How distressing for you as a family… sympathy, but having a diagnosis can sometimes be a turning point in getting a child’s issues taken seriously and accommodated for.
Obviously we’re on a virtual forum so don’t know all the information, but yes there are things that can be put in place to support him. The key though, is that every child is different, so is every family and every school. the right support for you/him is not the same as what’s right for another child.
There is a huge disparity between different grammar schools in terms of SEN and pastoral support, Some will “manage out” students who may bring their grades down, others will bend over backwards to accommodate their students’ wellbeing, knowing that happier more settled students will perform better. Often you don’t know at the start of a school, how well they will step up if issues crop up further up the school.
One question: you mentioned “melting down”:
is your child on the higher-performing autistic spectrum as well as having ADHD, as there is often a crossover? it can affect how they react to stress a great deal, so may be worth considering a freebie online 50-point screener to see if he scores highly.
In terms of support: the school needs to inplement “normal ways of working” that accommodate his needs, and then these can be applied in year 11 to any GCSEs he does take.
this often for ADHD will involve: Rest breaks in tests , extra time in tests , fidget passes (to allow fidget toys in class) , exit pass (for class if distressed/overactive) queue priority (for lunch break) , and support mechanisms to help with organisation, timetable reminders, leeway on homework tasks etc.
Obviously we’re on a virtual forum so don’t know all the information, but yes there are things that can be put in place to support him. The key though, is that every child is different, so is every family and every school. the right support for you/him is not the same as what’s right for another child.
There is a huge disparity between different grammar schools in terms of SEN and pastoral support, Some will “manage out” students who may bring their grades down, others will bend over backwards to accommodate their students’ wellbeing, knowing that happier more settled students will perform better. Often you don’t know at the start of a school, how well they will step up if issues crop up further up the school.
One question: you mentioned “melting down”:
is your child on the higher-performing autistic spectrum as well as having ADHD, as there is often a crossover? it can affect how they react to stress a great deal, so may be worth considering a freebie online 50-point screener to see if he scores highly.
In terms of support: the school needs to inplement “normal ways of working” that accommodate his needs, and then these can be applied in year 11 to any GCSEs he does take.
this often for ADHD will involve: Rest breaks in tests , extra time in tests , fidget passes (to allow fidget toys in class) , exit pass (for class if distressed/overactive) queue priority (for lunch break) , and support mechanisms to help with organisation, timetable reminders, leeway on homework tasks etc.
Statistics: Posted by Aethel — Tue Mar 19, 2024 6:50 pm