Meeting with behaviour support officer

[MynewnameisKy]

Tomorrow I have an appointment with a behaviour support officer from the Local education Authority.

It has been called due to Dd (12) displaying persistent disruptive behaviour.

She has no diagnosed SEN but is suffering from sleep deprivation due to chronic migraine particularly at night.

I want to get the best outcome I can for her in this meeting but don't want to sound like I am making excuses for her.

Consultant paediatrician is considering tests before initiating treatment.

I would appreciate advice from anyone with knowledge in this area.

If she's displaying persistent disruptive behaviour, then she does have additional needs- in managing her behaviour. Has this been going on for some time? I would imagine so, if the LA is arranging a meeting, so the next question would be to ask whether you were aware of the severity of the situation and what the school has already put in place to help her to manage her behaviour.

I'd be very surprised if this has come out of the blue and it will be important to ascertain the impact of the migraines on her behaviour. Can the consultant say that they have a negative impact on behaviour because of sleep difficulties?

It depends what you want from this meeting and what you he school want from it. Do you think they will want to suggest a managed move to another school? Do you want her to stay there? It's difficult to know what to suggest without understanding the background and length of time this has been happening.

Thanks Foxyloxy. It has been going on about ten months and I am aware of the extent of it. Nothing that we have done at home has had any impact.

The school have put in several measures and nothing has helped so far.

The school are hoping for an ECHP but that will take some time and in the meantime strategies to help manage the behaviour.

The consultant is fairly sure the route cause is the migraines and their effects in her sleep. He is essentially saying that she is sleep deprived. I suppose the major issue is we only saw the consultant on Friday so that is new information which the school are not aware of yet.

This is further complicated by the fact that both the usual migraine prevention medication and the usual migraine rescue medication used in children her age are not suitable for her because of her other medical conditions.

It was really only during the consultation with the paediatrician that I became aware of the extent of the migraines effects on her sleep.

Many years ago I started my career as a Behavioural support office. Initial meetings were used to get to know he family, the child, issues they were experiencing and how I could support their child with the parents support.

Youcantargue that sounds reasonable. I suspect education cuts mean you only get one meeting now.

I didn't sleep at all last night either so not the best preparation for a meeting.