Noah has diagnoses of ASD and ADHD. He often struggles to communicate verbally, particularly when he feels uncomfortable.
By the time he met One Eighty, he had not attended school for six months. This was due to a combination of Noah being picked on, feeling unable to voice his concerns, and both he and his mother feeling he wasn’t getting the support he needed at his secondary school. Over time, Noah had become increasingly withdrawn before refusing to attend school entirely.
During his time out of school, Noah developed significant anxiety around the idea of returning to education, to the point where he would shut down whenever it was mentioned. Noah was also particularly anxious about the transition to secondary school
What happened?
Noah was referred to One-Eighty’s Transitional Summer Project to support him with his move to a new secondary school.
Starting with the initial one-to-one therapeutic sessions at the end of the school year, Noah began to regain confidence. He built excellent relationships with One Eighty staff and started to develop positive relationships with teachers at his new secondary school. This gave his mum reassurance about his ability to form trusting relationships with adults when given time and care.
Noah continued to be supported over the summer, where he learned strategies to regulate his emotions. He also improved his verbal communication and developed a stronger sense of self-belief.
What was the outcome?
When Noah started secondary school at the beginning of the autumn term, he attended every day – his first time in education for six months.
Noah is now enjoying and engaging with school full-time and with renewed confidence. He will still continue to receive support from school staff as and when he needs it. The summer project reporting outlined what Noah finds helpful, which will support his parents in future conversations with school staff, ensuring he continues to get the support he needs.
“Very helpful – it helped me build confidence” – Noah
“I haven’t seen him like this [engaged] in a long time” – Noah’s mother