hi i have not been on for a while but i now need some advice, i have a 5 year old wee boy (cam) who was diagnosed with autism sept 2007 he is a lovely child but can be very demanding we use a pictorial timetable with him and time warnings for most things. the problem i have is the way his school discipline him, what they do if he is being difficult is give him a warning which is fine, but if he continues to be difficult they then keep him in the classroom for the next break! now this i think is counter productive one thing that calms him down is physical activity! in his iep it states - Give a physical activity when cameron is restless, to increase cooperation. the problem i have is if they are not letting him let off steam at playtime of course he is going to be difficult! i just dont understand why they cant see the connection! they are causing quite a lot of the problem by keeping him in! he now has 2 weeks off school and i have decided to spend this time building a case to take to the headmaster to try and make them see they are part off the problem. does this sound reasonable? any coments or advice would be very greatfully recieved, i just dont think they will listen to me, i need all the help i can get. thank you :o)

Hello,
My daughter when she was younger , had time out`s durning recess ,because of out of sort`s in the classroom , but she was not told no recess at all ..She would have to sit down on a solid white line, for say.. 5 min out in the play yard .. then be able to join the rest of her mates in the yard for the remainder..I agree that is not right to take the whole play time away from your son.Best Regards.

You are right to go and talk to the school.

If I were you I'd go in very positive, say that you are pleased that they are dealing with the discipline problem, but that you have found that letting off steam in the play ground is actually rather essential for him so that he can settle in class. Then have a couple of ideas of things that they could do instead. I don't know what would work for your child. Mine would be gutted if his 'choosing' activity were to be taken away, or maybe there is a favourite activity at school that could be put away in a box etc etc.

In this way you aren't putting any body's back up and hopefully they will be receptive to your input.

Good luck

If it states in his iep that he's supposed to get physical activity when he gets aggitated and they aren't letting him do that, then they are breaking the law.

However, I bet he's a smart guy. If he knows, all I have to do is act up and they let me play outside, then that's what I'm going to do!!!

My son can't go to recess if he hasn't finished his 1-1 work. And if he needs a break, he can hold up the "I need a break" picture card. She'll set a timer, keep him at the table or he'll lay on the floor, but when the timer dings, he knows it's back to work.

And also have you sat in on the class? Or would that ruin his day? Don't be afraid to be the squeaky wheel, but be a nice squeaky wheel, y'know?? Approach the teachers calmly but let them know your concerns. If you do, keep record of what happens, and be prepared of what you're going to say to her boss and keep record of that too. Maybe it's time to change his iep,, or come up w/ another solution for in the classroom.

GODD LUCK!!!!!;)

hi thanks for your replies its good to get other peoples insight! cam gets to bring a toy each day from home, when he gets in to his class he puts it in the safe box on his teachers desk and is allowed it at break times only, now i was thinking that it would probably be a better punishment if they made him leave his toy in the safe box at break time if he was difficult, does this sound reasonable? or can anyone give me any suggestions. thanks xx

Ithink that sounds like an excellent idea. That way he'll get to let off steam and have a form of discipline that will be very meaningful to him.

When my little one throws his food on the floor or spills his drink on purpose at school they make him clean it up and then reward the others for being good. It's very effective. (Great at home too as when he knocks over the cornflakes etc he'll clean them all up!) He tried throwing food on the floor at home so I too made him sweep it up...he hasn't done it since.