my daughter is 14 and in mainstream school. 10 years ago she was statemented because they said she was mildly autistic and had a mild learning disability. she has just been reassessed by educational psychologist and her percentile came out at a very low 0.3. the autism people assessed her and said her percentile for that was 2-5th .she orignally had 20 hrs per week and school said they will now ask for 25 hrs. early monday morning my daughter ran away catching a train to manchester with 5 pound she took from my purse then borrowed a pound from a stranger to get her to the trafford centre.luckily the police found her by pinging her mobile.school have now said they want 32 and half hrs to cover her from the moment she walks in the gate to when she leaves.does anyone know if education are likely to give this to a mainstream child or is it likely she will have to go to a special school?also any more general advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks sheila
I will assume you are from the UK. I am afraid that a great many of us here in this forum are from across the big pond in your former colonies of the US and CA, so our laws, regs and policies will be different so as to make good, specific advice very difficult. Suggest you google a messageboard particular to educational issues in your country for the best advice.
That being said…
I need to ask you to explain what being “statemented” by the school means. Also, what do the percentages you refered to relate to and what is the significance of the hours alloted.
If your child is clever enough to pilfer some cash, sneak out, catch a train and panhandle then she is probably not so autistic she cannot be taught academic material. She may have very profound problems with specific tasks, but certainly they should be giving her the opportunity to learn in an environment that is cindusive to her progress (one example would be protection from bullies which typically pollute our species). Whether this occurs in your local school or in a school more tailored to her needs is truly less important than the quality of the instruction she is given. If, however, a move is made and the destination is simply a daycare center then my advise will be to retain an experienced advocate/lawyer and force the local to provide what they are paid to provide (I am assuming that you have laws and regs similar to our IDEA which requires teh public schools to provide appropriate educations to all comers regardless of the child’s needs).
How autistic is your daughter? Have you had her screened for metals yet? Have you tried the Diet? What do you think of the Wakefield controversy?