SALT refusing to give me report

[Mamawhoneedsadvice]

Hi
so I’ve ask my child’s speech and language therapist to write me a report for my son and she has refused and said she can’t do that because then everyone else will expect one and she hasn’t got the time..
my child is currently on the waiting list for asd and adhd which she has said on a number of sessions she believes my child will be diagnosed as she struggles during her salt appointments.
I understand she can refuse to write me a report but can I have the session notes from each appointment then? How do I go about doing that? Anyone else had any issues?
thankyou in advance

Forgot to mention salt is through NHS not private

What precisely do you want a report for? Presumably you’ve been sat in the sessions?

You can make a subject access request for clinical notes

@Soontobe60 Because it’s my child and I would like to go through see any progress and see what I can work on at home and I just want to have my own copy. I haven’t even got the targets which was set and I can’t exactly remember them she’s been having salt for a year.

@BeMintBee would it have to be done through email or writting? Sorry idk how it works

Have you applied for an EHCP? My DS got his first S&LT report when we applied and then every year since as the hours for report writing are within the EHCP provision.
You would also get targets and at minimum an annual discussion to review the targets.

ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/individual-rights/right-of-access/#:~:text=An%20individual%20can%20make%20a,request%20to%20a%20specific%20contact.

@Darkflames no she has just started full time school and the senco has gone in to observe her and I’ll be having a meeting with her and her class teacher and waiting for first appointment with the Paediatrician who I presumed would help with the EHCP. I’m completely new to all this so I don’t really don’t how any of it works.

@BeMintBee Thankyou!

You can apply now. You don't need to wait. The EHCP process will involve all of those things anyway, generally, because she's so young.

@Lougle Oh thankyou I didn’t realise I had to apply I thought it was done through diagnosis ect will look into it now

I second a SAR for information from the SALT.

You don’t need a diagnosis for an EHCP. Request an EHCNA now. The school doesn’t have to agree. On their website, IPSEA has a model letter you can use.

If you allude to the SALT department that you will be making a subject access request they may change their mind about offering a summary report of the sessions and their observations.

when DS was seen by the audiologist prior to his paediatrician appointment the audiologist included a brief summary of her observations of his behaviour. She didn’t have to and volunteered to so it is a bit disappointed that the SALT won’t offer a brief summary of her observations.

https://www.ipsea.org.uk/

It's really odd that you've been given no written information. It's definitely part of an NHS salt's job to write reports or session summaries.

Have you asked school whether they have been given any written notes from salt?

Do salt come in to school or was it at nursery?

I'd talk to the senco before you go down the SAR route.

If the school are supporting the push for a diagnosis/ehcp, they'll put pressure on the SALT for reports.

So I'd chat to the senco before anything else

But I'm 😮 as I've never heard of a SALT not giving a report/feedback (and often exercises/techniques to practice at home and at school)

They're required under their own professional standards to
7.5 modify their own means of communication to address the individual communication needs and preferences of service users and carers, and remove any barriers to communication where possible
www.hcpc-uk.org/standards/standards-of-proficiency/speech-and-language-therapists/ www.hcpc-uk.org/standards/standards-of-proficiency/speech-and-language-therapists/]]]]

I'm a SENCO - you should be getting SALT targets after every review. Ours are sent to school but I always pass on to parents. They don't say a lot about overall need though.

I'd just apply for an EHCP yourself to get the ball rolling. All professionals involved will then have to provide information.

The salt is likely under a lot of pressure but their management/ nhs cuts to reduce waiting times and up the amount of clinical work they are doing. An easy way to do this is by not writing reports anymore. I used to spend way more time writing reports than seeing kids, this wasn’t sustainable and meant children waited far longer. Salt reports take a long time but are often not even read by families/ schools and rarely seem to be retained by them for reference. It is much more important for salts to be out there supporting children and families than sitting in an office.

I expect providing a report purely the reason of evidence for ASD/ adhd when he is already on the waiting list is something her management would likely frown upon. I know mine would. Maybe try framing it as you want a report to ensure everyone is on the same page to support his communication and that everyone knows the right goals to be working on and the right strategies to be working on. That would then be more
within her job role.

They should still providing goals and advise via email to you/ school. You should also be able to ask to attend as session to
see what she is doing

Looking at the pile of reports I've got to write - we definitely bloody have to do them in my service!!!

You will be able to request the session notes from each appointment - quite how much use they'll be varies - I know services where notes are written so briefly you think it's like the 1990s where text messages were limited to only 50 characters or something, and then our service where our notes are lengthy to say the least.

I'll be honest - in the end I paid for a private SLT to write a full report on DD2 for school purposes (and then sulked cos my assessment reports are better)!