Biting the bullet........

[farming4]

Ok please don't shoot me down in flames for coming back for more advice but I'm finally pulling my head out of the sand and sending the letter in to start the SA process. I know its taken about 8mths and loads of advice from posters on here to get to this point but I suppose I was hoping the "professionals" would do it for me . Anyway I'm stuck. On the initial letter it asks for reason for request. Should I keep it short and to the point and just list ds's probs or should I go for the essay option and describe everything in detail?

Ds has a severe SLI - poss developmental verbal dyspraxia but no dx tho everything is pointing that way and has epilepsy (med controlled). NT in every other way according to various development tests he has had.

Thanks in advance

Oh and hes due to start ms school in sept......

You could ring up Parent Partnership. They helped me with my letter yesterday.....

farming4 nobody is going to shoot you down in flames. We've all taken time to get our head around things at some point or other. No worries, really!

I agree with IndigoBell - Parent Partnership can be very helpful.

Best of luck to you!

i think when they helped me (pp) they said keep it short and to the point but id ring them and tell them yr DS needs/health ect and they will if there a good branch write it for you you can then print it off and sent it or muck about with it a bit yourself , no one would do that to you weve all been there farming4 good luck

I don't think that the initial request letter forms part of their decision whether to go forward with a statutory assessment - I think they are obliged to consider every request. Once you send in the very first letter the next stage is that you (and all other relevant agencies, school etc) fill in a very detailed form, which is what they base their decision on whether to proceed, so there's not much point you wasting time doing it twice.

(Though writing it all down and listing all the problems does help clarify your thoughts and I found it helpful when it came to writing the next report.)

In our initial request letter we listed all ds's difficulties, symptoms etc but summarised in bullet points, kept it pretty short and sweet, 2 pages iirc (compared to 10 page parental submission at the next stage).

IPSEA have a model letter here

Thanks folks - I'm just a bit that I keep asking for help then not acting on it. Right will send off initial letter with the basics and keep my essays until the main form arrives - I'm just a little worried cos I'm thinking that they can refuse to SA even at the first letter stage - am I right or have I got myself completely confused? I just don't want to send of the letter with too little info so they look at it and say no there and then.

My honest opinion is that you should keep it clear, with headings / bulletpoints etc (no endless waffling paragraphs) BUT ad din as much detail as possible. My letter for request ran to 10 pages (yes, 10 pages), but I used headings and referenced professional reports essay-style. I know this sounds excessive but I wanted to show them upfront that I was taking this deadly seriously.

It wouldn't matter if you sent a piece of paper with your name and address on it, saying 'farming4's DS - please assess'

If they have ANY contact which indicates a request, whether in fact the communication states it explicitly or not, they HAVE to start the process.

Having said that, I think the initial letter can set the tone nicely for the future. I think if you send an assertive, competent letter, they sit up and register that you intend the process to end positively.

I bullet pointed each of DD1's difficulties in categories (she has a global condition). So fine motor, gross motor, speech and language, behaviour, blah blah blah.

Then I did a brief summary for each bullet point in turn, explaining the difficulty, why I felt that it couldn't be managed by a school alone, and what I felt would need to be done.

She got her statement and now goes to special school.

You can just send the template given on the IPSEA website. The will recognise it and knowing that you have even heard of IPSEA will have them take you seriously. If they turn you down for any reason pre-assessment, you can re-request the very next day if you want, so don't worry about getting everything perfect. Though you do have to clarify why you want a SA at some point.