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Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

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Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

SN children

Who's children are starting school in September? Shall we all start hand holding for each other?

77 replies

autumnsmum · 05/01/2014 13:08

Hi autumns mum here as I mentioned in sn chat dd2 will be starting in reception in her sp sch in September .i wondered who else has a little one starting then ?

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babiki · 05/01/2014 14:28

My ds is, honestly I'm terrified. In the middle of stamenting and fighting for SS.
Did you have to fight for SS?

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hazeyjane · 05/01/2014 14:48

Hello babiki and autumnsmum

ds (3.6) is starting in Sept - we are in the middle of statementing. Hopefully he will be going to a special unit for severe and complex needs within a mainstream primary. It is a lovely place, with room for up to 8 children, and a 2 minute walk from our house. Unfortunately it is only infants, so we will be hunting around for a best fit for juniors.

I am so nervous about him starting, because in the back of my mind I feel as though he should start in 2015. It is only in the last term that I have been able to leave him at preschool at all, and his full time 1-1 has to work constantly to keep him distracted from asking where I am. I also worry about energy levels - he often is unable to sit up and falls asleep by the end of a 2 hour session.

Lovely idea for a thread, Autumn. Definitely here for a handhold.

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autumnsmum · 05/01/2014 14:55

Hi both of you haze yo hope you get the unit you and mini definitely deserve it! Babiki tbh I was really ,really lucky I didn't have to fight for a place at sp sch I expressed an interest visited and they said if I named the school on the statement they would take dd .i was really fortunate to obtain a nursery place as to say dd2 doesn't do change we'll is an understatement

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Lilicat1013 · 05/01/2014 15:04

My son is starting school in September, he is autistic with a severe speech and language delay. We hope he will be starting in a special needs primary as there is no way a main stream primary school will accommodate him.

I am going nuts over it at the moment, we sent his request for a statement off in November and yesterday we got a letter. It said there was a form they sent us when they receive as request for a statement that needs to be signed and sent back. The statementing process can't be started with out it.

They sent the form out in November to the wrong address (one we have moved from in May) even though all paperwork gave our correct current address. So his statement hasn't been touched since November due to this fuck up.

I am going to be phoning his preschool and the statementing department on Monday to see whose mistake this was. All the paperwork I have here has our correct address on so I want to know where they got our old address from and then kill the person who made such a fucking, stupid mistake.

We got the paperwork in early, the whole process was started earlier in the hopes we would hear sooner and end this hell of not knowing. Now his statement is late and will be one of the last to be seen.

He wont cope in a mainstream school and the mainstream schools I have spoken to have said they would find it very difficult to accommodate him although I always get the official line about how they will do everything they can.

The special school would be perfect for him and he would be happy there. This process is hell.

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MooMummyMoo · 05/01/2014 15:27

Can I join in? My DD will start SS in September. We seriously looked at mainstream but it just isn't going to be the right place for her. To be with mainstream children would have been great but the level she is at compared to her mainstream peers is already so different that it wouldn't really have been inclusion - she'd have just been in the same classroom but doing stuff with her one to one. And that wouldn't be good. So off to SS we go!

We already have a statement in place and have been told that her place in SS will all just be a technicality but until she is 'in' I won't count my chickens...

She'll have a long journey in a taxi (or whatever they use) which seems strange and I am not sure yet how best to keep in good contact with the school but these are minor things buzzing around my head - we need to get the place first!

(Also we have had to submit a mainstream application for her too as a 'technicality' / for admin purposes?? So I have just listed 5 schools that we 'want' her to go to but we don't really want her to go to...all a bit bizarre, not sure if anyone else had to do that??)

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autumnsmum · 05/01/2014 15:35

Lili you poor thing moo mummy my dd goes to her sp sch nursery in a minibus and it's great .her escort is lovely as far as contact is concerned she has a home school book which they fill in everyday about school and I put anything relevant from home although dd is verbal she doesn't communicate much so it's vital

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babiki · 05/01/2014 16:32

Hazey yes, it's worrying, do you know legally he can start the term after his 5th birthday? I am considering this, preschool would keep him.

I will reply properly to everybody later on conputer, it's a chaos in here now :)

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hazeyjane · 05/01/2014 18:38

Hello Lillicat and MooMummy.

Ds's statement has been one fuck up after another, it started as a education, health and care, my plan new fangled thing, which everyone made a mess of, until eventually the area inclusion officer had to come round to my house to sort everything out! It enrages me that it is such a battle to get the right support for our children.

MooMummy, we had to apply for ms as well as the unit, until the unit could be named in the statement.

The ed psych talked about delaying a year, and starting reception in 2015, as everyone has agreed he wouldn't cope in ms. If all goes well and he goes into the special unit, then I think starting in Sept should be ok (crosses everything!)

He has a genetic condition, GDD, no speech and health issues (just in case no-one knows!)

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autumnsmum · 05/01/2014 18:49

Oh god Hazey and lilli that's terrible I asked dd2s school if I had to apply in the general round for reception and they said no because she is already at the school albeit in the nursery

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MooMummyMoo · 05/01/2014 19:07

Hazey - we are also a genetic disorder, GDD and no speech. Luckily we don't have many health issues, just a couple of holes in the heart and two dodgy feet but nothing that causes many problems currently.

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ConstantCraving · 05/01/2014 20:20

Hello, my DD 4.3, starts reception in sept in mainstream school. Just starting assessment process for ASD. She will be one of the eldest in her year, hoping that will help. Dreading it. She struggles at her small nursery where they are very supportive and just don't know how she'll cope with anything more. Hoping we get the assessment and statement sorted ASAP so support can be in place for her. The school we hope she gets into has an ASD unit within it, but we've been told there is no guarantee she'd be eligible to access it.

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autumnsmum · 05/01/2014 20:33

Hi constant I hope that even if your dd doesn't get a place in the unit and I hope she does you may find that as the school has a unit they may be more clued up about autism than some others

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salondon · 06/01/2014 14:09

Mine too.. She is a sept girl, so she will be 4y11m1w old when she goes to reception. She has a 25hrs support 1:1 and we are working on getting the ABA methods in and part time initially if possible. See you all around.

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autumnsmum · 06/01/2014 14:53

Hello everyone welcome salondon how funny we have three sept 09 girls between us .tmi but I think dd2 is the result of a somewhat drunks New Year's Eve blushes

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sammythemummy · 06/01/2014 16:13

Hi autumn my dd (3.10) is starting reception in September. To say I'm dreading it is an understatement.

I don't even have a statement yet, although iv applied for one. My dd will be going to our local mainstream school who has good resources for speech problems and ASD.

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autumnsmum · 06/01/2014 16:23

Hello Sammy nice to see you I hope the statementing goes well the school sounds really nice

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LemonGoby · 06/01/2014 19:32

Hello

May I join too please? DD is 3.7 and as yet we have no diagnosis although are awaiting an appointment for stage 2/Ados later this month. I am sure of asd but frequently wonder about ADD and occasionally SPD too! She started nursery in September and although she has coped better than I expected in some ways with the group setting, noise and hubbub, she resists all overtures from the other children and ignores them, withdrawing to the book corner at every opportunity. She acts very passively at nursery and staff say she requires a huge amount of adult attention to keep her engaged in any activity (other than story time). She is zoned out and unresponsive there a lot of the time too, and we have been told she will need help in school.

We are going to apply for a statement when we know the outcome of the stage 2 appointment, but I don't know if we'll get one. I am pretty terrified about how she will manage at school in September. I worry she may just get 'lost' in it all, and become very anxious.

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babiki · 06/01/2014 19:52

LemonGoby, if they turn you down for statement, appeal - they really do turn away most first time requests now (except perhaps for severe physical needs)

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autumnsmum · 06/01/2014 19:58

Lemon my dd has autism and it was suggested by the borough she was statement so it can happen

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LemonGoby · 06/01/2014 19:59

Thank you, babiki, I will bear that in mind and prepare to appeal if we are refused. Do you happen to know how long all of this might take? (Initial application, response, appeal, final decision etc?) I am guessing that, given we haven't even applied yet, if we need to appeal we are very unlikely to manage to get anything in place in time for September?

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autumnsmum · 06/01/2014 20:00

Sorry babiki that wasn't meant as a dig at your post I suppose I'm just trying to be optimistic

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LemonGoby · 06/01/2014 20:05

Thanks autumnsmum, that's interesting to know. I have no idea what our borough will be like in this regard - I probably shouldn't be too hopeful!

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autumnsmum · 06/01/2014 20:19

In our case it took from December to April as dd3 is fairly straightforward and had a dosgnosis

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LemonGoby · 06/01/2014 20:41

Okay, that sounds relatively quick. I was assuming it would take much longer. Fingers crossed... And thanks for your reply.

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Strikeuptheband · 06/01/2014 20:45

Hi and thanks for starting this thread!
My DD is 4 and going through the statementing process. She has a diagnosis of ASD and is currently in the school nursery of the local school.
Not sure about where to send her though. What is the best place for a child who has issues with routine, speech and language (she is verbal now but her pronunciation is so unclear that even I struggle) and mostly anxiety? Any opinions? Current school is a 'good' school but would she be better in the autism unit within a mainstream setting? Would she even have a chance in the special school (which has classes for just children on the spectrum)? And if she goes into mainstream, will it be a struggle to move her later? Does anybody know?