I wanted to fund spinner seat for 5 - it's a great regulation tool and he uses our one at home a lot. SENDIASS and the school said they get a SEND budget for each pupil and would look into it.
SENCo told our advocate she could not "justify" one tool for one person.
...I was gonna pay for it, but okay twat breeches.
7s friend has a quiet corner for regulation in the classroom - a thrifted cushion and a lamp - and the Head is taking it away for the new school year because he "doesn't need it". Same boy is refusing to attend school, having anxiety attacks, and is diagnosed autistic with global developmental delay (learning disabled).
HOWEVER .... The school is building a swimming pool on site.
Fucking explain that one to me, because I don't get it.
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Iâm so mad bc I have learning support tomorrow but she hates me and I hate her bc of that and while Iâm there with my two other friends, my class will get to watch the Truman show and Thursdayâs in general suck except for artistic performance but still omg why why why-
Being Allowed To Use A Computer At School (UK based):
Using a computer at school is a concession in the UK, so you have to talk to the teacher who is charge of learning support if you think you might need to start using a computer at school.
You need evidence to show that you need to use a computer. My evidence was the difference in coherency in the essays that I had written in class and the essays I had typed at home. Another example could be if your handwriting isnât particularly great, and it is much easier to read your typed work.Â
Your teacher may submit evidence for you needing to use a laptop, without you having to do anything. It might be a good idea to talk to one of your teachers first to see if they have already suggested it, or if you need to get the essays as evidence from your teachers.Â
Learning Support provide you with a laptop so you donât need to save up or buy one. You can also bring your own laptop into school if you want.Â
Pros of Having A Laptop:
Unless your teacher is particularly odd about being handed in a physical piece of paper, you can e-mail your teacher homework and classwork for them to mark. Your teacher can print it out and hands it back to you marked.
You can take notes on your computer in lessons. This means:
If you type faster then you write, you get more work done in a shorter amount of time.
You donât need to spend hours drawing tables and graphs when your teachers asks you to, because you can just insert them into your word document.
If you are writing an essay in a lesson, you can go back and change spelling mistakes, sentences that you realise donât make sense. It also looks a lot tidier; your page wonât be filled with crossing out words.
Keeping all your notes and essays in one folder is incredibly practical! For the most part, you donât need to worry about losing my notes any more.
Because you are now required to use a laptop in lessons, you have the concession for exams (GCSEs, A-levels etc.). The main reason everyone is not allowed to use laptops in lessons in the UK is because they wonât be allowed to in the exams, and so it is good to get practice to writing. Since you are using a computer now in the exams you donât have that problem!
Advice For Using A Laptop (In the Classroom)
Your Learning Support teacher should tell you what lessons you can and canât use your computer in. Maths is an example where I wasnât allowed to use a laptop, because for the main part I was not writing.Â
Most teachers were fine with me using a laptop, but some teachers told me to put it away. Even though I was allowed to use my laptop for every subject except maths, they thought I only needed to use it for essay subjects. If this becomes a problem or your teacher is particularly stubborn about it, you should tell your teacher in Learning Support.
Itâs worth keeping your notes as a hard copy to keep in your folder with any hand-outs that teachers have given you. Your teachers might want to look through your folders. It can also be quite easy to forget about your notes otherwise, but it also means that you will be aware when you did your essays and took notes.Â
If you take a language, you can swap languages fairly easily on most writing platforms as far as I am aware. Here is where the language button is on the three platforms I use:
Pages: Â
Microsoft Word:Â
One Note:
I am not quite sure if the settings are the same for PCs or other laptops, so if someone knows, I would be very grateful if you could leave it in the comments below!
Advice For Using A Laptop (in Exams):
It is required in the UK that you use the schoolâs laptops in the exam since they have been set up to be appropriate for exam conditions i.e. no internet access, spell check turned off.
If something goes wrong with your computer in the exam room, raise your hand. The invigilators can stop the exam for you if necessary. I had a problem with printing my exam when the exam was over. They had to get the IT manger to sort it out and I had to wait in the exam a little longer, but in the end we printed it out. Itâs much better to say something in a exam then to leave it and risk your paper not being marked properly.Â
If you taking a language, learn how to make the accents you need before the exam. It might be a good idea to find out what type of laptop you will writing on the exam. In the mocks for my GCSEs, I had no idea how to use accents on a PC. If you get half chance, practice accents on the laptop you are meant to be using in the exam.
Resources and Platforms
One Note
One of the biggest differences between using One Note and platforms like Microsoft Word and Pages is that is easier to keep everything in the same place. Yes, you can keep documents in the same folders, but for taking class notes, One Note is more user friendly because:
You can create virtual notebooks with sections, which is really helpful when dividing topics.Â
There is an audio button for you to use to record your teachers speaking if you need to. Note: Ask your teacherâs permission before recording.Â
Itâs really easy to add picture, shapes etc.Â
If you are taking a science, it is much easier to write equations on your laptop compared to Word and Pages.Â
This picture also shows the things you add to make your work easier, like to-do check list etc.
Microsoft Word/Pages: The Pros and Cons
If I am going to write an essay I use Microsoft Word over Pages and One Note because the format is less spread out. Pages has quite a wide page size and it felt quite tiring for me writing anything too long on it (she says, writing a long post on Pages).Â
Pages autocorrects immediately when you are typing but it may not be to the right word. With Microsoft Word you have you have to do it manually.
Pages is better when doing something like a presentation where you might want to include pictures. You can just drag and drop pictures onto Pages and move it wherever you want on the page, while Word is a bit more fiddly and not great if you are low on time.Â
Apologies that this is very UK based. If anyone has any advice on how the education system for using a laptop in other countries than the UK works (ie. do you need you ask for one or can you just start using one?) it would be much appreciated if you could comment on it when reblogging. ;-)
Looking online for some ideas on how to support an autistic child I work with who can't listen when the teacher is doing the input for the lesson at the front of the class. The class sits on the carpet in front of the white board, the teacher spends 10 minutes introducing the concept and demonstrating it, then the kids go off to their desks to try out what they've been taught.
This kid will sit beautifully on the carpet. Can't fault his physical sitting! But he can't tell me a word of what's been said. When they're told to go off and do some work he goes to his desk then turns expectantly to me and waits for me to teach him what's just been explained.
I figured he was just focusing too hard on sitting nicely and had no focus left for actually listening. So I tried all kinds of fiddle toys and tilt cushions to free up some of that 'sitting still focus' so it could be redirected into listening focus. Nope. Full attention on the toy and still 0 idea of what's been said.
So I went online for some ideas. Every article starts with the fucked up idea that eye contact is essential for listening. Firstly that instantly invalidates everything the author has written about autistic kids, secondly, the kid in question is in fact one of the many autistic people who is uncomfortable with eye contact.
I've tried asking him every minute or so to recap what's been said and he'll parrot back the last half sentence of what the teacher said with no idea of the meaning of what he's said or the rest of the past minute of teaching.
I've tried reminding him to listen in case he was simply forgetting to and it had no impact.
I've tried bribing him with rewards which he genuinely wants which only results in upset because he doesn't get the reward he desperately wanted.
The worst part is he actually wants to listen. He gets frustrated at himself when he can't tell me a word of what's been said.
I feel like I'm failing him at the moment. Any ideas or links greatly appreciated!
I made an instagram account for my teaching adventures and experiences; I am eager to embark on this new chapter of my life. 79 days until the first day of school :) I am more than excited for the 2018-2019 school year âĽ
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If I tell my school about my autism what can they do to support me? I'm 16, so I've never had the support before so I don't know what's available?
hi! it really depends what particular difficulties you have at school and how accommodating your school are able or willing to be, but there are potentially lots of ways that your school can support you!
(explanations under the cut, because itâs quite an open question) (:Â
I didnât know i was autistic when i was at school/college, so i didnât get any informed help that was aimed at autistic people specifically. That being said, i did ask for accommodations that i explained were because of anxiety/depression, although a lot of the things i struggled with were actually down to being autistic. I also didnât get any offers for help - no-one realised i needed it, so i had to seek it out and advocate for myself.Â
In terms of asking for accommodations:
In my experience, itâs very worthwhile doing good research and writing scripts for what you need, so you can make sure you can communicate your difficulties and needs clearly and eloquently - i found it helpful to type it and print it out so i could give it to teachers/staff to take away and think about, to make sure they donât forget anything (and to make sure i didnât forget anything too!).Â
The format would sort of be âBecause iâm autistic, i have trouble with (e.g. processing verbal information). This means that i have trouble e.g. keeping up in class because i struggle to keep up with what the teacher is saying). I want to be able to do my best in class, so it would be helpful if (e.g. i could have handouts of the class content so i can make sure i donât miss anything/i could record classes to refer back to/i could type notes in class so i can record whatâs being said quickly).Â
You can substitute in the specific troubles you have, and solutions you think would help you.
In terms of who you would speak to, i talked to a department at my Sixth Form called âstudy skillsâ who worked wth students who were having school-related trouble for various reasons. I also spoke to my tutor (i think they might be called your homeroom teacher in america/abroad maybe?), and then my individual teachers for my classes. Your school might also have a particular support system for students with disabilities/mental health problems, so i would look into the department at your school that would be best to help.
In terms of what accommodations you could ask for:
It really depends what problems you have! Itâs trickier if you know what you struggle with, but donât know how you could get around them. I think a couple of options for this are:
- to go to the people at school that could help you and tell them the trouble youâre having and ask them for help
- to research online accommodations for particular things (like by searching âdealing with sensory sensitivity at schoolâ or âautistic classroom modificationsâ). With this one, be aware that a lot of the advice tends to be aimed at younger children/autism moms, so be patient and reassuring to yourself if they use wrong language like functioning labels. Also, be aware that they might be suggesting bad things like ABA - things like that might be difficult to read, iâm sorry that there is so much harmful/incorrect information out there. A good way to try and avoid this is to research a particular charity/website before you go on it, so you can check that theyâre good people before you go into it.
- (linked to the previous point) to read websites for people like the National Autistic Society, or to contact them/similar charities asking for their advice.
- to send asks about specific things to blogs run by autistic people or blogs specifically for autism advice
If you do ask someone for help, itâs handy if you can ask specific questions (like, having a list of particular things you think would be helpful to improve/get around/avoid). If youâre not sure what help you need though, youâre just struggling in general, thatâs okay too! Asking for general help with school, for example, is something people can answer, itâs just a little easier if the question is more specific because then they can be sure to answer what youâre asking (:Â
Some accommodations I can think of off the top of my head (and what theyâre linked to if i can think of something - these things might also be helpful for different reasons):
- being able to use a laptop in class to take notes or record your classes (if you have trouble keeping up in class because of verbal processing, and you have trouble writing notes)
- asking your teacher to give you copies of any powerpoints/documents/worksheets they use in class (again, if you have trouble keeping up in class because of verbal processing)
- being able to take a copy of your textbook home if this isnât something students can normally do (so you can reference it later/go over class material if you got lost in class/have somewhere to look for answers for any questions you have)Â (again, if you have trouble keeping up in class because of verbal processing)
- having a teaching assistant with you in class to explain anything you donât understand/ answer extra questions you have/ rephrase things teachers have said/ remind you of instructions if you tend to forget them
- being able to leave classes very slightly early between classes so youâre not in the hallways when everyone else is/itâs very crowded/itâs very loud
- being excused from giving presentations/speaking in front of the class if this is something thatâs particularly hard for you (you might instead give a presentation to a smaller group or just your teacher, itâs unlikely that you wouldnât have to do it at all if it makes up some of your marks or grades)
- having extended deadlines for independent projects if you specially request them (if you struggle with executive dysfunction). This might be tied in to needing to have regular progress reviews for your project so the teacher can make sure youâre not abusing the extended deadline and just not doing the work at the last minute - it can also be linked to getting more support for time management to help you complete work in a more punctual and therefore easier way.
- having a set group if you have to do group work instead of having to deal with change/new people every time you have to work as a group. Or, having another person in your class as a partner/buddy, so even if the rest of your group changes you always work with that person in a wider group so thereâs always someone familiar/comfortable.
- being able to leave class if you need to in an emergency (e.g. sensory overload/meltdown/panic attack/overwhelm). This could work by you having a card or something like that that you carry with you, and get out and put on your desk when you need to leave in an emergency. That way, you donât have to disturb the class or wait for the teacher to come to you before you can go. (Something like this really depends on trust though, as youâre teachers need to know you wonât abuse it and just skip for the fun of it.)
- having a quiet space to go to at school if you do have a problem and need some breathing room. Ideally, your school would have facilities for this, but sometimes it could be a staff room or a particular empty classroom.
- allowing stim toys (obviously itâs fair enough for them to say no to things that would disrupt class like flashing lights or loud things, but non-disruptive stims really shouldnât be a problem?)
- Â allowing any assistive learning devices, like those coloured plastic sheets that you can put over handouts to read, printing handouts on different coloured paper, or pencil grips (again, these should be allowed anyway, but need varying levels of cooperation from teachers)
- making sure teachers are trained/informed about autistic people, and specifically your needs. This is something you could work with them on, for example by writing down what you struggle with, or by giving them leaflets/information from good charities or websites. (The National Autistic Society has a great resource, i think itâs called an autism passport? which is a leaflet with lots of autistic trait on it and some accommodations that you can tick by which apply to you and then give to people.)
- linking to teachers being informed, specifically asking teachers to take care with questions you ask and be patient with you. For example, if you ask them to explain the same thing multiple times, it might be that they should try to explain it a different way. Again. teachers should be professional and do this anyway, but highlighting it canât hurt
It might be that instead of giving you a particular accommodation that you ask for, your school will want to deal more with âthe root of the problemâ by supporting you in getting over the thing youâre struggling with. For example, for problems caused by executive dysfunction, instead of giving you extended deadlines, they might help give you time management strategies and monitor your work more closely to help remind you/motivate you. (Putting the framework into place for you to complete things on time and supporting you to do this, if they think this is better than letting you run over). This may mean you would have extra âclassesâ at school to go over skills like time management and organisation if this is something that would benefit you.Â
I havenât used all of these accommodations, and some might be unnecessary for you or not something your school can do. Some of these things might also be ore aimed towards anxiety than being autistic specifically - because i have anxiety too, my experience of being autistic is very tied in with being very anxious too.
A lot of them are also things that your peers will be able to see, which may or may not be problem for you. In my experience too, schools/teachers will offer varying support based on how much they trust you/think youâre trying your best. This can be horrid if youâre doing your best but it isnât recognised, but can pay off if youâve already made the extra effort to be polite/punctual.Â
It also means that you should try not to abuse any accommodations you have (like, talking too much in class if having a partner/buddy help you) - if you do get in trouble and it bothers you or you donât know what you did wrong, it might be helpful to speak to your teacher after class and apologise, then ask if they could explain what the problem was and how you can avoid it. If you put it in the context of being autistic (so not always understanding social rules/how to behave etc) they should be kind and patient with you. Again this is tricky social-skills wise, because if you come across defensive or like youâre being disrespectful (like, the might think youâre arguing with what they said instead of genuine asking for an explanation for what they said), the teacher might in turn get defensive and not be patient and understanding like they should be. Try your best to be genuine - this is why itâs handy if you always try your best to be kind and polite, because then theyâre more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your teacher should be professional though.
Frustratingly, in my experience accommodations are tied in with being able to communicate. Thatâs obviously really ridiculous and frustrating for autistic people when thatâs something our disability actually interferes with. You can only do your best though, and there are lots of people out there that can help you! (hopefully at your school, but if not, weâre here online!)
As always, i hope that was helpful, and if iâve missed anything, youâd like me to clarify anything, or youâve got another question, please let me know and iâll do my best to answer! Good luck with school!!
(Or really any LD) and goes to a private school, you know how challenging it is to get the necessary accommodations. I recently had a fairly good one written, and if anyone would like to see it, maybe as a model, please let me know! Good luck all!
