meeting with the school at 3.30 today!!my minds gone blank!

[crazygal]

hi......
today the teacher/head teacher/ta and senco want to see us,it was arranged before xmas,
they want to discuss what works in school,what dosent,and the same for home.
i cant think! ds is adhd and getting reassessed for as in 3 weeks,which we think he definitly has,
over time the school have always refused/not seen how "our way" would work in class,plus with them having no time...do you think maybe they are willing to try stuff now?can i ask for camhs threw them today?they said they would get they ed psych in in jan again,i could remind them of that,plus the ht mentioned getting a statement ready for his middle school in sept,
im not at all ready for this meeting,
just need some reasurance i suppose,
would they help me to get "others" to understand ds? hes they only one in his class whos got a dx,apart from one other whos got speech and language problems,
ds is called the weird guy!

Write it down - bullet points!

1. He has adhd assessment in 3 weeks - are they already using standard "adhd approach" in the classroom.

1. Do they need outside help? What do THEY expect to gain from ed pysch visit (answer may suprise you!). Is there anything you can do to help them prep for this?

1. Understanding of DS's condition from his peers. Lack of peer understanding means DS is at risk of isolation. How do they propose to address this?

1. Do they feel Cahms would add value? If so could they make the referral ? (IF they say no, then the pead can make the referral in 3 weeks anyway so don't fret about this one)

1. Would it help them if you prepped a what works/what does not sheet for them based on home behavioral management techniques to see if they could apply it to the school environment. (If they'd only ignore it no point putting yourself out lol!).

Reword the above if you need to. I've been known to print out my list and hand it round together with an apology for my nerves and an explanation that I'm handing out my notes to ensure I don't waste time and my queries are covered.

Crazygal, have a list written down of things you want to share. Ask how they can help with the name calling, a circle of friends may help, a small group of specially selected children to practise social skills with through games etc. would a talk to the class about invisible disability be something you'd consider? It worked well for my DS when he was 5 or 6, the class became much more tolerant and protective of him. Not everyone's cup of tea I know, but I always found that sharing information helped.

Is he on school action or school action plus? Are you going to request that they start Statutory Assessment? I would, if you haven't already. Even if the school hum and ha, you can do that yourself. Push for the EP involvement. I don't know about CAMHS, in my LA you have to go through GP.

Have it all in notes so you don't forget anything and good luck.

oh thanks...thats all worded lovely and probably what i need to get across,he already has dx of adhd,its aspergers that he is showing traits of,i think once the pead sees him in 3 weeks it will be easier to maybe get them to possibly help his peers to understand?

Crossed with Bochead! Good points.

he is on an iep but no school action or action plus,should i bring that up?what will that do?
yes i will ask them to talk to the class about invisible illness and maybe ask that they would pair him up with a "buddy" i asked this before and they said no,but since sept they have really bent over backwards to help,and im hoping today will go our way to

If he has an IEP he'll be on school action already, I would think, they may just not have told you that in so many words. It's just that it will make getting a statement easier (if that's what's needed) if they have gone through the motions of escalating their actions. LAs like to see that everything within the school's ability has been tried before they part with any cash to assess or provide any extra support. If they can get an EP involved you would be going up to school action plus, (which is the school takes action, such as IEPs etc and asks for extra help, the EP, which is the plus.) Next stage would be Statutory Assessment for a Statement. You can jump levels, but it can be hard to do so unless his need is really obvious and or challenging.

The ed pysch will make him school action plus automatically as it's outside help.

oh cool thank you!!

Hi all...
Thank you for your help yesterday,
just to let you know how we got on,
at first i was abit disappointed as it was only the teacher there! when they had said several would be there!
she began by saying that ds has settled back to school nicely since xmas,and that academ they expect him to be "ok" by the end of the year,she told us she had taken on some of our ideas and used them in class beginning this week,we also gave her some more ideas that she siad she would consider,
we then discussed starting the statement process.... she said dont bother,you wont get one etc...i zoned out and said we need to go...i felt gutted,as they had said before xmas that we need to at least try!
anyway this more the HT called me to come in to see her,she said they will be trying for a statement,she said ds is manageable but cannot work on his own,she said we can only try! :)
she said the ed psych that was in last jan,his report would still be ok to use??
as the one thats around now is to busy,
im hoping this will be ok,
but over all we are feeling happier now that they will try for us,x

HT sounds a bit more positive. I don't know how long the EP reports remain current, a year old sounds a bit out of date. But they are really busy, it's really hard to get any EP involvement in my LA but if parents are pushing for it as well as the school it sometimes helps. Varies from LA to LA though. Has the HT said they are definitely requesting SA? Great to have the school on side.