ASC Centre
Criteria for Admission
General Description of Need:
This Centre is for children with long-term difficulties in the autistic spectrum affecting their access to the curriculum. There should be involvement from agencies including educational psychology, and CAMHS or the Child Development Team, confirming a description of ASC.
Cognition/Ability Range:
Children between 4-11 years with an ability within the broad average range. They may present with an uneven cognitive profile.
Learning:
There should be evidence that the child’s autistic spectrum condition is affecting their learning so that the child is likely to need additional support in curriculum subjects for some of the time.
There should be a need for a differentiated curriculum, adjusted for the child’s particular type of learning style.
There should be evidence that the child is able to learn visually.
The child should be able to manage the demands of a mainstream environment with some support where necessary and should be able to manage some independent learning.
The child should be able to benefit from a balance of mainstream and small group teaching.
There should be evidence that the child is able to learn with mainstream peers.
Communication:
The child could have difficulties with communication such as: limited non-verbal or pre-verbal communication skills, difficulties with verbal comprehension, understanding abstract language and non-literal language, restricted, unusual use of language.
Spoken language should be the child’s main method of communication.
The child needs regular support from a speech and language therapist working alongside skilled school staff to develop their communication skills and/or use of language.
Social Interaction:
The child could have difficulties with social interaction such as: not initiating or avoiding contact with others, inappropriate social and emotional behaviour.
The child could need regular specialist support to develop their social understanding and social skills.
Behaviour:
The child could have difficulties with thinking and behaviour such as: restricted imagination and inflexible thinking such as repetitive rather than imaginative play, fixed or limited areas of interest, difficulty coping with unplanned change.
There could be evidence that the child’s autistic spectrum condition is affecting their social and emotional development such that it is causing anxiety or social problems.
Self-help Skills:
The child should have broadly age appropriate self-help skills (in relation to toileting, feeding etc.)
Exit Criteria:
The child is able to manage in a mainstream school with little to no support.
Or
The child shows more significant difficulties indicating that they are likely to need a greater input or more intensive specialist support.
Please discuss placement with your caseworker or current school in the first instance.
We have a monthly, adults-only open afternoon for parents wishing to consider our Centre. Please contact the school office to book a place.
