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call me jaded

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Everything posted by call me jaded

  1. I know too much to post on a public forum, but let's just say that if you ask a bunch of lawyers for a remedy it will generally involve a legal battle. I know the PPS at Richmond and they are more than happy to guide parents within the absolute letter of the law, as they're both parents of children with SEN themselves. ETA: in Richmond the PPS attends the SEN Panel - you'd never get a solicitor in there, no matter what they charge!
  2. SOSSEN are based in the next borough to me. If you go do expect a very strong sales pitch. Not for nothing does Richmond have a very high tribunal rate.
  3. An outside view can be helpful, but really you are living it so what you want to make a priority is important. Self-directing is fine. The only thing to be aware of is to step back and review progress. You can become wrapped up in things. I did as a parent. What are you thinking of doing or going?
  4. The approach we have taken as a family is to deal with one issue at a time. We choose things that are a priority and we think we can do something about. So we wouldn't have a target of dealing with all sensory issues, but we would plan about going swimming (which my son enjoys) and try to extend it from 20 minutes to 40 minutes. One of the things we changed to achieve this was to go earlier when it is less busy. Another was to get a Radar key for the disabled changing rooms.
  5. My own son spent a few months emptying out his room every night by throwing the contents down the stairs. His room now has a bed, a chest of drawers and a TV and nothing else. He gets sensory overload and was awful when out - sitting down in the middle of the road, etc. 'The Out of Sync Child' really helped me get my head around it. He's a lot better now but we still avoid his triggers which are noise and a lot of people, so no supermarkets or cinemas for him! Our local CAMHS has an ASD parent group.
  6. I think the key is finding the right provision. Just for info my son went to my borough's own primary special school and the journey was one and a half hours each way. He enjoyed the bus ride immensely though I found it hard to load him up and just wave him off. He normally had a power nap on the way home and was full of ADHHHHHHHD when he got home
  7. No idea. Let's go for... Bruce Forsyth gets a knighthood Simon Cowell gets married and Katie Price gets divorced (and my 'heat' reading secret is exposed) my nine-year-old son gets signed to a pro football team academy
  8. *bump* I was pretty close. Anyone want to do 2011?
  9. Happy birthday! Sounds like a fun day.
  10. The most comprehensive and very readable guide to all aspects of the law relating to disabled children, available here
  11. Hi all, I'm still here in the background, dropping by every now and again to read and catch up with you all. Very busy with a big project which I'll tell you about when it gets off the ground. Earlier this year I posted about Steven Neary whose father, Mark, had been taken ill with flu and three days respite had turned into a stay of months and months, against both their wishes. Anna Raccoon wrote about it recently. The good news is, after almost a year, Steven came home for good on Christmas Eve. Happy new year to you all!
  12. No, in a word. Although it's normal practice to speak with the parents first there's nothing to prevent the EP going back for a second look on hearing your concerns.
  13. Hindsight is always 20:20. My own son's statement is rubbish because they named the right school and I knew I wouldn't have to fight for the correct support once he was there. I took the gamble that no major changes would occur. In my LA they have removed all exceptional funding and what's going on in the preschool panel I don't know - no additional support at all from what I can see.
  14. Are they not insured? They seem to be applying 'joint and several liability' BUT you didn't sign a JOINT tenancy with everyone in halls. Property law does apply when the university is landlord too. Maybe speak to Law4All or Shelter to get some good advice.
  15. Well I would encourage all those thinking about asking to be assessed to go ahead and do it. Diagnosis is not just handed out, there is still a great deal of rigour in the assessment and people I know who've done it have felt it very worthwhile. Mod note: can we please deal with the issues rather than getting personal?
  16. Sorry, erring on the side of caution and removing the lawyer's name. Will respond to your post much later today with our experiences.
  17. It really depends on where you're starting from, but it's generally OK to lose two to three pounds a week. Any more than that and you're going to put it back on as soon as you eat normally. Do you do a slimming club? They are a good way of getting all your questions answered.
  18. Halls are usually run by Housing Association type organisations and those are usually charitable organisations. The tenancy agreement that you signed has to tell you who your landlord is. The booking fee is just income for the HA and will be separate to the deposit. The deposit will be mentioned in your tenancy agreement. You did not sign an agreement with all the other tenants in the halls and cannot be held responsible for their actions. The problem is that the landlord has your deposit and won't want to release it. An old, old trick is to cancel the standing order for the rent at the end of the tenancy a month early 'by mistake'. That's why some landlords ask for six weeks rent as a deposit. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
  19. There are some strict rules about what they can and cannot do with your deposit. More here.
  20. That's fairly standard. They get as much info from the people around the child (who can say what happens on a typical day). The questions they ask are very probing IME.
  21. 'Fess up Kathryn - you changed to spelling in the thread title! lol Have to admit thinking about it.
  22. I would say wait too. What might happen is that the person withdraws the earlier report which wouldn't be helpful to you. Keeping both reports 'live' and in the system is better for you at the moment.
  23. I would let the LA work to the 15 Feb 'deadline' because that will give you a chance to appeal in time for September admissions if necessary. It is normal to have a full set of reports for the new school to have a look at before they can say whether or not they can meet the needs. As they were done recently it shouldn't take too long to update them. Your LA is following good practice so far. The cynical me says that's so they look good if it goes to appeal again.
  24. We have this. I vary between keeping hair short and then letting it grow because it's very curly and hides the patch(es). Changes outside of home mean he's a bit more stressed and so very bald on one side and I shaved it all very short over half term. He usually forgets to do it for a while once shaven. He also eats the hair he plucks out and has been known to pick loose hairs off my collar or shoulders and eat them eeeuuuuuwwwww. I chastise him but he just laughs. It's his guilty pleasure and I drive it underground every now and again, but I know he still does it. Gross.
  25. Mumble you're welcome to say what you think as long as it's phrased reasonably politely!
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