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Noah’s path to positive educational outcomes 

Noah started his educational journey in mainstream nursery school and, like many other autistic children, had a hard time adjusting. Sadly, his experience is not uncommon, with many educational settings and professionals struggling to understand and meet autistic children’s needs due to a lack of knowledge, teacher training and resources. 

 

Noah’s mother reflects: “On one occasion I remember picking up Noah and he was cold and frozen and shivering, and I asked the teacher what happened. She told me they had to keep him for one hour outside, so he didn’t disturb the other children. That was the last time we took him to that school. 

“The second school we tried was a base attached to a nursery. Here the ratio of staff to children was better, however Noah could never settle properly. The maximum they were able to keep him in there was for 10 minutes. They would call me, and I would go and pick him up, or I’d just wait outside. 

“Following the experiences of the two schools Noah in many ways regressed. He refused to walk. Going to school he became more rigid; he would escape and he would hide under parked cars. He would try anything and everything not to reach the school… at home he started wetting the bed, smearing, to name just a few of the issues we saw”. 

After enrolling Noah at Park House School, the change was rapid and significant. “For the first couple of weeks, I remember I would sit outside the school in the park waiting for a phone call, for someone to call and say come and pick Noah up, but that phone call never came. The atmosphere was different. Noah goes in smiling; he comes out smiling… they speak his language and that’s all Noah needed”. 

“This change in behaviour has impacted [our] family immensely for the positive.” 

After six weeks, Noah’s team compiled a detailed profile which was then used to form an individualised plan as to how best to support him both in school and at home. Noah is now thriving at Park House School, and his mother could not be more pleased: 

“The biggest impact is on Noah’s mental health, he is generally more happy and content… this has a knock-on effect on his home time, the happiness continues until bedtime. This means aggressive behaviour towards his younger brother, self-harming and self-injurious behaviour has decreased drastically. In the past, as a family we used to work to separate them in order to ensure their safety, whereas now, we encourage that they play together, read and write together, eat together and watch a movie together. This change in behaviour has impacted [our] family immensely for the positive.” 

BeyondAutism provides autistic children and young adults with an education that empowers a life of choice, opportunity, and independence.

Click here to learn more about our schools. 

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