Speech and Language Therapy

[JenRose]

ive waited over 6 months for him to be seen by a SLT.

At the first appointment last month she said "i dont know what to do with him because he,s not in school"

Today i went and there was a senior SLT there as well.

She told me that there was nothing they could do as M is out of school.

Also she started banging on about how good the statement for M is (thats why were going to tribunal then)

and that in this area 20 hours is extremely good, i said that it wasnt enough, she said well i would advise you to talk to your LEA.

 

I told her thats what we,ve been doing for the last year.

She said "if he goes into a mainstream school then because he has support when he is getting anxious/stressed he can ask for some chill out time"

So i said "how the heck can a 10 year old boy with ASD who couldnt tell his parents/school for 3 years that he was being bullied ask for CHILL OUT TIME"

 

She went a bit red and wished me luck and she,s discharged him.

 

i cant believe it...............how are we supposed to help him?

[charliesvoice]

We're having so much trouble with SLT in our area too! I've actually got my son assessed privately for around �150 just so i know how much therapy he should have!! That way i can hopefully get his statement changed, i didn't realise that SLT hours had to be specified in his statement - only just been made aware of this. It may be worth ( if you can afford it ) getting your own son privately assessed - although i was told personally by the DfES that my son will never receive the same therapy on the NHS so it doesn't fill you with a lot of hope!

I'm actually campaigning about this very issue you can find it at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/spectrum/

also there is funding available for SLT at www.cerebra.org.uk but there is a waiting list

Hope this is of some help!

[UltraMum]

i didn't realise that SLT hours had to be specified in his statement - only just been made aware of this.

 

make sure that they are in Part 3 ...

[pumpkinpie]

I am sorry what she is telling you is rubbish. she hasnt said that he doesnt have language difficulties just that they cant do anything because he isnt in school.

He is being discriinated against becuase his disability is making it impossible for him to go to school.

 

I would write to the speech and language manger complaining and also think about either the head of your pct/ local mp.

If they can get away with discharging him they will do and hope you will fade away quietly. Dont. My daughters s and l has been better since I wrote to our local mp/newspaper and s and manger - its still not what I would like but its much beter tha it was.

[JenRose]

Do you know i never considered that.

Because i have AS, i dont understand when people are doing things that are wrong until a few days later and i feel very angry now.

I have drafted a letter and wondered if somebody could look at it for me and tell me if they think its ok.

 

 

 

We are writing regarding our son M.

M was referred to your department last year and was seen yesterday by XXXXX XXXXX and another Speech and Language Therapist who,s name we believe is XXXXX

 

M does not attend school, he has been diagnosed with a Pervasive Developmental Disorder-namely Autism and as such has problems with communication and interaction.

 

We asked for M to be seen by your department as we are concerned that M needs help with his speech and interaction.

 

On the first asessment he was seen soley by XXXXX XXXXX

 

Yesterday Jand M were seen by XXXXX and XXXXX i myself arrived later as i was picking up my daughter.

 

I couldnt believe what i was hearing in the room, namely that because Mis not in school there is nothing that Speech and Language can do for him, XXXX (i hope her name is right) was telling J that M had to go into school for him to access Speech and Language, she had previously made remarks about the Finalised statement being a good one and that in her opinion the medical advice that she had read from one letter recommended a mainstream environment for M.

 

To give you a bit of M s background, he came out of school in January 2006, he had a severe mental breakdown as he was bullied for many years and couldnt communicate this to us, he was self harming and talking about suicide.

He is still signed off medically from school and we are seeking the correct school for him.

 

It is not a Speech and Language Therapist,s place to sit there and tell me and my wife what school M should go into AND to refuse him help because he doesnt attend school.

 

M,s disability is what prevents him from being at school, his disability namely Autism/Pervasive Developmental Disorder.

 

We view this as a Discrimination against our sons, disability.

 

We ask that we be appointed another Speech and Language Therapist, and one that is experienced in working with children who have a PDD/ASD diagnosis.

 

We are aware that Speech and Language Therapists can go into homes and work with children and that M is entitled to this right.

 

We await your reply

 

 

 

i wrote it as mainly coming from Dave because he,s better a being calm in a situation like this, whereas i usually explode when its to do with my kids.

[pumpkinpie]

Hi Jenrose

I would put in the letter

 

Dear xxx

Re Son

With refernce to the above. On the xxxxx my son and I were seen by xxxx to discuss my sons speech and language needs. My son has pervasive developmental disorder which has affecting this ability to

 

(FROM THE NAS SITE LOOK UP ALL THE SPEECHAND LANG NEEDS REL TO YOUR SON

AND LIST THEM-THINK BIG LIST!)

 

This affects his communication in xx ways and his behaviourxx as frustration and inability to relate to understand the emotions means he is at risk of

ie mental health issues

violence

etc

 

(AGAIN list them . You are show the salt that this is the affect of him not being able to communicate and its risks).

Since Jan 06 XX has been out of school. Being a child with PSD AND unmet COMMUNICATION DIFFICULTIES resulted in him bing bullied severely over a number of years and it culminated in a complete breakdown. Because he was not able to express his emotions he self harmed. He is presently medically signed off from school and as a family we have been working hard to support his educational and communication needs.

 

XX has been seen by a number of SALTs within the service, but it is yesterdays meeting we would like clarification regarding. My wife amd xx were seen by xxxxxx. They were told that despite our son having PSD, severe communication problems ie xxxx which resulted in him being bullied, self harming because he could not relate and communicate his needs and emotions. Your service is idscharging him because he is not within school as a result of his disability.

 

My understanding is that under the Disability Discrimination Act our son is entited to recieve an equitable level of care from the speech and language service. My discharging him we feel he is being dicriminated against.

As the manager of xxxxxx we request that xxx case be reviewed and his needs looked at again by a salt who has experience of the needs of a child witn perxxxxx.

 

I would apprecite a response within 7 days to avoid us taking this matter further.

Yours Faithfully

[JenRose]

thats a brilliant letter, thanks very much!!!!

[JenRose]

update for pumpkin pie

 

your letter worked!!!!!

 

I received one back today saying that as a department they dont discharge children cos they are not in school, they said that it was agreed between me and the 2 SLT,s that having speech and language therapy would cause more damage than it would good-load of rubbish, that was NEVER mentioned and that the most important thing was to get M back into school.

 

However, they pick up from my letter that i WOULD like an asessment of M,s Speech and language difficulties and that they will do that with a specialist who works with children on the spectrum.

 

I know that they have been speaking to the witch from the LEA, the lea refused to have an asessment done of M,s speech and language, now im wondering if the LEA will use this to their advantage particularly if it shows that he has good speech (which he does) and they will "gloss over" his difficulties. hmmm we shall see.

[pumpkinpie]

Brilliant!