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Clare501

Education Pychologist First Visit

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The EP is FINALLY seeing Harvey on the 14th of July, Im really curious to know what he will do and how long he will spend with him. Im not sure he'd get to know much about him if he's only going to be there for say an hour or if hes going to work WITH Harvey, he works very very well on a one to one.

 

Just curious really. Id love to know. He's going to feed back at the next TAC on the 20th so really looking forward to hearing what he has to say.

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The EP is FINALLY seeing Harvey on the 14th of July, Im really curious to know what he will do and how long he will spend with him. Im not sure he'd get to know much about him if he's only going to be there for say an hour or if hes going to work WITH Harvey, he works very very well on a one to one.

 

Just curious really. Id love to know. He's going to feed back at the next TAC on the 20th so really looking forward to hearing what he has to say.

 

Hi Clare,

 

You should contact him and ask him!

 

You also have a right to be there, if you want.

 

He could be carrying out standardised tests (e.g. IQ tests) or he could be there to observe Harvey and speak to the teaching staff.

 

You could ask to meet him at the school, after he has finished seeing Harvey, in order to let him know your concerns and what Harvey is like, when he is in a more challenging situation.

 

Get his contact details from the person who arranged the appointment.

 

Best Wishes

 

Grace/x

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they spent some time doing puzzles etc and chatting with my daughter and they also observed her[ without her realising ] during her school day.they only time i met with the ep was to discuss her findings.

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my son works brilliant 1-1 in a quiet room, but the good professionals can still see the difficulties. x

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I just wanted to re-emphasise that you need the SALT and EP to carry out standardised assessments. These will give a baseline measurement of where he is now and from that you can measure progress and if he does not make progress that is your reason to request additional input, or support, or a different school placement.

SALT assessments such as CELF 4 and ACE should be carried out. They may also observe in class and should also carry out a full assessment of his social communication and interaction skills using something like the Childs Communication Checklist or similar. That should inform school on what his targets should be in IEPs and what kinds of supports he may need (eg. dedicated key worker, social use of language group, emotional literacy programme, circle of friends, dinnertime clubs etc).

The EP can also do all kinds of assessments such as WISC, Weschler, BAS II. Again these will measure academic achievement for reading, writing, spelling, cognitive ability. It should highlight if he has a Specific Learning Difficulty such as dyslexia, working memory or short term memory problems, attention problems etc. They too will also carry out observations and classroom based assessments.

But only the standardised assessments will give you the baseline result you need to measure progress from.

You can phone and speak to them. You can put your request in writing. You can ask them if they have experience or qualifications for assessing children with his diagnoses.

You can ask them (and put in writing), that you want them to put their findings and recommendations in writing in a report form. [My son was assessed and no-one produced any reports at all]. You want it in a report. You may decide once you get the report that you want to request the LA to issue a Statement for your child. You don't need anyone to agree with you before you make this request. If the LA refuse you can appeal that decision to SEND.

 

How old is your son.

What kind of school is he currently at.

What do you feel the difficulties and issues are for him.

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Thank you all. That is really helpful.

 

Sally, he has just turned 6 and is in mainstream school, although for the last 12 weeks he has been attending a specialist school that takes children with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties two days a week but that is due to be reviewed at the end of this term as it is only a temporary intervention. He may be able to attend the school on a more definite basis but they never take children full time, he will always spend some time in mainstream. He has a one to one for 15 hours a week right now.

 

His main difficulties at school relate to behaviour, he can be rude and hurts other children most days. He gets under tables and walks out of the classroom alot, he refuses to do work if he doesnt want to do it. He finds it very difficult to sit still, carpet times are the worst for him.

 

At home we 'manage' him better, he definitely has sensory issues, he is a true sensory seeker, he rocks and spins, stands on his head to watch tv, hangs off the sofa, smells things, touches EVERYTHING and eats/chews things - paper, blu tac. Hes even licked and touched cats poo :crying: He has major temper tantrums/meltdowns and obsessive interests, although I wouldnt say hes as obsessed as some Ive heard! At the moment its dinosaurs but he spends an equal amount of time, if not more on his lego. I guess you could say he was obsessed with Lego too. The worst behaviour is how he is towards his little brother, he tries to control everything he does, down to the way he stands sometimes and what he says. If the little one doesnt conform he usually gets hurt or shouted at :crying:

 

My guess is Aspergers, if not he very likely has sensory processing disorder.

 

Can the EP diagnose? Will he say what he thinks is the problem?!

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Can the EP diagnose? Will he say what he thinks is the problem?!

I would hope they wouldn't 'diagnose' - not their role, but they should help to identify his needs and give practical ideas how teachers and other adults can help him with learning and behaviour. As Sally says they carry out assessments and get standardised scores so his results can be judged against other children of the same age. It should help to identify what he's good at and where he needs more help.

 

Hope it goes well, their advice is usually really helpful and if their suggestions are put into place you should see some changes. :thumbs:

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I would ask the EP what the route for a diagnosis is.

 

In my area the school raised issues and my son was referred to the speech therapist and the EP. The speech therapist saw and assessed my son and told me to expect a diagnosis of an ASD just from his speech and communication profile. But the process was that she referred him on to the Developmental Consultant Paediatrician who saw and assessed him and referred him to the Clinical Psychologist who saw and assessed him.

 

We then had another couple of appointments with the DCP, and once the opinion of the Clinical Psychologist was in, that, along with the Speech Therapist gave the diagnosis of ASD and sensory integration disorder.

 

The EP did assess and write a report towards his Statement and gave some advice to school.

 

We've since added on other diagnoses eg. dyslexia/dyscalculia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia, Irlen syndrome etc.

 

From start to finish it took 18 months for the diagnosis. Then after about a year we started the Statementing process, which took another 26 weeks. It does seem to go on forever.

 

If your child is accessing a 'special school' placement already doesn't he need a Statement to get that placement?

 

Only a Statement is a legally binding document. The SEN process is being looked at presently by the government and may change. It might be worth considering starting the process towards a Statement, and getting a referal to whoever diagnoses ASD via the NHS in your area. We have a specific communication clinic at the childrens hospital.

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Hi,My name is Stuart,I am looking for a educational psychologist who can perform a private educational psychologist report for my son who has aspergers syndrome and is having problems at school.

My son is 8 years old and attends primary school in the West Derby area of Liverpool,at present the school are applying for a statement which I have been requesting for over 18 months when he was in the infants.On the 15 of June this month I arranged a meeting with his teacher and the school SEN teacher which got a bit heated when I told them his needs where not being met.

I have now started taking advice off a friend who has been down the same road as me and is advising me to get my own psychologist report done which he had done at the Royal School for the Deaf in Cheadle which has now stopped doing these reports being done.

feels like im hitting my head against a wall :(

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