A mum has asked for some advice. Can we help? I would like to share a little story about my son Jake who is 13 years old and has Downs syndrome. When jake was born doctors and paediatricians took me aside and told me all that my son wouldnt be able to achieve , all that he would struggle with during his life and all that I as his mother would have to face. With all of that information still very fresh in my mind, I took on every single hurdle through his growths and fought every step, every negative comment,every operation and tried to keep strong for him. Jake struggles with his speech and language mostly and is very often misunderstood. He cannot defend himself vocally, he cannot make friends easily and his speech is not understood so finds himself withdrawn, isolated and frustrated. Jake attends a secondary moderate learning special needs school. He tells me every day he is going to have a good day and that he will work hard to receive his green stamps ( for good behaviour ). Theres nothing he loves more than to feel proud and that hes done a good job ! School do not appear to observe this as the only comments from staff to myself are explaining to me that jake made a noise in his classroom disturbing others so received a RED stamp ( bad behaviour ) recently Im finding that jake seems to be targeted by some, and blamed for bad behaviour. As jake doesnt have a voice to speak up or to defend himself he gets the blame more often than not. Now dont get me wrong ..... Jake is a mischievous little bugger haha and is no angel but will admit his wrong behaviours to me. He receives speech and language therapy within school yet finds it difficult to learn the techniques taught to him. I feel if professionals would treat Downs syndrome as equally as autism then there would be far more support out there. Jake has many traits of autism also which is most probably why he faces more underlying struggles yet school staff deny this and state he is just an attention seeker !! He attends a special needs school yes .... So why are the children being treated like they attend a mainstream school ? Not allowed to make a noise in class .. Not allowed to say words that may sound like a swear word !!!!!! Im at a loss as to whom to speak with about all my concerns for jake and all our issues with education for him. Where is the middle ground between a severe learning school and a moderate learning school ? Where is all this support for our children ? Does anyone have any helpful advice ? Does anyone have good recommendations and reviews of sen schools in south of England ? If anyone has had similar experiences and know of support in South England .. It would be much appreciated xx thanks xx
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 09:20:41 +0000