DH has been a star!
Dear Prime Minister,
I have enclosed a copy of the communication I sent to our local MP, in regards to a disabled children?s developmental educational pre-school playgroup that our son H has been attending since May 2010. This service, an invaluable resource and a service that we cannot possibly ever express our gratitude for has been informed that it will no longer be offered once the current school year is finished.
Roughly 3 weeks ago Stuart McArthur attended a meeting held at the SNAP centre in Brentwood where he was specifically question about the group at the (X) clinic in (our town) and the future of groups of this kind. He assured the parents attending that groups like this would not be cut, that the funding and therefore the future of such groups was safe. This morning, on the date of the letter, it was confirmed that this group was to be closed as part of the cuts program.
Our son H was diagnosed with autism when he was 2.9 years old. In the intervening time the only intervention we have been offered is the developmental pre-school group. H started to attend a local mainstream playgroup prior to this and it was clear from the outset that this environment was neither suitable for H as he was unable to join in with activities, had severe social and communication issues, developmental delays often found himself isolated and was very much seen as being a ?naughty and disruptive? child by other parents who attended this mainstream setting. After his diagnosis he attended both mainstream and developmental playgroup two mornings each per week and the difference was marked. He thrived in the developmental playgroup which in turn fed his confidence for mainstream playgroup, in turn leading to an upturn in his social interaction and communication. Without this direct comparison we would not be able to confidently say that the developmental playgroup has led to H now communicating more fully and enjoying more about pre-school than we ever hoped for.
The developmental pre-school provides educational access for both physically disabled and neurologically atypical children who have or are in the process of receiving a diagnosis from the (X) clinic based in (Our town). The group is also based there and operates four mornings per week split into 2 sessions that cover each group of disabled children. The numbers of children that can attend these sessions is small and there is a waiting list for it. There are 2 specially trained members of staff full time and a third who attends part time. In addition the group is used as a training facility for health visitors who then go on to train other HCP?s in the various techniques that are implemented. Typically each child attends for 3 full school terms and a school type environment is encouraged ? each child has to bring a bag with various items that may be needed during the course of the session. Many of the children have no toilet training and this is catered for by the staff there (they have my sympathy as it is unpleasant to do even as a parent!).
In the time that H has attended this playgroup no other support or intervention has been offered. He has received no SALT (speech and language therapy) of any sort ? in fact he has been seen once where the only thing that the SALT did was to retest him for autism using an ADOS test. The waiting list in our area for OT (occupational therapy) means that H will have been waiting just over a year by the time he is likely to be seen and even then there is no provisional date, just a call to tell us we?ve moved to ?near the top of the list? before Christmas.
I understand that the country is going through a period where rationalisation and value for money is of utmost concern to all involved, where services will be weighed up and priorities will have to change. I resent the fact, like many others, that we find ourselves in such difficult circumstances that to even contemplate having to make decisions such as these is at best a galling and emotional decision that should never be taken lightly. However as a section of society that encompasses two such vulnerable groups as children and the disabled, given that there are a variety of services out there that offer less value than a service such as this and that rather than an overall and objective review of all such services provided by the NHS and the local authority have not been weighed and measured against each other (surely talking to the parents who use such facilities to get an idea of which they feel represents the best value then taking an aggregate would have been better than the assessment of two separate bodies that would be competing for funding?) it really rather feels as if these children have been completely forgotten. There are some things that, no matter how expensive they may seem at face value, will always represent good value for what they provide.
Mr Cameron it would be my most sincere wish that you could meet H, N, A, B and all of the other children that this group has helped over the years.
I wish that you could meet H and see how much confidence that he has gained, his improvement in language and increased awareness of his surroundings and the leaps and bounds his speech has come on. Unlike a lot of parents in our position we have been lucky enough for H to attend 2 mornings a week developmental playgroup and 2 mornings a week mainstream and to see the marked difference between them.
Despite the best intentions and efforts of mainstream pre-school both us as parents and the mainstream staff know where he has made his improvements.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.
Yours sincerely,
Mr and Mrs Mists