No speech - questions about starting school?

[farming4]

Hi - this is my first time posting on here but I just wanted a bit of advice. (sorry if long)

My ds will be 4 in March and is due to start school in Sept 2011. He has epilepsy (controlled) and a severe speech delay ( SALT for the last 18mths). He has 6 words and communicates using Makaton. He is on Early Years Action + at pre-school with a fantastic Senco who works closely with his SALT and the educational inclusion team are now involved. I'm hoping he will go to the same MS school as my other DS and DD and I've been told he isn't severe enough for statementing (understanding has been assessed as 5-6years). He also isn't out of nappies yet and chances are he will still be in nappies when he starts school. Will school be able to deal with this? I have tried to get a meeting with the Senco for school but was told she will only be able to discuss things with me if he gets given a place. Basically I'm wondering if there is anything else I can do to set things in place for Sept or any other people I need to get involved to make life easier for him - really scared hes going to struggle and get lost in reception :(. Any advice from anyone who has been in this situation would be great. Thanks Julie

People are trying to pull the wool over your eyes, do what the others say and apply for a statement, your pre school senco will know how to get the ball rolling. Don't take no for an answer.

Agree with applying for a statement.

My ds, ASD, started school with severe speech delay and communication problems. We got a statement for 30 hours for the first year as our fantastic pre-school senco said he needed support at all time. He would have been lost without that support and would not have understood the school nativity, assemblies etc.

Thank you - you've all just confirmed what I have been thinking - I shall speak to the pre-school Senco when they go back on Thurs. If she won't help how do I go about applying for a statement myself - sorry I'm really new to this and not sure where to start. Cheers

Thank you x

"Not severe enough for statementing" - the person who told you that ought to be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. They are lying to you!.

You must apply for this document on your son's behalf.

BTW early years action plus is really not worth the paper its written on. Sounds good in theory but as it is not legally binding it falls down.

As already mentioned by justabout IPSEA have model letters you can use on their website www.ipsea.org.uk.

You need to write to the Chief Education Officer at your LEA and give them six weeks to apply. Make the application yourself and don't let the Senco do it (because such people can sit on such apps for ages). Tell the preschool senco on Thursday that the letter for this has gone to the LEA.

You are your child's best - and only - advocate.

www.afasicengland.org.uk/
support group for children with speech and language difficulties

www.epilepsy.org.uk/about/what.html
epilepsy support group

www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment/SpecialEducationalNeeds/DG_4000870
summaries of the statementing process

www.parentpartnership.org.uk/
offers support to parents through statemnting process

Hope these links will be useful to you.

Never listen to anyone who say's 'not severe enough for statementing'. We were told by the school and ed phyc not to statement but thats to the lovely people (and great advice) on here i took no notice and managed to get a statement for dd2 before she started in september. Dd2 was almost non-verbal when we were sorting out schooling and her statement, she was also still in nappies. All i can say is 'don't listen to the people that tell you not to apply for a statement they are just trying to make make less work for themselves and lower the number of children with statements in MS schools. Do what you think is best for your child, you are your childs only/best advocate.

My son has ASD, severe speech delay, but is bright and able and verbal, he has 35 hours a week of specialist 1:1 help delivered at home and in mainstream. Before we got a statement he had 75% of his nursery hours with 1:1, with a statement that increased to 100% of his nursery hours and then we appealed the statement to get the specialist support on top. He is just 4 and will be starting school at the same time as your son.

Expect it to take 6-8 months to get the statement (more if refused at any stage) and be prepared to appeal if anything gets refused - even if you don't end up going to tribunal you still usually obtain more support by appealing. In particular you will need the SALT support spelt out in the statement eg how many hours a term of direct and indirect support. Plus how many hours of 1:1. A.C.E is another good website for checking statements etc.

The NHS has no obligation to provide SALT for educational needs and the Local Authority won't step in and ensure SALT you need is delivered unless its in a statement. With the cuts looming you need it in a statement thats the only way its enforceable.

Its best to keep control and make the request for assessment yourself - if the pre school will write a letter of support that helps, but its not essential. That way you have a right of appeal yourselves if the request is refused.

Ask the SEN officer at the council what level of support they expect a pre school / school to provide without a statement as you will need to show your need is higher than this. Also check whether your child is getting full entitlement at action plus eg maximum hours 1:1 as again you need to show that have exhausted action plus to get a statement.

Keep posting questions on here as you go along, you'll get loads of good advice here.

If you haven't got it already get a hard copy of the SEN code of practice from teachernet - its free and much easier to have a bound copy

Thanks for all the advice - have printed all the info off and will sit down tomorrow and plough my way through. I think I had got it in my head that ds would be fine and that the school would automatically provide what he needed ( naive I know but I'm just getting to grips with the whole sn world) Now I'm panicing that I have left it too late etc etc. I suppose I have been really lucky with the support up to now from salt and paeds and pre-school that I thought it would continue but suffice to say I am now a lttle annoyed I have been brushed off with "not severe enough" and I feel like a fool for not questioning it!

I came on here a few months back asking the same thing about support for a non-verbal child starting school in Sept and am now in the process of applying for a statement too. My dds speech sounds about the same as your ds. I spoke to Afaisic (who are really helpful by the way and they have a few leaflets on their website which are worth buying) and they advised me to go for a statement too, and try to get a language unit, and they offered to look over the statement when it comes through. Sadly we don't have language units in out LEA, so we are going MS, but I have grown in confidence since I started finding out about this that a statement is the only way forward. Especially in these times of budget cut. I would agree that you should apply yourself - get it sent off ASAP and then you have the control and you know when the clock has started ticking. It seems to take ages to get all the reports together from the professionals, but you have 9 months so it should be fine (fingers crossed). Good luck!

Statmwntd and key is making sure 1-1lsa has s&l experience if you go ms route

Has your SALT not suggested anything at all??

My DS has severe speech delay, only a handful of words - though since we got our puppy that has been helping him tremendously! He seems to have some confidence to try when talking to the dog.

He has been under SALT for about 14 months (he is almost 3.4 btw). he hasn't officially been diagnosed with speech dyspraxia, but he now currently has one on one SALT once a week for 45 mins and she treats him as if he has. The paed is not so sure this is what he has and he has been tested for various things Paed is sure he is not ASD but he is certainly quirky to say the least! But everyone who meeets him thinks he is a delight!

At Easter he is due to be assessed for the speech unit, where he will hopefully start in September for his nursery year and possibly reception.

He is out of nappies though (did it all himelf, most strange I have to say!)

So - he is very very communicative but very little speech - and sometimes he says things (singular words) but may not retain them for long enough to use them.

Hi understanding was assessed at about age 4/5 about 8 months ago and speech at 12 months - they are doing everything to help him "get on" and any help he may need. he also does not attend any preschool etc.

Can you find out about language units in your area? Though surprised SALT have not suggested anything - think we have been lucky with our SALT though.

I am keeping everything crossed that he gets a place as if he gets upset or frustrated - even DH and I can't understand what he means so he'd stand NO CHANCE in a class of 30 - he would have a pure meltdown and that would really worry me, as when he gets like that, all they would be able to do is sit him to one side to calm down - then he would go beserk because he had been sat out (as it were) - this is me thinking along the lines of being in MS with no help whatsoever. (and from being a teaching assistant)

You really do need to seek out any help you can get for him - hope you get somewhere. who will change his nappy for him? I have never worked in a school where we have had a child with these needs that has not had ANY support

I'm being encouraged to get my ds1 diagnosed and receive the local version of a statement (not in UK) and he's extremely well spoken and sociable and copes well in school. He's dyspraxic but has no other problems.

You're son needs a statement and you should not allow anyone to suggest otherwise. Apply for it yourself if the HCP dealing with him won't.

I'll be curious to hear how he gets on as my youngest is non verbal, orally dyspraxic and will quite possibly not have much speech when he starts school in a couple of years... he's due to start playschool this time next year and his only word is MaMa which he's learned before and forgotton...

Good luck

Thank you all so much for your comments - its helpful to know that there are people who know what we're dealing with :) It has been suggested that ds has verbal dyspraxia.

Have looked into language units and the nearest is 20 miles away and hopelessly over subscribed - will try and see if they do out reach support to other schools. My biggest problem is that we are on the county border and ds has salt in one county but falls into school catchment in another - and needless to say the 2 won't talk to each other! Also his salt wants to transfer him to his LEA county salt when he starts school BUT they don't do in-school salt until the start of Yr1 - how can 2 counties be so different in their sen provision?

I shall be applying for his statement assessment as I can and shall inform all the "professionals" involved whether they agree with me or not.

Many thanks again and no doubt I shall be back to ask more questions. Cheers x

Would you consider keeping him out of school for all or part of the reception year and continuing at preschool he is at now ( where things are working OKfor him ). Many counties WILL fund preschool 15 hours for any child until the end of term in which they turn 5.

Apply for school normally tho, you need a school place for once he does turn 5. But parents do have right to defer ( till start of term after 5th birthday) starting "school" after the place has been given. schools are not always very keen on this and may not tell you its possible. I had to dig about in LEA policeys and ask a direct question of LEA ( via preschool committee) to confirm it for our county. Subsequently school HT has said they will accept deferments.

Unis hadn't thought about keeping him in pre-school - that could work really well cos his pre-school is in the same building as reception - in fact the dividing wall between the 2 can be opened so the 2 can mix (happens once a week at mo which dd loves cos shes in reception and it lets her play with ds). Might have a chat about possibly ds doing part time in each classroom. Thankyou

farming4 we've done that - ds will be staying at preschool until the end of the term after he's 5 (he'll be 5.2 when he leaves).

Farming I'm same as you live on border of two countys and ds recevies some services from one county others from another oh and them ds goes to school in another la area.It can be done ds speech unit is about 30 miles away it's not the nearest but the most sutuable

when moved here ds had statement and had been in ms for a term but I refused to put him back in ms so while we argued I found charity run playschool for Sn
and used the well he does not need to attend school till term after he is 5

after recent review it's been agreed that we hold ds back a year treats this year as reception rather than year 1

once he goes to school they will switch the salt and unless you have statement you will not get any at all.