I am an LA educational psychologist, AMA.

[summerEP]

Really enjoy reading the AMA threads so thought I would offer my own. I work for an LA as an EP and completed my training within the last 3 years. AMA.

What's the best thing(s) you could do as a mother for a child with ADD?

How much do your visits cost to the school generally?
what adjustments would you recommend a 10 year old child in mainstream settings have that has a comprehension level on the second centile and asd?
recently had to start homeschooling for various reasons other than above.

What support would a three year old with selective mutism at pre-school benefit from?

Isn't being employed by the LA a conflict of interest?

Are your assessments based purely on the educational needs of the child without any bias towards the funding ability of the LA who employs you.

I have been reluctant to ask for an LA funded Ed Psychology assessment as I'm afraid of bias.
I've funded a respected Ed psychologist myself even though it's very expensive.

Were you a teacher first, if so how long for? What undergraduate degree did you do? Thanks

How much pressure is there from the LA to write reports which favour what the LA want to fund? I had a very brave LA Ed psych who had to appear as a LA tribunal witness for their case. She then proceeded to support my case. It was very very difficult for her and I think she retired afterwards.

Do you think in an ideal world all children would benefit from assessment to understand how best to learn and where they’d need the most support or would that be overkill?

My DD was assessed last week. The ED Psych didn't do any formal testing but just chatted to us about how she feels at school (ASD, on a reduced timetable in year 10 because she can't cope with the school environment). When I asked about formal testing he said that it isn't always helpful. Why?

General question about Ed Psych. A friend’s daughter is at Uni and has Long Covid. Struggling with brain fog - particularly reading complex information or writing longer analytical stuff. Long Covid clinic day it’s all fatigue/stress. But friend’s daughter feels it’s more than that. Could/would an Ed Psych assessment help?

Another who's first question is about writing reports!

Why do LA funded Ed psychs write "would benefit from" when writing reports for ehcp assessments when they know section F needs quantified and specified inputs.

Is it because the LA pressurises this or is it that Ed psych report writing practice hasn't been updated to reflect the necessary wording required to meet the needs of pupils in education?

Is it usual when doing an assessment for an EHCP (17yo) to
a) not visit the educational setting
b) not look into things like dyslexia
(You can probably tell I wasn't very happy...)

Hi @summerEP

I’m currently doing a psych masters and have 20 years’ experience as a secondary teacher. Do you think I have a good chance of getting a spot on the professional doctorate for EPs? Any tips?

Also, I have a high degree of additional needs and executive dysfunction in my tutor group (lots of ASD/ADHD). Have you got any top tips for supporting them with their planning and organisation?

thanks!

Ah OP. Another ed psych did this a few years ago. It lasted a day or so and had to be deleted because (justifiably) angry parents were attacking the OP for what had happened to their children. It's the only AMA I ever saw removed.

UK funding and service provision is very low relative to need.

Services are ‘gate kept’ and are either not there or only a few of those who need services can access them.

I wouldn’t want to be part of that. Trying to provide useful services in a fucked up system. Complicit.

then again if no one tried there could be even worse services.

Did you think it was unfair that EPs were prioritised for early vaccines but still told to continue with remote consultations rather than visit children in schools in person. In contrast with teachers who were all working in schools and not prioritised for vaccines?

Oh, good question.

I've been 20 years as an EP and I write what I think, every time.

If I am recommending something very expensive or very unusual it's because I perceive it is necessary. I have worked for long enough that the LA understands that I am not recommending, say, 36 week resi with a 24 hour curriculum for every 10 year old I see, so if I am in this case, it's because this case merits it.

We weren't prioritised for early vaccines.

One or two LAs may have done this as a misread of the advice but it was certainly not most. I had a colleague who works with the virtual school who got one at the same time as special school teachers. The rest of us waited for our age priority, assuming no personal special circumstances.

If a parent is actively obstructing the school from getting an ed psych assessment on a child can anything be done? It’s happening with a family in the school where I work. The parents are refusing, but the child has serious issues which are holding them back from being able to learn.

We in my area are specifically instructed to issue specified and quantified. This allows the LA to write a tighter EHCP.
We might put "would benefit from" in the body of the report but we must state, for example, "daily individual or small group intervention from a dyslexia- trained teacher" or "individual or small group work on social understanding for 30 minutes at least twice weekly" etc

Sorry ...posted before finished ..
...at least twice weekly" in the outcomes section, in the methods and delivery column.

In your experience do children with adhd often get extra time in exams or not? My daughters psychiatrist has recommended extra time but her school won’t award it to her. We’ve offered to pay for further testing and the school senco is an educational psychologist herself so could test her herself if she wants to.

We can't see kids without parental permission. However where parents aren't just anxious and need a clearer understanding of the issues to see why it's needed, which is the senco role, it could go down a child protection route if the parent is effectively disbarring their child from help they need.

I would happily meet anxious/ unsure parents to talk to them about my work though, prior to them giving permission to see their child, if they were very worried.

It would very much depend on the specifc needs of the child and the context they are in, but in general just always being reflective about their sense of self and how this may be affected by feeling different and the impact on their self-esteem.

Oops that was in reply to Peeps