Apologies in advance, its a long one but could really do with some help!
we currently live in Spain and my 4 year old son has SN. Last year he has been diagnosed with DLD by the state system (altough since then he s come on so much and now is really chatty) but due to some issues which were seen at school as ‘ behavioural’ we had him privately assessed by a UK qualified team based here in Spain who diagnosed him with SPD. Since then we have started OT with him which has really helped. As time went by we were told by his pre school that he was becoming very hard to handle. (‘ Disruptive’ in group work, sometimes hitting when getting worked up). We asked them to inplement some sensory regulation activities but were told they dont have time for that. We eventually organized a 1:1 for him (schools dont provide that here, the parents have to do so and pay for it too!) who was also UK qualified and she was amazing! She spent the mornings with him and supported him to ensure he was regulated and in social interaction to learn a little more how to interact which he s taken on so well. When our son is regulated you nearly now forget his SN as the support he got really helped and changed him so much. Sadly the 1:1 had to leave back to the UK recently and so my son was back at school without support. His classteacher, who he loved, quit her job without notice so he got very unsettled to the point where the preschool asked me to not bring him back as they cant deal with him. And he s been home for about 1 month now. When the 1:1 and therapists found out they were shocked as our son is really fine to have as long as he s not overwhelmed and they couldnt believe he was sent home. Its a private nursery (quite common here) and they dont do or have anything at all in place for SN kids, no visuals, no quiet space etc etc. My DH and I work fulltime and we have to keep working to pay for a future 1:1 and therapies. He s signed up to start state school in September but we have a Spanish ‘EHCP’ and its not addressing the sensory side at all. Just requiring teacher to be patient with him and to use visuals where possible. If we want a 1:1 there we have to pay for it there too.
we have the chance to go back to the UK and I recently visited some schools to the area where we would go back to. I’m very aware that the system in the UK is in trouble too but I have to say compared to what I saw at the UK schools (Senco at each school, children walking around with ear defenders, sensory rooms and quiet allocated spaces in the classroom) I couldnt believe it! There seemed to be so much more awareness of sensory issues and the level of acceptance was so much better it felt than where we are now!
we are seriously considering therefore moving back to the UK. Again we know its not going to be straight forward but we feel like here our son will not get a chance at school unless we pay for a 1:1 and thats financially unsustainable! He needs that support since there is zero in place with regards to the sensory side of things in school here and I can even imagine in the UK he would manage very well in MS school if some of the basics of his sensory needs were put in place without 1:1
before I move countries I would like to hear from other SEN parents and their experiences. I have read A LOT on this site and spoken to friends in the UK who do help paint a picture but especially hearing from parents whose child has SPD and how their kids manage in a UK state school would be helpful.
thank you