How will a Statement help

[BusyLizzie100]

Briefly, my son is 8, dx Asperger's. He's on the 99th centile for verbal IQ (ie Gifted) but only on the 19th for spatial IQ. Despite OT input since he was four his handwriting is barely legible - even he struggles to read it. Along with that huge discrepancy go the usual difficulties with social skills etc.

 

He is on School Action Plus and school says he is achieving adequately and is coping at school. Yes, the little darling saves up the stress, anxiety, frustration and misery for us at home where it spills out in increasingly aggressive meltdowns. He hides it all so well at school and we see what it's all doing to him.

 

We have had conflicting advice about Statementing. School etc say they can't see how a Statement would help him, as he'd hate to have one to one over his shoulder all the time. But others - a private psychologist, an eye specialist and his OT - all think he needs a Statement. In fact it was his OT who suggested I ask around to see what support other children like him might get - she knows some children that are similar for whom Statemented support has made a difference, but couldn't be specific.

 

So if this strikes a chord with anyone, please, please let me know how it works for your child.

[westie]

MY son is statemented and although I am not an expert, a statement does not just mean that money is allocated so that your son can receive 1:1 support. The statement that you receive gives a list of objectives which could be many things. We also get a list of IEP targets which are reviewed every year.

 

My sons school has used funding to access literature and training relating to the condition James has been diagnosed with amongst other things.

 

Maybe the childs support would be used to allow support for some kind of therapy session/ social skills training session such as ' circle of friends'?

 

I think that the objective of a statement is to allow the special needs child to receive an education and to access the national curriculum

 

If your son does have a statement it would allow you to meet with the school and relate your concerns regarding his education. You can also learn about the targets that have been set. Also if your sons situation changes in any way you can pull forward a review to an earlier stage to ensure that the statement issued is still relevant (we pulled forward my sons by 6mths after he had a really bad start to year one (age 5-6).

 

I think statementing is a good thing although the parents much strive to communicate with the school and ensure the support is being used as it should for YOUR child ( not to fund other children with problems but who are not statemented), I cannot see any Education authority paying more than necessary so you should ensure that the funding is used for your child.

My viewpoint anyway

Take care

Westie

Edited March 23, 2006 by westie

[bid]

The primary importance of a Statement is that it is a legally binding document.

 

By law, the LEA and the school must deliver the provision set out in the Statement.

 

HTH

 

Bid

[helenl53]

Statementing will give an opportunity for all the professional advice to be consolidated in one document and for the provision to be legally applied - no excuses.

 

Schools Action Plus is only a benchmark and there is no legal obligation to provide a particular level of support.

 

I think of an analogy when trying to describe SA, SA+ and Statementing. If our kids had a big gaping wound then SA is a bit of tissue to mop up the blood, SA+ is an elastoplast that is going to fall off when it gets soggy, and statementing as the stitches that are needed to keep the would closed and infection free.

 

Trouble is - they are always trying to patch our kids up instead of giving them the stitches at the start.

 

HelenL

[puffin]

The difference is that a statement is a legally enforceable document whereas for SA and SA+ the school can decide to change or withdraw support at any time. The school would probably prefer SA+ as they get the money in their general budget from the LEA but they don't have to spend it on your son - indeed they actually don't have to spend it on SEN at all. They also do not have to provide specified and quantified support to his problem areas.

 

If your child has a statement that the school is legally obliged to give the support outlined in the statement - it doesn't have to be one to one assistance but may be specialist help that is needed. The school would have to demonstrate that it was making progress towards the targets set - for example support with handwriting or social skills etc. The statementing process would also give you a comprehensive analysis of how he is doing and what sort of support is needed.

[lisa]

Busy Lizzie

 

Did you mean what type of support a statement could provide for your son to help him? I've been asked by the Ed Psych how I think a statement would help my daughter and what an LSA could do for her.

 

Do you agree that your son wouldn't want 1:1 help? If he had an LSA she would be able to go through a visual timetable with him everyday and inform him of any changes. She'd be able to keep him focussed, reassure him if he starts to feel anxious, explain to him what's happening and what's expected of him in different situations, deliver a speech and language therapy program, help him interact within his class group, it would also improve his understanding of social situations. This may take the pressure he's under to conform off a bit and so his day would hopefully be less stressful which in turn would reduce the meltdowns at home. My two AS kids both have high IQ's (my son 99th percentile and my daughter 96th) so although the social stuff will never come naturally to them, they have the intellect to learn how to fit and hopefully make a life for themselves. An LSA could help teach them what to do and how to ask for help.

 

You say your son has difficulty writing, what are the school doing to help? Does he have typing lessons? A statement could specify that he needs to learn keyboard skills which helps my son who's now in secondary school, he finds typing much easier than writing. His primary school made excuse after excuse why he couldn't do typing in school, they said he didn't need it and that he had to write. They said he wouldn't be allowed to type in secondary school, but once it was written into his statement, it's legally binding and whether they like it or not, they have to do it.

 

Lisa

[mossgrove]

Our son is also 8 with a diagnosis of Aspergers. He was above the 90th percentile on IQ-based tests when tested by the EP and below the 2nd percentile for motor skills etc. when tested by the OT.

 

He has had a statement since the start of year 1 (Full-time 1:1 support) when he was in mainstream and since September has been in a Special School.(Still with 1:1 support)

 

My first question would be, is he really coping? There is a huge gulf between not disrupting the class and keeping up academiacally and actually coping, and it is possible that his teachers are not aware that this distinction exists. I wuld recommend that you ask for an Educational Psychologist or other trained professional to observe him in a classroom setting to see to what extent he is coping and to what extent he is working overtime to fit in. The fact that you get meltdowns after school makes me think it is the latter.

 

It is also a little concerning that they equate 1:1 classroom support with 'sitting on his shoulder all the time'. A correctly used support can be used in so many more imaginative ways than this, e.g. managing transistions, helping with visual timetables, enabling play at breaktimes, social support etc. etc. A good 1:1 will often sit close to the child without making it obvious that they are there because of 1 child in particular.

 

Remember a 1:1 support isn't primarily there to help the school cope with the child, they are there to help the child cope with school.

 

A statement, as others have said, means that the support that your son requires will be quantified and legally enforceable, and for that reason alone applying for a statement should not be ruled out.

 

Simon

[LittleRae]

Hi

 

I agree with previous posts. The situation is a little different in Ireland, but my son (10) is entitled to 5 hours a week 'resource' teaching during which time he attends another teacher to work on social skills, creative writing and typing. His handwriting has improved greatly over the past year, mostly due to weekly OT, but I don't think he could cope with the amount of writing to be done in secondary school, so we are thinking ahead.

 

He also has 'part-use' of an assistant (5 hours per week) but as he would never accept this, she sits at his table with the other child she assists and generally reminds all 4 kids at the table to take out books, write down homework,etc. She also keeps an eye on him at break-times to prevent meltdowns. This works really well and after 6 months he has not mentioned her at all.

 

I would push for the statement. He may not want the extra help at the moment, but these things take time to put into place and he could very well need the hours in the future. You could include social skills and anger-management (if available) and typing is a valuable skill for anyone, whether he uses it for school or not.

 

A

[BusyLizzie100]

thanks all, for your replies. Lisa, Mossgrove and D's Mum especially.

 

Mossgrove, I don't think that my son really is coping. and that by saying he is the school are storing up trouble for the future. An Ed Psych has recently observed him and said he seemed to be doing OK. She seemed to take a lot of what my son said at face value; eg asking him to rate his own performance. He scores himself highly in almost everything, despite his difficulties and the fact his handwriting is barely legible. He says he is the best sportsman in the family, although he cannot kick a ball let alone catch it.

To me that shows he is not able to rate his performance and has no real understanding of how to do it. but because he's not saying how much he hates school etc (not to them, anyway), they presume he's happy. To be honest I expected a psychologist to see through that, but apparently she doesn't. I'm sure that's why we see deteriorating behaviour at school.

 

Lisa and D's Mum, thanks for your advice. I think I will push for an assessment and then worry about it from there.

 

My second son already has a Statement (he's in Year 1) and it works well for him, however he is very different from his brother and has dx ASD, so perhaps more obvious. You'd think the school would be sussed when that Statement works well, but they just don't seem to get it with my AS eldest.

 

Thanks

Lizzie

 

PS sorry if this is garbled; fending off three kids desperate to get on the computer!!! Aren't I awful, having a turn myself?!!!

[eddie]

what does all this percentile stuff mean, my son is 8 with asd diagnosis and dyspraxia, he is at SA+ he is below 2nd percentile for learning and motor difficulties as assessed by an ed psych and ot, but lea will not assess for a statement. he obviously like most maintains his composure in school and erupts at home!!!!!

[BusyLizzie100]

My understanding is that for my son, for example, the percentile thing means that, being on the 99th centile for Verbal skills, his verbal skills IQ is higher than 98 per cent of other kids his age. That means he's extraordinarily clever. But being on the 19th centile for Spatial skills means 81 per cent of kids his age are more physically able than he is - that means his gross and fine motor skills, from walking/running to writing etc, are very poor. He fell over nothing three times on the way to school this morning and his handwriting is barely legible - he can barely read it himself and then only from memory. This means he is not able to express all the 'genius' that is going on in his head and the result is a very frustrated, stressed and pissed off child, who takes it out on the family at home.

 

Basically, each of his IQs (verbal skills and spatial skills) show extraordinary differences to other kids on their own; the combination of the two makes for a huge discrepancy.

 

This won't be exactly the same for every child, of course, but I hopes that explains the percentile a bit.

 

Lizzie

[eddie]

ok, so my son being on the 2nd pecentile would have 98% of children acheiving higher than him? and 98% children more physically able than him, yet he still does not meet the criteria for a statutory assessment? unbelievable!!!! that makes me so much more cross!!!!!

 

ok thanks for the info!!!!