Start of the process for sen

[treeglass]

My DS 4 is under Senco at school and the forms have been sent off for a referral to see what we're dealing with.
ADHD or possible autism maybe. They're using the traffic light system at the moment to try to keep him in green as when he hits red he's in melt down mode. Behavioural plans etc.
I'm just looking for some support really, I know this process could take a long time and I'm finding it hard to deal with everything and help him.
I'm not very experienced with this and I don't know what to do in the mean time.

[thepinkp]

Morning, didn't want to read and run. Firstly take comfort in the fact the school are helping you, that's a great first step! It is a long process, make friends with the family liaison officer or senco at the school and get on at them weekly to chase up what's happening.. this is something you will have to do a lot of! Secondly keep a diary of incidents / anything noticeable about your DS worth mentioning when you do eventually get to the assessments meeting. It looks good to have documented stuff instead of just trying to remember on the day. I have two boys with autism, I've jumped through many hoops so feel free to ask me anything.

[BackforGood]

Always good to try to look for a 'pattern' to when his 'meltdowns' occur..... ask the school if they have done and 'ABC's {when the meltdown hppens, they record what happened before = the 'Antcident' (A); the behaviour itself (B); and the Consequence (C) }, and also to know if it is times of day, or when something particular is happening in the room (when it is noisy or when he is hungry or when he is asked to change from one activity to another, etc).
If - between you and the school - you can track a pattern, or a trigger, then it might be possible to change the environment, or to give him more warning of change or whatever it takes to avoid the 'meltdown'

Also, has his hearing been checked since the test at birth ?
Has his understanding of language been assessed?
Does he have sensory differences ?

[MaGratgarlik1983]

Hi @treeglass I didn't want to read and run either. I know how you're feeling about the waiting etc. My DS is 3.5 and, after a few months of the preschool trying to put support in place for him, they have spoken to us again about submitting an EHA form to try and get some funding for his 1:1 support. When he has this 1:1 support, apparently he is usually much better at focusing and listening, but without it he apparently wanders off and starts 'getting into mischief' but to him I think he just gets bored easily and is fascinated by other (inappropriate) things. E.g. he plays with the taps in the loos (the loos are open plan), he peels the displays off the walls (as his sensory thing is he loves peeling and stickers), and seems more interested in the carpet tiles than the circle time. He's slowly learning when it's time to do xyz, but then becomes regimented in this, and is upset when it changes (e.g. when they had a special visit from the fire service, most of the kids loved it, but he was cross apparently as it meant going outside at a non-outside time). The school are very cautious and are avoiding any mention of autism or asd, but I think we all suspect it, and this could be the cause of anxiety etc. But it's all so new to me! If they can get the EHA and the EHCP, then hopefully we can get funding for him to have a 1:1 support person in September (as he moves into reception, being an August born), as he can't cope in a ratio of 1:8 let alone 1:32! It's a worry time though isn't it, and I think it's great to have these spaces where we can chat.