Starting Statutory Assessment any experience please?

[tiredmummyneedswineandsleep]

Hello
DS 3.2 has been on IEPs and early years action and then action plus for over a 13 months.
Everyone agrees he shows signs of ASD and ADHD.
On board and recommending 1:1 are myself, old nursery, current pre school, ed psych, salt, advisory teacher, paediatrician and health visitor. there are several observations, incident reports and supporting letters from all the professionals including the paed who said DS should be treated as if he has a diagnosis of both.
does anyone know what are the chances of being successful in application? i know ds would require full time 1:1 in order to have a chance of succeeding in the education system and also for his own and others safety as he has absolutely no sense of danger, fear or understanding of boundaries. he at times is completely uncooperative and will not comply with instructions/requests.

is there anything else i should be doing to support the request?

many thanks.

'does anyone know what are the chances of being successful in application? i know ds would require full time 1:1 in order to have a chance of succeeding in the education system and also for his own and others safety as he has absolutely no sense of danger, fear or understanding of boundaries. he at times is completely uncooperative and will not comply with instructions/requests.

is there anything else i should be doing to support the request?'

Sheer determination, high expectations, refusal to listen to anyone who disputes what you know to be true.

You'll be successful enough if all those people put it in writing for sure. Noone can decide anything, it is down to evidence.

You just have to show that the support he's been getting at EYA+ has been tried and found to be insufficient for him to make progress.

tiredmummyneedswineandsleep From my experience you will need to tread carefully, and think very well about what you want for your DS.

My DD1 is exactly as you say "i know ds would require full time 1:1 in order to have a chance of succeeding in the education system and also for his own and others safety as he has absolutely no sense of danger, fear or understanding of boundaries. he at times is completely uncooperative and will not comply with instructions/requests. "

What you need to be aware of is that there are two ways of dealing with a child like your DS (and my DD1).

You can send them to a Mainstream State School, where the school is likely to be open plan, not massively secure (although secure enough for NT children), ready access to areas such as toilets, which allow access to running water etc.

OR

You can send them to a LA Maintained Special School, which tends to have measures in place to allow a child such as your DS and my DD freedom, because the environment is modified. For example, barrel bolts on bathroom doors to avoid free access, door handles on top and middle of classroom doors to stop children wandering out and getting into danger, playgrounds sectioned, with gates between, to allow play in a defined area, metal posts wrapped in 'soft-play' type covering, to prevent injuries.

So, any LA that gets papers for a child who needs constant supervision for their own safety and that of others, needs to look at four things:

1. What is the best setting to meet the child's needs?

2. What is parental preference?

3. What is the most efficient use of resources?

4. Is it incompatible with the education of other children at the MS school to have your child there?

If your DS 'only' has ASD/ADHD and his learning capability is good despite this, but needs to work on social skills, you might feel he needs to be with a 'model' peer group, ie NT children who will be an example to him of interaction he needs to develop.

If your DS is more globally affected, you might find that you are happy for him to have individualised education within a MS setting (ie. he would be with his NT peers, but likely to be taught at his own pace, and have a TA to do so). Or, you may feel that he would be better in an environment where all the children have additional needs, and special needs teaching methods are part of the whole school day.

The reason you have to tread carefully, is that you have to provide 'parental advice'. Also, you will to some extent by discussion with the professionals, influence their reports.

If you want your DS to be educated in MS school, you need to get a balance between arguing for 1:1 support, but at the same time carefully minimising the emphasis on how disruptive to other class members or school events your DS could be.

If you want your DS to be educated in a Special School, you really need to emphasise the need for security, safety, constant supervision, no sense of danger, disruptive, etc.

I was fairly unsure of what was best. In our PA I wrote that we weren't sure what was right for DD1, and we were happy to accept the LA's advice. HOWEVER we could not send DD1 to MS school unless she had dedicated 1:1 support from the minute she stepped into school until the minute I took custody of her at the end of the day, including break times, lunch times, etc. Her OT report specified that she would need constant supervision at break and lunch times, and was unable to avoid collisions.

The LA had a choice. They could send her to MS, which would cost around £4000, plus a TA for 32.5 hours per week which would cost around £10000. Or, they could send her to Special school which costs around £30000 per year plus transport. They chose SS.

For DD1 it is amazing. At preschool, she stuck out like a sore thumb, meltdowns daily, etc. At SS she is normal. She is actually one of the more able children. She is safe, although they can't protect her from herself, so she still falls and trips and misjudges things. She doesn't have 1:1. She is in a class of 10, with 4 staff, but because the environment is safe, no access to bathroom unaccompanied, no way of getting out of the classroom without permission, etc., she is free. Anywhere she can get to is safe. The grounds are spacious, they use Makaton which breaks through her inattention well. Wherever she goes, they all treat her the same. No inconsistency.

Sorry to ramble. Just think carefully, visit different placements, so that you know what you want.

thanks its such a hard decision. ds is very bright, know numbers at least to 100, has no trouble remembering things etc... salt did an assessment and also said he should do well academically with correct support and no issues with cognitive learning. he has awful issue socially though and is incredibly active. i honestly don't know what would be best for him. i myself am a ta in a primary school and i just dont know....

lougle what is your dd like academically? i'm really pleased she is at a setting she enjoys and is sae and secure in. it must be a huge weight off your shoulders.

she has a very 'spikey' profile, to be honest, tmnwas.

She is 4.10. She can count to at least 20 spontaneously, but not so easily on demand. She will miss out numbers on demand, and doesn't seem to have very secure correspondence yet - ie. she will skip around a page of animals, counting randomly, rather than one by one.

She knows colours quite well, all primary colours, vast majority of secondary colours.

She is a good problem solver. She can't lift a jug of water (wobbly hands) but will dip a cup into the jug, for example.

She only recognises 1 letter so far, which is the initial letter of her first name. She thinks that all words that begin with that letter are her name. Our local zoo begins with that letter, and she says "look! It my Name!!!!!"

She recognises all single digit numbers, but doesn't really go beyond 10.

She has a severe Speech and language delay, and is quite echolaic in some of her phrasing.

Her attention span is between 30seconds and 2 minutes for 'less preferred activities' but she will spend several minutes if it is gluing, or other sensory play. She HATES sitting down, and will cry if they ask her to do group activities which require sitting for any length of time.

She is nowhere near writing. She has fine motor difficulties, so can just about draw a circular motion, a cross and a line. She has just started to do a zig-zag.

She has quite a good grasp of numeracy concepts, I think. So big, little, huge, tiny, slow, speedy.

She is quite good with cold, hot, sunny, windy etc.

Mixed bag. But her major difficulties are no sense of danger, impulsive, wobbly walker, etc.

oh bless her lougle. i bet she is adorable and you must feel proud with how she is coming on at her new school.
ds has me in stitches at times as he has an amazing sense of humour and can do the craziest of things. he can be a really cuddly mummy's boy but sometimes also aggressive and damn hard work.
ds like your dd stands out like a sore thumb at pre school.
im going to arrange to visit 2 local schools, a special school and the communication and interaction unit when the new term starts and see if that helps when making a decision.

She really is simply amazing. I can't tell you what a relief it is to have her in the right place. I went to a coffee morning at the school this week, and as I snuck past her classroom, I peeked in, and saw her sat on a teacher's lap, being read to. They can do that sort of thing because there are 10 children and 4 staff.

Also, with DD1, the sensory effect of a busy classroom is simply huge. Special school reduces that effect for her, because she only has 13 voices to process, instead of 32.

Every moment is captured there. I saw a little boy who uses a wheelchair being wheeled back from looking at trees. The lady pushing him stopped at the railings and held a stick in his hand, so that he could run it up and down the railings to hear the noise and feel the vibration. He loved it. Then they gave the stick to another little boy who was walking, and he didn't know quite what to do with it, was going to swipe someone with it, but realised and did it. They applauded him like he'd run a marathon, or won a highjump competition. Celebrating it.

Special school won't be for every child. I mean, the whole point of Special school is that it meets the needs of children who need a whole-school differentiated learning environment. Everyone gets access to Makaton signing, regardless of whether it is a helpful cue, essential for communication, or whatever. Everyone gets the same routine, so that all the children benefit. BUT, they benefit in their own ways.

I bang on, but so many people write off special schools as being 'ghettos' or 'non-inclusive' and my experience is that (certainly DD's SS) they are inclusive, intensive, and challenging.

oh that's lovely. i agree it must be fantastic to be able to find the correct setting. i'm in absolute fear about ds and schooling for next year. he goes into sensory overload with 29 others in pre school. i don't know if 1:1 would help or not. am struggling to get funding for it in pre school. i feel pretty helpless despite myself and the pre school pleading for it.