Class Observation Report

[samh76]

hi everyone,

 

My 7 year old son has just been observed in class by our local Autism Support Team. He doesn't have a diagnosis and as yet I am unsure of whether he has AS or ADD.

 

The report states some of the following and I wonder if any one has any input:

 

He said that T was very passive, he could not interact with any of the other children in his class without encouragement from the teacher, he said that T struck him as a boy with some kind of Social and Communication difficulties, he has sensory issues as he spent a lot of time with his hood up, rocking and tapping is teeth with his finger. He has suggested the use of finger tangles which I have not heard of. He also said that T needs careful adult direction to help him use his visual aids, and he may benefit from a separate workstation if he becomes too distracted or passive.

 

If anyone has any similar experiences or any idea what all this means I would be really grateful. We have heard nothing from the school since we got a copy of this report and I am dreading him going back to a classroom environment in September that he clearly cannot function in, and moving into juniors too, we know that he needs support but have no idea whether we are going to get it and how long it may take ..

 

Thanks so much

 

Sam

[Grace]

Hi Sam,

 

What has been described are classic autistic traits. The rocking could be signs of anxiety/stress and the lack of desire/ability to mix with his classmates are also autistic traits.

 

Suggesting a 'work station' is something you would see a lot of if you went around an autism special school, because many children with autism have difficulty staying on task and get distracted very easily.

 

Obviously, I have not met your DS, so I could not say if he does have autism, but certainly social/communication difficulties are part of autism.

 

I am so sorry to read about your fear and understand it completely. People on here can give you loads of support, but I think it would be a good idea to get reading about autism.

 

I think it would be a very good idea to push very forcibly for a diagnosis and it might be better to do that via the NHS - go to your GP for a referral. If you are not already getting speech and language therapy, you should ask for a referral for that too - they help with social communication difficulties, not just speech. If you have any funds at your disposal, a private Ed Psych assessment and private Speech and Language assessment will help.

 

It sounds very possible that your DS might be better in a special school and it would also be a good idea to visit any within even generous travelling distance. Each local authority website should list their schools, but if you can get hold of a copy of the Gabbitas guide, that should give you most of them. DO not be put off by the idea of special schools; they can offer the expetise and environment that your DS could need.

 

That said, if he is given the right support in mainstream (workstation, speech and language input, autism outreach input, one to one help etc)then he might be okay.

 

Part of the process in getting help can be to do a parental request for a statement and you can start that yourself before you have the diagnosis; although the diagnosis will help. A statement will desribe what difficulties your DS has and therefore what help he should get. Be aware you might have to fight for this - education authorites are reluctant to give statements because they cost them money.

 

Now I have given you far too much info!

 

Read all the different threads on here and you will get an idea of what is involved.

 

I truly hope that you will get the help your DS needs without a fight.

 

Best Wishes

 

Grace/x

Edited August 17, 2010 by Grace

[Yossarian]

Hi Sam

 

I second everything Grace says. Start the diagnosis process, and don't be put off by anyone telling you to wait and see. Ask your GP to refer to paediatrician. If there is a speech and language drop in, go along. As you seem to be aware, if your son does come out of the process with a diagnosis, getting the right support may well not happen easily. You may have to fight to get your son the provision he needs. I strongly recommend that you keep written notes of every conversation / contact / recommendation from professionals involved, and follow up verbal advice with a confirmation letter (From our conversation I understand you to have meant.....). This will do you no harm (though it's a pain), but will be vital in arguing for proper provision. Do not be fobbed off by the local authority, and get yourself a copy of the Code of Practice and read it. It will pay you dividends to know your rights. There is a brief guide to the law / your rights in this document here:

 

http://www.ncb.org.uk/edcm/MDCML2010.pdf

 

It was released today by Every Disabled Child Matters. I'm sorry if this sounds very heavy handed, and I know you have a lot to deal with emotionally, but it will help your son in the long run. This board is very useful for asking specific questions as is Mumsnet SEN board http://213.161.73.140/Talk/special_needs

 

With best wishes

 

Yossarian

[Suze]

Just wanted to reiterate what the other posters have said that social/communication difficulties would point towards ASD.A finger tangle is like a platic band bracelet and can be twirled around and fiddled with.My son has used them to fiddle /mess with in class , it can be used as a tool for anxiety, focusing , a bit like a stress ball.Best wishes suzex

[Karen A]

Hi.

Ben is 12 now.When he was seven we received reports that were very similar to the one you have reported about your son.The only exception was that Ben was not passive but could be challenging.

Following on from the early assessments Ben was assessed by a SALT,OT and CAMHS.The process was a lengthy one and Ben had various different diagnosis at different times including dyspraxia,Social Communication Difficulties.

We obtained a Statement of SEN and the ASD outreach teacher worked with the primary school to support Ben in mainstream.

He had a very rough time in primary school.However since moving to Secondary with some excellent and supportive staff he has made great progress.Ben is now doing very well academically.He still finds the social life at school difficult and does not find it easy to cope with the sensory issues such as noise and crowding in a mainstream comprehensive.However he was at one stage working alone at a workstation in primary when not hiding under tables.So things can change with appropriate support.

 

Ben was finaly diagnosed with AS as well as dyspraxia just over a year ago.

The NAS provide some excellent information on the process of seeking a diagnosis.I will see if I can find it and post it for you.

The NAS site and this one have both undergone changes recently so it may be a while.

http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/all-about-diagnosis/diagnosis-the-process-for-children/diagnosis-what-to-expect.aspx

Edit to add link.Hope it is useful and other pages might be worth a browse at some point including education section.

http://www.autism.org.uk/Living-with-autism/Education/Primary-and-secondary-school/Extra-help-for-your-child-in-school/Extra-help-in-school-England-and-wales.aspx

Karen.

Edited August 18, 2010 by Karen A

[Sally44]

The only thing I would add is about him being passive.

If a child is aggressive or disruptive then their 'needs' tend to be looked at earlier because it disrupts the whole class.

A child that is passive can easily get overlooked and not noticed because they become invisible.

It is good that they have identified his difficulties in this report.

As already said I would recommend you go on to seek a diagnosis - probably of an autistic spectrum disorder by the sound of the description.

Make sure he is on School Action Plus so that he has Individual Education Plans and involve the LEAs Parent Partnership to ensure the targets are SMART (specific, measureable, achieveable, relevent and time limited). That will then give you regular measurements of progress which you can use as evidence towards a request for a Statement.

[samh76]

Thank you all so so much for your advice and support. We have a second appointment with the consultant on Monday at the hospital so hopefully he will take things more seriously on the back of this report.

 

Thanks again

Sam

[Sally44]

Also find out what the "Autism Support Team" consists of. Typically you need your son to be observed and assessed by a Speech and Language Therapist for all aspects of expressive and receptive speech as well as social interaction/communication skills. An Educational Psychologist would look at the way the child learns and any difficulties they may have, or what kind of educational environment they need. An Occupational Therapist would assess the childs sensory processing to see if they had sensory integration disorder, and would look at any other difficulties they might have with the classroom environment, or problems with handwriting or visual perception or visual processing. This would also include any gross motor difficulties. Typically our children have problems with things like riding a bike, tying shoe laces etc.

So you need to know who the team consists of. And to ensure that each professional sees your child (along with a developmental paediatrician and clinical psychologist is usually the norm), and ask them to put their findings in writing to you.