Choosing a school

Choosing a school – Special needs vrs Mainstream

When Orlando was four we were lucky to be accepted into a unique program called AELP (Autism Early Learning Program). This program gave Orlando intense therapy it included an occupational therapist, speech therapist, kindergarten teacher and a number of educational support staff.

This was the year we saw big changes in Orlando. He started to use more words and the therapists and staff gave us strategies to ease Orlando through times of anxiety and frustration.

WOW Orlando was learning to communicate with the world! My little boy was AMAZING, beautiful, kind, loving and OMG he was funny!!!

 I remember our last day at AELP and there was not a dry eye in the house. Even Tony cried (that’s HUGE).

The following year Orlando went on to do a year of kindergarten with the assistance of an aide. It was a fun year and Orlando continued to see therapists and grow his vocabulary and social skills. In the last term Orlando had to participate in a cognitive assessment, this would determine if Orlando would be eligible for funding for assistance in school. This assessment would also tell us if Orlando would be eligible to attend a special needs school meaning that Orlando would have an intellectual disability.

I remember people saying to me “make sure you keep him up late” “give him lots of sugar” prior to the assessment because the lower his score the more funding he would get. I choose against those actions because I wanted a true indication of Orlando’s abilities.

Orlando’s score came back showing he had a mild intellectual disability. (insert more heart break)

So we had a choice to make special needs or mainstream? Being me I spoke to everyone, I asked my friends, the kinder teacher, the aide, Orlando’s therapists, his brothers school teachers, my GP and I even asked my fifteen year old what he thought I should do. No one could answer my question, they all gave me pros and cons but said it really comes down to what you think is best.

All I could think was shit don’t leave this up to me, I have no clue what I’m doing!

Orlando did orientation at both special needs and mainstream schools which gave us an indication of what might be a better fit for Orlando’s first year at school. It was explained to us that whatever our choice nothing was set in stone. If we changed our mind we could take Orlando out and put him into a different school of choice. In hindsight there is no wrong or right decision you really just have to try and see what works for your child and you.

I found that the most important thing about the school you choose is to make sure they are good communicators and are willing for you to participate and have input into your child’s education. No matter how good the teacher is or for how long they have been teaching, no one knows your child like you do. So it’s so important that you have a teacher that is prepared to work with you for the best outcomes.

When looking at schools make sure you are clear about what you are looking for. I wish I had asked about communication, do you have good diary or email day to day communication (i.e. this morning Orlando was upset about not being able to bring his Lego and has not been able to move on) this can help the teacher to support Orlando using the right language and strategies to help him move on instead of not being aware of why he is melting down and unable to focus. It can also let you know about what happened at school and things that went well or things that your child is struggling with. It’s important to celebrate what goes well but also to talk about the things they struggle with. It has been extremely important for Orlando to know I communicate with his teachers. He knows that I support what the teacher is doing and vice versa.

Stay tuned for my next blog post on the best way to do a PSG/SSG (term meetings with your school)

Hope you have enjoyed reading and if you have an experience you’d like to share or a question about choosing a school comment below.

Thanks for reading

Jess xx