Complex needs and special school ?

[spiritsam]

Ok DD 3.6 has current dx of gdd , very significant sensory needs , s and l delay , lack of concentration / hyper ( poss future dx a.d.h.d , autistic traits ) e.t.c Waiting geneticist as deletion on 22 chromosome . Her professionals have said she is complex in conversation . MS schools are giving me brick walls and last one i spoke to senco said i should be thinking about ss . I have been to local SS and was v impressed and also made me realise other areas where DD would not cope in MS school . For anyone with knowledge or experience does my dd sound like ss is what she needs . I am truly in turmoil and don't know what to do for reception next year :(

What do you think? Do you think your DD would cope in MS or can you see her in the SS you have visited?

Do you have any outside professionals involved? Ed Psych? Paed? Inclusion Support? Have they given you any advice on where they feel your DD would be best supported.

Sorry, so many questions.

Thing about MS is that they don't have the expertise that a SS does.

So the MS may end up just babysitting her, and be very pleased that she's behaving nicely, but not really know how to teach her.

If your child is very behind the rest of the class, the teacher won't know how to teach her.

Thanks for answering , yes i can see her at ss . I can see that her gap would widen at ms . Am going for one more visit in morning as want to see young class in action .
We have salt, paed and ot also have portage . waiting to see clinical Psych .Will have to see ep for assessment for statement . Nobody will say what they think she needs .
Someone said to me today that dd's may miss out on social stuff at ss . God i don't know , i sound pretty useless hey !

Hi indigo that was also what i was thinking .
DD would likely be mainly happy to be at ms but i can see her being seperated for various reasons and not being given a chance to meet her full potential .
DD has gone from counting to 20 to only doing 1 and 2 . She is starting to interact with children but can't communicate properly and gets distressed if the other child wants to change activities . The early years lady at our c.a.f meeting said it shows something at how easily dd got her 15 hours 1 to 1 for nursery .

Only you can judge but we have had ss since reception and ds has done amazingly well with a lot of support. The way in which they teach is adapted to what each child needs and that is just not possible in ms. The staff are incredibly knowledgable, patient and kind. Our experience has been very positive.

Only you can judge but we have had ss since reception and ds has done amazingly well with a lot of support. The way in which they teach is adapted to what each child needs and that is just not possible in ms. The staff are incredibly knowledgable, patient and kind. Our experience has been very positive.

Thank you ohmeohmy DD needs that patience and kindness . A friend said SS will adapt to the best way your child can learn . DD has been at nursery a year and does not know the teachers names , where as other children actually know they are at nursery and can write their names e.t.c x

does the SS have a nursery would it be possible for her to go 1 or 2 days per week to see if it suits, would also be a good comparison for you compared to the ms nursery.

Hi anon the age range is 2-19 , i will ask in the morning on my second visit . Actuall scrap that dd would need statement in place first i think and i have only applied for assessment in the last few weeks .

Statements, aren't always a horror story, somtimes they go through quickly so its worth asking the question, you can ring the LEA case worker & chat through the timelines or discuss it with the head in the morning. Having a a head on your side can sometimes help speed things up.
ds2 was getting SS outreach support in his MS nursery & then did a split placement before he had his statement finalised.

DS did a dual placement from Nursery to Y6 - 2 afternoons MS and the rest of the time SS. This worked really well for him and was the norm in his special school. It also meant he interacted with local children.

My DS went to a special school without a statement, still had to go through a panel, etc and have lots of info, but it was classed as a development and assessment school and took children up to 6 yo who then went on to MS or SS. It's worth asking at the SS whether a statement is necessary in the pre-school, pre-statutory age part of the school.

My son started at SS when he was 4.. at that time he was dx with GDD, speech delay (severe) hypotonia....
He has done amazingly well in a supportive atmosphere, tiny classes (7-9 kids, with teacher and 2 TAs) and now at 14 is partially integrated into the MLD unit in the mainstream that we share school grounds with. The support he has had has enabled him, not disabled (as I think is often the unspoken fear of SS) He has NOT missed out socially because in SS he has real friends, real peers and they all accept each other totally..they just don't SEE each other's disabilities, and this has given him the confidence to finally integrate to the best of his abilities.

He was eventually dx with ASD and moderate LDs and hypotonia btw, but the thing is for him SS really has enabled him. Unfortunately as he is a 'good' boy I have no doubt he would have been well cared for in MS but he would have always been the child who was tolerated .. in SS he has reached his potential.. he needed the pace that was right for him (and still does:))

Also... one school now doesn't mean forever! I work in SS and we have children come to us when MS becomes too much, and likewise we ensure our children have maximum opportunity to integrate as and when they are ready:):)

What special school options do you have locally. A lot these days have some sort of satellite classes on a mainstream site, so if a supported mainstream environment is appropriate that can be provided.

My son did 4 terms in mainstream with fill 1:1 support. It was fairly disastrous to be honest as his needs were too complex for the school. He ended up being isolated a lot of the time. He's attended a special school for 6 years now and has done very well. They've given him a lot of independence skills which is the most important thing for him tbh