Gifted & Talented - educational psychologist recommendations?

[Chopstick090404]

My 13 yr old son has several fairly vague diagnosis of HFA & ASD. From our view he certainly has significant SPD (tactile only) anxiety & chronic school phobia but otherwise appears not to present with any classical signs of autism. That's not to say he doesn't have HDA/ASD, I'm just trying to form a bigger picture.

He also scored:-
"118 on the BPVS (British Picture Vocabulary Scale) when he was 11. Age equivalent 15 years 11 months+, 89th centile (well above average)"

For several reasons we now need an educational psychologist's report. I have drawn several varying lists from recommendations but wondered if I should be seeking someone that specialises in gifted & talented as well as autism. I saw Joan Freeman's name and Peter Congdon popping up.

Any other names or advice would be much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance :)

To be totally honest, that just means he has a high vocab. A good strength but not much in itself. Normal range on all tests is 85-115 so he is high end of average.

Any ed psych will look at strengths as well as challenges. Hope that helps.

Thanks Munchin, I totally agree your point and will push forward with an educational psychologists report to identify more specifics. I saw a post recently here that mentions the BPVS can be considered as a broad benchmark for intelligence(?). DS is now home educated and tutors suggest he's working 3(+) years ahead specifically in Maths, Science, Computer Science, and English, which are the core GCSE subjects we're covering. Their comments have reminded me of the earlier BPVS score. I don't think he's necessarily gifted or talented, just bight. Am however looking for an educational psychologist to focus on specifics and not be inclined to 'twist areas of information' and apply 'non-facts' to a report in order to fit a prescribed criteria to form a diagnosis - as has been the clear case with previous reports. These have however been undertaken by paediatricians rather than educational psychologists so am assuming there will be a difference? I'm just keen to find an EP who specialises specifically in the areas we need i.e. SPD (although this is tactile specific), Anxiety, School Phobia, ASD, and 'Gifted & Talented' - I use the term loosely 🤔).....but if you feel the G&T aspect needn't be a special focus then I will contine to concentrate on finding someone specialising in autistic spectrum disorders/condition so as not to waste time & energy searching for the wrong people 🙄

Chopsticks I would not pay for an ed psy in your situation, but a clinical psychologist able to identify other issues. Please pm me and I'll recommend the one we saw recently, highly recommended and very respected in her field. We found it tremendously helpful and school took the report seriously, which may not have happened with an ed psy or one of the names suggested above. Xx

gfrnn just seen your post and that's the clinical psychologist I was going to recommmed. We saw her and was really helpful.

gfnn & jaws5, thank you both so much for your very useful input and advice. It's good to talk! I think tcfp has just what we need with their team of specialised consultants, medically and educationally. Exactly what we need. Not sure they have anyone on board willing to do a home visit though? I've phoned today but their receptionist is off sick. I'm away on holiday at the moment and keen to know if they will be in any position to help so I can discount other potential options and move forward. Thanks again. I'm sincerely most grateful. Xx

If a gifted child ( or indeed any child, although organizing education at home may be easier for a gifted child) I would consider home education, at least for a while, rather than trying to keep them in an environment that is making them miserable. A scholarship to a private school would also be an option for an academic child. For home education, Stanford University now runs a full online High School, although probably mainly for people in America. There are also British options for home education like the National Extension College. Sometimes people complete GSCEs at home and then return to school for A Level, maybe in a more adult environment like a sixth form college or private tutorial college.

Sorry, GCSEs. Interested in these issues through being a bit dyslexic. I see now that the child is currently being home educated, and I hope it all works out.

My DS sounds similar to Op’s although he is only 7. I’m currently looking for an EP for him and would love some recommendations if anyone is happy to offer some. I’ve used EP’s before for my older son but he has very different set of needs. My 7 year is suspected high functioning ASD (ADOS next month) we suspect Hyperlexic and we suspect pathological demand avoidance perhaps too but because he makes good progress at school I don’t expect the school to worry too much about him at this stage. As his parents though we want to brace ourselves for future problems as we’ve dealt with high anxiety in our ASD eldest. Any recommendations for an EP who might have experience with ASD would be really appreciated

Hi Hangrymum, I bumped into an old post of yours while looking for an EP recommendation myself. I am only starting out on this long journey - DS is ASD diagnosed, is hyperlexia & hypernumeracy (although not recognised terms) and I now also suspect PDA! We have had our EHCP application - refused to be assessed! So looking for independent professionals to advise. Would be grateful if you could share/recommend an EP that suited your DS' profile. Thanks a lot

@ict108 look at getting an assessment done by these folk potentialplusuk.org/

Dirk Flower of flowerassociates.co.uk/ is another one to consider.

Both Joan Freeman and Peter Congden are retired now.

We found Catriona Hassall very helpful as she evaluated our son who is ASD and was very good at giving us information about his strengths/weaknesses/needs rather than just his scores.

www.catrionahassall.com/about-us.html

Hi, just bumped into this old thread. Can I ask for this clinical psychologist you recommended? I have a son who needs guidance, urgently.