Mainstream school vs Special school

[Sally44]

My son is presently at mainstream school.  He is coping okay from an autism point of view.  But academically he is falling further and further behind.  I think autism in general and specficially how autism affects cognitive thinking have a huge impact on him in an educational setting.  He is quite passive socially.  He doesn't initiate, but he will play if asked with varying degrees of success.  We are in the UK process of seeing if the Local Educational Authority will agree to him getting a Statement of Educational Needs.  We need this Statement for us to be able to ask for a place within a school with an autism resource.  At his present school staff have received some training, but they are years behind and I am continually finding it frustrating that they don't know what I am talking about and they seem unaware of what his needs are nevermind how they should meet them.  But, this mainstream school is in our local area.  He is mixing with kids from the neighbourhood.  He seems to have made a connection with some of the children, but I am aware that this might not last much longer as children become more and more aware that he is 'different'.

I think he would improve academically in a school with expertise in autism.  But I am afraid of making the decision 'for him' and making the wrong one.  On the one hand I know I am trying to weigh how I would feel as a child, but that is not from an autistic childs viewpoint.  On the other hand I disagree with those that say those with autism do not have emotions or empathy or imagination.  I know my son does.  So I don't know what kind/depth of attachment he has to his present school.

I would like to hear other parents views of how they made the decision about schooling and what influenced them.

[Sally44]

Unfortunately it is academically that he is suffering.  He appears to learn literacy/numeracy in 'chunks' and cannot recognise the same information in the pieces that make up the whole picture.
He is verbal and I will take him to the other school.  But I also think fear of change etc would make him be negative about a new school.
If he does move, the new school is still a mainstream school with about 5 children with ASD in each class.  At present he is the only one, but he is becoming aware that he is different.  This is effecting his self image, so I thought it might be useful for him to meet other ASD children.

[MJIthewriter]

"On the other hand I disagree with those that say those with autism do not have emotions or empathy or imagination.  I know my son does.  So I don't know what kind/depth of attachment he has to his present school."

I agree. Is your son vebal?  Has he given you an answer. I think taking him to both schools and meeting the environment would be a good idea.

I was mainstreamed into the public school system. Some of it was hell and some of it wasn't. I found I did far better once I realized I was not some freak and was able to express myself. I did make it to graduate top 10% in my high school.

If he's doing fine in his regular classroom, then that may be okay.  I'm more slanted towards the mainstream idea, because I think the non autistic children need to learn to be more accepting and not treat autistic children as freaks, etc... I'd like to see more done with the public school systems. In a way I'm hoping for change... But then again if the child is really struggling then the other school may not be such a bad idea.

[Sally44]

No we wouldn't be able to do both.  My daughter would remain at the mainstream school.  The other school (called 'enhanced resource') is also a mainstream school with extra funding to support pupils on the autistic spectrum.  They also have a special unit for more severe cases.  The idea is that the whole school adopts certain approaches throughout all the classes that are autistic friendly.  The enhanced resource means the pupils get a higher ratio of staff to pupils and their work is differentiated specifically to their strengths/weaknesses.  The special unit can also be used for more intensive one to one work.  The idea is that a child will use the enhanced resources in the mainstream school and dip into the facilities offered by the unit as and when needed.  But it is the overall experience and expertise that I am missing at the moment.  For example the whole year at my son's school are going on a trip which involves staying overnight.  The school have refused to let him stay overnight.  I do understand their concerns and I probably agree that on this occasion, as it will be a long day for him, that I will collect him at 8.00pm as he may well have had enough by then.  But on the other hand I was expecting the school to be working towards him being able to stay on an overnight trip.  Afterall people with autism do have a life and the success of any outing is always down to the planning and preparation.  The school seems either unaware of what the issues/problems are or they see the issues/problems and are afraid because they don't know what to do about it.  So they do a risk assessment.  They always seem to consider the rest of the children and the staff involved.  But this is not inclusion.
At this point I am not even considering the transport issue.  Somehow, if my son goes to a different school, I have to magically be in two schools at once.  I will have to face that when it comes to it.  But I am aware that my daughter has to 'grow up' faster and be independent simply because I have to deal with something to do with my son.  This is causing some resentment and jealousy on her part.  There is a small chance that I may be offered the opportunity for my son to be taken to/from school, which would be ideal.  But I can't count my chickens yet.

[mjthewriterdad]

So, you can't do both?  My daughter went to two kindergartens one for EEN and one mainstream. Also we had her in an early intervention program and a "day care" As I remember,  It was h3ll transporting her back and forth.