Our Success
Thomas
(Student's name has been changed for this article).
14 year old Thomas was in mainstream school until Year 9. He was a diagnosed late with Aspergers Sydrome and although has no associated learning disabilities, he found the hustle and bustle of school life, and the social pressure of his school peers difficult to cope with.
The pressure became so intense for Thomas, that it affected his behaviour, resulting in him spending more time out of class than in. His increasing anxiety started to have an impact on his school attendance and his activities out of school. Thomas would worry about things he saw on the news affecting him and his family, and in the end he refused to go to school.
Thomas attended an assessment day with us at LVS Hassocks and immediately found his place. From that day forward we have been able to help him thrive. We understand that he likes the challenge of practical tasks, but needs to have the tasks written down for him. He is much calmer at home too, managing much better socially in and out of school.
As a key member of the team for the school’s Summer Sharing event, Thomas helped to coordinate the set building. He has enjoyed taking on responsibility and is now a confident member of the school community often supporting his peers.
We will be working closely with Thomas over the next two years to develop his confidence and help him gain some real work skills, getting him ready for employment. LVS Hassocks now offers students a range of vocational qualifications, including Horticulture, Business Studies and Catering. Thomas has already shown a flair and interest in cooking and is looking forward to working in the school's brand new catering kitchen and learning new skills.
We are very proud of Thomas and how he has progressed in such a short time, we are convinced that our approach will ensure that when Thomas leaves us he will be a competent, well rounded individual who will be successful in the work place.
Matthew
(Student's name has been changed for this article).
Matthew is 16 years old. He has a diagnosis of Aspergers Syndrome but with no other associated learning disabilities. Matthew attended a large mainstream comprehensive school until year 11, where having had the support of an LSA, he took GCSE’s and achieved a C in Art and D-G grades in his other exams.
On the surface Matthew comes across as a very able young man, he has good expressive language and can use very complicated words. Once we spent more time with him it was apparent that he had very limited comprehension of most of the things he said, for example when talking about bird flu he said: ‘I hear that a pandemic is imminent’. But when questioned about what this meant, he had no understanding of the phrase he had used.
Matthew was socially quite remote and because of his anxieties about life’s little problems he was slowly becoming more isolated. Matthew had a lot of difficulties in relation to food, he had a very limited diet, consisting of jam sandwiches and chocolate, and was reluctant to try new things. At home he would wretch and gag on new foods.
Since coming to LVS Hassocks Matthew has already made great progress. Our understanding of Matthew and the approach taken to teaching him coping strategies means he is becoming much more able socially. He now discusses his concerns and anxieties with members of staff and is more likely to tell his mum and dad about school. At a recent family occasion, for the first time, Matthew sat and ate with the other children helping himself to a variety of new foods.
His amazed parents are thrilled with his progress so far. But we know that through our continued work with Matthew he will be able to integrate more and make more informed choices in the future. Supported by our programme of vocational learning he will also have work related qualifications to help him lead an independent life.
What our parents say...
'LVS Hassocks has made a huge difference to Charlie, he is happy, so much more self- confident with those around him and is learning key skills leading towards independent living. At last, I have found a school that knows exactly what he needs, and I can stop worrying!'
Parents of Charlie, aged 16
‘Since Jared started attending LVS Hassocks last year we have seen an acceleration in his confidence, self-esteem and social skills development.
We are delighted with his progress to date and attribute this to the teaching techniques and strategies provided by staff whose expertise lies specifically within the field of Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Finally, Jared is at a school that he is happy to go to every day which in turn has brought both him and the whole family a better quality of life.’
Parents of Jared aged 16