What will it actually mean to my dd to have a 'Statement of Educational Need'?

[Bomper]

Dd2 has been diagnosed with 'Conductive Hearing Loss' and her nursery have been very helpful and want their SENCO to come and have a chat with me and meet dd to discuss what extra help she needs. I am worried. Will this make her stand out as the 'different' one? TBH, I am not totally convinced she even has a problem, but since she went to the audiologist and they think she has, but are not 100% sure and want to see her again in 3 months, I seem to have been swept along by it all!! Can it only do her good to be helped or is it all a waste of time?

Sorry to hear that your dd has a hearing loss but imo as a teacher, getting her a statement is the best thing possible to ensure she gets the specialist help she needs. However there are some sn experts to give you that other perspective so this is a bump for someone like jimjams

If you go down the statement route then get some advice from people here about what exactly to have put in it.

good luck

I would definately go for all the help you can get but be aware that that may not be a statement. I would be suprised if you got one with a conductive loss (DS has sensural neural and conductive loss and doesn't have one). How is the loss being treated, grommets, hearing aids? If you get aids you may get a teacher of the deaf which is great as they will help you and your daughter and her teachers know how best to teach her. the National deaf childrens society website is great and they have a helpline where you can talk to an audiologist or other specialist if you want to.

Thanks for your messages. As I say, I really don't know what the audiologist wants to do to move this forward. She thinks it may be glue ear, but dd wouldn't let her look down her ears!! Obviously if this is the case, grommets should sort the problem out, but it might be 'something else', as yet undisclosed to me!! This is why we have to go back in 3 months. It's frustrating having to wait, as I would like to know one way or the other. BTW, if it is glue ear, would she be OK to fly? We are supposed to be going to Menorca next month!!

Flying is fine. I remember exactly what it was like to start with we were back every 6 weeks having tests and trying to get DS1 to co operate. It is much easier now he is older and is so used to hearing tests, having his ears vacuumed etc etc

Thanks

You should jump at the chance to have your child statmented- many parents would kill for it! Seriously, very, very few children are statemented now, as it means the LEA has to cough up money for them, for extra help in school. No-one apart from the professionals who work with your child will know she has a statement, and it is the best thing for her if she has a problem. You are quite within your rights to ask for a 2nd medical opinion from an audiologist if you think there has been a mistake, but don't fight shy of the statmenting, just because you feel it attaches some kind of stigma to your daughter.
I work privately with children with all kinds of learning difficulties and to be honest,most parents are coming at it from the other angle- they WANT their child statemented, and I have been asked by parents to represent them in legal appeals to try to get a statement for their child- so be pelased her problems are being taken seriously.

If you can get a statement then go for it - it will mean more help for dd2 if she needs it. Try not to be afraid of it. Ds has one and its the best thing that could have happened for him. Without it he would have been ok but he would have struggled.

Go for it, if she gets one she will be able to get extra help (which may just be to enable her to access the ToD)

hi we just had someone test our 8 yr old boy and they said they can statment hime but the school says don`t bother what should we do

I doubt you would get a statement if glue ear is your DD's only difficulty, I may be wrong as DD has a range of learning diffs and glue ear was the easy one to fix. I don't think hearing loss is even mentioned on her statement.

Grommets worked well for us - the effect is permanent, invisible and can't be taken out at lunchtime and lost. If you look into it and are happy to do the op you may well find there is a waiting list so I wouldn't delay - get the audiologist to recommend you asap.

But I do have friends who have persued a more natural cure - other MNers may have advice?

Good luck to you and your DD whatever you decide to do and as others have said, seize with two hands all the extra resources you can get!

I would say go for all the recognition of the problem that you can. My son had severe glue ear& one teacher in year 2 didn't believe that he was almost totally deaf & just lipreading very well. He covered it up by always asking his friends to repeat what the teacher had said - thus getting into trouble for talking in class & was constantly in trouble for staring out of the window or running away at playtime when they were called in. It was only when he took time off to be fittted with bilateral hearing aids that the teacher realised that there may be a problem.
Any form of school recongnition of a problem will help their confidence.

A statement is a good thing - it means she will be entitled to more help which the school/ LEA are obliged to provide. It won't ever be used against her - they can be difficult to get though so, if there is a chance of being statemented now, I would go for it.

statements are not given out easily, i know plenty of parents who want one, i have yet to meet a parent whos child has a statement and they wished they didn't have one.
you have nothing to lose.

Agree that a Statement is a good thing.

If you DD gets help in the classroom, her helper should be very skilled at not singling her out, if that is what she needs. For example, she may help other groups of children, freeing up the class teacher to deal more one on one with your DD. Also, it means extra money for resources/technology to help your dd.

My little boy wears hearing aids to school. They are bright blue and very trendy. Up to date there have been no bullying issues. He is confident and proud of his hearing aids.

The school will look to see what kind of amplification equipment is required. Prehaps a soundfield system or radio aids to ensure your child hears everything.

I think they look at what level your child's hearing loss is and what their needs are (for example what their language skills is like). For example do they need SALT? Do they need extra help with their phonics.

A lot of hearing impaired children don't have a statement these days or even an IEP. The important thing is that a child can cope with the work of the class and make good progress.

Do you have a paediatric audiologist. Our audiologist is extremely talented at getting small kids to cooperate.