Why isn't ds making progress? WWYD?

[latedeveloper]

Ds age six has a dx of gdd and will quite likely get a dx of asd (if we ever get to the top of that assessment waiting list). He functions around 3- 3.5 years in terms of cognition, social skills and speech. His motor skills and receptive language skills are lower than that- between 18 -2 yrs I suspect.

He got to the age of 3 without anyone being particularly worried. I got the usual fobbing off of any concerns i raised about speech and motor skills

he has a great sense of fun and is very sociable. He loves stories and has a vocabulary that is at least age appropriate even though he struggles to express his ideas. He can play long games with his 3 year old sister -pretending to go camping, or pretending to be pirates searching for treasure.

He is great at recognising different animals, plants, dinosaurs etc and for example was able to remember the name of the magician at a show we saw over a year ago and which i had forgotten. he struggles to express his ideas but talks a lot and we have had a few "why" questions.

At school (MS) he has a statement with specifies 4 hours a day 1 to 1 or small group, OT, speech therapy and social skills. But his progress has been really slow. He is repeating the reception year and has come along socially in terms of interaction but is unable to form any letters or draw anything recognisable. he is operating between levels 1-3 on the early years framework with the odd 4 for creativity and emotional literacy (for those of whom this means anything!)

He can recognise some letters and most numbers but find sequencing difficult.

He is on valporate for absence seizures and iron suplement for anaemia.

School are saying they don't think they can meet his needs next year and are suggesting we look for a provision or SS. I am looking at alternative but I guess my problem is this:

Will he make more progress somewhere else? Does that justify the upheaval and losing his friendships? - there is a little group of us that meet up after school with our kids to play quite often.

Any thoughts welcome to help me make sense of this -lots of personal detail here so please don't out me anyone

sorry that was so long!

My son is quite a bit less able than yours so what I say may not be directly relevant. But...

Ds1 moved from mainstream to special school after the first term of year 1. In his case it was very obvious that they did not have the skills to teach him and he has done enormously well at special school. One big difference was the environment. So at mainstream he needed full time 1:1 and an adult glued to him and his work was an adapted version of the class work. At special school he was safe so didn't the 1:1 at all times. Soon he was learning to go to the office and fetch the register - something he simply could not have done at mainstream as he'd had been out the front door. The curriculum he followed - although still supposedly NC - was suddenly far more meaningful for him and really focussed on teaching him what he needs to know.

As I saifpd though it was clear to n that the school really didn't have the foggiest with ds1 and weren't that keen to learn so it was an easier decision.

Write ti the school immediately to clarify that they have said they can't meet his needs next year and that he hasn't made any progress. This is really important evidence for a better statement regardless of where he attends (and just because a school tells YOU he needs a SS doesn't mean you won't have a fight if you agree).

What you have to establish and provide evidence of is that his current statement is inadequate. Then you have to gather evidence of what IS adequate, and I'm afraid it helps if you can get independent opinion of this.

Then you have to establish whether it is reasonable for you to invoke your parental right to keep him in mainstream.

Honestly? I'd look round the SSs and see what I thought of them.

I've seen too many kids 'babysat' in MS, but not taught.

MS teachers don't know how to teach these very early skills - and the higher up the school you go the less the teacher will know.

Thanks to you both

Saintly - this is the feeling I get - he is obviously the most diasabled child they have - my description is probably too glowing cos he is gorgeous when he is not being a PITA. they just don't know how to deal with him

Starlight - they said they couldn't cope in a meeting with the LEA and this will go on the record (I will check it does). His statement was so carefully crafted with the help of the SALT nursery he attended, a private OT and help from IPSEA. Despite this the progress is slow. This might be because of his disability or because the school is not right.

They say that next year it would not be so much adapting to help him access the cirriculum but rather drawing up a seperate one for him.

Debating whether to splash out on a private ed psych but that would mean we dont get a holiday.

Btw, interestingly I have now visited close to 20 special schools state and independent, and I never thought I'd say this but as a general rule, there was more TEACHING in the state schools.

Late, don't wait for the record. Honestly. Write your version of events down now and circulate it. You may be able to influence the record perhaps.

I would place a good bet on the 'record' playing down his difficulties.

Indigo - I've looked a four local schools/provisions. Two seem very suitable. The most suitable is a unit not so good MS school a few miles away (he would have to get transport and a probably wouldn't send his nt sister there as she would miss out on local friends.

The other unit is for less able children but they have got great ofsteds for both ms and unit and I really like the HT and their attitude- the kids can spend quite a lot of time in MS depending on their needs. It is more local so we could just about walk there and nt dd could there too.

Of course no guarantees that we would get a place at either as both units very small.

I thought about independents but there are not any close enough that would suit ds as far as I'm aware

star - i always think that they exagerate his problems - PFB plus head in sand approach from me no doubt!

Interesting point about independent ss v state ss and more teaching in the latter

If two seem very suitable, what's your concern?

Is it really just his friendships? I think
a) he'll make new friends
b) he can keep his old friends
c) there's no guarantee he'll keep his current friends as he gets older and the gap between him and his peers widen.

I like the sound of a unit attached to a MS school. Gives the unit lots of options.

Private ed pysch if you choose the right one (eg an asd specialist like Lynda Miller) will be worth it's weight in gold and really useful to help you select a school that can teach your child as it'll gve you a view of child's needs untainted by local lea politics.

Far better to not have a holiday than a years potential misery for your boy next year. The sun £10 offer or camping or a homeswap might still you a family break if its a high priority.

Babysitting is a pretty accurate description of the trap ms and "inclusion" can become if you aren't careful. Star's observation was useful too (filed that for future reference thanks!).

I don't know the quality of the teaching mind, but they don't have the resources to opt out like 'some' independent schools do with endless trips to cafes, park, horse riding, sensory sessions and plant therapy or whatever.

'some' independents were excellent however, but usually these were the larger schools.

Indigo

I think you are right on the friends front

the most suitable unit is probably the one that is further away and would need transport. Is it legitimate to try for the nearer (but still suitable) one because of local friends and it would be easier for me, dh and dd?

bochead - just looked around my lounge and don't think the homeswap thing is a goer . Will talk to dh about ed pysch -thanks for suggestion of Lynda Miller

Is it legitimate to try for the nearer (but still suitable) one because of local friends and it would be easier for me, dh and dd? - yes if the HT thinks it'll be suitable for him. :)

Depends on the ability level starlight. A trip to a cafe is far more relevant to my son than a writing lesson. Because for him his inability to wait was/is far more disabling and isolating than his inability to write. (state sld/pmld school). It's about finding A school that delivers a curriculum appropriate to your child - and that will be individual. I rejected the other sld school near us because they were doing far more 'school' type work which just isn't what my son needs.

That's a fair point saintly, although I didn't mean that the lessons were just school work.

However, I really have been disappointed with a number of independent SS. (not ALL as I said. In fact the best one only had 36 children from primary through to secondary and seemed to spend the whole time off site - but I saw their lesson plans and purpose for those visits iyswim). Those kids were being taught. In many other schools they were just being kept happy.

I agree with both Starlight and saintly.

dd2 has attended both types of (independent) special school. at her first, she was most definitely being babysat. lots of trips out, with not much purpose other than 'getting out of the classroom' and no objectives, and certainly very little learnt by dd1 (other than to hold hands when walking down the road - althugh she was fine with this before she started there).

the next 2 have been brilliant. her last school still had lots of trips out - probably about half the day every day was spent doing somehting offsite, but it was planned and executed with dd1 in mind, and every moment was a learning opportunity.

the school she is at now is a lot more 'school based', which is working for her at the moment. but again, every moment is planned and executed with dd1 in mind - she does move around a lot, and have various different 'groups' (OT, SALT, hand skills, etc) but at each of those she has her own objectives and targets, and her own tutor (where necessary) to help her stay focused and achieve her targets.

when I was doing the school rounds I saw a lt of schools I would never send her to - too much time spent doing not much at all (when I was first looking at special schools dd1 was very low functioning), and little emphasis on even trying to get to the bottom of how to help her best (whether that ultimately meant learning to read, or learning to wipe a table and spread butter on toast was still up in the air).

there will be a school to suit your ds - try to 'see' him in the class as you go around. would he fit right in? woudl he be overlooked? woudl his needs be met (whatever those needs are, as they do change)?

erm, that would be dd1 attending the SN schools

sorry.

Thanks Indigo - i second guess myself all the time trying to do the best for dd as well as ds.

Silverfrog - that's a lot of schools your dd has gone too. great that the last two have been successful. I know what you mean about a lot of time not doing any much. The other two places i looked at - 1 ss and one asd unit there wasn't a lot happening. In one class the two adults were sat talking while we looked round the room and the kids were doing their own thing. In another the teachers were dealing with the behaviour of two kids while the others just mooched around.

In the two places i liked the children were engaged. They did small burst of whole class teaching - four or five kids and then more individual work. But i saw a snapshot of course

One has higher functioning kids but they actually seem to spend less time in the mainstream classes because they have asd. The other unit had children who seem more disabled than my ds (though not really sure why i think that )but can spend more time in mainstream

One thing I am sure of is that I want to move ds asap.

yes, sadly she has moved a lot.

we had to put her into the first one (where she spent the year doing not much) in order to 'prove' to the LA she needed the second one, iyswim.

she settled there brilliantly, and would still be there, except it closed at the end of the summer term last year. mad scramble and panic later, she is now at her third (and hopefully final ) school, where again she has settle dbrilliantly, is engaged at all times (whether learning how to make toast, or learning how to do subtraction, she is not a passive participant) and is really flying.

I agree with Starlight re: making your own notes and circulating to ensure that your views get on the record - if there is a big pressure on places in SS in your county (as there is in most counties), you need to be certain that what the LA says to your face is also what they write in their notes.

Glad to hear she settled now silverfrog. Would love to see my ds' learning take off too!

I will be given a chance to contribute to the letter the school is sending to LEA and will make sure it covers the main points. I can trust the school to do this - they have been pretty straight with me so far - few niggles notwithstanding.

Oh okay yes I see what you mean. In the school we rejected the head said 'at playtime they rush outside and fight over the swings'. At ds1's school they said 'at playtime they can ride the trikes if they want. If 2 children want a turn we use pecs to request and wait buttons to teach turn taking'

the head at the rejected school did give a piece of good advice - he told us to look out for kids like ds1 when we visited and see how they fitted into the classroom.

My daughter attended a resource unit within a mainstream school. The school operated on a totally fixed 50% in each setting which became unsuitable for her as she got older. The small group work in the unit was ok but her mainstream inclusion was just locational in the end. It was very hard to get her moved from this school and we had to get a independent EP to go in and tell us what was going on.

On paper the school looked good the reality was the system they operated was not inappropriate for most of the kids there .

Saintly - will definitely try to get in another visit to see the other kids

vjg13 - sorry if this is a stupid question but why did it matter your dd couldn't attend the mainstream class if she was doing well in the unit? What happened when you did move her -did you progress better?

Latedeveloper, no she HAD to be in with her mainstream class for exactly 50% of her time even though it wasn't suitable at all. The reason for this was to do with the staffing levels of the unit and not because it worked well.

Sorry my posting should have said '
On paper the school looked good, the reality was the system they operated was not APPROPRIATE for most of the kids there'.

We did move her to a special school where she has made progress and some good friends. We looked at a lot of schools because we were so desperate to get it right and see where she would best fit. I would say also look at schools in neighbouring Leas as it really helped us get a clear idea of what was best. Also look for older versions of your child in these scholls IYSWIM.