I RECENTLY attended a meeting with council deputy director (learners) Roger Vandevelde in regard to the proposed closure of Westbrooke School and the integration of special needs children into mainstream schools.

Westbrooke is the light at the end of the tunnel for most parents with special needs children.

I have three children, two with special needs.

My eldest child has Asperger's syndrome and attends East Wickham Junior School.

My second child attends Westbrooke School. He has Asperger's syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and is on medication.

By the time our children arrive at Westbrooke they have been excluded from mainstream schools because of their behaviour.

Their self-esteem is on the floor, they have no sense of worth, they have been bullied or become bullies themselves and are very unhappy.

Sometimes they are years behind in schoolwork.

After a short time at Westbrooke their confidence grows, they start to achievea and make friends.

Westbrooke staff are amazing. They take physical and verbal abuse on a daily basis because they know how to help the children and recognise the problems and frustrations they have.

The council is going to have a lot of problems with this integration idea. There will be more bullying, incidents of extreme violence and damage to school property.

Children like my son will become stressed and extremely volatile.

I believe there could even be an increase of suicides and self-harm due to bullying.

I don't want my son victimised and isolated and made to feel inadequate just because he is different.

I refuse to accept integration is the best policy for children who have extremely destructive behaviour.

If it comes to it, I will home educate my son. I love him too much to see him suffer.

S Alexander, Tyrrell Avenue, Welling