School application time...
After a few weeks of the hectic chaos surrounding Easter and assessment tasks, the incredibly scary notion that my only child is starting school next year seemingly sprung it's self upon me.
NOTE: not really I did have serval reminder messages and discussions with friends about our school of choice - but my inability to look at the calendar made it seem like it sprung upon me!
So off to orientation night my husband and I go! I have been fairly confident in my choice of "BIG" school for my son and am hopping that this confidence is not misplaced - especially as a mother of a charming ASDer, I am potentially worried about the disaster school could be for the next 13 years.
As a teacher I had a small idea of what I wanted to achieve on the night and was successful in cornering (!) the Learning Support Unit to have a chat about what was needed in order to ensure the best outcome at transitioning my little man to school.
If you are ever in doubt about a school and their ability to copy with ASD here are a few questions that will help to get the ball rolling on finding out what services and strategies they provide.
1 - Visual aids - what visual aids do they use in the classroom and in their day to day teaching? If they don't use any what are they willing to implement?
2 - Structure and Routine - do they have this? Can they have this? When will you know this? Let them guide you through the day to day workings of the school and see what can be done to make this work for your child.
3- Individual learning plans (ILP) - does the school provide them? Will your child be able to access all of the curriculum through one? Can it last all the way to year 12? Can your child still access the chance to receive higher grades if they are on one?
4- Differentiation - how do you do this? What does it accomplish?
5 - What can I do to help?
As a teacher I will always maintain that 85% of your child's success with education has to come from you. What you implement at home, what strategies and routines you put in place and what emphasis you put on education at home. How can an English teacher succeed if you tell your child Shakespeare is outdate and crap? How is this supporting your child's education if you put down the teacher's effort. Work with the school not against it!
I hope these questions give you something to think about when applying and talking to schools - it's a big choice and one that we like to think we get right first time round!
Good luck and leave a comment below on what you did to prepare for "BIG" school!
NOTE: not really I did have serval reminder messages and discussions with friends about our school of choice - but my inability to look at the calendar made it seem like it sprung upon me!
So off to orientation night my husband and I go! I have been fairly confident in my choice of "BIG" school for my son and am hopping that this confidence is not misplaced - especially as a mother of a charming ASDer, I am potentially worried about the disaster school could be for the next 13 years.
As a teacher I had a small idea of what I wanted to achieve on the night and was successful in cornering (!) the Learning Support Unit to have a chat about what was needed in order to ensure the best outcome at transitioning my little man to school.
If you are ever in doubt about a school and their ability to copy with ASD here are a few questions that will help to get the ball rolling on finding out what services and strategies they provide.
1 - Visual aids - what visual aids do they use in the classroom and in their day to day teaching? If they don't use any what are they willing to implement?
2 - Structure and Routine - do they have this? Can they have this? When will you know this? Let them guide you through the day to day workings of the school and see what can be done to make this work for your child.
3- Individual learning plans (ILP) - does the school provide them? Will your child be able to access all of the curriculum through one? Can it last all the way to year 12? Can your child still access the chance to receive higher grades if they are on one?
4- Differentiation - how do you do this? What does it accomplish?
5 - What can I do to help?
As a teacher I will always maintain that 85% of your child's success with education has to come from you. What you implement at home, what strategies and routines you put in place and what emphasis you put on education at home. How can an English teacher succeed if you tell your child Shakespeare is outdate and crap? How is this supporting your child's education if you put down the teacher's effort. Work with the school not against it!
I hope these questions give you something to think about when applying and talking to schools - it's a big choice and one that we like to think we get right first time round!
Good luck and leave a comment below on what you did to prepare for "BIG" school!
Comments
Post a Comment