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asdinit

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About asdinit

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    Salisbury Hill

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    Female
  • Location
    Kent
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    Survival
  1. All the more reason that now we've found out about the specialist school we're hoping for M to go there - the one we're considering now hadn't entered the equation before because as far as we knew, it was JUST specialist behaviour and didn't have the ASD facility. Fingers crossed, that's where M will go.
  2. Yes he has seen OT but not for SA - it was done on the Paed referral due to hypermobility and a very small amount of the OT report has been included. I'm looking into getting a sensory integration profile done on him ready for the appeal and also to help us help him at home especially as it looks likely that he also has dyspraxia. Well, we initially looked at a unit with MS integration but on reflection and as Sally44 pointed out M (that's a coincidence LOL) has never got on in MS - isn't it amazing how sometimes you miss the obvious! So, with that enlightenment we started to look towards specialist ASD schools although realised there would be a huge fight to get M into there. Then, when we saw LA they said about an ASD unit at a specialist behaviour school. M's ADHD is severe although his primary need has been identified by the panel as ASD - ASD unit at MS school will integrate into MS whereas ASD unit at specialist behaviour school will integrate into specialist behaviour school which really would suit M so well as it would address both issues at the same time and he'd get SALT and OT there too (which will be one of my arguments if we go to appeal on cost basis amongst other things). Finally.......I couldn't believe this.......as I said above LA wouldn't increase the hours of provision without the school asking for it. So I rang M's school and they told me that they had spoken to LA but couldn't remember when and had asked for a minimum of 25 hours plus additional if possible
  3. Hmm, you might just have something there
  4. This is an example of one of the things on the Sibs site for helping siblings (you can find it at http://www.sibs.org.uk/professionals/activities-sibling-support/coping-strategies/sibling-stars): Sibling Stars Purpose This end of year craft activity encourages a siblings to acknowledge his/her strengths and achievements. You will need Star templates prepared in advance Coloured Card Scissors Decorating materials – pens, glitter, feathers etc Thin ribbon/ wool Hole punch How to do it There may be obvious events such as passing an exam or scoring a winning goal. However for many siblings some of their day to day activities will have required extra effort - such as getting to school every day when they have been kept awake, joining a new club, keeping a brother company when he had treatment, telling parents what is on their mind, teaching a sister to say a new word etc. The sibling creates lots of stars by drawing around the template and cutting out the shapes. He/she then decorates one side of the shapes. On the reverse of each star the sibling writes down one thing that he/she is proud of. Punch a hole in the top, thread through the ribbon to make a loop and then hang them around the room or from a tree. Encourage the sibling to make as many stars as possible. The sibling puts the stars in a visible place at home so they can then become a talking point within the family and a reminder for parents and others to offer compliments. Thank you to Lesley Dougan, LD team sibling group, Wirral CAMHS Division, for this activity.
  5. Oh it's so sad isn't it that we all have these problems with the little ones. My youngest (he's 6) has developed anxiety related problems too - stammering, chewing clothes, crying, whining, nightmares etc...........it's awful to watch isn't it Have you tried Sibs ? There's a great deal of info on their website that may help. I'm seriously thinking about somehow making a safe area somewhere in the house where my youngest can go when M kicks off so that M can't get to him but I don't really think that's the answer or practical come to that so I'm at a bit of a loss with it right now. I do like Sally's 'choose your path' idea - that sounds really good. Unfortunately M (he's 8) won't be able to comprehend that method just yet but it's definitely something I'll try in the future. We have an charity run organisation down south that has a club especially for siblings once a week that my youngest is starting tomorrow. Only siblings of disabled children can attend (the majority of those attending have ASD siblings) and they encourage the children to talk about their siblings and the difficulties they have with them - it's kind of like a download session but done in a fun way with lots of fun activities involved. I'm hoping this will help him as I've been to my GP about the issues he's having and she's referred him to SALT with a view to possibly referring him to CAMHS at some point in the future.
  6. M has respite through direct payment. We were told that it's now called 'short breaks' as apparently it was decided that 'respite' insinuated that carers wanted to off load those in their care! I applied to the Disabled Childrens Team at Social Services for the council to come and do an assessment on M which they did. They had to do an initial assessment first to see if M qualified for short breaks which they said he did, then someone else came round and did the core assessment to decide how much short break M should have. We were given 4 hours a week through direct payment and fortunately one of M's teachers at school said they would be happy to do it for us (she is, without a shadow of doubt, my angel x). We had a review after 6 months to make sure all was OK and was then given an extra 3 hours a week during school holidays (3 x 13 weeks for the year). It has been a life saver for us - it's such a shame you are struggling with even getting the assessment in the first place let alone actually being provided with any.
  7. Link for the update to the above http://www.asd-forum.org.uk/forum/index.php?/topic/28115-la-meeting-after-proposed-statement-issued/
  8. Well, an update on the shinanigans of the past week....... Meeting with the LA was so so - we managed to get a few bits of wording changed such as "can become" to "becomes" and "may have more" to "has more" so a bit more specific on that part but to be honest, there was not a great deal of movement. In fact the LA said that basicly the statement had been written and that's that! However, I was very much aware of the fact that I was speaking about ALL the reports and the LA kept bringing me back to the reports that were AVAILABLE at the time the panel looked at the case - it was almost as if there was an unspoken message of 'yes I realise that but I can't do anything right now but this is how you can do it'. So with that taken into account we may progress - I'm hopeful but cautious at the same time. LA said we need to write a letter including quotes from the reports stating why M should be in specialised school which is what I'm doing right now. LA said that when they receive that letter they 'may' agree to putting our requested school in Part 4 dependent on what the report quotes are. Well, in a nutshell, the SALT report wasn't seen by the panel and I think if they had seen it, the outcome may have been different.......... M will require the following in order that he can develop his social communication skills, and achieve to his potential in his education. A learning environment that provides staff who have relevant and specialist knowledge of working with children with social communication and interaction difficulties A learning environment that provides small group, 1:1, and whole class teaching A learning environment that provides opportunities to implement various language and communication strategies across a range of learning activities Specific partnership working with the home setting and school staff to devise and implement strategies Regular and consistent small group work An exit strategy to be put in place so that M can leave situations which he finds difficult M will require a programme devised by a speech and language therapist and a teacher or teaching assistant from his school. These aims must be jointly devised so that the school and speech and language therapy service both know what he is working towards. In the first instance, Matthew will require support, and this will need to be trialled and reviewed within 6 weeks from the start of the intervention. In addition to that, the Paed said (which was seen by panel but seems to have been ignored)....... The environment he is in has a huge impact on M’s ability to function. He has very marked sensitivity to noise, crowds, bright lights and the dark and finds it extremely difficult to function in busy environments such as a normal school classroom. As M’s functioning is so influenced by his environment, account must be taken of this when deciding appropriate placement. Extreme sensitivity to noise, crowds etc as mentioned above will affect his learning. Account also needs to be taken of his difficulty with social communication and interaction and also ADHD symptoms. There were also some comments made by the EP but they weren't as specific as the SALT and Paed. I did ring the EP but although she was very helpful on the phone, what she put in writing was still wishy washy. Anyway, the LA said that when they get our letter they will finalise the statement BUT before we send our letter, we are advised to look at xxx school which caters for ASD children with behaviour difficulties! Now why would they say that I wonder! It seems the way we will be going is to state our preferred school in Part 4, LA will prob find an excuse not to do it or may agree but we'll still need to appeal because Part 2 and Part 3 are still not specific enough and nothing is quantified in terms of time allocation. LA did also say that the additional paperwork they now have about M including the bits about the CAMHS, threat to kill himself, further EP discussions (an email was sent out to school from the EP advising short term measures to help M's anxiety) and obviously SALT will be put back to panel but that won't be until late June as the agenda's have already been done for the next two meetings. What will happen when it goes back to panel after the statement is finalised I'm not sure - I'm assuming an amendment to the statement will be issued? The LA deadline for finalising is end of May BTW. Maybe it could be down to the panel decision stating that "Amendment to the Statement will need to be considered on receipt of additional reports referred to above" - one being SALT and the other being ASD Outreach; why the latter wasn't included in the first place is beyond me! When we asked why nothing was quantified even though 20 hours had been allocated the LA gave us some long explanatory waffle about keeping things flexible for M and that it has to be spread out; eg M may have someone explain something to him for 3 mins and then leave him to do it and come back for another 3 mins so that would equate to 6 mins and that couldn't really be put in the statement (eh?). We did say that we were concerned that the full support couldn't be provided for M in the hours allocated especially when SALT was taken into account and was told that panel had said that they were "of the opinion that support in the region of 15-20 hours LSA support would be appropriate to meet the current identified needs" so as they had decided on 20 hours it should be enough - surely though, if panel had seen SALT which clearly states M needs a program put in place this will eat up some of the hours or is this down to one of those 'hasn't been quantified' things? Also, LA said that the only way they could increase the hours was if school wrote to them and said that 20 hours is not enough - well in MS it's not enough but in specialised it may well be so not really sure whether to do anything with that at the moment or not. It may be one for the appeal if M isn't given the specialised school as we will be asking for in Part 4. We're going to see the school LA told us about verbally on Tues next week and I'm hoping that then we can send in our letter with the additional information - the only other thing I'm waiting for is M's school records as I really want to send the incident reports in too to back up the behaviour needs side of things for him. M did have ASD observation done yesterday too in the morning - his TA told us he was fine in the morning but by the afternoon it was obviously too much for him as he kept zoning out and a couple of time shut down entirely.........###### typical, why couldn't he have done that in the morning when the ob was being done ! ! !
  9. I'm going to post the update on a new thread for this one
  10. We came, We saw, We conquered .......well almost! Actually we didn't conquer but it's a start. I'll post tomorrow with the outcome. I managed to trigger a fatigue flare (linked to arthritis) which has knocked me out for a couple of days x (null)
  11. I do sympathise with you - it's not the best situation to have to deal with. I had a couple of issues with this area with my AS son who is now 15yrs - here are a few suggestions that we used and that worked well: Social stories - if you need help with this one just shout, I have loads in my collection House rules - this is for others just as much as it is for your son with difficulties, such as using the makaton stop sign and verbalising 'stop' if it looks likely another may be inappropriately touched not just running off screaming, keep bedroom doors closed Social rules - touching xxxx here xxxx (picture of where) is OK, touching xxxx here xxxx is not OK - or as I did, use a cross for no and a tick for yes Rules for your sons behaviour - if I feel like this xxxxx, that means I can do this xxxxx; don't be afraid to be explicit with this one as your son must be able to understand Books about what happens when people sexually mature - this may need to be more needs appropriate than age appropriate; I bought my son a book for children his age and he didn't understand a word of it! I had to get one aimed at primary school children for him to comprehend the meanings Good luck
  12. Thanks guys. You're right, they haven't or at least don't seem to have taken any of our advice as his parents into account at all! With regard to the other reports he had...... EP at school - pretty much OK with that one, SALT in the clinic - panel didn't even get to see it as it arrived 2 days after the panel considered his case, OT at the hospital - that was requested by the Paed and wasn't even SA specific (mentioned that already in another post), Medical done at hospital - wouldn't expect that anywhere else TBH and the school report which had bits missing and was really wishy washy completed by a new senco who had never done one before.
  13. Statutory assessment is to assess a child's needs in an educational environment right? So why is it that the reports the LA request are all based on the child's assessment carried out in a clinical environment and not an educational environment - surely they should be carried out at school to get a true reflection of needs?
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