School have had the report from Ed Psych.Can i have some support please.

[flyingunderpants]

DS's teacher has told me today,that they recieved the report on monday.They are now waiting for a date from Ed Psych,for a meeting to go through it with me.
It feels strange that SENCO and DS's teacher know whats in the report,and i have to wait.Like they know more about DS.
Anyone have any experience with Ed Psych?I'm i building myself up for a big let down? Or will we finally start getting DS the help he needs?
Thanks

LOL, - does the SENCO a)understand them herself, b)know you have MN?

Hope it is helpful reading. It's not usually nice reading but it will hopefully be positive reading.

Good luck!

Well SENCO was right the test results don't make much sense.
But bottom line is the EP, feels he needs to do more in-depth tests.
The LSS report recommend a CAMHS referral from the EP.

I have a headache.
I'm going for a cuddle with my DS,before bed time.
Back later.

Right i'm back.
After thinking over what i read in the EP report,i feel that alot has been left out.

I'm not sure if this is just because the EP has wrote in brief.The EP has added that he needs to do more assessments.The following has been copied from the report.
School concerns include:
xxxx ability to retain information.e.g. sounds learnt to read and write rememebered one day but forgot the next.
xxxx capacity to follow instructions when more than one is given.
xxxx capacity to remember rountines which have been in place for more than a year.e.g.where to go for maths/literacy,and
forgetting the names of familiar adults who have been working with him since Y1.

School report that Mom has expressed concerns over;
xxxx behaviour at home i.e. becoming withdrawn.
xxxx failure to remember to do things and;
switching all the lights on.

What i think should also have been addded:
The fact that DS doesn't like going to a different room,he gets really upset.e.g.If the teacher decides to do music in the hall instead of a classroom.
If DS is going on a trip with the school,he will keep asking every day if the trip is that day.(Doesn't matter how many times you tell he its next week or whatever,he still asks).How will he get there and what he will be doing.(i try not to tell him to early now.But sometimes the teacher starts talking about it afew weeks before).
DS doesn't understand how to follow instructions.You have to explain everything step by step,in simple terms.
DS goes through stages of being obsessed with certain things.It used to be cars.He would only play with cars or draw them.When out and about it would always be saying that a x make car.This lasted for about two years.
Now its lego.Clothes with lego on,books or toys.He comes home from school and sits and plays with his lego all night.
He doesn't like looking at peoples faces.
He has to keep tapping people that he is talking too.
He doesn't like the dark.So turns the lights on in rooms he has to walk past.
There's more but i can't think atm,i have still got a headache.
Do you think i should phone or email, the EP with the above? Or should i just wait until the meeting?

Sorry its so long.

SENCO said that there were alot of test results, that i wouldn't understand.' how patronising! what she probably means is that she doesn't understand them.

Did you tell the EP/School all of this?

Its ok you have the report now. Have your meeting and go armed with this list of concerns and ask them to be added to the EP report as an attachment if they can.

You will be given a first assessment at camhs that takes a couple of hours and they will go through all his milestones with you and every concern you have so you will have a chance to express these concerns anyway :)

I have told DS's teacher everything that i have wrote here.But not sure how much was passed onto the EP.
Before the school did the referral to the EP,i went to my GP.He was not very helpful,he even said to me that we couldn't all be einstein.
He did a referral to camhs anyway,but they refused to see DS.They said he didn't meet their criteria.Again i have no idea what the GP said.
So i'm hoping they will see him this time.
On the LSS report it says to ask for a referral to a developmental paediatrician.
I'm feeling very sad,worried and confused.I think DS might be autistic.
I feel that the EP,LSS and Senco all think that something is wrong,but are not telling me.

Listen :) and hugs :)

Take one step at a time. You already have come concerns yourself that you really feel your lovely child needs help on. School have noticed concerns and if he gets the help then all well and good for him :) Yes there is something going on but the school and the EP, LSS cannot say for sure what it is because they are not qualified to dx autism and so they would be guessing, they can only assess and observe and suggest referral to other proffessionals.

A developmental peadiatrician may be the first port of call as it is in a lot of areas and if the pead decides a camhs referral then they will do it. Some areas its a pead that does a dx and in some areas its camhs though a multidisiplinary pathway.

EPs are usually working with camhs too I know mine was so that could be why he/she suggested it.

As for the GP kick him into touch and get another.

You have had a stressy day and have had to read reports that are not nice but they will help your son and help school understand him too. YOU need to be kind to yourself now to absorb it all x

Hi Flying

I know it is horrid but it is actually helpful to you that school have noticed things that are difficult for him. If there is a diagnosis to be made then their support will help speed up the diagnostic process hugely and as you know the waiting is the worst bit. When you don't know, everything seems to loom in front of you in a scary way.

The school should be able to put lots of strategies in place for him either based on this report or on the other tests to help him to learn and retain information. At home you can do things like visual timetables to help deal with the stress that he is feeling and the difficulty with following instructions. All of this will help him whether he has a diagnosis or not.

Many of us have been where you are and we know how hard it is. Take a deep breath this morning, have a cup of and ask any questions that you have. We are always here :)

Take care x

I agree that it is helpful for the school have noticed some of the difficulties he has, as this means that they are a 'switched on'.

You will always get support on this board, so whenever you need it, just pop by.

Hi Flying,

If you've been suggested you need a paed, that means that they have the key to dx. I would persue that.

WRT to the rest of the report, I would ensure that the EP has a copy of the concerns listed and a request from you to add it to the report. You can say that you are happy for them to add it as 'parents views'. It is good practice for them to obtain them from you and put them into their report, as it is to get your ds' views if possible. It appears they have added some of your concerns but you can say that you didn't know that they were asking for them specificallly, but now you have had time to think about them, this is what you would prefer the report to say. A good EP, and even a crap one shouldn't have an issue with what you are asking.

The school so far, come across on here as quite helpful. Try and keep the relationship positive, but also do be careful, because when it comes to resourcing they might change, so don't give away every detail of your life, especially anything negative.

What do the numbers say? Does it say which assessment was performed?
An EP report that does not explain the test and numbering is pretty poor.

Hope you are feeling better this morning flying :)

First of all i would like to say a big thank you,to you all for your help and support.
I'm going to email the EP with my concerns,and see if he will add them onto the report.If not at least i will know that he knows.

I'm just going to pop into my GP's, and try and make an appointment with a different doctor.
I will post again later, and see if anyone knows anything about the tests that were done.

Sorry i didn't come back yesterday.I wasn't doing has well as i thought.
I popped into GP's to make an apointment.They had nothing for 3 weeks.So i had abit of a rant.I have never been that rude before.But to have to wait 3 weeks to see a GP, about DS was just abit too much for me yesterday.I have got to wait till the 21st may.I'm not happy.
Then i popped to my mums,and cried while i was telling her about the reports.And cried again last night while telling DS1 who is 24y about his little brother.
I don't even know why i'm so upset.I have all ways said something was wrong.So it wasn't a shock.And i love all my DC for who they are.

Just wanted to add to the great advice you have already been given by other parents...

I got on really well with my sons E.P.She was excellent. They have a lot of power. I considered all reports as evidence, so i read the reports carefully and pointed out to the E.P any descrepencies. As previously said, i found being very polite but very accurate was the best was to manage the people who we met in every system, we had to use to access the help my son needed/was entitled to.

Its hard at the start to know what to expect and what to ask for. MN is a fantastic source of information! i wish i knew about MN 4 years ago!!

The very best of luck...

Oh bless you...
Just seen your most recent post. I was where you are 4 years ago. The systems are painfully slow. I was nearly driven mental between the medical people/CAMHs/education services/ Disabled Childrens Team, you get the picture!!
I dont know if this helps but i viewed it as i was a cog in systems, i had to use the systems to get my son diagnosed. I still have to use the system but these systems are slow, over worked and inadequate.
You will get through this, look after yourself in the mean time.
Oh and we are all rude sometimes, i have ended up bawling my eyes out on the odd occasion, your human and trying to come to terms that your DS has something he needs help with, its a lot to deal with.
Look after yourself, Take care. x

Flying (((hugs)))

I found it so unbelievably frustrating just waiting waiting waiting all the time to get someone to look at DS, assess DS, talk about DS etc etc. It is so hard.

It is a shock finding out that your child might have SN. Much more than I would ever have realised. We got the dx about 2-3 weeks ago and I thought that I had gone through the emotions and dealt with it in my head. But just today I was walking along and thinking about his future, how he will be as an adult. There are lots of stages to go through on the road to getting a dx and then accepting the dx. It wouldn't be normal if you had just dealt with it just like that - we're humans with emotions. I wonder whether your surgery would accept a letter from you requesting a referral rather than having to wait until 21st May for the appt?

oh flying I didnt see your post today or I would have replied earlier xx

dont worry about ranting at the docs as someone was going to get it at some point and what better place than the one that holds the other GP with his sarky comments hmmm?

The letter idea from Ben 10 sounds a good one and well worth persuing.

Its hard and a slow road unfortunately so please take a breath and give yourself time to absorb this news. You are at the starting block, you have a good school that is looking out for your ds needs and pointing you in the right direction and that is great. I suspect if they are this good then they will use stratagies to help him without the wait for a dx so at least you can feel relaxed that his help is already starting even if the appointments dont come as fast. :)

That will give you time to let all this sink in. He is still your lovely boy and nothing is ever going to change that x