Locwood
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Posts posted by Locwood
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I just wanted to pick up on something you have been told as I believe you have been mislead by your LEA - as unfortunately alot of LEA's tend to do. The Code of Practice towards the statement specifically states that the Statement should specifiy 'in terms of hours of support and staffing provision'. And on the IPSEA website there is case law, where again it states that the need for this amount of specification is needed because otherwise a parent will not know when the school/LEA are not fulfilling their requirements under the Statement and therefore would find it hard to challenge then at tribunal. In my son's Statement everything is itemised in terms of hours of support per term and staffing provision ie. who is going to do what and when.The only exception to this, is that the Code of Practice states that in some cases if a child is to go into a Special Educational Needs provision that there may not be such a great need to specify (as in day to day supports), as a child in that environment will be supported thoroughout the day anyway. However any professional input ie. SALT/EP/OT etc should be specified as well as any specific teaching strategies such as Precision Teaching or SCERTS.
The Code of Practice further states that any flexibility built into the Statement should be for the benefit of the child and not of the system. So if you are told that the Statement is not so specific to allow the school flexibility that is illegal. The flexibility built into my son's statement is termly hours of support rather than weekly ones. The Panel agreed that this would allow my son to carry over any therapy sessions he missed due to illness, otherwise if the Statement says weekly Speech and Language therapy of 30 mins, the therapist would have to turn up regardless of whether my son was in school or not. So it says a figure of 6 hours per term for direct SALT therapy from a suitabily qualified therapist and an additional 9 hours per term for liaising with staff and parents, observations and note taking, adjusting of the therapy programme, instructing the TA in the daily implementation of the programme, input into the Social Skills Group etc. His Statement also further lists every area of difficulty ie. social communication problems, receptive language, expressive language, narrative skills, etc.
Hi Sally
Thank you for the clearing that up! I will remember that his statement should depict hours etc, that's a big help. At the moment his SSNA goes into school even if my son is off school and he loses those hours.
The schools response to that is well it's tough and that's how it goes. They seem very much to use his SSNA as a general member of staff at times as it's really infuriating.
Thanks
J
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Hi there. I am only just getting to grips with my sons disorders. he is 5yrs old witha speech and language disorder and currently going for a second opinion on ASD (Autism as opposed to Aspergers).
I also know a child that is high functioning aspergers. As with all children we have to remember that they all learn, but in different ways. They are also very clever. I believe that our children are able to make decisions on who they like more than others (one son only wants to go to school on the days he has a certain teacher). The limited or miswired socail skills they have are what impact on how they express their feelings, deal with their feelings, remembering they do not understand their own feelings sometimes let alone others!!
Going back to the point of not liking a teacher, I feel it is really key to understand why. our kids on the spectrum hold grudges for a long time because they are not equipped with the right skills at the right time to get over something that has happened they didn't like. Social stories do work in the broader spectrum of situations, but when it s quite clearly aimed at specific people, it needs to be indentified as to why. It is very difficult though when something has happened at school and you get one story from your child (a simple black and white version) and then another story from the school (very grey and wishy washy). 9 times out of 10 our kids are right on the version of events but schools will stand together in what they feel is right and those situations have to be handled diplomatically (not easy!)
Being rude is unacceptable and sometimes not exusable though. Strategies, alog with routine and rules work well with all asd children. Teaching those rules and strategies take time, but once they have learnt them, they will begin to put them into practice. My son when under stress and doesn't agree with something, will shout out things like "you are wrong" "you have failed" purely because he has limited vocabulary, but I'm sure the day will come when the words are stronger and we will have to work with him to chose the right words, but to also understand why he feels he doesn't like that person.
J
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It would be useful for you to contact the National Autistic Society as they run seminars about the Special Educational Needs process, including the Statementing process. They also run HELP programmes for the parents of newly diagnosed children.It is very important to understand how the SEN process works. A Statement is a legal document and is legally binding on the LEA to meet the provision mentioned in the Statement. As parents you need to ensure that all your child's needs are identified in the Statement (section 2) and that recommendations as to how to meet those needs are in section 3. A Statement should be a precise document, there should be no ambiguity. Words such as 'regular', 'appropriate', 'frequent', 'significant' etc should not be used. Afterall what is 'regular' is it daily, weekly, monthly etc. It should specify support in terms of hours of provision and staffing arrangements.
If you don't know about the process get on a NAS one day seminar.
Sometimes your local Parent Partnership also runs one days events about the process.
Don't rely on the school or professionals to ensure your child's needs are met. Remember that all support and help costs them money. Most parents find that they have to get clued up and be firm and keep pushing and prodding to get the right level of support in place in the right edcuational setting.
Hi there. My son is just finishinghis 1st year at school and we managed to get him school action plus funding before he started last september. 5 of those hours are provided from within the schools existing budget and the additional 10 comes from the lea. Ask the school to put together a timetable showing the lessons/activities they have, look at what they have to do to ensure he accesses the curriculum successfully (ie does he need a lot of prompting, longer explanations, assistance etc) and how many minutes per activity he needs 1:1 assistance. All of this helps build up evidence and will enable the school to apply for funding before statmenting etc and gets the ball rolling straight away.
My son does have a diagnosis but a very wishy one and we are going to seek a second opinion, but the diagnosis is such that it talks about all the problems he has, speech and language disorder, sensory processing, autistic behavioural traits etc etc but not a one liner like ASD or SPD. Professionals are sometimes reluctant to give a one liner (as in my case) but the needs are based on what is written within the document. Hense the panels involved with funding and statement assesments will review the whole document.
From what I have been told, a statement won't necassarily detail hours, but the legal obligation if on the school to meets your childs needs as detailed in the statement. Fingers crossed for us all there!
Good luck with your meetings, be strong, you know your child best.
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We don't really have enough information about how this part-time schooling came about. Sometimes it is done officially, in the best interests of the child, and as part of a plan to gradually increase the hours. Sometimes it is done unofficially, in the interests of the school! (I would guess that the school is not giving back any of the money they are not using + they are saving themselves 5 hours a week).I would be expecting them to stick to a plan to increase the hours of attendance within a reasonable amount of time, otherwise they need to admit they cannot meet your child's needs even with all that 1:1, and a better placement needs to be found. Your son is entitled to a full-time education. By missing parts of the week, he is not getting his "broad and balanced curriculum".
What reason are they giving for him not attending full-time?
Hi, I am new to this forum! I am mum to a 5yr old boy with asd (for want of a short word) Schools can be a law to themselves. Once a child has reached 5 they are entitled to a full time place at school, irrespective of what needs a child may have. I have been through so much at school in this first year and boy does it feel like banging your head against a brick wall!!!
Have you explored the options of a transition period to increase his hours so that by the end of this term he has experienced a full day at least once? He has every right to be there, every right to have the same access to the schools curriculum and not being there isn't helping. (Schools are quick enough to moan if you take children out for a holiday!!)Have behavioural support been into school to help put strategies in place so that your son can cope. You have said the school are "waiting for him to cope". Do they understand what coping is for him? Are you having support from an outreach autism/aspergers behavioural speacialist? I really don't like the word cope, children should be able to enjoy and thrive at school. With the right strategies in place there is no reason why your son should not be at school. Is he allowed shut down time at school? Is he given frequent opportunities to run off his steam in between learning activities? Does he have the usual visual timetables, routines at school. Basic things to give him the opportunity to be succesful in "coping". A reward scheme in school for not banging his cup (for example) might be useful. When he has filled a jar to the top he has a reward (something pre discussed with you and school). I could go on with ideas. Ideas that are achievable without a 1:1
Good luck.
How Should I Request A Second Opinion On Diagnosis?
in General Discussion
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How on earth am I supposed to get a second opinion without upsetting the Top Dog Phycologist??
My son was given a diagnosis April 2008 (he was 4yrs). Speech and language disorder, sensory processing disorder, social and communication disorder, autistic behaviours...... but nothing to say he is on the spectrum??????? Now this really baffels me..... the Top Dog agrees that he does present as an autistic child, but when his environment is controlled and he is calm he is very normal !! But to me, having to control his environment to keep him calm means he is not normal (Autistic).
His paediatricians (there have been 2) both agree that he is autistic, the outreach support services agree he is autistic......... and here's the crunch ............they have told me to get a second opinion!
The Top Dog we have been seeing and was involved in my sons diagnosis process does not like to diagnose children. To get a second opinion as he needs to have his diagnosis flagged as autistic.
Howshould I go about getting a second opinion? Do I need to go private and pay??
He is already on school action plus but his school say he has access to 22 hours of support??? Think they mean there is a TA on hand if he needs support.
Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated
J