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New here, my son 8 (AS) struggling with written work..any suggestions?

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Hello all! I have recently joined this forum to see if anyone has any advice on how I can help my son 8 (AS) at school. It has been a real rollercoaster ride for him over the past few years and one of the difficulties seems to stem from his writing. He has gone through various stages with his writing from producing very little, to refusing to write anything, to producing very little again.

 

The attitude from the school is that he can't be bothered but after sitting and observing my sons reactions to his homework I believe that he is really struggling getting the words from his brain to his paper. He is using other lessons ( which I believe he would do really well in, such as computers,art, design and technology) to complete his English work. He also ends up completing his English (or anything involving a lot of writing) during remove...which I should imagine has happened due to the writing anyway.

 

Does anyone else have any experience of this and what helped? or what suggestions were made by the school? my sons SENCO is a class teacher and quite new to the job and I would very much like to help her to help my son.

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He needs assessing by a speech and language therapist and they must use STANDARDISED ASSESSMENTS of his expressive and receptive speech. He may have problems formulating sentences, word meanings, dyslexia etc, poor short term or poor working memory. He could have Dyspraxia which is about sequencing and planning not just movements, but thoughts as well. He may also have poor muscle tone or poor motor planning and writing maybe very tiring for him.

 

My son has dyslexia and dyspraxia and he finds it very hard to write. He is now in an independent ASD school for children with average cognitive ability and they have helped him alot. He has a computer. A reader and a writer. Word banks to help him recognise and choose words he wants to use. Predictive text and he may get voice recognition software later on. There is alot that can be done, but he has to be thoroughly assessed to know what his difficulties are.

 

He also needs to be assessed by an Occupational therapist for sensory processing disorder and dyspraxia.

 

Here is a copy of the SEN Code of Practice. http://media.educati...of practice.pdf

You need to read chapters 5, 7 and 8. The SENCO should know her job, but does not seem to. The SEN process is a graduated approach. So you need to get the ball rolling so that he receives assessments [again ask for STANDARDISED ASSESSMENTS because only those type of assessments give a baseline reading of strengths and weaknesses from which you can measure progress]. Once he receives support, and is assessed and has an IEP, you can measure progress. If he is not achieving targets or making progress you go back and ask for addtional support, therapy, specialist teaching etc as you have the evidence that what has been provided so far has not produced progress.

 

If your son is falling behind his peers he needs to go onto School Action, then School Action Plus. The school should get an EP to see and assess him and also the Speech and Lanaguage Therapist. If his needs are significant [and it sounds like they are if he is not writing at age 8], you can ask the LA to assess your son for a Statement of Special Educational Needs.

 

Can your son read?

 

Ive just read your other post which says he is on School Action Plus. How long for and how many IEPs has he had and has he reached the targets?

 

The next stage is asking for an assessment for a Statement. You can do it yourself. You don't need anyone else to do it. Have a look at http://www.ipsea.org.uk/ website for template letters to use.

 

He is now 8. The Statement takes 26 weeks. So he will be in the next academic year when the Statement is finalised. And you will probably have a year of that Statement to see if progress is made and if he is coping in mainstream primary. The most difficult transition is at secondary age. So start looking now for which school you think could meet his needs.

 

When you ask for an assessment for a Statement the LA writes off to various professions and asks them to comment on your son. You need to know who they ask. If they miss anyone significant such as the Clinical Psychologist or OT, you need to ask the LA to contact those people to assess your child. You need to speak to each professional and ask them to carry out STANDARDISED ASSESSMENTS and you need to follow it up with a letter of what was discussed and what you asked them to do assessment wise. If you don't ask it will not automatically happen.

 

You will probably have to appeal the Statement because it won't be specific or identify each and every need. Here is a useful link. http://www.ace-ed.or...ght Mar2011.pdf

Edited by Sally44

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Hi Sally, He is on school action + and was given a full assessment by an EP (before dx) last year and he basically gave me an outline of his cognitive profile and emotional literacy, and in a nut shell told me he was more than capable but needed to be motivated because he didn't see the point??.

 

Speech and language therapists have never been mentioned.

 

Reading...my son won't happily pick up a book and read to himself at home, he prefers to be read too. He hit a phase at school when he refused to read with the TA (I truly believe this was due to a clash of personalities) so his reading books were never changed and at the age of 6 he was given a reading age of 4 yrs 7 months. Since resolving this issue he is changing his reading books every night and I am not seeing any problems but he told me the teacher was extending his reading stage because he read the stage too quickly? so could potentially have a much higher reading level now, this is something I am planning on finding out.

 

He is waiting for an appointment with a Community Paediatrician due to possible epilepsy, would this be the best route to finding out about any other co-morbid conditions such as dyspraxia etc

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Did you get a report from the LA EP. A "full assessment" is not necessary a standardised assessments. If it was a standardised assessment you should receive a report with standard scores, percentile results or age related equivalents for all aspects of cognitive ability. So what are his scores from this report and has he made progress. Did the EP carry out the British Ability Scales, WISC etc standardised assessments?

 

If you have no report and no scores, you have nothing to prove he has not made progress apart from KS results.

 

If his reading age at 6 was 4.7, what is it now.

 

And reading age does not assess for comprehension, inference, word meanings etc which a SALT would assess. So you can have a child that has an advanced reading age, and yet cannot write or understand what they have read and the implications of what they have read.

 

My son cannot read or write but he can memorise books and whole films and repeat them back verbatim. So whatever your son can do needs to be assessed as reading without meaning happens alot with ASD children.

Edited by Sally44

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No we didn't have a report from the EP, when I asked him if I would get a copy he said no, he does not tend to do this as it takes more time?

 

From the info the EP gave me I think it was the WISC....I'm just realizing how useless I am!

 

I just have notes in my sons reading diary from school saying that he had excellent recall when asked about his book, I returned his IEP review sheet unsigned as it just said that he had made progress on most of his targets but nothing to support this. In January 2012 I did some research and kicked up a fuss I was given a list of his curriculum levels. in the July 2011 previous to this he was within average range, but in the Sept following it he dropped to the P scales, then in May 2012 he was bang on average again. But it didn't make sense because he was producing next to no work therefore nothing to assess, unless he pulled it out of the bag for his SATS test????. I think the teachers idea of giving me proof is for me to go and look at his books but this doesn't really help me with levels if you see what I mean and I don't really know what to go in asking for.

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We had independent SALT and EP done for our son who had problems with writing and it was very revealing.

 

School have always maintained that he was "age appropriate" but that hide a huge range of strengths and weaknesses. For him writing is a challenge on so many levels.

 

It can be hard to transfer experience from one child to another, but things that have helped us include

 

Allowing him to have a scribe, or to type his work on a notebook to separate the creative process from the act of writing (both of which are a problem for him).

 

Giving him a written crib sheet about the task - he finds it much easier to understand information provided visually (e.g. words written down) than aurally. In fact the weakness of his auditory processing is not immediately apparent but is one of the keys to understanding his difficulties.

 

The teachers also try to use his interests to get him to write on something that interests him.

 

It seems likely that the EP you have seen has misread the situation. Motivation may be an issue but the reason for his reluctance to write may be that it is an area of real difficulty and that school and the EP do not recognise the underlying problems that make it difficult.

 

It seems to me that you should be applying for statutory assessment - if he is struggling now it is only likely to get worse without the support a statement will give - the process always takes much longer than expected so the sooner you start it the better

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You have a right to receive a copy of any report on your son.

 

I would phone this EP and ask them what assessments they carried out and ask them for a copy of the assessment results and any comments/notes or report he produced from those findings. Ask him if he completed the whole of the assessment and ask what advice [verbal or written] he has given to the LA and the school [as some LA EPs cherry pick the subtests they think the child will do well at]. Just getting a copy of the filled in standardised assessment is going to be very important. You can always speak to him at a later date to ask for his opinion in interpreting the assessment results.

 

Your son's SEN is not a secret!

 

After you receive this report have a read of it. It should give you scores in a wide range of skill sets and you should be able to see what his areas of difficulty are. You also need to monitor IEPS. You need to attend the meetings and get the evidence that a target has been met, and ask them what targets they are going to set and how they will measure if that target is achieved. As a parent you can also suggest targets.

 

And how ridiculous for the EP to complete an assessment and file it away and not discuss the findings with you or the school.

 

Get his Key Stage results for each year and write them down for maths and english. We had something similar where everytime I complained he 'somehow' improved. But it isn't about faking improvement to shut us up. It is about a child having their needs met so that they make real progress. That is why standardised assessments are so important because you can see where improvement has taken place [or not] when they are re-assessed a year later. However the key stage results will be useful too.

 

IEP targets have to be SMART [specific, measureable, achieveable, relevent and time limited]. If they are you can see if the child meets the target, and if they dont you can alter the IEP to make it more likely the child will achieve it.

 

Let me give you an example of a bad IEP target my son had. "For xxx to initiate play with peers". This was going to be achieved by staff having a card which they ticked every time my son initiated play with peers. And at his next IEP he had apparently met that target. When I asked 'how he had met it' I was shown a card full of ticks for the times he had been seen to initiate play. What I asked what my son needed to do to get a tick, I was told that if a member of staff saw him approach other kids and say something he got a tick.

 

So I asked "what did my son say when he approached the children". I was told they did not know because they did not want to get too close to make him self conscious. So they had no idea what he had said and whether it was relevent, or how the other kids responded to it. I had written down my son's attempts to initiate play or interaction. For example walking up to a group of kids, and repeating the taxi company's telephone number. So he was trying, but had no idea what to say at that stage.

 

I asked if my son had been taught some phrases to use to make initiating play more successful such as "can I play" "what game are you playing" etc. I was told no. [i already knew that my son did not formulate sentences easily and I knew he could not remember the childrens names in his class]. Often when he went up to a child he said "excuse me" to try to get their attention. We later found out my son has face blindness and finds it hard to recognise people and remember their names.

 

I also asked what the outcome of his attempts to initiate play had been ie. was he successful. Again I was told that the staff had not monitored that.

 

That was a totally useless target and it had not been achieved.

 

So I said that for my son to have a target to "initiate play" he needed that to be a target worked on with the Speech Therapist and for her to work 1:1 with him, using set phrases and set situations for him to learn. Then that needed to be taught to the TA who would support him during class and during breaktimes and prompt him to use those phrases and identify those situations where he could attempt to join in. And that the TA would continue to prompt and support him until he became more independent and then the support should be gradually reduced and he should be monitored to see if he kept on using those phrases and kept on trying and being successful at initiating play. I said a sheet full of ticks just tells me that your staff are able to put ticks on sheets of paper and it tells me nothing about the skills my son has!

 

So we had lots of targets that they kept saying he achieved, and then later on they would have to admit he had not achieved them.

 

They kept saying he could read, until I pointed out that he had memorised all the reading books and that he could not identify words he had apparently 'read' if given to him out of context.

 

At the moment you have little idea of what your son can and cannot do and little idea of what his strengths and weaknesses are. And if you have no idea neither does the school and that is why he is falling further behind and they are trying to look like they are doing something, but they are actually doing very little or are not doing the things he needs to support him and make progress.

 

My son has severe dyslexia and he still cannot read fluently. I really felt that they were wasting his and my time and treating me like an idiot.

 

They told me the gap between my son and his peers was widening and that they expected it to widen over the next years and they had no concerns about that. That is not what the SEN Code of Practice says, and that is not how the SEN process or a Statement works.

 

For a child to go to a mainstream secondary school they must be at least at KS3 [and that is classed as SEN]. If he isn't he will not be able to access mainstream secondary education. Time is ticking away and he is now years behind if he is 8 and unable to write [and we don't know what his true reading and comprehension ability is].

Edited by Sally44

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Sally, Thank you. You have just given me the kick up the backside that I needed. I have spent far too much time wondering, not wanting to step on peoples toes. It has now become quite clear that my causing a fuss last year wasn't even enough to cause ripples in a puddle.

 

I will sit down later and write a letter to the EP asking for all the info you have mentioned, I just thought because it was done for the school all information was keep for the schools information. Knowing more deatail about my sons strengths and weaknesses will help greatly.

 

I will have a good look through the SEN code of practice and make notes.

 

I have emailed the SENCO for a meeting asking for documented information to show my sons progress, just waiting for a reply.

 

I find the IEP's a struggle to be honest, and have no idea where to start. There is one particular target which I can't help but find annoyed at which is;

 

Short term target.

To encourage xxxx to play with peers.

 

Success criteria.

Playing nicely with other children using a transition object.

 

Strategies.

xxxx is encouraged to bring in a toy from home as a transition object. He is prompted to play with other children with it on the play ground.

 

Resources/support/frequencies.

On going

 

In my mind this would not be a good idea at all, my Ds gets worried/upset if he thinks someone damage his toys. But I don't particularly know what to put instead.

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This is a very difficult area to work on, but one that is essential because children with an ASD have problems in those areas of speech and language and social communication.

 

My son was also encouraged to take a toy into school that he could use to interact with other children. I felt it's use was limited because my son would just repeat TV dialogue relating to the toy he had taken in. This wasn't a two way conversation, it would be a repeat of pokemon episode 6!

 

"to play nicely" is not a SMART target.

 

I also had alot of problems getting any support for my son during breaktimes eventhough it was detailed in his Statement - this was one of many many things that we ended up at tribunal about. He needed so much more than a mainstream setting could offer.

 

The school told me that my son was 'supported' because there was always a TA on the playground during breaks. But they were not working with my son. He used to walk up and down the fence line repeating TV programmes to himself.

 

For Social Interaction you really need a SALT to be working 1:1 with the child initially [and that is after standardised assessments so that they know where the areas of need are], and then that SALT can say what the target will be and train the TA to deliver whatever the strategy is to achieve the target. And if the targets keep failing that gives you a greater indication of need.

 

One of the SALT targets was to get my son involved in "turn taking" conversation. We would choose a topic he liked, such as pokemon and the SALT might ask him "which is your favourite character" and my son would respond, and then he would have to ask the SALT something. But, at age 9, the only things he could think of to ask were to repeat the same question back to the SALT. That is why I knew that the IEP target to "initiate play" had not been achieved, because I knew the SALT target of holding a turn taking conversation was not achieved. Now my son can take turns in a conversation, but it is still limited.

 

I think it sounds like the targets are way too advanced for what he is currently able to achieve and I think that has happened because a SALT has not assessed him. If your son could "play nicely", whatever that means, he would not have got a diagnosis of an ASD would he.

 

This is a link to a US information about IEP targets being SMART. The same applies in the UK. http://www.wrightsla...2/ch12.ieps.pdf

 

I would have thought it would be far better to have a small group, maybe with one other child and a child that has similar interests to your son so that that child also brings in the same type of toy eg. transformers.

 

Something the SALT set up for my son was a Lego club. She would provide a small Lego kit and my son and two other children would put the lego model together. Each child had a role. One gave the instructions, the other found the piece and the third one put the pieces together. There were some problems with that, but there were also alot of positives. Now my son is in an ASD specific secondary school and they do alot of work 1:1 and in small groups with the children and he has come on alot.

Edited by Sally44

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Hi, sorry bed32 I have only just noticed your post I do apologize I wasn't ignoring, thank you.

 

Sally44, I mentioned I emailed the SENCO about a meeting. It was intercepted by the headteacher asking that all conversations regarding my son are to be done in a meeting. His staff do not have time to read and reply to my emails??? and he pointed out that my son is in a class who all have special needs. I thought this was the case in all honesty (his new teacher seemed to spend our first meeting taking her cues from another teacher who was there, saying very little) and from what my son had been telling me. Even though I suspected should I of been told? would it make a difference to my sons support? are they pulling a swifty?

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He probably doesn't see the point because he's struggling and cant communicate that to you or his teachers. I found writing tiring due to my undiagnosed dyslexia and HMS at the time but was unable to communicate that to people. Pen grips might help if hes having difficulty holding his pens/pencils.

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They may not like letters or emails - having to read or reply to them. But you need a record of what is going on because if you do go to an educational tribunal you cannot submit "verbal exchanges" as evidence can you.

 

At any school meeting, including IEPs, make sure that you take notes of what is being discussed, and ask the school to minute the meeting. Always ask for tangible evidence of progress such as SAT improvements, assessment improvements etc. Someone just saying they are "happy with his progress" does not mean anything.

 

Tell school that you need to have good communication between you. It is surprising for you not to know that your son is in a SEN class only. You should know that because they should have told you that. That now explains how behind your son is and what level of difficulties he is having is he is not with typical mainstream children.

 

What is very important for you to find out is why he is in that peer group. There is a huge difference between a child that is not cognitively able to be in mainstream lessons, opposed to a child with certain disorders or learning difficulties that make it much harder or impossible to access mainstream. For example, a child with around average cognitve ability, but with severe dyslexia, would be wrongly placed in a class of children with low cognitive ability, although the dyslexic child maybe producing work of a similar level. That child's difficulty is due to the dyslexia, and via supports, teaching approaches specifically for dyslexia, that child's academic attainment should match his cognitive ability potential.

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Thank you Trekster, I believe he struggled so much in school before, and that is why he completely shut off, and didn't produce anything at all. I have a feeling that all of his difficulties haven't been picked up yet but he is due to see a peadiatrician soon (yes I think I did everything backwards!, I have read that children are usually seen by other proffessionals before seeking a diagnosis of aspergers!) so hopefully he will be able to pick up on these.

 

Sally, I really wished that I had come on here many years ago. But everything was such as shock, the initial has he? hasn't he? I was just in limbo and didn't know where to turn. A select member of staff always seems to want to keep me in the dark (HT), why? I have no idea surely to keep me informed and included would be beneficial for all involved, even more so my son. It would also explain why the class teacher has, from the word go, repeadedly told me that my son will not be treated any different than anyone else in the class (in hindsight I think she was trying to tell me but was being held back by someone...two guesses who that could be!) Do you think it is some way of making things simplier when applying for a statement?. To show that my son isn't making adequate progress with his current intervention?. We have just received a copy of the final report for my sons diagnosis (we had been told verbally and were awaiting this). I had been told that legally the school had to wait for this before they could act on what had been said .

 

The IEP did include BESD so would of already been covering his difficulties the best they could anyway, but in a one size fits all way due to the fact he is in a special needs class, once they recieve the report his IEP will become more tailor-made to the additional needs outlined within it. The clinical psycologist who was part of the team assessing him has pointed out the difficulties he will have with regards to his peer interactions and made suggestions as to why my sons attainment does not match his cognitive profile, following a school observation the team member noted simple strategies which were put in place a long time ago were still not being used. Even though some staff members (not his class teacher) have recently been making a very OTT point of suggesting to me that they are.This would explain why he isn't producing work consistantly (thinking logically :) ) ...if the strategies are not always being used. Luckily someone with more knowledge than me has been in and knows they are not. So I am guessing now the Educational Psychologist will be approached again (after being given a copy of the diagnosis report) and hopefully my son will make some progress.

 

I have been advised to see my sons behaviour outside of school, as an indicator as to whether the strategies used within the class are working for him, and in all honesty he is a lot more relaxed than last year although is more emotional and clingier than usual on select days. I'm going to make a note of this and see if there is a specific pattern, then approach the SENCO if I believe it is something within school. I spent too much time looking at home last year when in reality nothing had changed.

 

As for his written work I have been given some resources to try at home with him (not typically taught in school) which will assist him at school, especially when he reaches high school and has the essays etc to contend with. So I am going to gradually introduce these to him over the coming weeks. I have kept all correspondance with the school in writing because I have seen information fabricated regarding his support in the past.

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From what you have posted so far, I think your son may struggle and not cope in mainstream.

 

So my advice is to get a Statement. If, within a year, things are not improving, he is not going to cope in a secondary mainstream, which is much larger, different class/teacher/environment changes for each lesson.

 

Your son needs to be above KS3 to even access the teaching in mainstream secondary.

 

So stay on this forum for advice whilst you are getting the Statement. Then start looking for a suitable secondary school for your son. If you know which one you want mainstream, then start looking at ASD specific schools. Ask your LA for their list of maintained, approved, non-maintained and independent secondary schools to see if they already use an independent ASD specific school for other pupils.

 

DO NOT let him end up in a BESD school, if the LA ever suggest that. It is not ASD specific.

 

As well as a SALT assessing him [because I think you are right that he struggles to access the words in his brain and translate that into the written word], I think you need to have him assessed for Dyslexia. You can do that via the British Dyslexia Association or Dyslexia Action. Some of the difficulties you mention are associated with dyslexia.

 

If he is refusing to write and refusing to do work now, things could spiral downwards very quickly if he is not coping, anxious and sees other kids are doing the work. He could refuse school. And if he does you need him in a placement that can meet all his needs and where he will make progress.

 

Yes applying for a Statement is easier if you have a diagnosis and can prove he is not making progress. Start the ball rolling because it takes a long time [26 weeks in total], if the LA agree to assess. If they refuse to assess you must appeal [another 4-6 months], and if the appeal Orders the LA to assess that is 26 weeks from then [so potentially a year away], and if the Statement is not legally binding and you need to appeal the final statement you can add on a further 4-6 months. So 1.5 years away. By then you will be looking at the secondary school placement.

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Hello. Definitely Statement - get independent advice but definitely include a Paediatric Occupational Therapist for assessment even if your county (like ours do nothing for children with Autism/Dyspraxia/Dyslexia). We have got advice and had to go independently, we have equipment to help, a computer to use at school and we will get more help now through a better statement (after tribunal). Dyspraxia/Dsylexia are quite common with ASD and poor sensory integration. Certainly needs further investigation and sooner the better - request assessments now via GP for OT assessment and if no service, go privately. Use this for Statutory Assessment request too. It all impacts on learning and in my son's case, definitely affected self esteem at even younger age. His writing is still poor but he has a go now and can use laptop with predictive text etc so things easier. Ask an OT, get SALT assessment and Ed Psych (preferably independent) and I read another post ... the school another..? My son was considered naughty boy until he got his diagnosis and then they didn't want him because he would be better of in an SRB because of his autism. It is real difficulty and you need a school that understands that as well as a Statement.

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Hi there, I haven't really got much to add to what the others have said but I would try seeing whether he likes to use SymWriter. It is software that produces symbols above the written word to show the context. If you go www.Widgit.com and look on their products, you can get a free trail for around 30 days I think. Your son may be more interested in 'writing' if he doesn't have to physically handwrite something. The advantage of this software is that there he may be more motivated to 'have a go' as as the reward for producing a word is a symbol!

 

See what you think, obviously it won't solve everything but I work with a child who originally didn't want to write at all and will now 'write' using this software.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hi

 

Could he be struggling because he has Dysgraphia. My son has Dysgraphia. Sadly, school staff weren't just dismissive, they were obstructive, when I raised it with them. School kept saying that my son couldn't be bothered to write, motivation was an issue, etc etc. Truth was, there was a reason why he didn't want to write. Dysgraphia can be quite distinctive. R's writing tends to slope off (less obvious on lined paper), with poor spacing between words, and contained a mixture of normal case letters with capital letters, as well as characters and numbered which were back to front. Sometimes kids are mis-diagnosed with Dyslexia.

 

In my son's case, because his Educational Psychologist and Support for Learning Teacher were so dismissive and obstructive, I eventually went to my son's consultant. She went into school and diagnosed Dysgraphia, but also Dyspraxia. At that meetng, school staff were keen for R not to be labelled and were still insistent that motivation was the issue. I therefore went in armed with drawings that he did of his own accord at home (because it matched work in school and showed motivation wasn't the issue).

 

Definitely worth looking into!

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Hi there, I haven't really got much to add to what the others have said but I would try seeing whether he likes to use SymWriter. It is software that produces symbols above the written word to show the context. If you go www.Widgit.com and look on their products, you can get a free trail for around 30 days I think. Your son may be more interested in 'writing' if he doesn't have to physically handwrite something. The advantage of this software is that there he may be more motivated to 'have a go' as as the reward for producing a word is a symbol!

 

See what you think, obviously it won't solve everything but I work with a child who originally didn't want to write at all and will now 'write' using this software.

The above maybe useful. But the thing is that if your [or any] child has a specific learning difficulty it should be identified by the relevant professional, which should come via the EP, or via an NHS professional, but may have to come via independent professionals.

 

The whole point being that those professionals do know what these difficulties are. They are common in children like ours. There are strategies, approaches, systems etc that can be used like Widgit, or using a laptop and predictive text, or word banks, or a writing programme, or occupational therapy or a reader/writer etc etc. But the professional has to be involved, has to assess, has to diagnose and has to quantify and specify for that provision to be detailed in the child's Statement, and for the child to be in a school that can deliver that support/provision/therapy etc.

 

I, and many other parents, feel like we are wading uphill in treacle trying to get school and professionals to recognise the difficulties our children face. We often think if we could just get them to see or understand etc. But the truth is they do know. Mainstream schools may not, but they can seek advise, they can refer, they can use up their SEN budget to get professionals involved that can make recommendations. But it all boils down to money and not enough kind of school places for children with these types of difficulties.

 

Because there are a combination of needs that are often present in an ASD child, such as Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyspraxia. These all affect how "input" is processed and how "output" is planned and sequenced and organised. My son has all three. After years of research myself I knew that. But it took independent professionals and two educational tribunals to get those needs into his Statement and get the right school placement that could meet those needs. And it shouldn't be like that.

Edited by Sally44

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Oh my goodness Sally44 , I wasn't proposing anything otherwise to what you'd suggested :) I am more than aware of the struggles that a child with ASD has on a daily and the difficulties of the processes involved to even begin to get the right level of support/ provision.

 

It was really just a quick note, not meant to make anyone think that the software would solve all difficulties encountered; or. undermine anything else that has been said on this post.

 

I was only suggesting that WindyLou takes a look at the software and sees whether her son likes it or not.

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Sorry I wasn't having a go at you. Just the system is pants and lets so many children/parents down.

 

Software can be and is often very useful. BUT when a child has a diagnosis and additional difficulties on top of the ASD, whether that is dyspraxia, dysgraphia etc, then it really needs a joint approach by the school and outside professionals. You really need assessments to determine what is the cause of the problem, otherwise the approach/support etc could be ineffective.

 

And parents should be part of that whole approach. And I know that I myself have tried things on my own because I thought that doing something was better than nothing. But it also took a number of years, and two educational tribunals, to get my son into a school that really could help him. If he was not at that school then my efforts would just not be enough.

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Our son (9) has similar problems but we don't have a solution either. Despite him attending a special ed school and 2 hrs. of speech therapy per week. Etc.

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Hello, Just wanted to update everyone who commented. My son went to see a peadiatrician, after mentioning his issues with writing at school, she suggested a scribe to help him and referred him to an OT to have his fine motor skills assessed. I think I will take along all the info I have proved to other proffessionals to make sure I don't miss anything out. She also checked his joints to rule out any problems with hypermobility, which was fine.

 

I have managed to get him referred to speech and language, although not sure how long this will take.

 

Hopefully this will highlight or rule out other issues then I can go from there.

 

Thanks for your help so far, it really is appreciated.

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What joints did she check for hypermobility? Mine was wrongly tested for resulting in a negative result. The joints she should test include, little finger, thumb, elbows, knees, back. See the EDS thread in the related conditions section for more information.

 

Pleased you are getting some help for your son and hope he gets the help he needs and the school takes notice.

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Hi trekster Thanks I will take a look at the EDS thread. She checked his knees, elbows, ankles and his back but this was only due to me mentioning he complains about pains in these especially when he has walked a small distance. 2 months ago I also witnessed his knees give way as we were walking along (not enough for him to fall but enough for him to do a kind of swift stoop as he was walking along), he said it happens all the time???...saying this we also have to bare in mind that my son constantly jumps and flaps and in all honesty when ever he mentioned these I automatically thought it was due to this, but this was before I did lots of reading up. Would the OT not check anything to do with his hands when assessing his fine motor skills? I'm not sure.

 

It's crazy 4 years ago I didn't see any difficulties, now he has been diagnosed with AS....possibly has dyspraxia.......it just seems to be spiraling from one thing to another...I kind of feel like I'm turning into a mum that "wants" there to be something wrong (guess I look like that to outsiders anyway) but in reality I don't.

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My son also complains of pain and feeling tired. He feels it in his back, hips, knees etc. He has no endurance. But nothing specific has turned up really. The Physio has referred him to orthotics, as she feels with insoles that will improve his posture and reduce or remove these pains he is getting.

 

And I know how you feel when you start to get one diagnoses after another. But the fact is that most children are alike when toddlers. It is when they develop and reach milestones and our children don't that the differences become more apparent and the gap widens. Even now I can look of photos of my son as a baby and toddler and there is no indication at all of the problems he obviously has now.

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I find insoles really help and if you can afford them Dr Marten boots are supposed to be very supportive.

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