Recieved Private SalT Today

[wasuup]

SaLT report confirms that my sons main area of difficulty with speech and language is social communication and says that this requires further investigation as previous considerations by medical professionals had been given of Aspergers. Also had OT report which placed him on the 1st centile for his dyspraxia. IEP's back these difficulties up. Hoping that this will be enough evidence for the tribunal.

[julie1]

SaLT report confirms that my sons main area of difficulty with speech and language is social communication and says that this requires further investigation as previous considerations by medical professionals had been given of Aspergers. Also had OT report which placed him on the 1st centile for his dyspraxia. IEP's back these difficulties up. Hoping that this will be enough evidence for the tribunal.

i hope so, how much longer do you have to wait.

[madsadie]

SaLT report confirms that my sons main area of difficulty with speech and language is social communication and says that this requires further investigation as previous considerations by medical professionals had been given of Aspergers. Also had OT report which placed him on the 1st centile for his dyspraxia. IEP's back these difficulties up. Hoping that this will be enough evidence for the tribunal.

 

Hello wassup

Just wanted to know - Did your son also have an NHS SaLT assessment and was there any great difference in the way it was carried out, and in the findings?

My son was seen by SaLT at school for an hour, for statutory assessment and I'm wondering if it's worth delving into the bottomless pit of money we don't have to see a private one. Haven't had OT assessment yet as the waiting list is so huge.

 

Good luck with your fight

[wasuup]

Hi Julie1

 

The tribunal is 30th April-have to send all my evidence in by the 30th March.

 

Hi Madsadie

 

Yes the NHS SaLT didn't test my son pragmatics. The Private SaLT tested everything and even found that his vocab was advanced for his age. She detailed how when she tried to have a conversation, how he went off on a tangent and started talking about his fav subjects or just nonsense. That he sometimes copied what she said. That he talked to himself.

 

I checked out a few Private SaLTs and this one seemed to be the best. I had someone crash into me last month they didn't want to involve insurance so offered to give me cash in hand for the damage-so I spent the money on my son instead, car has a dent in it but hopefully it will be worth in the end!

 

Just got my daughters proposed statement through yesterday which was a bit rubbish so looks like I will be having a double trip to tribunal soon.

 

Thank you for your good luck wishes!

[daniels-mum]

For what it is worth I went to tribunal in January as my LA refused to issue a statement. SALT and OT, but particularly SALT were a crucial issue to the panel and they did get into a heated debate with the SENCO over the issue of SALT. The SENCO said DS wasnt seen as a priority for their allocation of SALT visits, and the panel were very annoyed about this as they said "a child who cant socialise will grow into an adult who cant socialise". I had a report from the SALT which I had already forwarded to the tribunal and this stated he required termly input, which he hasnt been getting. Even the EP who had been called as a witness for the LA said he should be getting SALT input.

 

OT was a similar concern, DS is also on 1st centile for manual dexterity and 2nd centile for speed of handwriting. Even now at 12 yrs he really struggles with laces, cant open a cheese string or yoghurt drink. He also shakes his hand after writing a paragragh as it hurts. It is only recently that he got a diagnosis of DCD and SID from CAMHS. The OT said she couldnt diagnose Dyspraxia as he had mild learning difficulties, which I dont really understand. Her report was very useful though, and I have asked for another OT assessment in school as he has not had one since starting High School.

 

The panel were very astute and there was a point where I just thought "they really get where I am coming from", and they were asking very intelligent and relevant questions".

 

I was so pleased I had the SALT report and I think it really did help, even though it said he didnt meet the LA Stat Asses criteria. I got the impression that the tribunal are not bothered about individual LA's criteria, it just came down to one thing which was can the school be expected to provide support from its own resources, simple as that.

 

And we won the tribunal by the way if thats any consolation xx

 

 

[Sally44]

The LEA SALT should see the child and write a report. It usually is not very indepth and usually does not make specific recommendations - although it should. Any assessments the SALT carries out cannot be re-done inside of 6 months. However there are so many different assessements that that is not a problem if you want a private SALT to assess your child.

You need to find a SALT that is independent - ie. does not work for the LEA or NHS, and one that has experience of tribunal work and attending as an expert witness. They are more able to write the kind of report you need for tribunal.

 

There are so many different aspects of speech and communication/social communication that needs to be assessed. A difficulty in any of the areas has an impact not only on their social skills, but also on their ability to learn. Our children often have a spiky profile eg. good as some aspects and very poor in others. This spiky profile is different for each child. My son is 'advanced' on comprehension skills (because that taps into rote memory). He can also tell a story from looking at the pictures and has some inference skills. He can retell a story verbatum. But if you asked a question such as "Can you tell me why the parot put the monkey in the cage using the word 'because'" he cannot do that at all. He scored 2 for that (3 is severe). This demonstrates that he cannot manipulate information and produce it to answer set questions, topics, exam questions etc. Most learning is about learning something new, applying it into a different situation or manipulating it to restructure it and present the same information but in a different way, or from a different viewpoint etc.

 

Depending on the severity of the speech disorder the child may need a 'whole school approach', where the lessons are put together by teachers and SALT together so that targets are part of the classroom learning experience, otherwise you end up with the child being withdrawn for therapy - therefore missing lessons. And his therapy is not functional ie. it is learnt in the therapy session, but has to be generalised into the classroom and playground. This depth of input usually requires a specialist school. And you need a Statement for such schools.

[Sally44]

Hi Julie1

 

The tribunal is 30th April-have to send all my evidence in by the 30th March.

 

Hi Madsadie

 

Yes the NHS SaLT didn't test my son pragmatics. The Private SaLT tested everything and even found that his vocab was advanced for his age. She detailed how when she tried to have a conversation, how he went off on a tangent and started talking about his fav subjects or just nonsense. That he sometimes copied what she said. That he talked to himself.

 

I checked out a few Private SaLTs and this one seemed to be the best. I had someone crash into me last month they didn't want to involve insurance so offered to give me cash in hand for the damage-so I spent the money on my son instead, car has a dent in it but hopefully it will be worth in the end!

 

Just got my daughters proposed statement through yesterday which was a bit rubbish so looks like I will be having a double trip to tribunal soon.

 

Thank you for your good luck wishes!

 

I hope this does not mean there will be a spate of reckless driving in an attempt to raise tribunal funds. If so, please post your area so I can avoid driving through!! (incase anyones note sure that's a joke).

 

[wasuup]

I hope this does not mean there will be a spate of reckless driving in an attempt to raise tribunal funds. If so, please post your area so I can avoid driving through!! (incase anyones note sure that's a joke).

 

 

LOL-It wasn't my fault!

[wasuup]

For what it is worth I went to tribunal in January as my LA refused to issue a statement. SALT and OT, but particularly SALT were a crucial issue to the panel and they did get into a heated debate with the SENCO over the issue of SALT. The SENCO said DS wasnt seen as a priority for their allocation of SALT visits, and the panel were very annoyed about this as they said "a child who cant socialise will grow into an adult who cant socialise". I had a report from the SALT which I had already forwarded to the tribunal and this stated he required termly input, which he hasnt been getting. Even the EP who had been called as a witness for the LA said he should be getting SALT input.

 

OT was a similar concern, DS is also on 1st centile for manual dexterity and 2nd centile for speed of handwriting. Even now at 12 yrs he really struggles with laces, cant open a cheese string or yoghurt drink. He also shakes his hand after writing a paragragh as it hurts. It is only recently that he got a diagnosis of DCD and SID from CAMHS. The OT said she couldnt diagnose Dyspraxia as he had mild learning difficulties, which I dont really understand. Her report was very useful though, and I have asked for another OT assessment in school as he has not had one since starting High School.

 

The panel were very astute and there was a point where I just thought "they really get where I am coming from", and they were asking very intelligent and relevant questions".

 

I was so pleased I had the SALT report and I think it really did help, even though it said he didnt meet the LA Stat Asses criteria. I got the impression that the tribunal are not bothered about individual LA's criteria, it just came down to one thing which was can the school be expected to provide support from its own resources, simple as that.

 

And we won the tribunal by the way if thats any consolation xx

 

Thank you for telling me about how you got on. It has made me feel more confident. Well done

[bensmum2]

HI, Well done for winning, i have gone through refusal to assess four times over the years and got a final statement last week, after a note in lieu 2 years ago was totallty ignored and it;s only thsi time at 14 that salt and ot ans asd resources have even done reports, i am now having to appeal the named school and also parts 2 and 3 o th satement. I was very interested to read about your son being on the 1st percentile for motor skills, my son was gioven a percentile of 0.5 for fine motor and 0.1 for gross motor skills, which i think is even lower, but still only offered verbal advice, he can't even use a knife and just like oyour son his hand hurts when he writes, can't do packets or shoelaces and even struggles pouring a drink, at 14 i can't let im use the kettle as he shakes when trying to concentrate on pouring. I was really wondering if , with such low percentiles they should be hving regular ot input, the school i want for him is oputside our area, but they have their own ot and salt and teach cooking and lifeskills, mobility etc, he has had very little help from mainstream school and ws only diagnosed in july 2009.I have home schooled since then , but he really needs to get back in year 10 in september did the tribunal think your son needed regular ot input? My boy also doesnt socialise , itsa constant fight to get him out of the house, but he does go to 3 different clubs for asd childrne and goes crazy if he ahs to miss one of those, he feels understood and the same as the others not left out or different lik he feel everywhere else, i don't know whether the tribunal will accept that or will they try to make him be include in mainstream, inclusion has not worked for him so far , I have fought for so long but am finding the prospect of this appeal so daunting i almost feel sick with worry , even though i have a lot of support from ipsea , nbcs, etc.