Special Needs Register.......

[Derekwj37]

Hi Anyone.....

I need some help and advice.

My son is now 7 years old and in year 3 at school (4th year at school) on the ISLE OF MAN.

Great care at school before this year, and I cannot fault the care even now, but now we are having more reports of issues with his new teaching staff having what i would class as a fear of the condition, highs and low's. They are checking regular, with more activity and exercise he is having some hypo's.

Our Diabetes Nurse has trained the staff also.

The problem we now have is that the school has asked my son to be put ont he special needs register for his medical condition.

He is very intelligent, reports are excellent, yet they say this is due to a medical condition; to get funding is my belief for more staff. We do not have a report of his condition affecting his learning.

The form makes referral for intervention from external agencies.

I am dead against this, i dont want to sign my son to this, and i dont see why a medical condition like diabetes is something to warrant application to the special needs register.

Our son has Type 1 diabetes, that with a young child is on occasion does things out of the norm, due to growth, emotion, food, exercise and so on; this is in no way a special needs register situation.

The funding of support is a matter for the education department to sort, not for inappropriate labelling as an excuse to get funding.

We have our son on a pump (Animas Vibe), we also have a freestyle libre scanner, and his control at 3 month clinic is excellent, he had his last reading a few weeks ago and his reading was 51 mmols; normally it is 46 mmols.

If this is just an excuse to get more money, then i dont want to sign it, if this is an excuse to have a full time career for my sone in a class just for him, then i dont want to sign as it is inappropriate and will label him, if this is to fund something else, I definitely dont want to sign.... in any way, i just dont think this is right.

I wondered if you could share your views; sorry for rambling on..

Thanks

DC

 

[azure]

Hi @Derekwj37

It's a while since I worked in a school, but when I did there was a child on the Register due to a medical condition. This was a formality in their case due to needing certain considerations in class. I also know of a child with Type 1 in an infant class who has an assistant responsible for him.

If I was you, I'd ask for more information. Ask for a meeting and go armed with a list of questions.

The most important thing is that the staff know about Type 1 and that you're confident they can give your son appropriate care.

It's great he has a pump, by the way.

 

[Deleted member 308541]

I would not sign it, as it sounds discriminatory to your son.

 

[Derekwj37]

Thank you all who have commented so far, I felt alone in my views, your help has given me confidence.

Thank You, and best wishes.

 

[mc9]

Thank you all who have commented so far, I felt alone in my views, your help has given me confidence.

Thank You, and best wishes.

Don't sign him onto the special needs register

 

[Diamummy_]

I wouldn't sign it either x

 

[T1Dad]

No chance...T1D on its own is not Special Needs. Sure, your son has 'additional' needs over and above his peers but nothing 'special'. You're also running with a Libre and Pump so not that much for teaching to do on top of their normal duties. Like you say, this sounds like a plan to get extra funding.

 

[sally and james]

Many years ago I was a school governor and still have some vague memories of "Special Needs". Things could, of course, have changed, but please don't interpret "special needs" as "a bit thick" or "mentally not quite up to it" or "unable to cope", it is, as it says, a special need. Your son does need some special awareness by staff and might have a need beyond, above or different to other children in certain circumstances. See it as being like allergic to nuts, just something that needs to be noted, not a form of discrimination or negative labelling. My understanding was that, especially in infant and junior schools, large numbers of children are "special needs" at some point. It's a very broad brush and is often temporary. In my own family, a then young relative was put on the special needs register for some troubled behaviour. She went on to a top university and may now be the doctor who is treating you. Yes, there is some additional funding for Special Needs, but that's how life works these days and, maybe some teacher will be sent on a course to understand T1 better.
Do ask questions, but don't think of it as a stigma or imagine that your son will have to wear a big badge to single him out.
Sally

 

[phoenix]

You might want to read this from the Children with Diabetes group http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/uk/AccessingSupportForChildrenWithDiabetesInSchool-UK.pdf

 

[Shar67]

Sorry i cannot understand why you dont want extra care for your son whilst at school, what to you think will happen if you sign him as special needs?
My son was special needs at school, when he did his GCSEs he was top of whole school with A*s. He then went to do his A levels at grammar school coming out with A*s. He went on to university, got a 2/1 Bsc. He is now a fully qualified airline pilot. There isn't a stigma, it is help where it is needed and if thst

 

[mc9]

Sorry i cannot understand why you dont want extra care for your son whilst at school, what to you think will happen if you sign him as special needs?
My son was special needs at school, when he did his GCSEs he was top of whole school with A*s. He then went to do his A levels at grammar school coming out with A*s. He went on to university, got a 2/1 Bsc. He is now a fully qualified airline pilot. There isn't a stigma, it is help where it is needed and if thst

There is a stigma and students with diabetes don't need to be treated any differently except that they need to have proper treatment which is already havery pending without th special needs register

 

[mc9]

Many years ago I was a school governor and still have some vague memories of "Special Needs". Things could, of course, have changed, but please don't interpret "special needs" as "a bit thick" or "mentally not quite up to it" or "unable to cope", it is, as it says, a special need. Your son does need some special awareness by staff and might have a need beyond, above or different to other children in certain circumstances. See it as being like allergic to nuts, just something that needs to be noted, not a form of discrimination or negative labelling. My understanding was that, especially in infant and junior schools, large numbers of children are "special needs" at some point. It's a very broad brush and is often temporary. In my own family, a then young relative was put on the special needs register for some troubled behaviour. She went on to a top university and may now be the doctor who is treating you. Yes, there is some additional funding for Special Needs, but that's how life works these days and, maybe some teacher will be sent on a course to understand T1 better.
Do ask questions, but don't think of it as a stigma or imagine that your son will have to wear a big badge to single him out.
Sally

You might want to read this from the Children with Diabetes group http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/uk/AccessingSupportForChildrenWithDiabetesInSchool-UK.pdf

He already has that without the special needs register though

 

[mc9]

It sounds like your special needs register is for teaching the child differently which he doesn't need, nevertheless it is important to consider all the options before making a decision

 

[mc9]

It is kind of seems like the teachers are too lazy to manage his diabetes and are trying to get out of it. Though I am not exactly sure how the special needs register works

 

[mc9]

And finally, why would he need to be registered, these are important questions to ask

 

[Shar67]

It is kind of seems like the teachers are too lazy to manage his diabetes and are trying to get out of it. Though I am not exactly sure how the special needs register works

If you don't know how it works, then telling someone not to sign up to it, isn't very good information.
Teacher may have a class of 20/30+ children, if a diabetic child has a hypo the teacher has one child in need and another 19/29 without a teacher.
My son's class mates were fairly unaware he had his own teaching assistant as the assistant helped out anyone in the class that needed assurance etc, the teacher got on with teaching the whole class.

 

[mc9]

If you don't know how it works, then telling someone not to sign up to it, isn't very good information.
Teacher may have a class of 20/30+ children, if a diabetic child has a hypo the teacher has one child in need and another 19/29 without a teacher.
My son's class mates were fairly unaware he had his own teaching assistant as the assistant helped out anyone in the class that needed assurance etc, the teacher got on with teaching the whole class.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, would you want a child with an inhaler to be signed onto the special needs register. Also we don't know if ops school has a teaching assistant and that'd be a good question to ask

 

[mc9]

Also, at your school, what exactly does a special needs register entail

 

[mc9]

But in the end you know what's best for your son

 

[Shar67]

When a child is identified as having an educational or a medical need that requires assistance whilst at school the local authority will look at those needs, it may involve social services, psychologist, doctors, other health providers and educators.
If that child fits into the criteria as having a special need, then the local authority have to provide this extra help. It may be that the child will only need minimum assistance for a short period of time, or for whole of eduction period. Some children may not be suitable to enter main stream schooling and have to go to a school suitable for their needs. (All children in UK have to have some eduction by law) some children may need support through entire schooling including university.

Regarding a child with asthma who requires to take an inhaler (my son was also asthmatic), there was a devastating case where a child died of an asthma attack because teacher had a meeting and had no time to call an ambulance ( died 2007 Stockport council was LA) another 12 year old died this year as school had taken his inhaler from him.
If these children had an assistant they might still be alive.

When my son was/is applying for jobs, they look at his qualifications, perhaps his disability (so far it doesn't seem to be an issue). On leaving education the special needs goes, it doesn't go with you for the rest of your life.

The OP's child may only need help until they and the school get a hang of the diabetes, remember when a child goes to school you are handing over a child (I would certainly die for mine) into their care and protection and I for one would want the best that is offered and if it means special needs then so be it