Ferretfingers’ whole education was within special needs provision.
Some places were better than others.
Some were excellent, others started out good
and declined.
His early years and primary special schools were excellent, supportive and understanding
From
11 to 16 he was in a unit within a mainstream school that started out as The
Communication Base for pupils with autism.
This was changed to Additional Needs Faculty for those with any sort of
need, ignoring the fact that not all special needs are the same.
Looking back and learning more I now realise
why he started picking holes in his own arms.
He didn’t have the
language to explain that there was anything wrong or what it was.
There is huge guilt attached to this
admission.
His
special needs sixth form was excellent.
Then
we were persuaded to place him in the brand new wonderful ‘autism accredited’
unit in Tyne Met College. I visited and
found three beautifully day-lit rooms on the first floor, with another three
downstairs for those even more demanding than Ferretfingers.
The
next year these rooms were handed over to the Marketing Department and the
pupils went into three smaller gloomy rooms on the ground floor, with security grills on the windows.
Imagine how a
mother feels on seeing that.
During
the last weeks of his second year they took him, without, as far as I know, any
warning or preparation (of an autistic person!) for a ‘taster session’ of whatever
they planned for his third year. Not
surprisingly he walked out at the first opportunity and went back to his own
classroom.
He
was judged to have “refused the course.”
I
didn’t bother to follow it up, complain or make a fuss.
I was too damn tired,
disgusted and fed up of the lot of them.
From
Facebook Archives
Ferretfingers’
review at Tyne Met College yesterday.
His
two year "Certificate in Learning Skills" course no longer exists so
next year he will be doing Performing Arts (we're told it's good for improving
confidence, communication and bringing people out of themselves) but still with
functional Maths and English.
However
instead of 4 days 10-3.30 it will be 3 days 9.30-4.30 - "same number of
hours but fewer days"*.
It's
Monday to Wednesday so his day at the Day Centre will have to be changed and something found for the extra day
I popped into the Day Centre on the way home to tell
them -
"Oh Thursday and Friday are our busiest days" -
but the
manager was grateful for fair warning for September.
Oh and college term ends 27 June so we'll have the
whole of July to keep him occupied - Thunderthighs'll be jealous!
Pink
Kitchen Nowt
like a bit of change to make life easy(!)
Ms
KA And they never learn! Why is college not ASKING what is NEEDED
instead of telling you what they are doing to you?
*The “same number of hours but fewer days” idea might work for mainstream pupils who have the ability to work independently. The idea the same is applicable to special needs pupils with learning disabilities and communication difficulties would be laughable were it not tragic.
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