Oscar got a B!
Oscar is autistic and has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) but he does not have a cognitive impairment. ASD impacts how someone perceives their world and communicates their experiences, whereas ADHD impacts on the brain’s capacity for self-regulating behaviour and feelings.
I have been working with Oscar and the family for five months. His program has involved one-to-one therapy that focuses on strengthening his executive function skills, especially his working memory, social communication strategies for talking with peers, and pre-teaching his classroom content.
My partnership with Oscar’s parents has also included supporting them in working with the school to shape his Individual Education Plan (IEP) into a document that removes his barriers to full inclusion in the classroom. Although Oscar does not have a cognitive impairment, his IEP only focused on a limited curriculum that he was expected to learn. It did not focus on the barriers that prevent him from accessing the full curriculum that include focus, deep interest in sloths, slower processing speed, and working memory.
The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 provides protection for Oscar under its Disability Standards for Education 2005. Not adhering to these standards is unlawful. We worked with the school and helped them understand that Oscar’s difficulties were not because he lacked the cognitive capacity to do the work, but because of the barriers of his disability. We helped the school develop an IEP that allowed Oscar to be appropriately supported in the classroom and ultimately to achieve his B in Maths.
The impact of this B has been immense! Oscar has had implicit feedback over the years that he is ‘dumb’ so that now, at ten years of age, he’s worried he won’t get a job and will be homeless. Oscar is not this perception of him. He has a disability that requires adjustments and accommodations to help him learn. These are not difficult for schools. In fact, the evidence shows they help many children in the class.
With our support in helping Oscar, his parents, and the school we’re seeing him begin to achieve grades that reflect his ability, and not his disability.
* All names have been changed for privacy and all our client stories are published here with permission.
The best approach to working with schools
The key message here is that this is your child, and you know your child best. It’s so important for schools to work alongside you to achieve the best outcome for them.
There are many examples of schools that do this really well and we see excellent outcomes for those children. Sadly, this isn’t true for every family, but applying the following approach can create a new future for your child and for you.
Background
The current view of disability is the ‘human rights model of disability’ (see Australian Human Rights Commission, Human Rights and People With Disability) and the ‘social model of disability’ which sees disability as diversity and not something to be fixed. Unfortunately, this is often not the approach taken in schools. Instead, they want to ‘correct’ our children’s disability, often with little or no experience or formal training in this area.
Your role is to advocate for your child and keep their strengths central to the conversation. This can be super hard but it’s so important if you want the school to know, celebrate and include your child based on those strengths.
Understand your child’s barriers
Simply stating your child has, for example, ASD can result in strategies that school staff think are right for your child instead of dealing with the barriers to their learning. One example of this is social communication: perhaps your child doesn’t get included at playtime—they require support in this area more than they need, for example, a literacy group.
Know your rights
You will need to advocate for your child over and over again until you see the response that causes them to thrive.
Read all the school policies and hold staff to them.
Understand your rights under discrimination acts. I can offer you training in this area as it can be complex.
Communicate often
Keep your communication channels open, frequent and, above all—friendly.
As often as possible keep communication in written form so you have a paper trail.
Ask for regular check ins
This is super important and is a reasonable request. A child who knows that people are communicating about them will know that these people care about them. Make sure this dialogue does not become a whinge session from the teacher, however; you want to be hearing about what can be celebrated.
Keep up the pressure
You are your child’s best advocate and the only one who will advocate strongly for them. Follow up on promises made.
Don’t be frightened that staff will pick on your child if you complain or ask questions. As long as you are reasonable and don’t attack, you are entitled to raise concerns about things you’re worried about.
And remember…you are the expert on your own child, and quite possibly know more about their disability than their teachers do.
Parent Review:
“I discovered Kereth during a time of overwhelming stress with my son, who has ASD and ADHD. He was receiving failing grades in school, and despite two and a half years of therapy, we were seeing little to no progress. It felt as if no one truly cared.
“When I saw someone comment that Kereth had completely transformed their lives, I knew I had to reach out. To say she changed our lives is an understatement. The transformation in my son has been nothing short of remarkable; he is a completely different child.
“She saw through the haze to the child within, yearning to emerge. I placed my full trust in her, and it has paid off immensely.
“After five years of battling anxiety, my son is now expressing himself, socialising, and advocating for his needs at school. In less than a month, Kereth achieved more with him than all previous therapies combined.
“Her expertise as an educator, along with her deep understanding of autism and ADHD, is unparalleled. She has been a godsend in advocating for my boys during IEP meetings, ensuring they receive the support they need in the classroom.
“My boys adore her! They are all thriving. My 9-year-old often asks if she can be his teacher. We’ve gone from dreading therapy to wishing we could see her more than once a week.
“Kereth not only supports my children but also me. I can share my thoughts and vent when needed, and she truly understands.
“I often wonder how we were lucky enough to find her. She is the first person to genuinely care for and understand my kids at their core. I am beyond grateful for her every single day.
“If you're considering her services, I can assure you that you won’t find anyone as amazing as she is. I wish every family with a struggling child could have a Kereth by their side.”
Victoria, mother