In my last post I was bemoaning the state of things at school. Happily, a LOT changed for us today.
This morning I was lucky enough to run into the SENCO. I took the opportunity to talk to her about my concerns. My chief concern was about my son wandering around the playground by himself and getting bullied. Secondly, I wanted to address the fact that the classroom setup wasn't working for him and that he needed to work in a smaller group or 1:1 to make progress.
The SENCO was great and by the time I came to fetch my son from school, she had put the wheels in motion for some changes.
Firstly, his class teacher showed me a checklist that is pinned to the board. My son has to tick each item off when he leaves school on a Friday. This is really going to help him get organized.
Secondly, he is going to be working in a smaller group in most lessons to ensure that he hears when is being said and the teacher can look at him to make sure he is listening.
Thirdly, the SENCO is arranging for him to have a "circle of friends" at playtime.
The class bully is now being closely monitored on a "three strikes and your'e out" basis. He already has 2 strikes against him.
The teacher apologised for singling out my son the other day when she was angry with him. I told her that it is sometimes difficult to discipline an autistic child because of the way they take things, but ensured her that he must still be disciplined when he does wrong. She made me laugh when she said that he takes everything literally and that when she said to the class "Right...I'm going to pick on a child....", my son shouted "No!!!! Picking on children is bad!"
She has arranged for me to come in twice a week to help him with his literacy and maths.
I am really happy about this and especially as it was all done in a friendly cooperative way with no fighting!
I feel really positive about the rest of this school year for him. What a difference a day makes!
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