Pead said 'not much chance of sn school for dd2'

[Marne]

Dd2 (ASD) had a review with pead today, pead was very helpful and offered good advice with the problems we are having with MS school, we asked if we should re-apply for the SN school, we were adviced to wait until she had finished her first year at school but the sn school are likely to say 'no' because dd2 is ahead with her learning (reading, writing, numbers), she also said we would have the same problem with language unit because dd2's problems are now more sensory and social skill problems rather than speach (even though dd2's speach is limited she can still make herself understood).

Is this the case? (that sn schools will not take children that are not behind with learning?)

Should we still apply?

I feel like there is no where that suits dd2 , MS school is too much for her (the school have not got a clue how to handle her), she's so called 'too bright' for sn school and too verbal for language unit .

We only have one ASD school in the area and it is boarding only and age 7+.

Do we just have to suffer with the upset of MS?

no, you have to find the right ms school and then work with them so that they understand your dd's needs, and actively support her.

what support does she need that she is not getting in ms at the mo, that you think an sn school would provide?

dd2 has cp and has always been a ms child (she would not get a place in sn school - she has a v high iq and it is a constant struggle for the ms school to deal with both her needs as a child with a disability and a more able child) although as a teeny she had a split nursery placement so that she received on site physio/ot/slt. all of them visited and worked with the ms setting too though.

has she been working with an ot for the sensory issues marne? have the asd outreach team been working with the school to help them understand? is she statemented? does she have 1-1 support that is able to woithdraw her if she is over-stimulated/ who recognise trigger points and are able to defuse?

do you have any other ms settings in the area that you could look at?

She's getting 30hrs 1:1 starting tomorrow, she was only getting 3 hours a day and was getting very stressed out at lunch time so i had to take her out early, we had to fight the school to get 1:1 even though its on her statement. The school does not have a clue about ASD, they took her luch away from her because she was pulling her sandwiches appart. She has severe speach delay but only gets SALT onece every few months. We are seeing OT next monday (first time) after being referred 3 times. We also have outreach from the sn school but they only come out if the ms school calls them (they have seen her once).

We are looking at moving both the dd's to the local school (we moved away from their school a few months ago) but again they say they have no expereance of ASD.

well, things look like they might be moving in the right direction, which is a good sign. is the 1-1 someone she is familiar with already? or a new LSA?

we always try to get a meeting with the 1-1 asap, and go through all the issues from your parental statement (the one you did for the statement) so that you don't miss anything out. this is a really great opportunity for you to get in early and let the LSA know everything you can about dd2, and then let it settle for a couple of weeks.

great news about the OT too - and again you need to make sure that they understand that you need them to get involved with the school too. most of ours have been great - they have met up with the class teacher and the 1-1, and visited school once a term to provide updates to iep targets, as well as deal with any 'new' difficulties.

OT and SLT should be providing lists of activities that the 1-1 can be implementing during school hours with dd2. our dd2 only gets about ten minutes of SLT exercises a few times a week with the LSA, but it makes a huge difference to her clarity. and the LSA is aware of SLT targets etc and so communication can be worked on throughout the normal school day as well.

we have huge problems with lunches for ds1. he isn't dx, but has some asd/ sensory issues with food too. sandwiches are pretty much a no-go now unless he makes them himself.

we move a lot because of dh's job, so we get a new school and round of therapists/ teachers/ lsa's every year or two. it's a bit of a bind, but you can build up a really good relationship with dd2's lsa as long as you get in right at the beginning and hope you can dispel any preconceptions. ours have always been great. i know we've been lucky, but we do work very hard at training them up whilst appearing to pander to their professional capabilities lol. it gets easier the more you do it, honest.

oh, i meant to say - no expreience of asd is a good thing. it means you can work with them to sort out what dd2 needs, without them saying 'oh, we know asd kids, we've had them before' rather than concentraitng on individual support requirements. so don't be put off.

when dd2 started school, they had no experience of cp. they had ramps etc installed over the summer holidays, and we had a few transition meetings with all the therapists involved too - as long as you defer to their professional role, you can work as a team to get everything in place.

so don't rule out the new local school! they might be perfect.

Luckily its the 1:1 she had last year, she is a lot more helpful then the teacher/senco and is more understanding (ask's me how she can help dd), she's willing to do more training as long as the school will fund it.

I think we will just have to see how things go over the next few weeks, hopfully having the extra 1:1 will solve a lot of the problems.

Hopfully OT will be helpfull.

how are they doing with setting up her iep? if she isn't yet 5 the targets should be re-done termly?

They are a bit slow on doing IEP's (the last one was only done because her statement review was coming up).I feel like i'm always pushing the school to get things done.

it's good news that it's the same LSA then. maybe give her a week or two and then ask for a short meeting with school (inc 1-1 and teacher/ senco) to discuss how the new arrangement is working out? with a review of the iep targets so that the LSA is aware of what she should be working to?

a meeting at half term would be appropriate anyway, if they are using 6 mothly iep instead of termly? hopefully some OT targets can be agreed with the new OT as well by then?