Role of Educational Psychologist in statement assessment

[RockinSockBunnies]

So, our application for assessment for DSS for a SEN has been approved. We have an educational psychologist observing him at school on Tuesday, working with him on a one-to-one basis for an hour, then meeting us parents and SENCO to discuss things.

Can someone please tell me what the exact role of the Ed Psych is, within the statementing process? Will she have a lot of influence, or is hers merely one opinion that the LA will take into account? Will other EPs visit DSS and ask our opinions? Will repeat visits be made to the school by the EP?

Thank you.....

my ds only saw the EP once not sure if this is because he made a good or bad impression but i think usually they come to the school a few times , i wasnt at all happy , wont go into detail but even though it was a diabolical report and they made it so incredibly short it lacked everything in avery area i asked exactly same questions (i didnt believe them ) when they said not to worry its only part of the equation as i thought it would be the all important above all other reports but it turned out ok in end they said no they will take ALL the evidence seriously esp your parental views ,, what we were advised to do is write a accompanying letter saying how why what we protested about the report with other differing opinions, seems to have worked perhaps ive been very lucky , im sure a lot of the other MNrs will have different experiences unfortunately that arnt so good

Our EP has been a gem. The last report he wrote for DS2 went in with his DLA form, today because it was so detailed and specific about his difficulties and how his needs could be met. It's unfortunate that his hours have been cut by the LEA because of funding restrictions :(

she saw my DS for an hour in her office of course this was on a i want to please the lady and comply and not his usual self day although the school said the opposite though luckily and his assesments were the expected results so that tallied in with school

The Ed Psych is employed by the LA and is generally the person with the most clout who assesses your DC. Their opinion is really important. They should observe him in class at least a couple of times but sometimes it's less and get parental views also. Ask her/him at the meeting. If you are involved with any sort of advisory teacher such as communication and autism for instance, their report will also have influence. Also SALT etc. But in general, for good or bad, the EP is the critical professional to get on side. As they are from the LA they can have a hidden agenda to recommend only what the LA is willing to provide. Good luck HTH

The EP is employed by the LA but should be giving professional advice that is not swayed by any particular agenda other than the child's best interest. Educational Psychologist are an independent body and are regulated by the health professionals council as well as having their own professional standards which DO NOT involve writing down what they think will please the LA.

In general, the EP will take a holistic view of the child's needs and consider how their individual needs might be best met. The EP report does have a lot of clout but so does the parental report - remember you are the expert in your child's abilities and what works best for them.

Thank you! In terms of getting the EP on side, are there any recommendations? We want full time one-to-one for DSS, ideally with someone ABA trained. Is it wise to broach the ABA issue with the EP, or keep quiet at this stage?

im so glad its not just mine the leonieDelt ours was all fabrications misquotes and outright lies and then we were refused a second opinion or for certain things we had proof were untrue to be taken out or things that were very important that had been omitted added as the head of the dept said its her opinion so cant be changed when i met her in a meeting b4 hand she made it quite clear what her biased opinion was without ever meeting him she was awful unaproachable(arnt the majority) and very defensive i felt doomed from the start

They are like the Gods of the assessment process, ignore them at your peril as they hold the key to the first stage of the process.

The EP's report is the one that carries the most weight when the lea decide whether to assess for a statement. Sadly because they are in the employ of the LEA SOME (not all by any means!) EP's can sometimes be denied the independence of action that most of us as parents would consider to be ideal.

The LEA EP can never be truly independent under the current system, though the affect this has will vary significantly between different local authorities and the individual personality of the EP you are assigned. To assume otherwise is a level of naievty you just can't afford. This is why so many parents employ the services of a private EP when a refusal to assess is made as a first step.

My own experience is that once agreement to assess for a statement is made, other professional opinions start to carry more weight as detailed advice is sought on how to best cater for your child. The specific nature of your child's disability will determine the individual weighting assigned to each pro report, (e.g SALT will be critical for comms problems).

Where the EP is especially useful is that he or she knows the system and can infer an awful lot from her classroom observations that other professions such as the peadatrician can't. (A consulatnt pead never steps foot in your kids school lol!) However the others will use the information gathered in this way to assist their own work. The poor teacher is too busy teaching 30 kids to do these obs and doesn't have the specialised training to interpret what some seemingly odd behaviors could mean.

The EP can be your greatest ally in signposting you through the SEN maze to obtain the correct specialist expert referrals. This in my eyes is where the EP's true value lies as I wouldn't have had a clue who to ask my GP to refer us to.

What bochead said is exactly what I was trying to say but I was a lot less eloquent. I was lucky with the EP I had during my DSs SA but the one who was attached to his primary school left a lot to be desired. I'm sure most are professional but I'm sorry, mullymummy, some definitely have a conflict of interest.

The LA has a finite pot of money which should go to the most deserving cases but, IME is goes to those whose parents shout the loudest and have the best grasp of the law. Not right but that's how it is, so to get the best for your child you need to be well informed.

If your parental contribution is well written and pertinent (and not too long) you'll get a good chance of getting your opinions read at least and some of them included. Good luck.

Well our EP was brilliant. I had met her several years before when she saw ds at another school and was not impressed. This time around she really listened to our concerns and even said she couldn't understand why paed had not given a dx! She was the only professional we met who really understood ds and his difficulties. We received a good sm with a high level of support but I know lots of people do not have such positive stories

"A consulatnt pead never steps foot in your kids school lol!"

Ours did! Part of DS1's ASD assessment involved an observation at nursery.

Wow!!! What part of the country are you guys in? In my part of London pead in an IEP meeting is unheard of!!!!

My paed came to DS2s transition review from child dev school to primary school and was like a breath of fresh air! School were bring all cagey about whether they could properly support his needs ( he's HF ASD fgs) and she just came right out and said " Are you saying you don't want him in your school?" Fantastic, just what I wasn't confident enough to say! (In those days) Soon after, however, she signed him off. Nothing "medical."

Maybe paeds are more likely to get involved when the education and medical professions are working a bit more closely together like in child development and assessment centres etc? Joined up services like we're supposed to get.

mine didnt work with them she was from the child development clinic attatched to the hospital saw her befor for ds first time round she was no help they just wanted because of his age (that old excuse) not to lable him for life at such a young age , omg its a case of if only i knew then what i know now second time round it went so fast , i spent 2 years fighting them first time round and just couldnt take any more they wore me down , then when i tried again because DS had deteriorated they suddenly listened all of them ..angers me though what a waste of my DC's time he had to get in such an awful place to get noticed, none of the services were joined up its all totally fragmented its no wonder DC's often slip through the net the holes are Garganchuan.

why cant MN have spell check i cant type and spell lol the typing uses all my mental capacity

Rockinsock we're at a very similar stage - going through SA process atm for ds, the reports are due in next week. We're looking for an ABA-trained 1:1 for ds too.

An EP went to nursery last week to observe ds. I have no idea how it went, what happened, what his observations were. He is employed by the LA (who have already told me they "don't fund ABA"), and I don't doubt he has been told that we want ABA.

I plan to contact him this week to ask what his observations were, and to invite him to look at ds at home during an ABA session.

However, I am placing most of my hope (which isn't much tbh) on winning ABA support on the report I will submit, plus that of our consultant. We are preparing graphs based on the data collected since we started, which clearly show the development ds has made through ABA, and will be arguing that this is clearly in his best interests.

If it's useful I can let you know how it goes with us. PM me if so.

Btw it sounds encouraging that your EP is meeting with you after his observation - ours was last Tuesday and we've heard fa!!