HFA / Aspergers and High School

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Hi All,

I am a new member on this forum and am interested in getting people with teenage kids with HFA and Aspergers views on high school. In my country (Australia) there are no other schooling options other than mainstream for the kids at the higher end of the spectrum. They do have special ed units within a lot of the mainstream schools, but the kids still need to go out into the playground with all the other kids and as we all know, the playground is where a lot of these kids become unstuck and targeted by bullies!

Do you think that there should be independant high schools for kids diagnosed with HFA and Aspergers? Do you think it is discrimination that these schools are not widely available as an alternative for these kids? I am of the thinking that it is discriminatory, now that there is hard evidence that these kids brains are wired differently and they have a different learning style to their neurotypical peers. I also think it is unfair that they have to put up with high school bullying (as I think the statistics are that 90% of kids with ASD's get bullied at mainstream high schools).

I know that some countries already have these types of high schools available as an option. If your child already goes to one of these schools, how are they finding it there?

If your HFA or Aspergers child is at a mainstream high school, do you wish that you could send them to elsewhere or do you like the fact that they learn more about how to socialise in this setting?

Thanks in anticipation of your responses.

Marcy

Tell me about it! I always wondered why it never set off warning bells in anyone's head when a kindergartener claimed that her least favorite class was recess...

I think that would be a very interesting experiment, if nothing else.

And how will that protect them after High School? If you think the bullying stops once you graduate, you're sadly mistaken. Those of us with AS/HFA are bully magnets our entire lives. They are found in every walk of life, and though there are supposedly laws in place to protect you on some level from abuse and discrimination, those laws are never enforced. In fact, in most cases, the bullies have more protection from prosecution than the victims have from the bullies.

It has been my experience that since no one can see the disability, they will never take it seriously. It doesn't really exist, we're just whiners seeking attention.

I understand your intent and your good will is commendable, but separating the Autistic kids from everybody else will only leave them more vulnerable in the long run. They need to learn early how to recognize those types of sociopaths at a distance and avoid them whenever possible. Unfortunately its a lesson learned only by painful experience.

There is, apparently, an AS high school a few counties over. My husband learned about it when he heard a radio announcer comment that while you would think such a place would not have bullying, it isn't the case. Given the opportunity, AS kids can split into bullies and victims same as any other group of kids.

We see it on this forum, too. AS adults using memberships to bully other AS adults. Having AS does not stop all human instinct, and bullying is how someone who lacks a sense of real power or status may try to gain it. An immature short cut to self-esteem, clearly, but one that some people find themselves unable to resist.

If I were to favor an AS school for my child, it wouldn't be because I thought it would free him from bullies. It might, however, offer more subjects and teaching methods geared towards his unique abilities, and increased opportunities to find kids with like interests.

As for the existance of such a school being discriminatory, in the local case, I would say that does not apply. It isn't a public school and no one is forced to choose it. It is, instead, an option available for parents and students who believe it would fit their unique needs better. I am all for options, when it comes to schooling.

Willard - I hear what you're saying. I guess that what I was thinking in regards to segregating the students is that if they were at a much smaller school which was designed with sensory sensitivities in mind and the curriculum was geared to a more visual, less group / teamwork orientated program, this would hopefully decrease anxiousness of the kids and they would be able to concentrate better at school and achieve their full academic potential.

If the curriculum incorporated a social skills program and also, in conjunction with large ASD friendly companies an on the job work experience program through sponsorships of the kids in the area of their special interests, this could assist them in dealing with issues of future employment?

DW-a-mom - That is interesting what you say about there being bullying problems at an ASD school. I still think though that if there were these schools, with much smaller intake of students it would be less of a problem than in the massive noisy high schools where most of these kids have to survive now.

Many parents here in Australia that have kids with HFA and Aspergers tell me that when it is time for their kids to start high school, it is just not going to happen and they are going to pull their kids out and home school them. I just think this is such a shame, not that home schooling is bad but at least if there were schools catering just for these kids, they would at least have an attractive option other than home schooling to consider where they could be in a more social environment than at home. I imagine it would put less pressure on the whole family as well.

Or, to put it another way, we just need to learn to deal with our unique circumstances. I agree that segregated high schools would probably only defer the problem. Granted, it defers it into adulthood, where the parents don't have to be involved any more if they don't want to be.

That said, playgrounds in high school? Can't they just retreat to the library instead?