The new school year…

I can remember from my own school days, and when teaching, that some children (admittedly the minority!) are excited to return to school after the long summer break. They love the idea of getting back to the routines of school and seeing their friends. This was certainly not how I felt as a child. I loved being at home, with freedom from the demands and expectations of school. I really couldn’t understand why anybody would be excited to go back. My children took after me.

Many autistic children dread, and are fearful of the return to school. In fact, anxiety about the need to return to school can start very shortly after the start of the holiday, meaning that any break from school based anxiety is very short lived. Parents, carers and family members tread the tightrope of not mentioning school to avoid triggering spike in anxiety and trying to initiate discussions about school in order to prepare their child for what’s to come.

The start of the school year represents a fresh start. For primary aged children the new school year often brings a new class teacher, a new TA, a new classroom, new routines and expectations alongside increasing curriculum challenge. Of course many of these changes can be positive, depending upon the child’s experiences the previous year. For secondary age pupils, there a more new and unknown teachers, perhaps new subjects, embarking on their GCSE courses and a completely new timetable.

Of course, some children will be joining their primary school in Year R, and others leaving their primary to start at secondary school.

Through my years to working alongside autistic children and young people, I have always been struck by their often overwhelming positivity in the face of a new, but unknown, challenge or change. This enthusiasm can be understandably be seized upon by adults working with them as an indication of how well things will go. This is often contrasted by parents’ concerns about what ‘reality’ will feel like for their children and, although they hope that things will go well, have this uncomfortable feeling that their child will again experience the pain of realising that reality doesn’t match up to what they were expecting, feelings of fear and anxiety and probably most upsetting of all, feeling that they have in some way failed. During this period, parents sometimes feel that they are being perceived as pessimistic, not ‘believing in’ their child and being overly-anxious.

We know that the first few weeks of term often do appear to go well from the school’s perspective. In contrast, parents notice the change in their child as soon as term starts; withdrawal, seeking solitude after school, quick to become upset and angry, difficulties with sleep or eating. The effort required from an autistic child to understand and navigate the school environment can be exhausting and overwhelming. Sometimes the impact of this effort can no longer be ‘masked’ by the child in school and they may start becoming visibly distressed or withdrawn at school, perhaps reporting frequently that they feel unwell.

Working with your child’s school to ensure that they understand the extent to which your child is struggling can, at times be challenging. Parents often report feeling unheard and disbelieved, alongside the frustration of knowing that some fairly minor adjustments and support could make a world of difference to their child’s experience of school.

There are two documents that it may be useful for you to share with your child’s school to support them to help your child. the document from the Autistic Girls Network is clearly focussed on supporting autistic Autistic Girls Network - Reasonable adjustments at schoolgirls, however, the advice, in my view, can be useful for all autistic children and young people. of course, not everything suggested will be suitable or helpful for your child.

Autistic Girls Network - Reasonable adjustments at school

KCC Mainstream Core Standards (Look at Communication and Interaction section, page 19-24)

KCC Mainstream Core Standards - Parent Guide

Your child’s school might find it helpful if you highlight to the school those that you think would work particularly well for your child.

Sometimes, despite the school doing all they can, your child may still struggle with anxiety about school. The school at this point should be seeking advice and guidance from the local area and discussing with you whether they, or you, should start considering whether to request that the LA carry out an EHC needs assessment for you child.

I am here to provide you with advice and guidance should you need it.

With warmest wishes,

Louise

Easter already…

I’m really pleased that Kent Autism Education Service is well and truly up and running. It’s been a busy couple of months with lots of enquiries from families and schools.

The long awaited Easter holiday has arrived; I know the relief that the school holidays can bring for autistic children and young people and their families - and also, that often this relief doesn’t last long as worrying about the start of term can begin almost as soon as school breaks up.

I have met with many parents whose children are struggling to manage the demands of attending school or college every day (or at all) and are in a constant state of high anxiety as a result.

I have really enjoyed working directly with children and young people to explore their experience of education and supported them to be able to think about what might help in the future; understandably, thinking about this can be frightening if your previous experience has been largely negative. The fears and worries that autistic children and young people have about school (and other social situations and busy environments) are of course unique to each person, however, there are common themes:

• Feeling ‘out of step’ and confused about what’s expected.

• Fear of '‘getting it wrong’’, being told off or being singled out.

• Fear about particular subjects, teachers or activities.

• Struggling with the sensory environment.

• Feeling intimidated by or frightened of peers - individuals or groups.

This list could go on, so it’s not at all surprising that attending and worrying about school becomes overwhelming for some children and young people - sometimes to the point where they can no longer go to school.

It doesn’t have to be like this; there are a number of schools and education providers who do create an environment that enables their autistic pupils flourish and make good progress - unfortunately, we know that this isn’t the case across the board.

The reality is, that for some autistic children and young people, however hard their school works to make adjustments and support them, a ‘formal’ school environment remains completely overwhelming. Some children and young people need an individualised programme, either in the short term to support their return to ‘formal’ education, or a longer term bespoke education package.

I feel very lucky to have the opportunity over recent months to work with families to secure suitable education provision for their children. This has often involved working collaboratively with their child’s current or previous school, tapping in to their knowledge and understanding of what has worked well and what hasn’t.

If you would like to discuss your child’s situation, please do get in touch.

With warmest wishes,

Louise

New beginnings

February 2022

Firstly, thank you for visiting Kent Autism Education Service website.

This is a very new venture. Having worked within the education sector for 25 years (and after a considerable amount of thinking time) I have decided that the time is right to take the plunge and set up an organisation working directly with families and education providers to improve how autistic children and young people experience education in Kent.

Of course not all autistic children have a negative experience of school but unfortunately, many do. I don’t believe that it’s an exaggeration to say that for some autistic people, their journey through school (if they were able to maintain attendance) has been traumatic. I have always found this so frustrating as it doesn’t have to be like this; autistic children and young people need to be supported by the education professionals with understanding, compassion and admiration from the time they enter the education system. Where their strengths and needs are identified and supported early on, an escalation of need can often be avoided and autistic children will make good progress across the curriculum, socially and emotionally.

Having said that, I also believe that for some autistic children and young people, any environment that resembles a traditional school or college environment will be overwhelming and unmanageable. Some autistic children need something different.

Navigating the SEND system can be frustrating, upsetting and exhausting for parents - I know from my own experience as a parent of an autistic child (now an adult!).

I will be working as hard as I can for families to make sure that their autistic children receive the education they need, deserve and are entitled to.

If you would like to have a chat about your child, please contact me to arrange a time. I always offer a free 45 minute appointment to discuss your situation.

With very best wishes,

Louise