baby anymore your almost ten years old. At first glance most would say you’re an average ten-year old but get to know you things will undoubtedly change. Average you certainly are not. You are so much more than that. YOU’RE MY INCREDIBLY CLEVER, TALENTED TEN YEAR OLD WHO CAN TELL YOU THE ROUTE OF ANY LONDON BUS. I’m so proud of you and I say all the above because its true and I hope that despite everything and everyone you know that! Now and always. Little man be proud of who you are the people who care will like you regardless of how you speak, what you wear, or how intelligent you are. Don’t fall behind in school to fit in, dumbing yourself down is heartrending. Express your interest without fear and those that are not understanding can just disappear. Show what your good at poems & numbers. If something hurts or isn’t right don’t run away its Ok to ask for help. Be proud of yourself because you are special. Don’t ever feel ashamed, those that don’t like it can ultimately lump it.

At the same time try to be considerate to others feelings counting to ten before saying something that maybe true but hurtful too. If your anxious walk away and find somewhere quite but safe. Please don’t hit others or yourself 😦 If you’re feeling like you’re not coping or you feel upset please tell me somehow something is wrong.

When you came home from school and said you wanted to be normal I didn’t know what to say. I know I should have responded straight away and I’m sorry I didn’t. This was only because I was upset that things were getting so bad for you I hope that I explained it to you in a way that made sense for you. It was as if I somehow felt I had failed you by not protecting you like I promised. But the truth is I can never protect you from life. Sadly life is often difficult but then when its good it’s fantastic. As for wanting to be Normal nobody is “Normal” Who came up with the term and who are they to suggest what is and isn’t “Normal” we are all individuals with a certain degree of uniqueness. If we were all the same life would be boring. The only difference for your uniqueness is yours has a name and like I’ve said before that name isn’t silly nor is it a name that defines you. Aspergers don’t make you who you are you make Aspergers what it is.

WHAT IS IT?………..

………..IT’S JUST A BOY LIKE EVERY OTHER BOY BUT WITH A LITTLE EXTRA MAGIC.

Its ignorance that’s shameful not you, not Asperger’s! I won’t lie the probability that in life you will sometimes feel you are excluded from society is almost a certainty. But never think this is because you are not “Normal” never sit and ask yourself why! It’s societies lost. One day they will wish that they had taken the opportunity to embrace and learn about The boy with Aspergers but by then it’s to late because his now the man with Aspergers who never looked back.

I love you so much little man and through I know you find things stressful and can get angry or aggressive I know a lot of the time your anxiety levels are just to high. I’m so proud of you for giving it your all and trying to reduce certain behaviours at home. Your aggressive behaviour towards your sister is improving and that’s all down to you. I hope that in time things improve at school and everyone gets to see you for the bright star you are.