I won’t go into the long and probably very boring continuous saga with the educational system, if you read my brief reasons for this blog it should explain.  Apart from that it would take too long write 10 years of battling the system as a whole!

Friday 26th October 2007 I was called into see the head teacher of MLA (mummy’s little angle) mainstream school.  He has got yet another new teacher who within the first week managed to push every single negative behaviour button MLA has!

I duly turn up at the school and head off to the head teachers office hoping to have a production discussion…fat chance!  MLA teacher walks in, she does not introduce her self properly and mumbles something about her being Mrs ****.  There were no ‘it’s nice to meet’ or any other pleasantries.  In fact she was stand offish and brash. 

She then starts to inform me, not discuss, in a very aggressive manner of MLA ’s behaviour and how it was completely unacceptable and what am I going to do about it?  I, once again, explain how he can’t help these things and you need to put in place workable strategies. She then gets more aggressive when I suggest one of the strategies his professional team have suggested on more than one occasion, social stories,  stating ’she has worked with children who have aspergers before and social stories don’t work for all of them’

Argh!

The aspergers is raising it’s head again.  MLA has never been diagnosed but I have been informed by many consultants and doctors he does not have aspergers.  This ‘dagnoses’ has been made by teachers who obviously clearly know better than medically trained doctors and consultants. Life would be much simpler if he had this, well comparatively!

Of course I state, once again, he does not have aspergers and then comes the look of ‘parent in denial’ and I know this is on MLA school records, several times.

I show her a social story MLA has been using to calm him down, she dismisses again she has worked with children with aspergers etc…….give me strength!  I explain this works with MLA, she repeats her well ‘informed’ opinions and after a dozen times of telling her that this social story works I have to forcibly say ‘this works 100% with MLA’ 3 times, then she suddenly decides to ‘give it a go’.  I am not holding my breath and I dare say she won’t even try it and she ‘knows best’ and believe she said it to shut me up.

I then find out the true reason for this little ‘meeting’  They want exclude MLA from school activities and out of school activities stating it comes under ‘Health and Safety’. In other words they don’t want to have him around to mess up their gabbing time!

One particular event they want to exclude him form is Forest Schools, which is part of the curriculum.  They thrust a bit of paper in front of me telling me to ’sign it, so we can remove him if his behaviour is unacceptable’.  I say I am not agreeing to this and get told ’sign it or he can’t go at all!’  Blackmail.  I again say I am not happy to sign this as it is and write on it they must use, more than once, the strategies I have given them and I have sign this under duress!

How dare they blackmail me!

My father taut me that never let your self be blackmailed and always call their bluff and take legal action.  So that’s is basically what I have done.

I have contacted Educational Services for my area and put in a complaint regarding this and teachers diagnosing and making plans to exclude MLA from school activities.  I have made contact with my MSP (member of Scottish Parliament) and despite him being at a party conference he replied to my email within the hour  and I have been phoned this morning with an appointment to see him on Friday, the first available  has and first appointmentin the morning allowing for school drop off times.  Whilst I did not actually vote for him I am impressed so far with his response.

The email;

‘Dear Mr Swinney 

I have a child in Primary 7 who has a yet to be diagnosed mental disability, probably on the autistic spectrum, who attends main stream schooling.  He has attended a number or schools partly due to necessary house moves but also due to not being able to find a school that can and will cope with his behavioural oddities. It would appear that disability discrimination takes place along with him being bullied by teachers and pupils.  MLA is not a naughty violent child but his behaviour can be seen as disruptive and challenging unless the correct strategies are put in place and used! His primary education has not been a happy period but mainly years of misery and upset with his teachers expecting him to conform to “normal” behaviour rather than them adapting their teaching techniques in order to get the best from MLA and calm his behaviour.  I have also had cause to remove him from two schools in the past due to bullying and am concerned that this may well be the only option at his current school.   I gave him home education on these occasions but this is not an ideal situation particularly as he is getting older. His current school was until recently coping but now they are suggesting they can’t cope and once again it’s my son who should change despite the fact that his speech therapist, pediatrician and occupational therapist have all said this is not the correct way to teach MLA and they need to put workable strategies in place. I have on a number of occasions suggested strategies for them to put in place but meet constantly with disbelief and the old “I have been a teacher for x number of years and I know better than you” routine so many times.  The latest problem is that he is probably going to be excluded from all school activities including out of school and after school activities under the guise of Health and Safety.  I was coerced into signing a piece of paper stating that he could be pulled out of “forest schools” if he is seen to be a danger to himself and others.  I was told I either sign it or he can’t go at all.  I not happy about being blackmailed with threats of “sign this or he can’t go”.  I constantly find teachers diagnosing him with a condition that I have been told on numerous occasions by professional people he does not have and then notes being put on his file stating I am in denial!  He is currently receiving no learning support because he has no firm diagnoses and I am not happy that teachers with no medical or psychological qualifications are “diagnosing” him. I am also not happy that they are starting to exclude him from school activities under the guise of Health and Safety when it is very clear this is just an excuse.  I can’t see how being disruptive during the school choir or country dance activities are a health and safety issue.   My reason for contacting you as my MSP is that I feel I am at the stage where I need help from somebody outside the education system.  The main stream education has failed him and can’t cope with him. Schools for special needs children no longer exist unless they have profound special needs.  James needs to be educated and my local authority has a duty to educate him.   So we do I go from here?  Who educates him?    I would like your help and input in this as a matter of urgency in order that James can receive an education, which is his right!’

I hope Mr Swinney is able to inject his position and influence to help MLA.

Something needs to be done for children like MLA!

Of course I have seen as being an uncooperative parent because I will not always agree with what the school want to do or their suggestions…cooperation is a two way street and to blindly follow one persons views, whilst yours are not taken into account, is to be dictated to!

I will not agree to things that will do little or no good to MLA, he is my son and I am his sole parent and I shall do my very best to ensure he leads a happy life, along with his sister BB (bossy boots).