Who would be the 'right' professional to support ds?

[FanOfHermione]

Ds has no diganosis (yet) I suspect he is somewhere on the spectrum with AS/ASD but has some language issues that are showing up more and more, mainly that he is totally litteral so doesn't 'get' inference or irony etc...
He is also struggling re social communication (ie he doesn't know how to get into a group conversation, he is misunderstanding other children and can't read body/facial language).

I really want to support him re communication and re language (more school based) but have no idea which professional will be best to approach.
Is supporting children with that sort of issues the role of a SALT? Could a 'simple' tutor be enough to suppport him school work wise?

He will be in Y6 next year, the program has changed and is more challenging so I'm starting to get worried he is going to struggle a hell of a lot.
This is not helped by the fact that he is relatively quiet in school (quiet as mouse is the way he has been described so far) so any worry we had has been brushed away. His teacher this year has (finally!) spotted the same issues than we have but it was her first year as a teacher and she didn't think it was necessary to point it out until the end of year report .... She also hasn't been helpful on how we could support him.

[Icimoi]

It would make sense to involve a speech and language therapist with experience in dealing with social communication disorders. Does DS have an EHC Plan?

[FanOfHermione]

What is an EHC plan?

[FanOfHermione]

At the moment, there is nothing in place as no teacher 'saw' our concerns. It was just us being overconcerned parents.

SALT are very hard to find around here so I have been wondering if a tutor could help too, at least on the inference point of view and understanding texts better.

[speechmum]

Hi, I know this company are offering free therapy trials in August?

its online speech and language therapy could be an option
mable.co.uk/

[FanOfHermione]

Oh that sounds a good idea! I'll have a look thanks !! :)

[Tissie]

Go o your GP and ask for a referral to SALT and to a consultant paediatrician who can assess for ASD. SALT will assess for language delays/disorders. A severe language disorder could give all the symptoms you describe.
Ask school to refer him to an ed psych for assessment. Once you start getting some results you can make sure the school puts him on the SEN register and puts together a list of strategies and support for your son. This is really, really important before he goes to secondary school. Best wishes

[Ineedmorepatience]

In many areas you can self refer to SALT, Dd3 had what is called in our area a "Complex Communication Assessment" I have no idea if that is a national or local title but it picked up her litral thinking and also some other issues we didnt know much about.

Well worth looking into.

Oh and an EHCP plan is what used to be called a statement and it is a way of identifying special needs and making provisions to meet those needs.

If you are hoping to get extra help at school for him look at the IPSEA website it explains a lot about it on there.

Good luck

[FanOfHermione]

Thank you.
Self referral to a SALT could be one way, at least to get some sort of diagnosis. I know we won't get anymore though. A friend if mine has a child with ASD and serious speech issues. Even her dd can't get a SALT as they are all send 'to more deprived areas' (from the SALT that saw her dd....). So I'm not holding my breath there.

Atm I'm not expecting any help at school tbh. Ds is 'coping' and it's a small school with few reassources.
But I want to be able to do my best to help him, it be what we do at home, going private for a SALT or tutor.

[FanOfHermione]

Tissie why are you saying it is very important for him to be on the SEN register before going to secondary?

[Tissie]

Because if he is't it's tantamount to saying he doesn't have a problem and you have to start all over again when he moves to secondary. It's very difficult to get help and support if you are not on the register. I would put strategies similar to those below along with a description of the child's difficulties so the teachers (plural in secondary) have something to go on.
• Differentiation to compensate for language difficulties is needed:
• Visual support for abstract concepts, particularly in Maths and Science
• Pre-teaching of subject specialist vocabulary and highlighting in exercise books.
• Breaking down instructions into short concrete steps.
• Use of routine and planned structure in lessons.
• Use of TA to develop higher order language skills through questions such as – how, why, predict, compare, explain, categorise.
• Opportunities for over learning and repetition to help with memory problems.
I am sorry if I sound didactic and don't mean to lay down the law. It's a habit eft over from 25 years a senco. This is of course just my opinion: feel free to ignore it or pm me if you want more info. Best wishes Tissie