Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Shirley Dawn MOHR on January 28, 2010 at 8:02pm

I want to send my son to a special school. He is II as well as VI. He goes to a state high school at the moment. He is currently in Year 10. The smaller class sizes and the personal interaction by the staff will, I think, help him to achieve more. More of the everyday learning, Life skills.
My problem is that the state school believe they are meeting all of his needs at present. I can move him but I will have to pay transport. Traveling 90 minutes a day. He needs specialist help this year with a white stick etc. All these wonderful trained people will be on hand at the special school. He is the only vision impaired child at the present school. He has already nearly had a fist fight with a group of boys because he accidently walked into them. What will it be like when he gets his cane?

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Permalink Reply by Anne Hurman on January 29, 2010 at 10:17pm

I think when he gets his acne others will be more aware of his needs.
I feel for you and understand why you want to move him, but if he gets a negative vibe from you about the state school he will react to it. If you can't move him, think of the positives - it is real life training to be with a majority of sighted people.

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Permalink Reply by Peta Kennedy on January 29, 2010 at 10:04am

I have a child who is in year 9 who also has autism as well as eppilepsy struggle thew out the whole year of yr 8,she was in a support unit and now she will be in a oa class one below then last yr. But at the same time the school is trying to help her as i said TRYING to help.

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Radford on January 28, 2010 at 4:48pm

My sons' school (Autism School) gave students the choice as to whether they completed the tests, though they did not recommend it, as "it would put too great a pressure on the children." I have also been told by parnts in mainstream that their child also was allowed to 'skip' these tests: her thought was they were afraid it would bring down the school average too much.

After spending most of last year looking for a school to intergrate into I would have LOVED something that told me what schools had assistance programs in place, % of children with special needs, types of training staff have etc. We could have avoided those schools that tried so hard to discourage us from even looking at them, as we were put straight into the 'too hard' basket without a meeting.

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Permalink Reply by Lindy Matthews on January 28, 2010 at 5:15pm

It certainly would be nice to see more information about schools included such as their programs for students with disabilities and the number of students from non-English speaking backgrounds, as well as the inclusion of classes for gifted students. All of these things have a significant impact on results and would skew the statistics. Another example of the limited value of these statistics when taken out of context.

Interestingly the NSW government is planning to use Naplan results to identify funding levels for students with mental health problems so you will likely see a change in the practice of schools discouraging students with difficulties from sitting the NAPLAN tests. Quite a conundrum that poor results equals money but public shaming, while high results equals a reduction in support for students with disabilities. I'm glad I'm not a Principal!

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Permalink Reply by lee ann priest on January 28, 2010 at 5:46pm

there needs to be more for the kids that have undignoise problems and support for them

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Permalink Reply by Markeeta Rosenow on January 28, 2010 at 6:06pm

Agreed. I had to send my children to private school for them to get the help they need. I would never send my children back into the public system as it does not cope with any child with any type of disability. My schools results may be a little lower than average, but they have absolutely amazing abilites to help those children who would be dumped and put into the 'too hard basket' in public schools.

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Permalink Reply by Lindy Matthews on January 28, 2010 at 6:21pm

I have seen the opposite to this happen. It is quite common in the area that I teach for private schools to encourage parents to move their child with a disability or special needs to a public school where they have "more resources" to support them. Some private schools choose to allocate the funds provided to them to support students with special needs to different areas and send the needy kids packing. Public schools do not have that option.

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Permalink Reply by Allyson Mele on February 25, 2010 at 11:30am

Lindy, they did this to my son. He has asperger's syndrome and the catholic school he attended received the governent funding and did not supply him with any extra support. Basically, they spent the money on something else and there was nothing I could do about it! I chose to enrole him in a public high school and have not looked back. He now receives counselling and a full-time aide! I'm thrilled :)

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Permalink Reply by Merrita Wiggall on June 16, 2010 at 6:44pm

Same here for my son - we were discouraged from enrolling at a private school. Sad but true that this is not uncomon.

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Permalink Reply by Alicia Denton on July 24, 2010 at 8:41pm

I also had my son at a private school where he was eventually expelled due to his anger issues. (He had been diagnosed with ODD, and at the time suspected Aspergers). Yes, it was suggested to me that he may do better in a public school because they had "more resources" and would be able to "allocate more specified time" to his learning than the private school could!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Shirley Dawn MOHR on June 17, 2010 at 11:38am

After 8 months, my son is finally allowed to go to Special school. Ed will pay for transport to and from as well. C had 2 days trial at the new school AND loved it. Quiet and peaceful. He will be 1 in a class of 6 with a Teacher and Teacher Aid. Yippee!!! He will learn Life skills, money, shopping, woodwork, cooking, how to fix small machines, time, how to get a bus or train, maths, reading and writing. Stuff he will need all the time. They will help him with Work experience that will suit him and assist him when needed. In 2 days he had made 2 friends. He is so looking forward to the 13th July. He fitted in so well and all the Teachers and the Principal are great.
Recently I have been in touch with Guide Dogs Brisbane. Wow, what a great team of people. They really are so helpful. They do so much more than Guide Dogs for the Blind or Vision Impaired. If you or you know someone who needs assistance, it is really worth the while to connect with them. I live 2 hours away from them but I drive there, it is worth it. They do come to you if that is needed.

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