Support in pre school

Renae

Hi, my son is 3 years old and is autistic. He is in a small pre school two days a week and one of those mornings is one-one. However, he has become increasingly distressed and the pre school have been letting him take refuge in toddlers. My son now doesn't want to go back into the pre school setting and now I am scared he will regress. I have been told that even though we applied for portage services 2 years ago- we have now fallen off the list and this is no longer an option.... Is his true? Is there any other services that can help me? Should I push for my son to be in a pre school setting or leave him where he feels safe?

Natasha Brown

you need to try and work out what is distressing him more specifically and think of ways around that - get everyone together and brainstorm.
where do you want to" leave him"? it isnt clear what you eman - in the toddler room??

where does he "feel safe"? why does he feel safe there - something for you to try and work out? the people the palce the sounds the light ?
was he fine before? what has changed? could be something very small.
what communciation does he have?
does he follow a visual schedule with photos of where he is going and what is happening?

who provides the one t one? has he bneeen assesse by educational psychologist? does he have a statement?
are there other more spcialist nurseries avaialble?eg ASD specialism? is there a NAS early bird service in your area? or similar early intervention prgoramme who can offer support? is there a preschool ASD support person in LEA?

(so many quesitons but you need to ask/.answer all of them to try and work out what next step is)

Natasha Brown

sorry for my typing

Heather

Hi Renea. As Natasha explained, the detective work to find out the cause and reaction process has to be applied. But with regard your question on Portage, we accessed it when my son was 18 months old and they continued until he was in full time education. Although different areas wil have different criteria. Have you contacted Homestart? They maybe able to put in a few hours support at home for you. My son could never mix with his own peer group and was technically in a class 3 years younger, each time the school tried to move him, he regressed. The last big show by the school left my son in pieces as he was unable to cope. We took him out and have now placed him in a specific autistic environment, not a general severe special needs school that knew a little about a lot. He settled within weeks and is moving forward everyday now. So look at options and seek as much advice as possible. Parents and experts on this site know what you are feeling, so throw all your questions and worries this way and I'm sure someone will be able to help. Good luck