Speech difficulties and downs syndrome

[thebody]

Hi need advice,

Have recently given up childminding to pursue a level 3.

The school I am doing my placement with in sept( 2 days unpaid as per need for college) have asked me to apply for one day a week to support a reception child with speech difficulties, I think she may have downs syndrome but not sure.

Now obviously want the job and to Offer fantastic support so need to research how to!! Where do I start? Can anyone recommend a good book or website.

Also at interview and if successful I would like to meet up with the child and parents over the summer to establish a relationship before school starts, is that a good idea???

Thanks

many children with ds also have hearing difficulties which has a knock on effect for speech, perhaps you need to establish the exact nature of her difficulties which would then lead you to the most appropriate way of supporting her.

Would you be allowed to set up a meeting with the child's parents? If she has ds (and you shouldn't assume anything) she may have a statement of special educational needs which would specify precisely what her difficulties are and the provision to meet her needs. School will have a copy in her file, if one exists you should ask to see it.

The important thing is to know what level of communication the child has, and what methods they are currently using for comms.

Realistically, you need to be completely willing and keen to discuss the needs with both the SLT and the parents. Start by following their instructions (some children with communication difficulties have an 'all about me' book which goes with them to school etc, to introduce them to strangers) and looking at the child's iep or statement of sen to see which targets and what support are (supposed to be being) being worked on currently. School should also have copies of recent SLT reports on file, which will give you a better idea than generic statement, for example.

Then as you get more confident and get to know what works, you can discuss with SLT and the parents how you can improve support.

Dd2 had 1-1 support for comms. By school she had some speech but was severely dysarthric, so the main thing was to have someone who could get used to the way she spoke and understand her - people who didn't know her well would struggle (hell, we struggled, some of the time. I remember one bizarre day in reception when I was actually in school in a different classroom doing governor stuff, and they had to call me because she was hysterical, and no one could understand her. Nor could I. The two TAs, the CT, the HT and myself were all standing around peering at her. I took her off and about half an hour of cuddles and calming down later I worked out she'd seen a pretty leaf in the playground and wanted to give it to me.)

So, the really important thing is not that you read a book or a website, because all children with communication needs are completely different. You need to be completely upfront with the parents about your enthusiasm and willingness to get involved, but you need to ask them what they and SLT want. School should be able to tell you what level of support she needs. It may be that she is currently using marathon or pecs or similar to facilitate, but there are really no guarantees!

Marathon should read makaton. Apparently apple (who schlep so many apps for disability) doesn't recognise makaton.

Thank u both v helpful, I guess then I will read as much as possible strategies to help generally but it's imperative that I meet the child and parents before the start if school to get a handle on her individual needs..

Do you think school will let me visit them at home?? If she were my child
I would want this as its really important for us all to be pulling together,?? Yes???

Pretty much unheard of, even for 1-1 ft TAs.

You would be better asking if you can visit her before the end of the summer term, and if the parents can be invited into school/ nursery (at either the same or a separate time afterwards) so that you can say hi.

The parents will be having a transition meeting (may have already happened) with the new HT, CT and a rep from nursery, plus any interested therapists etc.

How are they supporting her comm needs for the other four days a week? How long is the placement for?

I would be pretty careful, tbh. If they have someone else doing 1-1 TA stuff for the other four days, you might be just a fill-in, in which case you should probably ask to be put in touch with whoever is doing the bulk of the 1-1. Really important you are working together, and as the one day a week stude, you don't want to get everyone's backs up if they consider they are more important iykwim. So, great that you are keen etc, but you need to know how you are going to fit into the bigger picture first. You don't want to piss off the 4 day a week TA if she isn't going to be allowed to do home visits etc.

(however, CT may be doing a short half hour home visit to all new yr r children. You could ask if this is the case. If there is an allocated 4 day TA she might be attending too - it would be too overwhelming for a child (and family) to deal with three new people at once.)

You need to tread a bit carefully and feel out where you would stand - you don't want to step on toes!

Thanks mad yes you make good points and of course you are right and I will tread very carefully.. Small cog but just want to do best and of course I see that means being part of a team. Thanks for your imput, really helpful xxx