What is reasonable in terms of contacting school/ SENCO?

[elfycat]

DD2 is about to start Y7 and high school. We've had a diagnosis of Cluttering back in March (speech and language disorder - we're under a stammering/cluttering specialist SLT). Mild/moderate hearing loss in one ear (different tones heard at differing volumes) and waiting an ENT appointment.

Went to the GP last week about her anxiety and I need to apply for a ASD assessment, and in the meantime I'm speaking with someone from the emotional wellbeing team tomorrow. DD2's beginning to do self-harming behaviours, but nothing terrifying yet.

She's previously been selectively mute and didn't speak at school for over a year (Y4 was when COVID hit too) - that's a big worry as she needs to talk to get help with the SLT stuff.

Her class teacher in Y6 was the SENCO so I could tell her directly what was going on. But now there's multiple teachers/staff that DD2 will be in contact with I wondered if anyone with experience of high school and ND children could tell me how much contact is normal with staff in the school, particularly the SENCO.

I've sent an email today giving the SENCO a heads up on where we are with DD2's medical stuff and asking for DD2 not to be allowed to sit at the back of a class because of her hearing loss, and saying that the SLT would like us all to have a meeting. But I don't want to be 'that' parent in a way that makes me a PITA straight off the bat.

Asking for a meeting won’t make you a PITA. I would have asked for one last term. As long as you aren’t emailing unnecessarily, and from what you’ve posted you aren’t, don’t worry.

DS3 (ASD, SM, medical needs) has an EHCP and his 1:1 spoke to me every day last year at drop/pick up - DS3 was handed over, he’s not able to go in/come out independently yet. At the end of the week his 1:1s (he has 2 as they cover break and lunch as well) emailed a round up. The SENCO would email as and when checking in and raising anything necessary. I would email with anything I specifically had to inform them about or if I needed to ask anything.

The problem with the timing is we only had the first zoom appointment with the SLT on Aug 5th (wait due to COVID backlog and sickness, the first letter I had about it was April), the ENT referral came in over the summer, and her spike of anxiety into self harming - first incidence I observed was June 13th. It's all a bit new.

Glad to know that I'm probably not going to be overdoing it. I'll probably need to push for a EHCP, but maybe after the ASD assessment and see if that makes it more likely. The SLT said based on the cluttering alone it's 50:50 if they'd think she needs one, and see if she has difficulties at school that will make them support us (100% chance of selective mutism reoccurrence and friendship difficulties in her opinion).

I’m a primary school SENCO and would absolutely want to know about any one of those things never mind all of them.