Jackson’s Story

If success is measured by fulfilling potential, then the effect of The Sycamore School on 13-year-old Jackson is exemplary.

 

Now in his fifth year at the school, this only child has blossomed in all aspects of his development – to the degree that Jackson was able to contemplate attending Iona College for High School to continue a family tradition.

 

While initially inclined to follow in those footsteps, his caregiver grandmother Glennis encouraged Jackson to choose what would be best for him. Would he be more comfortable in a smaller class with people and teachers he knew, or a bigger school with bells and whistles but 25 in a class and 2000 children?

 

“We did some more tours of the school, and he said, ‘I think I’ll stay with Sycamore because they get me’,” Glennis says. That sense was evident even in Jackson’s early days at The Sycamore School, despite a couple of “very bumpy” years.

 

 

“He came home in the first term of Year Three, and said he liked going to school,” Glennis recalls. Despite starting on reduced hours, he wanted to be there all the time. His grandmother asked him why. “His words were: ‘I can go to school and just be me.’”

 

By contrast, his prior experiences in mainstream education presented some challenges.

 

“He couldn’t manage transitioning from one task to another,” Glennis recounts. If he was working on a maths sheet then was told to switch to English, he’d argue: “‘You told me to do a maths sheet. I’ve got to do a maths sheet.’ And so, he became disruptive and just couldn’t cope.”

 

Glennis was proactive in obtaining a diagnosis including autism and ADHD, then securing funding for a carer to provide one-on-one support for Jackson at school. However, she discovered the school was sharing that resource among classes so often the carer wasn’t with him when he’d have a meltdown. As these episodes became more frequent, Jackson didn’t want to go to school. “It got to a stage where it just wasn’t going to work,” Glennis says.

 

Living locally, she knew The Sycamore School, and was able to enrol Jackson for the following year.

 

The Sycamore School worked closely with her to develop a tailored plan. There was a collaborative approach to gain insight and consistency across expression and language, asking what worked at home and what were his likely triggers. School staff were supportive and flexible in discussing issues and responses, even when Jackson’s behaviour had been challenging.

 

“In Year 4 he was very unstable; he was trying to escape. He broke their iPads. There was many a time I thought Ronwyn was going say, ‘It’s a bit much.’ But they just worked with us; open communication was the key to everything. They talked it through and worked out a plan for him every step of the way.”

 

Observing Jackson’s “enormous” personal growth over the past two years, his grandmother bursts with delight. “Oh, he’s marvellous. He’s much happier. He’s confident.”

 

On top of being able to regulate his emotions and voice needing a break, Jackson can engage in conversation with strangers, and has taken his puppy to obedience training alone – a proud moment for Glennis, a trainer herself.

 

Another big difference Jackson’s grandmother has noticed is that his caring nature shines more readily now, and he’s begun recognising emotions in others.

 

“Recently someone was having a moment, and he just sat down quietly beside him. I thought that was really lovely, a really big growth moment for him.”