Dyspraxia - school have said we will get NO extra help - is this usual?

[Pollyanna]

DS (aged 6 ) is in year 2. I had a meeting with his teacher today who said he will get no extra help at all. He has particular problems with his handwriting (it is atrocious), but also with major motor skills and some speech problems. I was not expecting any speech therapy through school, but thought we should get some kind of OT for his handwriting. The teacher has said basically that he won't get anything at school, and it is up to me to do handwriting exercises at home with him, teach him typing skills and chase up, and most likely pay for, physiotherapy and OT. Perhaps I am naive, but I was shocked as I did expect a bit (only a bit, I'm not so naive ) of help through school. Is this usual?

[aloha]

have you spoken to the senco? sounds wrong to me.

[RTKangaMummy]

They should do an IEP for him

[coppertop]

I agree with aloha. It sounds wrong.

AFAIK once a child is school-age then things like OT, Physio and SALT are arranged via the school.

[RTKangaMummy]

DS OT, PHYSIO, PAED, SALT were done through medical centre not from school

The ED pysch was hopeless through school so we went to private assessment

[RTKangaMummy]

deffo should have IEP though

[leesax]

Hi,

He should be on an IEP, so I would ask to speak to the senco about getting him on one. If you get no joy I would speak to head and say you will make an official complaint to the school governors. Also you could make a request to the LEA ( senas) and ask about having an assessment for statutory assessment for special education needs, as a parent can request a statement, and the school has to tell the LEA what support they have provided for the child ( IEP) and if the school has done nothing they will have some explaining to do!

[coppertop]

Ds1's SALT and OT were done through the school but it may be different in other areas. There should definitely be an IEP in place though.


I almost typed "deffo" just then! It's contagious, RTKM.

[RTKangaMummy]

oke doke CT probably is different around country

Actually just realised DS DYspraxia was dx and then we told school and so medical centre had already got everything sorted

deffo is deffo contagious

[Kittypickle]

My DD is the same age as your DS. She was diagnosed with dyspraxia following a referral by the school after she started reception. She was referred to our local hospital to the co-ordination clinic and had a course of physio and OT. She did see a SALT for an assessment and it was decided that she would have some speech therapy, but not until she finished her physio and OT. By the time that came she had actually improved due to the physio working on her speech with her and she didn't need it. She sees the community paed once a year but I can ring and they will see her if I have any concerns. That also goes for physio if I feel she needs more at any point.

In school she has a writing board and has also has pencil grip and special pencils. Last year she started to see the SENCO for a one on one session once a week - not sure if that will be continuing this year as she has made good progress. She has an IEP which is reviewed half termly - I'm off to see the SENCO to sign it next week. Thanks to all this she really has made fantastic progress and is now within "normal" limits for her writing. Her teacher has said that this isn't a reflection of her true ability looking at her work in other areas so they will be continuing to work with her until she reaches the standard they expect from her. I know we've been incredibly lucky, writing this makes me realise it all the more. The referrals usually come from the school at this age but the other alternative is to see if you can get your GP on side and get an OT/physio referral through them.

[LIZS]

You could ask your gp to refer your ds for an assessment . We hope to get OT for our ds who sounds similar following a paediatrician's assessment and referral yesterday (separate thread). Our gp wrote direct to the Child Health Unit at our local hospital enclosing the reports we already had from an OT abroad and we og tna appintment with the Community Paediatrician at a local clinic( he visits every fortnight).

The local OT's apparently visit LEA schools but as ds is at a private school, are unlikely to go to his. I'm told private OT is also hard to come by but if there is a long NHS waiting list we could call the same dept and ask if they would see him sooner privately. In the meantime he is already having small group support for handwriting, concentration etc. This is without having yet directly approached the SENCO, but all schools differ I suppose. We will probably see her when we have the report and referral.

hth

[Munchkinola]

An IEP will not guarantee any extra help tho. It just outlines the helps and support they are already providing for your ds.

[happymerryberries]

An IEP will only Guarentee extra help if your child is statemented....and then meeting the nneds is a legal requirement. And often even then the help given is insufficient for a child's needs.

Pollyanna, how long has your child had the DX and what had the school done to date?

[lilsmum]

my sis in law had exact same thing with my nephew (8 yo) she fought tooth and nail, took it to several tribunals and finally he was awarded one to one teaching(dont know what else to call it), i cant even remember how many hours a week
all i know is she has a binder FULL of paperwork from the tribunals etc,

it did take a long time, but she got there in the end, and since having the one to one help, he has come on leaps and bounds compared to before.

[Pollyanna]

Ds does have an IEP, which hasn't been reviewed this term yet. Last year he was getting individual help a couple of times a week and an OT came into school sometimes. The teacher told me today that he would only get help if he was statemented, and there was no chance of that.

[MeerkatsUnite]

Pollyanna,

No chance of that - hah that teacher has such a defeatist attitude!. I think people like this rely on parents to be put off so that they do not apply at all to LEA's for a statement. If you don't ask you don't get and even if LEA refuse initially you can appeal against their decision. You as the parent can write to the LEA asking for your son to be assessed. Have a look at IPSEA's website; they are very good and they also have a helpline. IPSEA are there to help all people whose children run into problems when it comes to dealing with their educational needs.

I would imagine your son is getting a couple of hours of individual/working in a small group help but clearly he needs more than this. Without a statement school is not obligated to provide any extra support. Also a statement is legally binding.

Has your son ever seen a developmental paediatrician or is under the care of such a person?. This is one route to getting OT and speech therapy.

IPSEA's website is www.ipsea.org.uk.

If he's struggling, now is the time to help him. Early intervention is vital.

[tallulah]

DS1 is dyspraxic. At primary he had help from an LSA, a writing wedge and special pencils but other than one short course of OT he got nothing. We were told we wouldn't get a statement and that it wasn't worth trying to get one (mind you this was 11 years ago).

We took him to a cranial osteopath after hearing a talk, and that has been the best therapy he could have. He has been going for 11 years, once every 6 weeks or so (was every other week in the beginning). The HSA pays for it, so we haven't had to bear much of the cost, and it has done wonders for him.

[RTKangaMummy]

What is HSA?

[tallulah]

Hospital Savings Association. We pay them £24 a month and they pay the cost of glasses, dentist etc. Well they also pay osteopathy & I think we've had a lot more than we've paid in!

[aloha]

tallulah, just started taking ds (4) to a co. how long before you notiiced a difference? any tips? what changes did you notice?
ds is dyspraxic

[starlover]

sorry... haven't read the whole thread... but my brother who is now 27 had help at school becausxe he is dyspraxic...

can't believe that we;re going backwards!!!!

[mumeeee]

This doesn't seem right. Your DS should have an IEP My 13 year old DD is dyspraxic and she had help at primary school. She did not actually have a one to one. but there was a classrom assistant in her class who helped her and other children if they needed it. She also had extra lessons with the SENCO aat least 3 times a week and this was increased in year 6 to help her get ready for high school. she was seen by an EP arranged by the school and she was put on Stage 3 ( now school action Plus ) of thecode of practice. She did have a short course of OT which we didn't pat for had to wait for 2 years to get it. IN year 5 she had more OT provided by the local conductive education schol which we did have to pay for although the school did try and get her funded for this. She got a sribe and extra time in her 11 year old SATS.
We did have a bit of trouble with the High School but this is now sorted and she gets extra handwriting lessons, some support in French Lessons and all her teachers now follow the SENCOS guidelines on how to help her. EG: providing workshhets where posible and leting her write on every oyher line of the paper. We also have regular meetings with the SENCO and other teachers.
Sorry this post is so long.Hope it helps.

[tallulah]

aloha, our DS had a peculair gait- all hunched over on one side and sort of twisted. That went after only a few sessions. He also had lots of facial tics and they went quite quickly. TBH I didn't believe it could possibly work, esp sitting there and watching while the osteo appeared to do nothing, but the transormation was incredible.

The osteo will often tell me "watch him, he's coming down with something", and sure enough 3 days later he's got a nasty cough or a streaming cold. Or he'll say to DS "have you had a bad week at school?" or "is your back/head/leg hurting?" & he's always spot on.

The only thing that worries me now is DS going off to uni/the navy/ wherever next June and not being able to go to his osteo anymore.

[Pollyanna]

Thanks for this everyone - I have arranged a meeting with the Head to discuss ds's IEP. What are my rights if (as I think) the IEP isn't being followed?

Also, I think I might try a cranial osteopath, tallulah/aloha (or anyone else) do you know of one in London?