[senco-forum] Autism

I have many ASD pupils at my mainstream secondary. What's the problem(s)

Hi Tim

Your last paragtraph reminded me of the 'trip to Holland' story by: Emily
Pearl Kingsley

WELCOME TO HOLLAND
"I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a
disability... to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation
trip to Italy...
After months of anticipation, the day finally arrives...
The plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says,
'Welcome to Holland.'
'Holland?!' you say. 'What do you mean, Holland?
I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy.
All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy.'
'But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and
there you must stay.'
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible,
disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just
a different place.
So now you must go out and buy new guidebooks. And you must learn a whole
new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never
have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower paced than Italy, less flashy than
Italy. But after you've been there for awhile and you catch your breath, you
look around and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Holland has
tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they're all
bragging about what a wonderful time they had there, and for the rest of
your life you will say, 'Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what
I had planned.'
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever go away, because the loss of
that dream is a very significant loss.
But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy,
you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things
about Holland."

Richard

-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Rupp [mailto:tgrupp at ntlworld.com]
Sent: 06 September 2007 04:26
To: Richard Cook; Greg; senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk
Subject: Re: [senco-forum] Autism - need a plan.

My son is a year 9 Autistic child and no-one has suggested to us that he
needs any sort of 'plan' other than the normal arrangements through the
statementing and IEP procedures.

I find the tone of this email a bit offensive. As a parent I would find it
very annoying that anyone involved with their education should feel that
they grudgingly have to accommodate their Special Needs and that they would
prefer not even to have the trouble of having to make allowances for the
Special Needs of this child.

My experience of many Autistic children is that, while they can be trying
and annoying to the point of insanity, they also have many redeeming
qualities that make them a real pleasure to know and to have in an
educational environment. One Paediatrician said that he felt that it was
actually wrong to think of Autistic Spectrum children/adults as having
something wrong with them, they just see the world in a different way to
everybody else.

The implication of this letter is that this child's Autism is not of a
sufficiently severe nature for them to need Specialist teaching, so rather
than trying to grudgingly accommodate this child try thinking about how much
your school will be enriched by having such a child among your intake.

Tim Rupp.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Cook" <richard_cook at blueyonder.co.uk>
To: "Greg" <gregory.lambert at btinternet.com>;
<senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk>
Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2007 2:03 PM
Subject: RE: [senco-forum] Autism - need a plan.

>I have many ASD pupils at my mainstream secondary.  What's the problem(s)
> that this 'plan' needs to address?
>
> Richard
> -----Original Message-----
> From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk
> [mailto:senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk]On Behalf Of Greg
> Sent: 04 September 2007 19:34
> To: senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk
> Subject: [senco-forum] Autism - need a plan.
>
>
> Hi,
>
> We have a year 8 autistic child. Our education authority says that there
> are
> no, 'specialist' schools to suit his needs, and that if he was to move it
> would be to another secondary school.
>
> Bottom line is, that we have to, 'accommodate' this child. Parents are
> demanding a 'plan'.
>
> Does anyone have an autistic child in their high school?  And does anyone
> have any advice or plans of how we can, 'accommodate' this child?
>
> Getting really stuck on how to deal with this and any help would be
> greatly
> appreciated.
>
>
>
> Take care,
>
>
>
> Greg
>
> SENCo
>
>
>
> --
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> 09:14
>
>
>
>

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