Mum, I want to design Aeroplanes

“So, I received a call today from your teacher!”

Moments silence

Then….

“Whats the point mum” Mumbled the little man in a somewhat miserable tone!

“Excuse me” I replied “You haven’t even heard what I have to say yet”.

“But I know mum, I know I’m in trouble” he replied.

“You’re not in trouble, I’m just disappointed that you’re not showing your full potential, what when things were going so well!”

He said nothing, just stared at his feet.

“You’re refusing to engage in your work, you’re falling behind and this year you will be going to secondary school”

“But I don’t want to go there” he shouted as he made his escape out the door and up the stairs to retreat to his sanctuary.

I knew better than to set chase and bombard him with a thousand and one questions, this would only induce a meltdown! Instead I sat head in hands totally lost at what it was I was meant to do next.

Time lapsed, I heard footsteps on the stairs. The little man emerged with a look of seriousness plastered across his face.

“Mum… I’ve messed up to much already to do well now!”

Whatever did he mean I thought to myself!

“How?” I asked

“It’s too late mum, I messed up my education in my old school, I can’t get them years of learning back”

“You’re way to clever, you know that” I encouraged.

“You have 6 more years to make it right, before your GCSE”

He shook his head, proceeded to tell me that I didn’t understand.

I needed to get to the shops before they closed, Little man came too and the conversation continued as we walked around the store…

“How will I start my own business?” he asked inquisitively!

“I want to design and own hotels! I want to design Aeroplanes, how will any of the stuff I learn at school help me achieve this mum?”

“It’s never going to happen” he shouted aloud!

“We all have to learn things that don’t exactly apply to the occupation that we have chosen to pursue as a career. That’s just the way life is” I explained.

“Anyhow, you may feel that something has no direct relation to the occupation you have chosen but often it does” I assured him.

“example… Mummy wants to work in education law but to do so fully, I will need a law degree! This will require me to learn criminal law despite the fact I will not really need it for the work I want to do!”

Little man looked somewhat appalled, shaking his head he said aloud but to himself…

“What a total waste of time”

Technically I couldn’t have agreed more with the little man, but this was beside the point. We all need to learn things even if we feel we don’t need to! Explaining this to a child is hard in itself but to explain this to an 11 year old boy with Aspergers syndrome, who thinks in completely black and white terms was proving a bit of a challenge.

“Why did you tell my teacher about my business idea?”

“Because it’s a good one” I repiled.

I just wanted to help your teacher to inspire you to work by creating a project that you are interested in contributing to.

“But I felt silly” he replied lowering his head.

“Why?” I asked

“Because other children ain’t like me, even those with Aspergers” he snapped.

By now we’re at the checkout, I’m aware that others can fully hear this difficult conversation we’re having.

I try to reassure the little man.

He then proceeds to inform me that his teacher told him that my conversation had inspired him to change his lesson plan for IT.

I ask the Little man if this is a bad thing?

He tells me it is not but he is a little confused as to how this is in anyway inspiring?

“Now Richard Branson, that’s inspiring” He tells me in no uncertain terms.

The woman behind me is loading her shopping onto the belt, she’s very aware of the conversation (Little man isn’t the quietest of speakers you know). She smiles looks right at the little man and tells him that maybe one day he’ll be inspiring too!

The Little Man’s response was to tell her that he will never be inspiring. The lady tells him that tomorrow he should go into school and surprise his teacher with his cleverness.

I smile at the sweet woman for her lovely words of encouragement as we leave the store and head across the road back home.

“So, will you try tomorrow?” I asked enthusiastically.

“Maybe?” He repiled with a shrug.

“And I don’t want you to swear, you hear me”?

“I’ll try” he replies

So, there it was a little progress, or so I thought. Then today I discover a voicemail from his teacher expressing the same concerns from the day previous. This time though, his not only refusing to participate in any work but is totally misbehaving too.

Now I know things go much deeper, his past experiences of mainstream have left him with very little self confidence, this will take longer to rebuild then first expected. His also got the upheaval of secondary school to come. I know this doesn’t require him to change school, we’re lucky enough that his independent special school will educate him up In-till his 16 years old. This is still a very scary experience for the Little man.

It will often takes my son a great deal of time to trust adults/teachers, especially since mainstream, but once you have gained this trust and built a relationship with the little man he relies upon it a great deal. He has now built such a relationship with his class teacher and knowing he will be leaving this teacher come July has really hit home for the Little man.

With the LEA still not responding which makes his annual review well over due, his head teacher is getting on the case to get things sorted! I only hope he makes improvements sooner than later.

I just want him to smile and start believing in himself.

Dreams can become reality and I know my son has the capability to build hotels, aeroplanes and anything else he desires. I just wish he knew this too!

Aspergers – Worrying what the future holds

When you mention that your child has Aspergers Syndrome, most that have some understanding of the syndrome, just think the characteristics are a lacking in social interaction skills, literal understanding, or an intense special interest. There is so much more to Aspergers then this! One of the main difficulties for Little man is learning independence skills, the most basic everyday things that a “typical” child masters in the early years of life, such as tying their own shoe laces, Little man is only just beginning to do at the age of 11 years.

We have always struggled when it comes to daily hygiene, basic teeth brushing and hand washing are a few amongst the list of difficulties Little man has. This is due to a combination of factors such as, sensory sensitivity (which is defiantly the case for brushing his teeth, and reluctance in letting me cut his nails) to lacking the basic skills needed to do what you or I can only describe as the most basic of tasks.

The hard thing for us as a family is the fact Little man is more than aware that these are skills he should have mastered by now and yes it make him very anxious and upset.
It’s not that he doesn’t want to wash his face & hands, like I have said this is just a basic skill his lacking, which is why we use visual aids in the bathroom. Little man just needs a visual reminder to remind him of the order in which certain things need to be done!

So, here’s my worry… shouldn’t Little man have mastered the order of play by now, not be relying on visual direction as much? This is something he cannot be doing as an adult and as we reach the years of puberty (oh god I’m dreading these) this will become an even bigger and more needed skill that he must acquire.

When Little man was much younger, even though we struggled to obtain a diagnosis, then a statement of sen… things such as these were much easier to cope with! Now my Little man is growing fast, before I know it he will be 16, what then?

Like any mother, I only want the best for my child! I want him to grow up, get a job, a wife, have a family of his own! I’m not stating he can’t do these things, I know he can! What I need to do is step back and help him to help himself!

It sounds harsh, yes, I know! But he is my son and I love him! I am guilty of doing what many mothers of children on the spectrum do… helping him that little bit too much! If Little man finds something hard to cope with, it’s easier for me to remove the source of the problem, yet in the long run how will this help him? I’m not just talking about hygiene now… I’m talking about everything, from sensory overload, when we take a visit to the supermarket or fighting with his sister (there is only so many times you can remove a child from the situation after all)!

Yes, such issues are true struggles for my child, however it must get to that stage where in order to help my child cope with the things he finds most difficult I need to slowly introduce new techniques to help him acquire better skills for his future, I’m gonna have to start now… before my child is relying on his mum, come age 21!

I just wish these things were easier… that’s all!

Related articles

• Aspergers and Speech (eoghann.com)
• Understanding The Diagnostics Of Autism And Aspergers Syndrome (aspergersinfo.wordpress.com)
• Special Edition – Aspergers (education.com)
• Orchard Toys Sponsors A Boy With Aspergers For BritMums Live 2012 (aspergersinfo.wordpress.com)

The day my boy got his smile back.

I sat in the school hall watching the school nativity all the children in each year combine to create one marvellous Christmas spectacle! So, why was I sat with a tear in my eye? My daughter looked so beautiful up there, and god I was proud, off course I was! Though this wasn’t a tear of joy, something was still missing and that something was my son! As I watched his sister and the rest of the schools over excited children take part in a glowing performance,my eldest child, ‘Little man’ was sat at home, restricted from all participation! Why? Well, he hadn’t injured himself, he wasn’t hit by a sudden dose of stage fright, he was told No! Why? Because his school thought of him as a liability not a child, not a child with feelings, not a child at all!

There were lots of why’s! Some coming from myself directed at a head teacher and a SENCO who quite honestly didn’t give a shit! The why’s from Little man directed at myself, a mother without the heart to be truthful! Yet deep down he knew, I know he did!

You may have the word why running through your mind right now as you read this! You maybe asking, “Why I’m even writing this?”

Yes, the above situation wasn’t yesterday, it was just one of many crawl blows thrown at my child at the end of last year. The example above took place in December 2010.

Now, I know I shouldn’t dwell on the past, and I’m not (well, not really). It’s hard to forget and I doubt we ever will, though the reason it was actually brought to the front of my mind was for reasons of happiness and excitement, not sadness.

Yes, now in 2011 and finally in a school that understands him, I finally got to see my little man take part in a whole school activity.

This time as I entered my son’s school there was no stares or whispers. I spoke with fellow parents unworried about their response when they would discover who my child was. This is a feeling I’ve waited and waited for, now I finally have it!

It was the celebration of the harvest festival and parents were invited into school for a special assembly. Gosh I was excited, despite the fact I had literally had not a wink of sleep. With this in mind I headed off upstairs to chill for a bit. Little H was with his father so that left me a bit of mummy time. Running the hot water into the bath tube the air was filled with the scent of Radox relaxing bath salts, “This is the life” I thought as I slowly lowered a leg in the tub!

Ring… ring… ring… “Bloody typical” I shouted to myself aloud as I almost slipped and broke my neck as I frantically dashed for my mobile located on my bedside table.

“Hello” I spouted in a somewhat breathless tone (which couldn’t of sounded great) especially on discovering it was in-fact Little mans school who thankfully put me at ease instantly by stated “Don’t worry, there is nothing to worry about” Turns out the Little man has actually left his lunch at home, well, that or in his transport (the taxi he takes to school of a morning) His school don’t currently serve school dinners. This is mainly due to how new the school is and the fact there really is little point employing staff and serving food for under 20 kids (not like the little man will agree to eat it any how).

This only meant one thing! Mum would have to deliver that lunch asap! First I had to unearth it, I couldn’t actually recall seeing it since he left at 8.30 am that morning. I searched the house like a mad woman and at 11.50 and the school being some distance away (one train and a bus kind of distance) I began to worry when I still couldn’t find it! It wasn’t a case of just throw together another one, believe it or not I buy the stuff fresh each morning in some kind of hope he will eat it, so in-order to do so I’d need a shop!

As I darted out the door, on the mission for lunch something caught my eye! Surely not? Hang on…. No,… It only bloody is! There sat his Chelsea FC lunch box on top of the wheely bin. Well, I agree it’s not the most pleasant place to keep your lunch but with the clock ticking, I came to the conclusion, “It wasn’t actually in the bin! Would he actually need to know?” I guess not!

I finally made it to the school, red-faced and paranoid that I didn’t smell like the aroma of Radox bath salts, and more like a sweating scum-bag but given the fact no one smiled and moved away, I came to the conclusion it was my lack of sleep making me think this way (after all, it’s not like I hadn’t washed or something)!

The assembly wouldn’t start till 1.30 and it was half past midday and without a car and feeling like I was in the middle off nowhere I went outside sat on what was quite a pleasant little bench, indulged in my nasty but pleasurable habit of puffing a cigarette while scrolling trough my twitter timeline, engaging in far to many conversations to remain sane before going back inside to find my little man waiting for me in the reception-area.

“Mum, I’m not having a great day” he told me! Apparently no one was! The teacher described it as one of those days where the children all seem to be experiencing some kind of upset. Let’s not forget these children all have an autism spectrum condition, all face a range of difficulties and the smallest things can cause problems. Chatting with my little man it would seem he was excited yet a little nervous about his piece that he had offered to read in the assembly. My little man wanted to do the reading and was adamant. We read it together and he read it perfect! Confidence was the issue here something that had become smashed over the years.

As Little man went off to get ready I got to say hello to the very lovely Anna Kennedy. For those of you who don’t know who Ann is, I’ll enlighten you!

Anna isn’t only the founder of little mans independent special school for children with autism and aspergers, she’s also a parent of two children on the spectrum who felt her only option left to get her boys into a school was to open one herself. This wasn’t little man’s current school but another called ‘Hillingdon Manor’ in Middlesex and this all happened back in the nineties. Baston house (Little man’s school) is a school that Anna has open more recently. Anna has since established a bit of a name for herself as an inspirational advocate for autism and is also now a very successful business woman. I for one agree that Anna is inspirational, actually she’s a breath of fresh air to the autism community and I couldn’t be happier to have my child in a school that has been made possible by this very woman. My guess is many parents feel this gratefulness that I am currently feeling as I write this down.

Having spoken to Anna for some time (way before little man started school) on networks such as twitter and facebook (Little man also appeared on a news report on bullying that Anna organised) it was lovely to finally meet her in person.

As I sat In the hall waiting for the children’s performance I felt proud that my son was a part of it all. He ran around and his anxiety was a tad increased, plus the fact I was there meant he become a little bit of a terror, but so did a few of the children. What was magical was the fact no one made an issue about it, if the children ran from their chairs or dashed off behind the stage curtains they were encouraged to come back to their seats in a clam and unthreatening manner. Not one teacher raised their voice, not one!

The vicar from the local church came to speak about the occassion in which the children were celebrating. The table was covered in food that the children had donated. I had to laugh when the vicar stated, “Look at all this lovely food you all brought” only for one young man to shout out, “Actually, I brought in most of it” What a classic!

The vicar told a story to symbolise what the true meaning was of the Harvest festival and the children did shout out some pretty random things (little man more than anyone else, I think) Any other school he would have been reprimanded for such behaviour! They all put up their hands but just could not retain the urge to state what it was they wanted to say, this however was fine!

When it came to the reading Little man and a few others gathered at the stage. All giggled and in turn each took the microphone and read aloud (beautifully I must add)! Little man was last and as he took the mic he said one word and then froze. He turned to his TA and stated “I can’t do it, please do it” I knew he could read it, after all I heard him not half an hour before when we practised. My son hadn’t ever been given such a chance till now and his confidence just wasn’t there! Then something beautiful happened! Two of the staff, including his teaching assistant (who he is most keen on) and the other boys who had previously read came together with little man and read the poem with him. There was no laughing at him, no nasty remarks and no huff from the teacher, just pure encouragement!

I didn’t only write this post to express my delight at the situation we are now in, and although I wanted to share such delight with you all, I have another more important reason!

“When life seems like it cannot get much worse and you’re in the height of your long fought out battle to get your child what they did! When you think there really is no light at the end of that very long tunnel, please don’t give up, just remember this post!”

Those of you that take your child to school everyday and collect them without a hiccup, you should never take such straightforwardness for granted… You really don’t know how lucky you are!

Thank you to everyone at Baston house for giving me hope and giving my child back his smile, the greatest gift of all.

Related articles

• Teaching Teachers About Autism (psychologytoday.com)
• Autism Reality Check: Huffington Post Now Misrepresents Autism Disorders (autisminnb.blogspot.com)
• Where’s the support for autistic young people? (guardian.co.uk)

How to approach 5 of the most common difficulties that occur for children on the autism spectrum

How to approach 5 of the most common difficulties that may occur for children on the autism spectrum.

(1) Sleepless nights: Who ever said it was babies that caused you sleepless nights? Whoever you were you lied. Its well documented that children on the autism spectrum have difficulty establishing a bedtime routine, getting to sleep or waking during the small hours.

Now, I don’t have all the answers here, how could I possibly when my child is still awake now at 2.43am! However I have tried things that have had an effect but sadly not for long. Don’t panic every child is different and not every child on the spectrum will have difficulty sleeping. Here’s some tips that have worked for us short term but for others they never stop working.

For those that have difficulty establishing a bedtime routine, consider making a schedule. These can be brought but tend to be costly and can be easy made with some paper, a laminator, some Velcro, brightly coloured pens and some stickers for decorating (I will upload an additional how to post to demonstrate how to do this in the near feature)

The schedule will contain a set of personalised images, e.g… a bed, toothbrush, story book etc… Keep all images in a little pockets attached to the schedule and the child can stick each image on the schedule (with the help of the Velcro) as and when each action is carried out. Many children with autism adapt and even enjoy this independence they just find it hard to do things in sequence without visual prompts. Rember schedules are great for all children with or without autism.

For the Child that can’t settle try story tapes the tone and gentleness of the story teller could well send them off to the land of dreams.

Sensory reasons may restrict your child’s sleep. Weighted blankets, sensory lighting, sleeping away from a window all may help.

Reduce the amount of food and drink your child has one hour or more before bed. Make sure they use the toilet as this combined may avoid your child waking in the night.

(2) Meltdowns: No, these are not the same as tantrums and yes there is normally a reason behind them whether its anxiety, sensory processing difficulties, an inability to express oneself or a lack of understanding.

Those children on the autism spectrum that have meltdowns will often feel completely out of control and are very hard to comfort.

There are times they seem to come from nowhere, yet most of the time a parent will be able to sense one coming (Especially after so many)

There are triggers everywhere and of course these can’t always be avoided, however here’s some tips for certain situations you may find yourself in as a parent to a child on the spectrum.

(a) If your child has sensory sensitivities then be aware of the environment a child is in! You may notice that supermarkets are a prime meltdown hotspot for the sensitive child.

(b) Prepare a weekly schedule, e.g… times, place, events displayed on a visual timetable or planner. Depending on a child’s age you could use pictures or words. This allows the child to know what it is that’s coming next. For a child who is very dominated by a routine, consider making a handheld travel schedule and for those who can afford one, get one on your ipad.

(c) If your child is becoming very confrontational with you, don’t react by arguing back with the child, it will only make the situation worse and will likely carry on much longer.

(d) Be consistent and don’t give in. A child on the autism spectrum can still work out what gets them what they want, which will therefore encourage the behaviour. (I really need to take my own advice here as I’m still having problems with this one).

(e) If safe let your child get it out their system & avoid becoming overpowering.

(3) Anxiety: My own child knows all about anxiety, he drives himself nuts worrying about things that no child should worry about.

Be careful what your child sees on TV. Little man can become very upset, frightened and distressed when hearing something on the news.

Give your child lots of reassurance if they are becoming distressed.

Be careful what types of conversation are taking place in the child presence.

Use social stories as a way to offer the child reassure. When they are fully informed in what will happen, when for example visiting a dentist etc, the anxiety will be reduced.

Speak to your child in a non-ambiguous way, avoiding misconceptions and upset.

(4) Lack of support from external services: You may feel that your child on the autism spectrum is not having their educational or social needs meet. However it is likely that the local authority (LA) will disagree.

Note: In the UK you don’t have to wait for a senior teaching member/SENCO to apply to the local education authority (LEA) for a statutory assessment of your child’s special educational needs as you the parent also have the right to make such a request! However this does depend on whether the child has been assessed in the past and how long ago this was.

If the LEA refuse your request you can make an application to the SEN tribunal.

You should keep letters and documents filed and in-order as you may require these as evidence in the event you need to appeal.

You are your child’s best advocate, if you feel something isn’t right don’t give up on it in-till action is taken.

If able, take video evidence of your child’s behaviour or meltdowns, this can be used when trying to obtain respite, a statement of sen, or even a diagnosis.

When dealing with the LA/LEA or school do so via email aswell as written letter! This will create proof of contact and what was said.

If you believe your child needs more help than they are currently getting then you’re properly right. Trust your instincts.

You have the right to request copies of your child’s educational and medical records. Educational records can contain evidence for a statutory assessment or a statement of special educational needs (SEN). This can be done by using the Freedom of information & Data protection act. School’s will be given 15 days to comply.

(5) Sensory Processing: Children on the autism spectrum are likely to have difficulty with their senses whether the child is over or under sensitive both can create a host of problems.

Here is a few common issues that some children may experience, though it is important to remember that all children are different regardless of their condition. Your child may face all of the examples below where another may face only a few if not any at all.

Tactile defensive: A child who is said to be tactile defensive will have difficulty with the senses relating to touch. This child may not be able to tolerate certain materials (Little man hates raincoats). A child with autism may feel physical pain from wearing certain garments and this may trigger challenging behaviour. If your child refuses to wear certain items of clothing then note down the fibre that is used and avoid these when out clothes shopping.

If your child is expected to wear a school uniform and is sensitive to the texture of the fabrics it is made from, talk to the school to see if there is a way to compromise and maybe find something that is very similar as to avoid your child standing out from his/her peers.

Wear new uniform in just like you would new shoes. Do this for around five or ten minutes per day increasing the time along the way. This can be done during the school holidays

Some children are sensitive to loud noises, others are even sensitive to certain tones and pitches a noise can create, including the way a person sounds when they speak. Be sure to keep your child’s school fully informed of such difficulties so they are aware of triggers, e.g fire alarms, break-time bell , etc.

Try your child with ear defenders and if successful request that your child wears these while in school.

Sensory seekers: Those children who sensory seek may flap, fidget and swing back in their chair at school. This means the child is lacking sensory stimulation, fidget and sensory toys can help.

Make the child’s environment inviting, bedrooms could host a different range of sensory items as well as bold and fun colours being used on textiles and interiors. There are lots of ways to create this type of environment on a budget and I will try to write a post on how to do this sometime in the near feature.

 

“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!