Moderate learning difficulties

[stressedmumto2]

Can someone help me please and tell me what mod learning difficulties would mean in their area. Would there be a criteria set out or would it be down to IQ as it seems to be in our area for a child being able to access the child and disability team.

 

Thanks in advance, I'm confused

[Enid]

Hi, My son was assessed as having moderate learning difficulties by CAHMS, I think, he has so many reports and assessments, but that is the only report that I can actually find those words/diagnosis on, It seems to me that they based this on the report from the Ed psych. Enid

[Karen A]

Hi.I think that access to child disability teams is an issue that crops up on the Forum often.It does appear to vary a lot from one area to another depending on local criteria.Karen.

[stressedmumto2]

Hi Karen, I know it varies from area to area but when you can't evn have access to the criteria, well that's another thing, lol

[baddad]

Hi stressedmumto2 -

Don't quote me on it, but i think moderate learning difficulty means an IQ of between 50 & 70...(? maybe someone will be along who can confirm or correct that?). Access to the local CDT (and allocation of a support/social worker if that's what you meant) varies enormously from place to place, but certainly it's difficult pretty much everywhere - you just have to keep the pressure on...

You need really to phone them, find out who is the head of the team and write/speak to them, I guess, telling them your childs dx and support needs etc and what you need/expect from them. Personally, I'd do that in writing, as things said on the phone seem to get forgotten or overlooked if you find yourself in dispute over anything.

 

Hope that helps

 

[mossgrove]

Moderate Learning Difficulties can become an issue because many LEAs have long-standing provision (e.g. special schools) for kids with MLD's and a lack of suitable places for children with Autism so many LEA's are trying to direct children with Autism toward their MLD schools to avoid funding out-of-area provision. Many children wioth Autism do not have any form of MLD so in many cases this is not the best place for them.

 

Simon

[BusyLizzie100]

We've been told by Ed Psych that DS2 does not have additional general learning difficulties to his ASD, but that his profile is actually more complex than that. She explained this means that because of his very spiky profile, he is above average in some things and way below average in others. The profile of a child with MLD is expected to be a similar pattern to a non-MLD child (IE, not spiky), but at a lower than average level. I'd draw a picture to explain better but only have the words!!!

 

For us, this means that DS2 falls into nomansland. He doesn't fit the criteria for MLD (IQ of 70 or below; several levels behind - often still on P levels) but mainstream has difficulty meeting ALL his needs. The ideal situation would be an autism-specific school that could cater for the 'highs' and 'lows', but apparently he's 'not severe enough', so a mainstream with a unit could work well... but our LEA doesn't have any of those. So, he's stuck in mainstream, which is not ideal.

 

In some areas (not ours) autism is seen as adequate criteria for MLD school. My recent visits to all the MLD schools in my area show that even within an LEA these schools can differ - one sees the autism unit as only appropriate for foundation stage (and actively discourages parents with autistic children), while at another more than 50% of the pupils have autism, with only a handful in the autism unit - presumably this 50% also has MLD...

 

It's a minefield.

 

Lizzie xx

Edited May 13, 2008 by BusyLizzie100

[mossgrove]

For us, this means that DS2 falls into nomansland. He doesn't fit the criteria for MLD (IQ of 70 or below; several levels behind - often still on P levels) but mainstream has difficulty meeting ALL his needs. The ideal situation would be an autism-specific school that could cater for the 'highs' and 'lows', but apparently he's 'not severe enough', so a mainstream with a unit could work well... but our LEA doesn't have any of those. So, he's stuck in mainstream, which is not ideal.

 

Lizzie xx

Lizzie

 

If your child cannot cope in mainstream then you do not have to accept the fact that the LEA have chosen not to meet your childs needs.

 

Aere there any fee-paying schools in the area that would better meet your son's needs? For example an independent school with smaller class sizes. The LEA have a duty to pay for out off-area or private provision if they donlt have anything that meets your son's needs.

 

Simon

[BusyLizzie100]

Lizzie

 

If your child cannot cope in mainstream then you do not have to accept the fact that the LEA have chosen not to meet your childs needs.

 

Aere there any fee-paying schools in the area that would better meet your son's needs? For example an independent school with smaller class sizes. The LEA have a duty to pay for out off-area or private provision if they donlt have anything that meets your son's needs.

 

Simon

 

 

Well, we've just appealed about parts 2, 3 and 4 of his Statement but provision is extremely limited round here. We did try for an independent autism-specific school, but even our own Ed Psych thought that would be overprovision for him and the peer group would be wrong for him. We also approached other independent schools, but they felt our son's SEN were too much for them to deal with. So, caught between a rock and a hard place!

 

We did succeed in doubling DS2's support, from 12 hours to 25, so now we appear to be in the position where we have to wait and see if his mainstream school can 'do it', If not, we have a stronger case for another placement. Oh, and all the mainstreams with units in neighbouring LEAs are full to bursting, many with kids from my LEA!

[JsMum]

Moderate learning Difficulties are where children fall below the expected level of IQ tests around 70 my son does not have moderate learning difficulties but he does have a spersific learning difficulty, in that he finds processing, memory, litracey difficult to do, this in turn effects the ability to perform well and show his full potential, he requires extra information, step by step aproach, support with planning, organising, sequencing, extra time, visually displayed (time timer) and lots of 1-1 support without it he will fail.

 

I have a list of moderate learning difficulties apart from the lower IQ its almost the same discription of what Js difficulties are so there is a lot of similarities, if you want the full discription I can send you further details.

 

Has he had a full educational assessment to see what areas he struggles with and what are his strengths too.

 

Js Learning difficulties have been ignored all of his primary school years and I am very angry about that, especially when his learning difficulties are of that in 0.01 percentage and thats without a lower IQ.

 

30 mins a week is all he recieves for specialist help.

 

JsMum

[Enid]

Lots of info here for me to take in ,but my son with the MLD diagnosis has not actually had an IQ test, but an ED Psych one, he reads age apprpriate books for pleasure and although you can tell he is "Autisic" If you know what to look for! you wouldnt think he had learning probs,I was surprised when CAHMS included the label on his diagnosis. He has so many letters after his name these days

[JsMum]

I would recommed as soon as possible an IQ Test, it could be he has a spersific learning difficulty but actually have a really high IQ which will really effect his outcome if he isnt given full support to support his full potential.

 

Js Iq is 119 yet his verbal IQ is 74 a massive discrepency.

 

J has a severe form of Dyslexia effecting his litracey and learning ability.

 

Why hasnt he had an IQ test was they worried he wouldnt be able to cope in one, too stressful, that sort of thing.

 

I would request one.

 

JsMum

[Enid]

noone ever mentioned IQ test, another thing to add to the never ending list! Enid

[JsMum]

Thats what happens enid when you join this forum and you are told about what should be happening, Im astonished that some here havent actually had IQ test if they are higher functioning Autistic/AS and could be tested if they coperated, managed with the instructions/information.

 

JsMum

[hsmum]

Hello,

 

I am really reiterating what has already been said. Moderate Learning Difficulties usually means an IQ of 70 or less. The learning difficulties are global rather than being specific. Because my son struggles academically, I wondered if he had MLD, but I have realised that the barriers to learning are caused mainly by his ASD.

[freedom]

spooky i asked this years ago

 

here is a link to a MLD discription it may explain a bit more

mld discription

 

my boys reports were MLD with global delay and speech and lanuage delay

 

MLD to my knoledge is a delay of 1 1/2 to 2 years on his peers when the delay goes to 2nd centile on a report it is then classed as MODERATE LEARNING DISABILITIES

 

normal with this there are underlining problems so in time the MLD with by more definded in which areas the problems are

 

as for out side help well !!!!!! in most areas now CAMHS is almost nothing now and to get a disablitiy social worker your child had to be in a wheel chair and not a good prognosies

 

sad to say but they are cutting down on these things in Gloucestershire the CAMHS service was cut by 3/4 so my son hardly ever got seen and as for disability social worker nothing they would not help even thou he met thier criterias

 

in Wiltshire with CAMHS you get 3 1 hour appiontments thats it and social services are the same as Gloucestershire nothing the best help you can get is threw your paedratrician and EP also SLT they are the ones to go for also OT but again waiting lists are massive

 

MLD is the inbetween stage where there doesn't seem to be the right access areas but as time goes on and the level of MLD rises then the doors all start to open

 

you have to keep on at them in emails writting letters never phone calls as said they get lost or never returned just keep ploding on and shouting loudly

Edited May 17, 2008 by freedom

[stressedmumto2]

spooky i asked this years ago

 

here is a link to a MLD discription it may explain a bit more

mld discription

 

my boys reports were MLD with global delay and speech and lanuage delay

 

MLD to my knoledge is a delay of 1 1/2 to 2 years on his peers when the delay goes to 2nd centile on a report it is then classed as MODERATE LEARNING DISABILITIES

 

normal with this there are underlining problems so in time the MLD with by more definded in which areas the problems are

 

as for out side help well !!!!!! in most areas now CAMHS is almost nothing now and to get a disablitiy social worker your child had to be in a wheel chair and not a good prognosies

 

sad to say but they are cutting down on these things in Gloucestershire the CAMHS service was cut by 3/4 so my son hardly ever got seen and as for disability social worker nothing they would not help even thou he met thier criterias

 

in Wiltshire with CAMHS you get 3 1 hour appiontments thats it and social services are the same as Gloucestershire nothing the best help you can get is threw your paedratrician and EP also SLT they are the ones to go for also OT but again waiting lists are massive

 

MLD is the inbetween stage where there doesn't seem to be the right access areas but as time goes on and the level of MLD rises then the doors all start to open

 

you have to keep on at them in emails writting letters never phone calls as said they get lost or never returned just keep ploding on and shouting loudly

 

Freedom what you have written has me wondering. My son has recently been seen by a SaLT who has done more assessments on him, the last time he was assessed by SaLT properly he was 6 and they said no problems, she said so far the assessments she has done has put him on the 2nd percentile across all areas but she doesn't think this is a true reflection of his true ability as he gave up when things begun to get difficult for him. He's been dx as having ASD with Pathalogic Demand Avoidance aswell as other things. Now I know that his avoidance in my eyese disables him a great deal as he will just refuse to do things which he finds hard and will either go into fight or flight mode to get out of things, really simple things too. He requires the help I think of being on the Child and Disability Team as the Family team within social services do not understand his complex difficulties so much so that they don't understand why so much of his anger is aimed at myself. It would probably be fair for me to say that they do not believe he is ASD and just badly behaved.

 

Does anyone know if I would be able to show that his avoidance disables him just as much as a child with learning difficulties, not that I am trying to compare the two but when I found a school over a year ago which would of been ideal for my son we were told it wasn't suitable because many of the children there had mod learning difficulties and in addition to ASD/ADHD/PDA but also there was no peer group for my son atthe time. But I feel my son's avoidance does disable him in that his avoidance at his worst often means he will refsue to go to school. At the school he had a 3 day assessment and loved it and didn't state to me that any of the children were different to him, having said that though the children in his class group were 2-3 years older.

 

[caz2007]

i have moderae learing diffitclties

[brooke]

Im having the same problem stressedmum. I have finally given in and asked for referrel to ss diabilitys team but after being refused first time because my son apparently isnt disabled enough, after asking again when desperate they are now saying he has to have MLD, well it is so difficult to know. He is on the same level as others his age in maths and science but literacy he is definatley behind and communication understanding and speech and Language he has delays so im just waiting to hear but im guessing i will be told we cant have any help

[dooday24]

reece has been diagnosed with moderate learning disabilitys by camhs in may.......... but have still not received the report Grrrrrrrrrr

 

so have found this topic very interesting thanku eveyone xxxxx

 

i work with adults with severe learning disabiltys have done for 14yrs.... but the learning disability team in our area only sees them if its severe not moderate Grrrrrrrrrrr...........

 

so i have been told that he will have to stay with camhs who r useless........

 

love donnaxxxxxx