![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
llywelaYesterday was kind of a weird day. Odd things kept happening. Stupid, little things. Like going to use the staff toilet, only to find some random bloke in there getting changed. He had the nerve to be quite affronted, as well. I was like, a) this is the ladies toilet, and b) there's a lock on the door for a reason!
Then later there was all kinds of commotion around the little store room just outside the door to my office. It turned out that this tiny little store room also doubles as a first aid room, and some girl had collapsed and was being given oxygen. I was getting ready to go, so tried to ignore all the fuss, but heard someone ask for an ambulance to be called. A few minutes later I was coming back from the kitchen when I saw a couple of paramedics on the doorstep, but no one on reception to let them into the building! It was a good thing I'd seen all the hustle and bustle and so knew where they were needed.
This is a strange place to work. It'll be nice if I can find a workplace that's even halfway sane.
Having said that, after three weeks of looking, the job market really isn't looking too lively. There just isn't a great deal out there that suits me. Trouble is, I'm right at the top of my scale, and no one employs at the top of the scale. So to continue doing what I'm doing, what I know and have plenty of experience with, I'd have to take a cut in salary down to the bottom of the scale again. Or, I can try to aim a little higher and step up into something different, but the trouble with that is that I'd be asking employers to take a chance on me without the level of qualification and experience they are looking for. Cleft stick.
I've got another five weeks before my job disappears. I've stopped panicking now - that'll come back later. I keep worrying about what will happen after I've gone, who will look after the volunteers and pick up all the work I'm leaving. But I can't think about that. It isn't my problem. Not my fault they can't afford to keep my position open any more! It is a worry, though. I'll try to tie up as many loose ends as I can before I go.
My parents had a big meeting up at Small's school yesterday for her statement review. Mam sounded exhausted when I talked to her - it was all very positive, but very draining. One of her doctors used the phrase 'Autistic Spectrum Disorder' in official documentation for the first time. It could still take a year to get the official autism assessment through, but this is a first step in the right direction. She's had some assessment already, and on a scale of one to four, where one is normal and four is autistic, she comes out at threes and three-and-a-halfs, very definitely on the spectrum. This is not surprising, and very encouraging, to finally have confirmation of what we already knew. Again, all the experts agreed that her statement is wrong, expressed surprise that her problems weren't picked up a lot earlier, but agreed that they could see why she slipped through the net. They are hoping that the panel will bump her statement up from just five hours a week to something more like ten or fifteen, so that the school can access funding for the level of support they have already set in place for her. The one-on-one support teacher was hired specially for her - she helps with other children in the class, but Small is her primary focus. The governors agreed to release the funding for this as a stop-gap, so drawing down dedicated funding is necessary, although the school have promised that they have no intention of removing that level of support whatever happens.
Apparently, she is the least-able 11-year-old they've ever had come up to them, although she isn't the most disabled child in the school - they've had a few Aspergers children moved across from special schools. But they are working really hard with her, and are setting up a socialisation programme for her, now that she's been there for a few months and they have a clearer picture of her needs. The current statement doesn't reflect half her needs - and it took enormous effort to even get that much! The primary school really dropped the ball there, but the knock-on effect on her ongoing education lasts such a long time. Hopefully this time they will get it right.
Today she has an appointment at the hearing clinic. Of course, her hearing is perfect at the moment. It was virtually non-existent when the appointment was made. They never, ever get to see her at her worst, because it takes three months to get an 'emergency' appointment. Maybe next year, Mam should phone for the appointment in August, so that she stands a chance of it coming through when Small catches her first cold of the winter and her hearing vanishes...
Oh yeah. One other thing that happened at this meeting yesterday was that they offered the possibility of respite care. Mam turned it down, for the time being, even though she desperately needs a break. It sounds like a good idea, in theory, to have someone take a challenging child for the odd weekend, but we've seen it happen with other children - notably Small's friend Cheryse. They go into the care system, and even if it's only an occasional weekend they inevitably mix with other children in the system, often deeply troubled children, and they get dragged down. Small is very easily led, and it wouldn't be hard for another troubled kid to lead her well and truly off the rails, and she's only 11. It's the last thing she needs. Better for her to come to me at weekends, so Mam can get some sleep.
Then later there was all kinds of commotion around the little store room just outside the door to my office. It turned out that this tiny little store room also doubles as a first aid room, and some girl had collapsed and was being given oxygen. I was getting ready to go, so tried to ignore all the fuss, but heard someone ask for an ambulance to be called. A few minutes later I was coming back from the kitchen when I saw a couple of paramedics on the doorstep, but no one on reception to let them into the building! It was a good thing I'd seen all the hustle and bustle and so knew where they were needed.
This is a strange place to work. It'll be nice if I can find a workplace that's even halfway sane.
Having said that, after three weeks of looking, the job market really isn't looking too lively. There just isn't a great deal out there that suits me. Trouble is, I'm right at the top of my scale, and no one employs at the top of the scale. So to continue doing what I'm doing, what I know and have plenty of experience with, I'd have to take a cut in salary down to the bottom of the scale again. Or, I can try to aim a little higher and step up into something different, but the trouble with that is that I'd be asking employers to take a chance on me without the level of qualification and experience they are looking for. Cleft stick.
I've got another five weeks before my job disappears. I've stopped panicking now - that'll come back later. I keep worrying about what will happen after I've gone, who will look after the volunteers and pick up all the work I'm leaving. But I can't think about that. It isn't my problem. Not my fault they can't afford to keep my position open any more! It is a worry, though. I'll try to tie up as many loose ends as I can before I go.
My parents had a big meeting up at Small's school yesterday for her statement review. Mam sounded exhausted when I talked to her - it was all very positive, but very draining. One of her doctors used the phrase 'Autistic Spectrum Disorder' in official documentation for the first time. It could still take a year to get the official autism assessment through, but this is a first step in the right direction. She's had some assessment already, and on a scale of one to four, where one is normal and four is autistic, she comes out at threes and three-and-a-halfs, very definitely on the spectrum. This is not surprising, and very encouraging, to finally have confirmation of what we already knew. Again, all the experts agreed that her statement is wrong, expressed surprise that her problems weren't picked up a lot earlier, but agreed that they could see why she slipped through the net. They are hoping that the panel will bump her statement up from just five hours a week to something more like ten or fifteen, so that the school can access funding for the level of support they have already set in place for her. The one-on-one support teacher was hired specially for her - she helps with other children in the class, but Small is her primary focus. The governors agreed to release the funding for this as a stop-gap, so drawing down dedicated funding is necessary, although the school have promised that they have no intention of removing that level of support whatever happens.
Apparently, she is the least-able 11-year-old they've ever had come up to them, although she isn't the most disabled child in the school - they've had a few Aspergers children moved across from special schools. But they are working really hard with her, and are setting up a socialisation programme for her, now that she's been there for a few months and they have a clearer picture of her needs. The current statement doesn't reflect half her needs - and it took enormous effort to even get that much! The primary school really dropped the ball there, but the knock-on effect on her ongoing education lasts such a long time. Hopefully this time they will get it right.
Today she has an appointment at the hearing clinic. Of course, her hearing is perfect at the moment. It was virtually non-existent when the appointment was made. They never, ever get to see her at her worst, because it takes three months to get an 'emergency' appointment. Maybe next year, Mam should phone for the appointment in August, so that she stands a chance of it coming through when Small catches her first cold of the winter and her hearing vanishes...
Oh yeah. One other thing that happened at this meeting yesterday was that they offered the possibility of respite care. Mam turned it down, for the time being, even though she desperately needs a break. It sounds like a good idea, in theory, to have someone take a challenging child for the odd weekend, but we've seen it happen with other children - notably Small's friend Cheryse. They go into the care system, and even if it's only an occasional weekend they inevitably mix with other children in the system, often deeply troubled children, and they get dragged down. Small is very easily led, and it wouldn't be hard for another troubled kid to lead her well and truly off the rails, and she's only 11. It's the last thing she needs. Better for her to come to me at weekends, so Mam can get some sleep.
