darky

my daughter sits on a lower ability table with a TA. thats her provision. she does not get help with unstructured playtimes, her social skills are not adressed, niether are her motor skills difficulties. she is on sa+ i am currently fighting to get her needs adressed.

its the battles we want to try and avoid quie!! its all about choice and good education for our children thats all! im really pleased you got your child into the school of your choice thats great, but there should never be a battle about it at all, this is part of the argument.

cheers helen (mouth of the south lol) i owe it all to you hun!! without you i think i would have lost all hope by now!!! <'> <'> <'> you have given me the energy to fight!! you are truley an inspiration

right! well! where do i start! i rang the local education dept at the council and they told me that all records for sen were held at the school, basicaly they couldnt help me, so i knew i was going to have to contact the school direct. first of all i emailed the school regarding the schools own sen policy which was sent through early this am. very enlightening indeed! then i rang the school and asked about seeing my daughters sen file, and wanted to know whethere or not she was on school action or action plus. they informed me i would have to speak to the senco, still awating her phone call. i have also managed to get in contact with ipsea and they have recommended we get in contact with the lea and ask for statutory asessement. anyway i went up the school early as i often do to watch my little girl play, call me daft, but i see her alone it makes me sad, but knowing i am there with her even if i cant hold her makes me feel better so..... but anyways it was weird, she was having full one to one with the senco well i couldnt believe my eyes, i thought maybe shes had a bad day or something, but i checked her school/home diary and it was fine no probs, so weird or what? well as if that wasnt weird enough, my son came out with a big grin on his face saying the senco had visited him in the classroom today to work with him regarding his occupational therapy i couldnt believe it, im really beginning to wonder if purley asking to see the sen policy and asking to see my daughters sen file has shook them up maybe im reading too much into it. what do you think??

i reckon the lea's are trained in keeping their gobs shut! its only when under serious interrogation that the information becomes available, and even then its full of holes! the words "service" "informative" and "helpful" are banned from their vocablary, and things like "cause confusion, frustration and make no attempt to explain yourself" are etched on their minds! its such a good job we have sites like this, that can give great advice from parents who have already endured the situation.

there is only one response to this: arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! i dont know for definate, but i am sure that the school are actualy acting illegaly. i think a statement is a legal document that the schools HAVE to stick too. as for your sons lsa working in other parts of your school, that is terribble! im sure that others here will be able to give you more valuble advice, but sufaice to say, i am not surprised, i am currently fighting to get both my childs needs met without statement and am realising just how difficult that is, but am sure the school, with a statement have a legal requirement to make sure that all is on the statement is carried out.

i have written a very strong comment on the bbc's website on that news story. hopefully it will be published

hi florrie, thanks for your reply there. this is what i need in order for me to know i am doing the right thing, instances where the system has failed people. this is what is worrying me, its the long term effects. i know there is so many kids out there that may be struggling and their needs not recognised, that by being passive and introvert its assumed that they are ok. on the sen code of practice it clearly states that parents should be partners with the school, and that the school should listen to the parents regarding concerns, but they dont and this is a potentialy huge problem. i have read stories of parents being accused of making stuff up about their children in order to gain attention, that even to the extremes of being accused of munchausens by proxy. its a terrible thing, it was on the news the other day that a couple went to social services in order to recieve help for their demanding children with aspergers, their children ended up on the "at risk" register!! not forgetting of course poor debbie. i need to get to the bottom of whether its a funding thing, or whether its a case of teachers not being able to cope with the pressures because of significantly more demanding children being taught in mainstream schools or lack of training or a combination of all three. or maybe something else! once we can get to the bottom of these issues we can begin to try and understand why the more passive groups needs are not recognised and fight it!

im in turmoil about concerta (slow release ritalin) my daughters concentration, hyperactivity and impulsiveness improve no end on it, she is able to sit and concentrate at school, but it makes her anxiety and fears 100 times worse,(some of the asd symptoms) its like taking the rough with the smooth here, the adhd symptoms are really bad without meds, but the asd is worse with them!

no suggestions im afraid, but just to say my daughter has pica and she was tested for lead deficiancy when she was 3 yrs old. back then i had no idea why she would eat strange things including her own poo! and i never knew it could be relevant to asd's

its ok my daughter has pdd-nos with attention difficulties which would be dx adhd but because she has pdd-nos, adhd subsumes in the over riding dx. with her its a combination of impulsivity and anxiety that make going out really difficult!

i was wondering whether my daughter would be eligble for a blue badge. we recived the high rate care componant from dla but we didnt get the mobility side of things, which we did think was wrong because my daughter has very high levels of anxiety brought on by her phobias. walking any distance with her is a nightmare because of her anxiety, she can be fine and then she can completly loose it because theres a fly. i have walked home from school once and theres quite alot of tree and bushes which my daughter has a negitive reaction too because of the bug phobia and she will hit, kick, bite etc in order to get away from the situation, she does not look what shes doing and if im not holding her tight she will bolt off. our school is almost 2 miles away, and there is double yellow lines surounding the school and the local roads, so everytime i park i risk a ticket, i have got a ticket once! but i feel i have no choice, i have to park close to the school so everyday i risk a ticket. its the same anywhere i go, if i go out with my daughter i want to get there and back as soon as possible as i never quite know when she is going to kick off about something. do you think i could apply on these grounds?

hi phasmid, this is the point, the school do not provide "iep's" i asked and was turned down with them saying that no child is given one. they have a "talbot book" with aims and targets in, i asked the other day if i could see it and was refused.and told it was not availble at that time. the TA explained what it was but brushed it under the carpet and also i was informed my child was no longer teqnically sen as she is matching her peers in most areas. with the help of pupil and parent partnership i was given a scrap of paper with her sen on and some small targets, i was not informed of the needs and targets nor what provision she had, this was not an iep, the senco made that perfectly clear and stateted quite firmly that they did not HAVE to provide one either. no matter what i do, no matter how much i keep on, they are not forthcomming with any information, i really am at the stage where i have no clue as to how my daughter is doing acedemicaly. i am just merly expected to accept that she is fine. these recomendations from the outside agencys are treated just like that "recommendations" and they do not have to follow them. the school have made that clear also. at the momment i feel like im keeping my end of the bargain, im sending my daughter to school medicated so shes compliant, i recieve all the backlash at home when its wearing off. ive sought the medical proffesion and kept up with all the recommendations at home, thus making school life better for her and them. i know i am going to have to go to the lea to find out exactly what they are or not doing. i feel really hacked off that after im doing all i can for a better life at school for my child, why cant they do the same?

hi there, i was so pleased to read this thread as it really does apply to both my son and my daughter, although both are on the asd spectrum i have my daughter who is medicated due to attentional difficulties and i have my son who is extremely passive whilst at school. my daughter, now medicated is apearing to be fitting in quite well, but i recive huge backlash from her at home. it seems to be the attitude at school now, that as she is compliant she does not have needs, even though loads have been identified from outside agencies and recommendations made, which are not being adhered too. my son, has always been very quiet at school, he "gets through" the day with a big grin on his face, he does not ever put his hand up to ask for help, he activley avoids drawing attention to himself. he has a "great gift" of blending in. he laughs along with jokes, but further questioning reveals he has not understood the joke, he shows some interest in football, but again question him about it, he has no clue of rules etc, its his way of learning he can fit in socialy. no one has listened to me. i have expressed my concerns to the school about it and was fobbed off. i have sought a full asessment for him and im glad i did. the asessments have shown just how clearly he struggles every day to "fit in" his motor skills have been asessed at just 1% he has clear perception difficulties, hes had speech and language therapy and been shown to be incredibly literal amongst other things. im sure he will get a diagnosis of aspergers syndrome very soon. im the one who gets the backlash, both my son and my daughter come home from school and let their frustrations be known to me, i get the tantrums, the screaming, the frustration. this happends from the min they leave school until they get to bed. the only time things are not too bad is when they are not at school, weekends and school holidays i get some peace. i do think they should get help for their needs, and understanding from their teachers, they need support and love from all that are in contact with them. it seems to me to be that if a child is quiet and compliant, thats all that matters. my daughter medicated, quiet and compliant most of the time at school is no longer a problem because she no longer shows extremes of behaviour. my son happily grins all day and dont cause any trouble blends into the background and is not a problem because hes "good" i was extremly happy to see this thread, as this is exaclty the issue i want to fight. i cant see any reason why my kids cannot be helped because the fact that they are good. there are children in mainstream schools in the governments inclusion at all costs that have extremes of behaviour and are helped because they cant help but be noticed, because of this the children that are more passive are missed, ignored even. im of the opinion this has to be stopped. all children regardless of their behaviour, extreme or not, if they have needs they have rights, i want to make sure they get them. if theres any way i can help please contact me.

hi guys i cant thank you enough! listening to all your advice im sat here gobsmacked literaly. i was told once that R was on school action plus due to the fact there was outside agencies involved, i dont know how true this is, i havnt got a clue. as for the 3 hours sen TA a week i have no clue as to what they were actualy doing with her in that time, or if indeed she actualy got that or not. when i asked last they said that because of the nature of R difficulties, they were trying to withdraw as much of the sen as possible as R has a tendancy to be clingy and reliant. they said its important for her to be independant and working with her peers as often as possible. when i asked the other day her TA said that she occasionaly will go with the sen TA when she has nothing better to do. i know now what i have to do roughly, but one thing is for certain, im not going to let them get away with the clear breaches of the sen code of practice that the schools senco harps on about!! the senco has a great gift, she is able to talk and talk but dance arround the issues, i think she realises what im like, but im going to show her im no-bodys fool and wont be trodden on when it comes to my kids education. i really need to pin down the FACTS!!

thanks for your advice nellie, i have been trying ipsea all week and havnt been able to get through. i will keep trying though next week.

hi there phasmid, and everyone. thanks for your advice. i am going to write a letter to the head teacher saying that i am asuming that as they havnt put these recommendations into practice, that they unable to meet her needs so i am aplying to the lea for a statutory asessment. the same day i am going to write to the lea requesting a statutory asessment for a statement. i have already begun to list my daughters needs and all the recommendations from the third parties. i am going to also send in the paper work to back this up. thanks for all your help in this, but decided i have given the school long enough that now i really do need to take action for my daughters sake. then maybe just maybe they might lsten to me regarding my son also. time for a fight i reckon!

she is at a state school and supposed to be on school action plus, but have never had this confirmed. she has seen outside agencies physio, occuaptional therapist, speech and lang, educational physcologist. they all have recommended things for her, for her attention difficulties, her social skills and her exercises. i would also like to point out that on her tests for physio she has motor skills scored at just 1%

yes she has a diagnosis of pdd-nos with attentional difficulties. she does not have an "iep" as everychild at her school is supposed to be classed as an individual with needs and targets. i did manage to pin down the senco to a scrap of paper with her sen provision on, which at the time was 3 hours sen TA, 1 hour senco, and full time classed based TA- (which is standard for all the classes up til yr 4) i was informed yesterday that she dont even have her 3 hours sen TA now either. oh and by the way, i have no idea whether this was supposed to be a day, a week, a month or even a yr! yes the TA did ask for the exercises which seems good, but i had a meeting and took the lady from pupil and parent partnership in January, the senco told me that she hadnt recieved the recommendations from the physio and occupational therapist, so i arranged for her to have a copy of them, i hand delivered the information to her the next day, and still nothing has been carried out. i had a conversation with the senco weeks before this and she told me she HAD recived them but hadnt had chance to look yet, but i still gave her a copy to give her the benifit of the doubt. so given this situation, i dont really think we hold out much hope of these other recommendations being carried out either. as far as i can make out, the only recommendation that has been carried out, is prompting her in order for her to stay on task, and breaking down instructions, giving one at a time so she understands.

i been into the school today, after trying to pin down a day when i could go in, talk to R teacher, and look at her work and find out if the recommendations that the various specalists have said i wanted to know if they are implemnting them. today when the teacher was off sick and it was cancelled again, i decided enough was enough i wanted to know and wanted to know now. so i agreed to see the class TA instead. she told me that R has settled on the concerta very well and is doing much better. they said shes got the knowlege and is matching her peers regarding her work, but needs supervision and lots of promptimg to stay on task for those things she does find challenging.she also struggles with numeracy. they said her writing is not cause for concern although her writing is very up and down and tends to vear off the more she does. she showed me some of her work in her literacy book and i was able to see 4 pages of work thats all. the only thing thats upset me about it, i been watching R playing in the afternoons, and she plays alone, she fiddles with things down on the floor she might get up and run about but then back down on the floor again. on the recommendations of the speech and lan therapist, R is supposed to have a sympathetic adult to encourage her to interact with her peers during playtimes, and clearly this is not happening, there is one teacher there for aprox 100 kids. i asked the TA if the visual timetables and cue cards have been implemented or social stories used and she told me they havnt had time to do that yet and the senco asisstant is working on it. i asked about the recommendations of the physio and occy therapist were put in place from 9 months ago and she said no and then went on to ask me if i had some exercise sheets that they could do with her possibly! she made it quite clear to me that R is not sen, but because of her attention difficulties and dx she is put on a lower ability table. thing is im really cross about this, R has social difficulties and really bad motor skills problems, i know this is not acedemic YET, but surley the school have some duty there? how long is it going to be before these things do effect her acedemic progress and self esteem,?? sats yr next yr oh and shes also lost her sen TA that she had for 3 hours per week before.