lil_me

Definately a reverse transition, he went to special school after a mainstream failed him and nobody thought he would ever cope on mainstream secondary school. Got to the stage where unfortunately the special school was, mainly in his education as they were not keeping him stimulated enough or covering a lot of the work other children his age were doing so he started for the first time in his life, falling behind. We did a lot at home and now the school have set up an additional 1-1 tutoring free once a week to help catch him up too. It'll never be plain sailing, nothing ever is with him but I couldn't be happier right now Thanks guys xx

Thanks Suze. Got to admit I was very very worried, reduced my studies expecting him to end up being at home but nope, been no need. He has had some 'moments' but probably less than he did in the special school to be honest. He keeps them on their toes that's for sure. A teacher tried to keep the whole class back because of two boys misbehaving , DS1 refused and walked out - don't think they are used to that but he will not ever cope with being punished for someone elses actions so she's had to get used to it

Some may remember we were making the huge transitional switch from special school to mainstream in year 11 for my oldest The very good news is he loves it!!!! There has been some issues but as soon as one arises they deal with it. They have surpassed my expectations then some. The whole school so far has made huge adaptations around how they do things and I'm so impressed with how willing they are to listen and act on everything I say. He's the first child to make this sort of move within our LA and I'm pleased to say so far, I could cry I am so happy! Anyway, there you go a little fab news

Yes I know a few parents who got the vouchers but couldn't find a therapist with the time. It's a shame but there is a huge shortage of speech therapists

Cleaning the house but nothing up. DS1 dislikes the changes, so much so he's ran away when we put the tree up' before so we're waiting. Went up the day before Xmas eve last year. Not even bought much yet, must get something done

If they follow national guidance they're talking poop However as your son has a team working around them effectively he may not require a CAF to be done if his needs are being 'met'

Thankfully never had to do a tribunal as the LA seem to use it here as a very last resort and I find them very approachable However I think I would be inclined to put the money towards private speech therapy Quite simply there is a huge shortage of NHS speech therapists. The only way I could see someone getting above average speech therapy input is via it being delivered in school by an assistant, an Lsa or similar. The LA (no longer called LEAs) will not insist a school provides something - you must remember the statement says what schools need to provide but doesn't mean they will as the LA can't force them - that isn't available

Yes it was primarily about dementia patients Trekster my family member thought initially they were having a bad reaction, dribbling, unable to keep their head up, more depressed etc but now knows this is a common effect It was stated on the programme the medication was licenced as a 'last resort' when all other treatments had been tried but yes as pointed out some seem to be using it as a blanket policy for silencing Carers as it turns who they are caring for into a relatively vegatitive state. Totally wrong IMO.

Depends if you move LEA mainly, if you move locality within the LEA they can look to see if your childs needs can be met at a more local school. If you move to another LEA it's always worth contacting them first to see what they say, I don't think I'd consider moving without contacting them. NickyB has the SEN code of practise been rewritten yet? I was told DCSF documents are no longer valid so was waiting for the new one

Usually results are given after other information is collated and discussed, my youngests was 2 weeks after his ADOS as other assessments had been done

A very detailed documentary I am told A family member of mine had a VERY similar experience, a younger person

http://www.merlinsmagicwand.org/default.asp?css=1

I've been speaking with the founder of PARLEY and managed to get a 'local info' section on the forum so we can share what is going on where we live http://www.parleyonline.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=90.0 They are also running a competition again for members to win a holiday chalet in the south of France for a week

In almost every area there is a parent participation group through Aiming High. If you contact your local Contact a Family they should be able to put you in touch with them and you could see if there is an education workstream With regards to the school, many schools have a parents group, if not it's a great idea to ask why not and enquire about establishing one

Have you asked your local Disability Team what the criteria is for respite care? Unfortunately it's not something made publically available by most LAs but I asked for it from our local authority and they provided it, based on this I knew my sons would not be entitled to it so chose not to apply

Congratulations, must admit my sister who was.....challenging shall we say....calmed a lot when she had her daughter, gave her a new focus Hope all goes well with the new baby

We took the boys to see Ian Jordan last month. My sons optician/orthoptist were discussing surgery for my oldest sons squint and they'd discharged my other son giving up on any improvement when he could only see the second line in the opticians. Well today my oldest son was officially discharged from the eye hospital without surgery due to the improvement with his new glasses!!!! He can now even make out most of the bottom line in the opticians I am pleased, he's over the moon, so thank you very much Ian Jordan!! (and Ian's lovely wife of course) Don't get me wrong it hasn't been all sweetness and light, youngest seen a mans face last week and didn't like it so he got upset but he's been told he can look over them if he doesn't want to see someones face.....not always a bad thing not being able to see faces The lovely bit that made up for that is he said he seen his friend smile <'> and has seen lots of things he couldn't before My opinion - if there is one person you take your child on the spectrum to see, one journey you make, take them to see Ian at least once to see if it makes a difference. I know which optician we'll be using every time now (PS thanks for our glasses too, I think my partner especially has been suprised at the difference they have made)

For the cost of 1-1 support you need to add in hours they don't cover also, like lunch time most don't cover. If costing a childs full placement then you need to include some of the other costs within school, teaching, management etc. You could ask the school, my sons old school told me but I was a governor at the time so had access to most of the financial stuff anyway.

Every area should be doing something with short breaks In Durham we had a small programme last year when the funding came in, this included camping breaks, sports groups, trips to different places and a discount scheme. What was good is through a parents forum parents actually gave suggestions as to what they wanted from short breaks.

Hi Sally We went to see Ian last week, if I could recommend anyone does anything when they have a child diagnosed it's to go to see Ian, completely 'eye opening' experience. I hope you also have a lovely time. We would have loved to stay up there but had to go midweek. There is a wondeful play area on the sea front in Ayr, some great equipment if you can brave the cold. Good luck x

Shop keeper sounds like he needs a little anger management/customer service training My son frequently puts items in his pockets through fear he'll drop them, as he struggles with motor skills, doesn't mean he won't/can't pay. My elderly relative shops with her trolley filling it then puts it on the belt, never plans in just toddling out with it. I really hope the solicitor you get helps you & your boy, sounds like a nightmare of misunderstanding. If you've seen CAMHS before you could ask for an urgent appointment, they give them here if children are at risk of offending/self harm/harming others & appointments quite quick, then request assessment. <'>

I was just thinking there about a similar case near me, once the Youth Justice team got involved it was the best thing that ever happened for them as the support was great and he was pushed ahead of the queue for his ADHD dx the young man has cleared his name from the provoked charge with the help of a solicitor and now on a training scheme for young people with learning needs. Good luck

I was anxious when my youngest went to cub camp for the first time but he coped amazingly well. The main issue was noone to check he was changing his clothes, this was changed the next time he went. This time I am going. If you aren't confident and can't go yourself, maybe you could ask a relative or a support worker to go?

Ben, ok completely random but A child committing murder is something I don't think they have covered before He was hell bent on saving the Vic etc throughout the story line Suppose we'll have to wait for the writers to decide who has done it

How is it going? My youngest loves it so much, he went on 2 camps last year and the boys are really supportive of him (also go to his mainstream school) we did have a few teething issues but he looks forward to camp loads now.