gorby928
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Posts posted by gorby928
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Hi Sally
Yeah I will be asking for a detailed timetable as so we know exactly how AJs 19 hours of LSA is been used and to make sure that they are not speading the love so to speak,we have also put in his statement that the LSA should be trained to teach ASD/Aspergers. As for secondary schools we have narrowed it down to 3 local schools that he could walk to (under 3 miles) and 1 over the 3 mile limit (ie transport).One school is special the rest are mainstream and of course AJ has to like it as well.Its hard to know what to do with the schools,some people say AJ will do fine in mainstream with support and then some people say he would do better in a smaller special school .I guess we will just have to talk to the SENCOs and trust our gut feeling.We will keep on top of things (I'll make sure of that).He hasnt got SALT as he could talk for england so we dont have to worry about that.Thanks once again and I hope you and yours are well.
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Hi All
Sorry I havent posted for a while but been very busy with this and other stuff.Well we got our proposed statement for AJ mid July ,I took onboard all your ideas as regards the wording of the statement (thank you Sally) and made quite alot of changes to his proposed statement.I was also lucky enough to get hold of a couple of statements from some local mums with ASD kids so I could do a comparison which helped alot.I had a meeting last week with AJs SEN case worker for over an hour and got most of the amendments agreed that I had made.So it should all be in place for the start of school in September,I also got a stay of the decision on a secondary school placement as been the summer holidays we cant look or talk to anyone right now.I would just like to take this chance to say thank you to you all for helping us get this far and for helping us when we had no where esle to turn and I hope mine and your posts can help others in the same position.I know this will never end so to speak but AJ has a statement going into year 6 with 19 hours LSA and thats got to be a good thing. Thanks
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Hi All
Well I have some news for you all.The Panel met as regards AJs case 2 weeks ago and I hadnt heard anything so I emailed his case worker yesterday and she has informed me that AJ will be getting a statement.She just gave me a rough idea that he will be getting 19 hours of LSA support.WE should be getting the statement within a week or two so once I know whats what I let you know.Thank you one and all for all your help so far.
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Hi all
Sorry for not getting back to you all sooner but apart from sorting out AJ's statement process my personal life is a bit up and down at the mo so sorry.Right well we were away for a week (just gone) and before that I had received the draft reports from the OT and EP which I amended as I saw fit.When we got back from our hols the 2 finished reports were waiting on the doorstep.The EP who I met after she had assessed AJ has done a 13 page report and the OT has done a 4 page report.So as regarding time scale I phonened the social worker on AJ's case today to see were we are as regards the 26 week process and this is the weird bit.She informed me that the panel are meeting tomorrow to discuss AJ's case and we should know the out come within a week or two.
This is the end of the EP's report.
Objectives for provision
It is important that all staff are made aware of the nature of AJ's difficulties and how it can impact on his learning,social and emotional well being.
long term objectives for AJ should include:
The development of his development of his social communication and interaction skills.
The development of his learning skills across the curriculum.
The development of his emotonal literacy and regulation to promote emotional well being.
The development of his fine and gross motor skills.
The development of his self help and independence.
To support sensory needs.
Over the next 12 months with use of these strategies I would exspect AJ to progress at least two sub levels of the national curriculum.
Review and monitoring
Continued monitoring and input from the EP as required.
Regular review meetings between home,school and other related agencies to set and review targets.
The end of the OT report just outlines that AJ will need to attend a series of OT group sessions which he is already booked up for with ongoing support within the school to support this and then follow up in school inspections to make sure that these are being put into practice.
I think that sums it up for now but if you want to know anything else just ask me and if i can answer it i will.
Take care one and all
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Hi all
Still nothing to report,still waiting on draft reports from EP and OT,hey ho
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So how did it go??
Hi All
Well still waiting for the EPs report ? and had a phone call from OT who should be coming to the school in the next couple of weeks to assess.So not much to report at the mo?
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Hi all
Just a quick update,well the EP is coming to the school today to assess AJ for 3 hours.I asked what type of assessment it would be(thanks Sally44) and this is what the EP said.
I carry out formal assessment of learning, behaviour, social and emotional needs. I do informal assessment of expressive and receptive language and social communication however it is the remit of the Speech and Language Therapist to formally assess language needs.
So the EP is at the school from 1 - 4pm today and Im meeting with her at 3.00pm after she has assessed AJ.
Talk soon
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I'll do my best K x
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Hi all
Well AJ has his first appointment as regards the assessment process,he has his SA2 ? this Wensday at 9.00am.Am I right in thinking this is just a paediatric report? like previous ones or is this different? Anyway still in the process of writing our parental views and we should be getting another 7 appointments soon from the list of names on the LAs letter.Will keep you posted
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Hi All
Well the result is in and we won,the local borough have been ordered to carry out a SA of SEN for AJ
.I will post the last two paragraphs below."We conclude that the LA have failed to consider the evidence,such as it is,in the context of their own criteria of when to make a SA.Standing in the shoes of the LA we have conducted that exercise and it is clear to us that AJ's needs are not being appropriately met and that there has been an absence of monitoring.
Whilst there appears to be general agreement that AJ will find transition to secondary school very difficult,we are concerned that the transition planning cannot be meaningful unless there is a much more fuller understanding of his needs and the strategies needed to support him.AJ;s dad told us that he wants AJ to attend a school within the LA so that they will be obliged to more fully review his case.
The appeal is allowed."
Can I just say thank you for all your helpful comments and advice
.Also anyone who is reading this and is thinking of going through the appeals process please do,the tribunal panel did all they could to put me at ease and guide me through the process on the day,so if you are thinking about it go for it!Just one last question before I post,how long will it be before the LA contact us(we got the letter Friday)
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From what you've posted it sounds likely that the LA will be ordered to assess him.
Having gone to a Tribunal will also be very useful to you because you now know how it works.
When the LA do assess, they could still issue a Note in Lieu, and you would have to appeal again. Or they could issue you with a Proposed Statement.
The Proposed Statement is usually very ambiguous and vague. You need to get the wording right so that it is legally binding on the LA to provide the support detailed in the Statement.
Each and every need MUST be included in part 2, and part 3 must quantify and specify provision.
As this process does take quite a while, you may find you want to appeal about part 4 [the placement] as well.
I started off appealing parts 2 and 3 [i lodged my appeal at the end of year 4]. The appeal was cancelled twice, which meant he was now at the end of year 5 and had been out of school for about 11 months. I had had an independent school assess him, and he had spent 3 days with that school twice, over a period of 8 months. As we were now getting close to secondary transfer [the third appeal date was when he was in year 6], I decided to amend the Appeal to include part 4.
As your son is now 9, that means that if the LA are ordered to assess, that assessment process takes 26 weeks. You then have a period of time within which you have to lodge the Appeal. And the Hearing date is usually scheduled in for 6 months time.
That may bring you into year 6, and if it does you need to consider the secondary placement as well. If he is struggling in mainstream primary, it is even harder in mainstream secondary. And if you are arguing that he needs 1:1, then it sounds like mainstream whole class learning is out of the question anyway.
So you really need to be thinking about whether you son should be mainstream with 1:1 [within a mainstream class size], or whether he needs a special school environment with smaller class sizes and more expert teaching.
You need to visit any school that maybe suitable and ask them what qualifications their teaching staff have, their class sizes, how many ASD pupils they have, are they mainstream or in a unit, does the school teach in the unit or always try to feed children across to mainstream classes.
I found out that no-one within my son's school or within the LA specialist teaching services, had any teacher with an additional qualfication for autism or dyslexia. The Tribunal will want your child to be taught by suitably qualified professionals. So, if the LA suggested a MLD primary/secondary special school, and that school had no member of staff qualified to meet his needs, then that placement would not be suitable UNLESS it could be bought in by the LA, and if it was bought in that would meet that specific need, and the peer group was already suitable. If the peer group and staff are not suitable and cannot meet his needs, then you need to look elsewhere.
If your child's academic ability typical for that placement. A child going to a secondary mainstream school must be on a Level 3 at least. You really need a good EP report that gives his cognitive ability on both verbal and non-verbal assessments. For example, on non-verbal assessments my son ranges from low to above average. That makes a MLD special school unsuitable. However on some verbal assessments he scores very badly, which makes it impossible for him to access mainstream whole class learning.
You want a school for your child where they have similar difficulties and are on a similar level academically, sociall, emotionally etc.
For example, we stated that a MLD special secondary school was not suitable because my son's cognitive ability was above that typically within the school. But that from a speech and language, social communication and emotional literacy point of view, he was way below the MLD students who did not have those types of difficulties.
Does your child need 1:1 therapy from the SALT or OT or a specialst teacher [if he has dyslexia or other SpLD].
If your child coping in primary school at the moment. Is he happy to go into school?
You can ask your LA for their list of maintained primary and secondary schools that are suitable for a child with an ASD. Also ask them for their list of non-maintained, approved and independent ASD specific schools - because your LA will already be funding places for other children at independent schools.
The children who are most likely to get an independent school placement are those that are academically capable, but cannot cope in a mainstream environment or teaching style, but who are not MLD and do not fit the criteria for LA special schools.
Thanks for the info Sally44,sounds like where in for a fun ride............................still waiting for our answer
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IPSEA has a section called "how to take action". I think this may be a relatively new addition, as I have never come across this section before. It is advice given by a SEN Solicitor, answering the most common questions that parents phone IPSEA about. You may find it helpful.
Thanks Sally44 interesting.
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Thanks ,I agree as regards the school and any future contact i have with them wont be so cosy.But its my wife who is down there more but she just wont do conflict(guess I be taking more days off work).As for my next meeting with the school SENCO well that will be fun? AJ was asking me some questions last night after everything, one was "do you only love me because I have Asergers?" which I answered with ,"dont be silly mate we all love you for being you ,your a great kid" he smiled.I will keep on fighting
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Hello again
Well went to the tribunal yesterday,it was an intresting day it started with a phone call at 8.30am from the school to tell me that the SENCO had gone sick for 2 weeks and would not be attending? I know thats what i thought and then when we got to the tribunal and they took our names for attendance they were not impressed either.I took my son AJ and my mum(to look after him),they spoke to AJ for about 25mins and were impressed with him,they could see with there own eyes what his problems where(mainly social interaction) they also said they dont often get to see the child in question.They where impressed with his family surpport network and could see we where doing all we could to help him.They were not impressed that the senco had not turned up or that the school had not sent someone in her place(deputy head was quoted?).They were also not impressed with the sencos contribution to my evidence,saying that it was out of date and showed a lack of any thought out provision directed at our sons needs,ie put with the under achivers when he clearly has ability when in a one to one situtation.They also guided me through the sen code of practice and pointed out what was relevent to AJ and asked if this was happening(which it was not).So to some up I think it went well and I was really proud of AJ (I thought my mum was going to cry at one point) and I came away feeling that I had been heard and that the LA and the school where about to get a rocket up there...........
.Thats me off the christmas card list.Once again thanks for all your help and I will keep you posted. -
Hi people
Thanks for all the advice and tips,I have spent the last 3 hours tabing and high lighting various paragraphs in my evidence and the sen code so hopefully I wont sound like a complete idiot.Thanks once again and i will let you all know what the outcome is.
Thanks
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Sorry bed32 I got your name wrong
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Hi bed32
The LS are saying that his needs can be met under the school action plus plan that he is on? But we feel that this is not working that well as sometimes it can take him a while to get on task and then stay on task and they just dont have the time and resources to help him.Also it seems that the school told the LS that he has some one to one which we know he doesnt as his teachers told us so,both last year and this year.As for falling behind in class I dont think he is badly behind,he is to sub levels behind but we have been told this isnt unusal?
Also like I said the LS are not attending but have sent in thier evidence and copys of the SEN doc.
Thanks for your advice ;-)
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Hi All
Well its been a while since my last post(sorry).I will try to keep this short,time has flown by since i last posted about a good paediatric that I thought would sort out the statment thing(how foolish was I).Well over a year has past and my local council after serveral appeals are still refuseing to assess.So we are off to the tribunal tomorrow,so I could do with a few pointers.I will list a breif breakdown of my core evidence and how i intend to come at this.(oh yeah this is my first tribunal)
Main Evidence;
2 Paediatric reports from 2 seperate loacal authoritys (1 where he goes to school and 1 from where we live)
They both state the following in the summary,
"AJ is a 9 year old boy with a diagnosis of Aspergers syndrome.he attends mainstream primary school in ..........He is a well grown and physically healthy child.He is reported to have significant impairment of his social understanding,reciprocal social interaction and communication with others.He is a verbal child who can be talkative.He has diffculties with his fine motor skills and activities of daily living.
AJ may not be able to access the curriculum adequately and is at risk of failing academically,he therefore needs significant additional educational support to ensure he reaches his potential"
We will be using what has been said in the reports as our main argument also the local authority are nt attending?
He is also 2 sub levels behind at the moment and of course I have his history so far.
We do not have a physcological report as he has never had one? AJ was diagnosed at the age of 3.
Also on a lighter note do I have to where a suit or are these things less formal? I look forward to your input.
Thanks
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Hi
thanks for the quick replys,yeah AJ is on school action plus and does have an IEP but I think it isnt as much as he should be getting,i.e. in a goup situtation not one to one.At least that was the case last year? This year is has just started and I couldnt get to see the senco as she was teaching all day? As for the schools some are within 2-3 miles of us the rest outside of that.He does love his PC but I dont want to tie him to one subject just yet.Well next week we are looking at 5 schools and then some the week after so I will keep you informed and thanks once again.
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Hi Guys
Long time no post,well our son AJ (age 9)Aspergers has just started year 5 and apart from the homework is doing ok.We will be starting the process of looking at secondary schools this week.I know its early but all the parents we speak to tell us we need to start looking now.AJ hasnt got a statement,we have been declined twice(thinking about first tier?).So we are looking at mainstream schools in our area.AJ has a formal diagnosis of Aspergers but as I said early no statement,is there anything we need to know that might help us get a place in the school of our choice,or are we just another small fish in a big pond? we are trying to stay local to us as my wife doesnt drive and has our 3 year old to take to nursery so we will have to put AJ on public transport on his own as I start work at 8.00am.So any advice would be great and i hope you are all well
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Hi
Just thought I would post an update on the statement process,well on and off it has taken the best part of a year(school SEN not much cop sat on our paper work for most of that year
) but we had an appointment with our local Social care unit this week.We saw the doctor who first saw AJ years ago,he had recieved a request for a statement as regards AJs statement application and he wanted to see him again to see how he was coping.Well it seemed to really go well,he listened to our concerns and chatted to AJ(8 years old)and after a brief chat told us that he was going to write a strongly worded statement in favor of AJs application.I know we still have some hoops to jump through but we came out of the meeting feeling quite positive .I just hope this gives some hope to those of you who are going through the same process. -
Trouble is, it's almost impossible to get a measured, unbiased view. You ask five different people about a school and you'll get five totally different viewpoints, one will tell you their awful experiences and one will rave about how brilliant the teachers were, it's almost impossible to get a picture of a school from parents because they'll always have their own stories to tell and they'll all be totally different. I always think it's best to rely on your own observations and impressions of a school rather than listening to other parents, who could either put you off a perfectly good school with their horror stories or the opposite. Good luck with finding somewhere you can be happy with.
Btw, I grew up in Catford, know it well.
~ Mel ~
Thanks Mel,yeah we will start doing the schools in Sept but I am doing my own thing right now ,net,family etc to see what we can find out.My better half is pumping the mums at school for info who have just gone through it all this year to see the lay of the land.So fingers crossed we will come to some sort of happy ending when its all done,take care
You can take the boy out of Peckham but you cant take the Peckham out of the boy
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It is a very hard choice isn't it ?
Especially with an area like Bromley, you would need to move within half a mile of so of the over-suscribed schools to stand a chance of a place. However, I think the ones with the "best" Ofsted reports may not be the best for ASD support.
The problem we found was the size of the schools, and the fact our son needs people to be pro-active in spotting when he needs support (as he can't/won't ask). This, for him didn't work in a mainstream primary with only 240 pupils in the whole school. As many of the secondaries have 240 puils per YEAR group, this would be a HUGE challange.
Hi Caci
Thanks for the reply,yeah I hear what you are saying but to be honest I dont think we are so much worried about leauge tables etc as we think it will be AJs emotional needs that he will need support with more than anything(his favorite channel is still Cbeebies if you know what I mean).Thats why we are hoping that some replys might tell us of schools we wouldnt of looked at ,you know the word of mouth thing can give you a more realistic picture sometimes ? As for the numbers thing we can see what you are saying but I guess all we can do is fight for him and hope he doesnt get lost in the crowd?We would probaly stay in Lewisham if we could find the right school for AJ but we are in a 2 bed flat and AJ shares with his 3 year old brother so at some point he will need his own space.Thanks once again,take care.
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Hello again
Well if it isnt one thing its another our son AJ will be going to secondary school in Sept 2012.I know we are a little early as regards looking etc but by all accounts you need to start looking a year ahead if you are to cover all the schools that are suitible? AJ doesnt have a statement (we are going through that now)so we are looking at mainstream schools for him (as his AS is mild) that have good SEN support(I know arent we all
)We live in Lewisham London but we are thinking about moving to Bromely or Bexley London/Kent if it gives us a better chance for AJ.He is doing well at school at the moment but he is only 8(9 this August)so at the moment he hasnt really had any probs as regards school reports etc,a bit of bullying but he didnt seem to phased by it.I know its nuts that we have to start thinking about all this,AJ seems to think he will be going to the same school as all his friends but we have tried to explain that this wont really happen and he goes ok and goes back to his PC I know its a big ask but if anyone has any ideas ,pointers etc any help would be great.Thanks Gorby928
Sendist Tribunal / right to assess,tomorrow
in Help and Advice
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Hi
We are looking at 3 mainstream schools within 3 miles and 1 outside 3 miles and all so 1 special school within 3 miles all state schools. At the moment most people who have met AJ think he would do well in mainstream with support.I guess this year will be the test as his workload increases in prep for secondary school.But only time will tell ?.Also when we look at the schools AJ will have to feel comfortable with the school choice.We can only hope that his statement and LSA support this year help with that process.Also will be meeting with school SENCO etc to set out provision timetable for AJ ref 19 hours LSA tied into his IEP and OT provision.