To homeschool or not , need advice for special needs 17 year old .

wiilow74

Hi everyone , I am just trying to seek advice on how to help my 17 year old son . He has Asperger's Syndrome a form of high functioning autism and is in main steam secondary school . He was never a lover of school but up until last year he was doing well academically and did very well in his JC , socially it is hardest for him , he just doesn't mix with his peers and as he says himself has nothing in common with them , I've tried to get him to join clubs ect but to no avail , apart from his 14 year sister he has no friends just kids he knows. Anyways he started in 5th year last Sept but by mid term his tutor and year heads met with us and said he was struggling a lot and perhaps he should try LCA as it's a smaller group and might help him socially so he transferred to LCA 1 , here we are in April and he has refused to go to school for nearly two weeks ( he isn't being bullied ) , he just has zero motivation and doesn't enjoy school at all . So we are to meet his tutor on Thursday to discuss what to do , my questions for anyone out there who has been through this is should he repeat LCA 1 ( I think myself he finds it boring ) or should he start afresh in 5th in Sept or should I homeschool him for Leaving Cert or A Levels ? Advice please & thanks .

judeboy101

If he did well in JC no school should have put him into LCA. LCA should not be for academically able students no matter how "difficult" they are, and definitely not for a lad on ASD who just seems to not 'fit in'. Did guidance councillor recommend LCA?

wiilow74

judeboy101 wrote: »

If he did well in JC no school should have put him into LCA. LCA should not be for academically able students no matter how "difficult" they are, and definitely not for a lad on ASD who just seems to not 'fit in'. Did guidance councillor recommend LCA?

The guidance councillors didn't attend the meeting , it was just the Principal , the Year head and his tutor and us . Even if they did I'd imagine they wouldn't go against what was suggested , I just get the impression now that they wanted him moved to a smaller class because the teacher just didn't have time to get around to help him individually, most of his classes had about 25 in them or more but because he has an exemption from Irish and is allowed 5 hours resource a week he was getting in a few one to one classes while in 5th year and seemed to be getting through the work but according to them he was struggling By the way he isn't a "difficult" child , stubborn yes when something isn't interesting but we get through the work eventually but behaviour wise he is no bother for the school , never gets in trouble and is courteous to the teachers and even helps stack he chairs at the end of last class without being asked , I know nearly all his teachers find him really good just sometimes he lacks motivation in certain subjects but what kid doesn't ?

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

Apply for home tuition grant on medical grounds (social anxiety should cover this). Like other posts I would strongly recommend based on what you said, and in consultation with your son, the traditional leaving certificate. If you are able to find a tutor for some of his subjects that would be preferable and then cover the shortfall yourself.

When you talk to your son what does he say the problem is and what would he prefer?

judeboy101

wiilow74 wrote: »

The guidance councillors didn't attend the meeting , it was just the Principal , the Year head and his tutor and us . Even if they did I'd imagine they wouldn't go against what was suggested , I just get the impression now that they wanted him moved to a smaller class because the teacher just didn't have time to get around to help him individually, most of his classes had about 25 in them or more but because he has an exemption from Irish and is allowed 5 hours resource a week he was getting in a few one to one classes while in 5th year and seemed to be getting through the work but according to them he was struggling By the way he isn't a "difficult" child , stubborn yes when something isn't interesting but we get through the work eventually but behaviour wise he is no bother for the school , never gets in trouble and is courteous to the teachers and even helps stack he chairs at the end of last class without being asked , I know nearly all his teachers find him really good just sometimes he lacks motivation in certain subjects but what kid doesn't ?

guidance councillor not there is a big no no, did you see his IEP? or ask was it discussed at the pastoral care team? . LCA is no place for your child as you describe him.

wiilow74

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

I am a stay at home Mum ( I am college educated ) as I gave up work when the kids were born , I had intended to return to work but it became apparent very soon that my son had developmental issues , it took us till he was 6 & a half to get a diagnosis in writing and even then we had to go the private root as the Dept of Ed is such a mess when it comes to helping kids like him . I was on Carer's allowance until he turned 16 last year , my claim was reassessed then and turned down , I appealed but it was again refused so Dept of SW aren't any help either . At the end of the day we are a one wage family of 4 and it can be a struggle but I want to do what's best for him so I have the ability to homeschool if needed . I also agree that he seems bored of the curriculum in school as it stands .

wiilow74

Deleted User wrote: »

Apply for home tuition grant on medical grounds (social anxiety should cover this). Like other posts I would strongly recommend based on what you said, and in consultation with your son, the traditional leaving certificate. If you are able to find a tutor for some of his subjects that would be preferable and then cover the shortfall yourself.

When you talk to your son what does he say the problem is and what would he prefer?

Would I qualify for a home tuition grant seeing as he's 17 and past the legal school leaving age of 16 ? I thought a tutor might help with grinds for the subjects he's finding harder and yes as you say I can help him also at home .

He basically just doesn't enjoy going to school anymore , it's not just boring , it's a bit ground hog day IYKWIM . He says he thinks he'd like to repeat 5th and do leaving cert so that is top of the list but I'm just looking into all options so we have choices and seeking any advice anyone has too .

wiilow74

judeboy101 wrote: »

guidance councillor not there is a big no no, did you see his IEP? or ask was it discussed at the pastoral care team? . LCA is no place for your child as you describe him.

The last time I saw his IEP was in the beginning of 3rd year , I do not know if it was discussed at the PCT meetings but I will enquire . I tend to agree at this stage , LCA just isn't working for him for whatever reason , I had no experience of LCA till now so I was lead to believe it would be of benefit to him to have an easier work load and to be in a smaller group but now I don't think this has helped at all .

wiilow74

wiilow74 wrote: »

Would I qualify for a home tuition grant seeing as he's 17 and past the legal school leaving age of 16 ? I thought a tutor might help with grinds for the subjects he's finding harder and yes as you say I can help him also at home .

He basically just doesn't enjoy going to school anymore , it's not just boring , it's a bit ground hog day IYKWIM . He says he thinks he'd like to repeat 5th and do leaving cert so that is top of the list but I'm just looking into all options so we have choices and seeking any advice anyone has too .

I would apply for it on the grounds of "school refusal" when I think about it as it would be a stronger case and I know of pupils who have gotten it for this. I know of a number of secondary school pupils who have gotten it on this basis but have never come across an age issue per say so I would inquire when applying if you think his age would be an issue (I don't feel it should in this case). It would be worth a try at least as it would be the next best option to school.