Dyspraxia Diagnosis - Help with email to school

[Toffypop]

Hi there,

I was wondering if anybody would be able to help me please? Please bear with this long story.

My 12 year old Son has just been diagnosed with Dyspraxia. He has been getting tested for different things since 6th March last year & only just received this diagnosis.

He has also been referred to physiotherapy now because of this as they said he had hyper-mobility in his thumbs and wrists which is why he struggles to write & both his achilles are really tight in his legs & he gets pains in both.

He struggles every day in high school (year 8) & it is absolutely heartbreaking to hear him describe himself as a failure all the time & that he can't keep up with his peers.

The Occupational therapy report was sent to school on 4th August. His overall score on the ABC assessment was 2 and in the 0.5 percentile.

The report had recommendations for him to use a laptop, be given extra time for work & in exams, extra breaks from writing & much more.

The school has not acknowledged this report or put anything in place to help him.

He then received the DCD diagnosis at the end of Jan and the consultant wrote 2 letters to school.

The first stated his dyspraxia diagnosis & that she wants them to put an Education Health & Care Plan in place to support him. The second letter asked for him to be referred to the Educational Psychologist for him to be tested for dyslexia & dyscalculia too.

The school have not acknowledged any of these letters either & he is receiving zero help or support from them. He cries most nights dreading school & that he is a laughing stock.

I want to write an email & request a meeting to discuss why they are not supporting him & going forward what they are going to do to help him. I was just wondering if anyone had any tips of what I am best to say on the email to them please?

I am so desperate to get him some help.

Thank you so much for reading.

Ask for a meeting with the SENCO. Just explain that DS has had a recent diagnosis of DCD and requires additional support at school can you please arrange to meet with them. Remember though support in school is based on needs, not diagnosis.

If the consultant thinks an EHCNA is required they can make the request. You can also do it. On their website, IPSEA has a model letter you can use. Unfortunately, with the current situation in schools, in reality EP time is significantly limited. Outside of the EHCNA process you are unlikely to get an ed psych assessment via the school or LA unless the difficulties are severe/causing significant disruption - even then it may be any time soon.

@SearchingForSolitude Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me. I will follow your advice & see what the SENCO says and start the ball rolling with the model letter too.

If you have email addresses for DS’s form tutor and teachers, email them directly too. They may not even know DS has SEN. If you don’t have their email addresses, ask the SENCO to make sure all DS’s teachers are aware.

Wow reading this upset me and how sorry I am that you having such trouble getting support. My son had an appointment with Pediatrician last week after his English teacher at school suggested he may have Dyspraxia. Before the appointment they offered him the use of laptop in classes and learning support have been really supportive. He had no help at primary school and teachers complained about his handwriting all the time. He has very tight Achilles and had loads of appointments/ leg splints and casts to loosen him when he was younger.
Now he has a positive diagnosis Learning support want full coverage of his feedback from appointments and treatment with Occ Health.
I really hope you get the support from school soon.My son is 12 nearly 13 in year 8. Take care xx

@paul2louise thank you for your caring message, it means a lot. I am so happy that your Son is getting the support he needs, that gives me some hope for the future.

He sounds very similar to my Son,primary school was the same for him. Constant moans about his handwriting & getting told tests/exams aren’t for him?? We got a GP appointment when he was in Year 6 because he began getting sent home every Monday for being sick for 6 weeks straight. It turned out it was his anxiety for being back in school after the weekend, when I questioned the primary school if they didn’t think there was a pattern & something wrong they said it could be allergies!

We told the GP about how he felt that he couldn’t keep up with his peers & this pattern of sickness so she referred us to the local hospital. However, due to Covid & waiting lists we waited a year to be seen by them and then the past year he has had different tests done at the hospital & we’ve finally got a diagnosis.

I just don’t understand why the school are ignoring all the hospital reports/letters & not helping him at all. If it carries on I am going to make a formal complaint, they still haven’t replied to my email I sent on Monday. I’ve called & was told that they are very busy! I’m just going to keep everything crossed that we get a breakthrough, I will keep u updated.

My 14 year old has recently been diagnosed with dysbraxia. She falls downstairs in her shoes she's just clumsy writing hurts however she likes writing. On her form it says she scored overall score of 1 on the abc 2 she scored low on everything. Anyways she has been advised everything as you said plus foam grip pen.

My daughter just cracks on and tries. Tell.him.no excuses he has to cope end of and book appointment with school to discuss what they are gonna do. We also have a dyscalculia diagnosis and she gets 1 to 1 support every week. When this doesn't happen I kick off.

P.s apply for dla I have you have all evidence you need.