sylvm

Thanks Phasmid

Like yours, she's School Action Plus. She has Eearmarked pupil funding too. The Ed Psych has just said that he thinks we should be applying for assessment for a Statement within the next few months.

I know they "must" accept DD (we are certainly in catchment for 1) but the point is you are immediately getting off on the wrong foot with them. I want to work with the staff not against them. The Head was at pains to tell me that there would have been no problem if it had been a different year group and I believe her.

Not posted for a while - tho' I pop in sometimes. We are hoping to move to a new area shortly and I am starting to look round schools. Last week I visited two. The 1st one has a quality kite mark for inclusion. I was very impressed in general. However the Head did say I should consider carefully as in the class DD would be in there are already several children with more complex needs than hers and she felt (a) this might affect DD ( her staff were already very stretched and could not stretch much further. Today I went back to 2nd school where I was told that although there is room, they did not feel it would be a good placement for DD due to the special needs of others already in the class although if I went to the LEA I would get in. I am now trawling round schools in the area and lining up visits. However, I feel very despondent about the whole thing. I hadn't anticipated this sort of advice. I assumed everything would be OK provided there was a space but I don't want her to be "unwelcome" and equally I don't want her to go somewhere just because they'll have her if we don't think it's right. Incidentally, another school I phoned (and shan't be visiting) said "well, we're a high achieving school here although we obviously have to cater for all"!

Viper - having just heard the news - hope you are OK - thinking of you.

Viper - I have to say if I was you I would feel exactly the same - it is only the past year I have felt happier going up to London since 9/11 anyway ironically but Lucas you have put it all in perspective. As you others have just said, it's probably safer there now with the increased security. I would go and get your diagnosis, rather than wait and then still have to deal with all the fear feelings when you do eventually go. If you think of all the numbers of people travelling in and out of London every single day, the odds are still tiny of anything happening. Go for it!

My daughter has recently been given a diagnosis of Tourettes Syndrome with the aggression/temper problems that she has being put down to the disinhibition that can accompany it, plus "mild symptoms of an autistic spectrum disorder" in the areas of social interaction, social expressiveness and social communication skills. Is there any likelihood that the LEA's Autism Team would become involved with this level of diagnosis or are they only involved with more severe cases?

Pleased to hear you got the dx and have also now managed to catch up on your victory re schooling - had a problem getting on this thread for a few days due to over zealous computer protection systems! Now you seem to have the opportunity to decide what is best for J at last.

Sounds as if things might be looking up - hope so Rabbit

Brill - thanks a lot.

I remember reading somewhere that if it is the school that applies for the statement then the parents don't have any right to appeal. Does anyone know if this still applies. It seems to me that if the school are "on side" there are lots of advantages to letting them apply, but obviously this is overridden if the parents can't appeal if the assessment or statement is refused.

Sounds like your son's school deserves a very big pat on the back Jilly.

Hi Suze. I don't have any answers for you but would also be interested to hear the views of everyone on the forum on this. We don't have a statement - we are going through the dx process at the moment hoping it will give us more ammunition. We also worry about secondary and the size of it, coping with so many teachers/changing rooms etc. Although dd is only Year 3, we do not feel we have good secondary schools in this area so may need to move first. As the application process is so early in Year 6, we need to know what we are doing in 2 years time which is not long. I have a friend who works as a LSA to a couple of statemented pupils in a secondary school. She says the parents are still battling to get their hours increased and the school would not be able to cope if it wasn't for willing and able sixth formers who support in non academic lessons such as art.

Sorry to hear your news Sallya. It may be a good thing that you have a chance to calm down before you speak to anyone official. You can work out what you want to say rather than storming in and perhaps saying something you might regret. I think it is more the norm that statements are refused first time around than given. For us this battle is still in the future but I am dreading it already. Good luck.

oh Rabbit. What can I say? I am so sorry you are going through this. Love Sylvm

Just found your update - have been wondering how it went on Tuesday. The trouble is we all pin our hopes on the next meeting/appointment and hope it will be "the" one. I guess in the real world no one is going to wave a magic wand and make everything OK. The truth is, as well you know, it's a huge ongoing task and even if you win a battle you haven't necessarily won the war. Hope you're feeling better, there's certainly lots of nasty virus things going round at the moment.

Dylanspace - just wanted to say I am thinking of you - the whole situation seems unbelievable.

Lou lou - I was interested in your comment about being asked by your son's school whether there were problems at home - I think this is a common assumption - lots of professionals seem to think it's all our fault! We're fortunate in that school think we are supportive and do realise that its not us but I've had it asked by the Ed Psych. (how do you deal with her at home etc etc). He arranged for a Behaviour Support Team family worker to come and see me who told me I was doing all the right things and she hadn't got anything to suggest and discharged me very quickly. Just count yourself lucky that your son is out of that school and is going somewhere where hopefully his needs will be met. As other people have suggested, I don't think you should get bogged down in complaining but may be one letter wouldn't hurt. You want to concentrate on your son's future now!

Welcome Spid. I'm fairly new too and still ploughing my way through the wealth of information here - in fact I'm quite hooked and keeping popping on to see what's been going on! Happy searching!

Kathryn - just wanted to say hope everything goes well on Tuesday - don't forget to let us know how it goes!

I think you've all hit the nail on the head. Inclusion can work really well but only with fully trained staff and as much support is needed. If this were in place (if only!) I guess some of our kids would thrive in mainstream and others would be better in special schools. Mainstream schools are hampered by budgetary constraints even when they are supportive. They also lack knowledge of how to deal with asd - I am feeling frustrated with some of the punishments they deal out to my daughter, not because they are not sympathetic, but because they don't understand. Of course, if you have an inadequately supported child in class, it affects all the other children as well, so everyone suffers.

Dylanspace - I was appalled to hear your GP asked your daughter to remove all her top clothing. This is totally out of order. I don't have any experience of this particular issue so far as ASD is concerned but when my NT 13 year old daughter visits the hospital and/or GPs to do with her asthma or anything else, they are always very discreet, respecting her modesty (which is a bit over the top in my view - although I think this is normal at this age). They can listen to her chest through a T shirt or by just lifting it up a bit at the back. There is no need for anything else.

Kathryn - it's such a difficult one. My initial reaction was of course you must slip in her orange juice. Then I reflected and as some other posters have said, it could make things worse if she notices a change in taste. I think as far as trust is concerned your daughter is obviously not fit to decide for herself at the moment and you obviously have her best interests at heart. However, she is not going to see that for one minute. I think you should go back to the doctor. In the meantime, lots of cyberhugs etc etc. I hope you get it sorted .. keep us posted how things are going.

Nice one Jester!

We have also considered private education for our daughter who is also on school action plus. If you get a statement you may be able to get the LEA to pay the fees. One of the reasons we decided to keep M at her state primary for the moment was because if you "opt out", we could have ended up paying for lots of one to one support and any other extras deemed necessary by the school, as well as the standard school fees. It seemed like a bottomless pit. The LEAs are laughing - when parents are not satisfied with the provisions of the state system for special needs (or any other) children, they save money when you start paying for them.