desperate to find good school in bayside melbourne for son..

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Hi there,
My son has reciently been diagnosed high functioning autism, adhd, global developmental delay.
The school he is at is not supportive of his needs at all. He gets bullied, constantly does not want to go to school, and gets very disstressed when asked about school.
Does anyone please have any suggestions for a good school in the bayside area of melbourne? He is sooo disstressed about school, I am dredding sending him back after the holidays.
Thanks,
verticalmum.

I have the best suggestion of all. Stop torturing him by sending him to hell every day. If you love your kid, HOME SCHOOL HIM!! !

Unfortunately for him, you are not likely to do that. But if you are willing to do right by him, there are companies with online sites, that sell school curriculum materials for home schoolers, including some that offer stuff for kids on the Autism/Asperger's spectrum. Just do an online search for Autism/Asperger's Home School Curriculum and or supplies. You will find what you will need to teach your son, if you are willing to part from the herd, and give your son an education without making him face the abuse by the other kids on a daily basis, and the lack of assistance from the school authorities.

I have Asperger's and had to go to hell every day up through high school. Further schooling is not required in the USA after high school, so I didn't have to go on to college. Needless to say, I didn't learn well in that environment.

If you truly love your son, STOP SENDING HIM TO HELL EVERY DAY!! ! Teach him at home!

Some things are easier said than done! I know where you are coming from but it is not possible for all parents to take this step. There are different factors that make some parents do this and not everyone want their children to go through hell. Stop making the parent feel bad in this situation, you don't know their situation so don't offer advise that it not going to help. sorry but i just had to say this.

Hi, verticalmum. I can't recommend a particular school, but as a teacher myself, I do have some suggestions about how to get more advice. Your son's school should be providing him with assistance, so if this is not happening, you should make an appointment to speak with the principal about the situation. If this does not help, and if your son attends a government school, a call to your Regional Office of the Department of Education (see http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/c ... egions.htm for contact details) should help to get things moving.

The specialist who diagnosed your son may be able to advise you about a supportive school or agencies who could help. I would also suggest phoning Amaze (see http://www.amaze.org.au/contact-us/ for contact details) and your local Asperger Syndrome support network (see http://www.assnvic.org.au/other-support-groups/ for contact details), who may be able to recommend local schools that offer good support for students with ASDs.

I wish you well in finding the right school for your son. Jenny

thanks questor, I do love my kid. I am on the spectrum also. I am a single parent. You seem very quick to judge me by saying "unfortunately for him, you are not likely to do that" just wonder how you could possibly know? very judgmental reply.

Thank you autismdad2011, I thaught it was just me that thaught the reply was a bit harsh........so thank you.

Hi jennyishere, now this is what I was hoping for, some constructive advice. I have spoken to the principal, welfare officer, and had his speech therapist come with me to help advicate, all to no avail......I have written an email to the principal about my son being punched in the face at school just before the holidays. Seems like the school just don't care........
Thank you for the links and suggestions, this has made me feel heaps better. Thank you so much Jenny.
Thanks for sticking up for me autismdad2011.

Hi verticalmum
How old is your son?
Find a government school who will agree to apply for funding for an integration aide to help your son through your school? My daughter goes to a government school in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne and she has funding for an integration aide. However a word of advice. Any mainstream school will not have adequate resources to cater for special needs kids, we are having problems at the moment as her current teacher is unable to cater to my daughter's education and look after 20 kids.

I am fairly certain though that eventually we will have to homeschool her. School is still a little too over-stimulating for her (she also has ADHD and in addition has noise sensitivity).

Being a single mum must make things doubly hard...I had to resign from my job in 2010. Carers allowance and FAcshia funding simply does not cover costs.

There are government schools in Ashwood and Malvern that have a mainstream curriculum but have specialist units to deal with kids with special needs. I will be investigating these soon but in reality these are quite a distance for me to travel.

Put yourself in the parents shoes for a moment. We can't live on air, most of us have to find money to pay the bills and so school is the only option for our children. My daughter is lucky in that we could survive on one income while I stay home, however we know that we will be on struggle street for the rest of our lives. It's not just our social lives that we sacrifice, our entire lifestyle also has to be compromised.

This is the same thing I keep hearing over and over again - so spare a thought for the children who qualify for no aide, no funding, no assistance in mainstream schools - the alternative for these parents? either pay for an aide yourself or pay for a private school.

Cyberdad and Verticalmum. have your heard of Andale school in Kew? This is the school we are considering for DS but..it's expensive, 10k a year. http://www.andale.vic.edu.au/
DH and I went to have a look earlier this year and thought it was great. We are going to have DS evaluated next term to determine whether he is suitable (I am concerned that he may be too high functioning) alternatively, we are looking private, mainstream.

There is a better school in Malvern for higher functioning kids (perhaps like your son). I am considering my daughter, however have to get her to sit an IQ test first (she needs to score > 100) and we are waiting for her to settle with her behavior.
http://www.currajong.vic.edu.au/

Thanks Cyberdad,

I had read about Currajong but I don't think it's suitable at this stage for a few reasons - DS has a pretty short attention span (apart from his obsessions) so although academically he is capable, he will need some assistance in that regard. Also, I am put off by the fact that it's a three year programme - then what? and finally, although he has social issues and emotionally and behaviourally he requires very little assistance (as best we can tell).
I will certainly bear it in mind though for the future.