DS has now got some one to one writing support BUT

[yawningmonster]

I was relieved at the beginning of term to be told that ds would be given some one to one writing. Finally they are starting to listen to me. Ds struggles with letter formation, letter uniformity, letter directionality, he cannot read or sound out so cannot actually write independent words. Sounds like a kid who needs some help right, fantastic that he has said help right well I got an email today which said
Hello yawningmonster
I just wanted to let you know that as part of writing I am helping ds with looking at report writing using our knowledge of the human body....(anyway the email goes on to say that the subject matter (human body) was distressing for ds and giving me the heads up)
Tell me do you think the focus should be on report writing? Honestly? A child who cannot actually write at all independently is getting support with report writing? or am I being silly and actually they probably are focussing on his actual needs and where he is at within a report writing format?
I don't want to march in there and call them a bunch of useless twits unless it is necessary but I was a little taken back...yes his pairs are doing report writing, yes most children his age would have this capability but he can't yet form a letter!!!

I would say that from the letter it sounds like they want him to do the same sort of work that his peers are doing - ie they feel that he can understand it so can tell someone what to scribe. At least this way they can find out what he knows and understands even if he is unable to write it.
If this is so then this is not necessarily a bad thing provided that at other times he is also getting help to deal with the underlying problems - the reading the letter formation etc.
So I would be questioning what other help he is getting and how this other help is progressing too.
Does he have an IEP, and a statement?

Also do you have a dx? Is an Ot involved?

I agree with alison, I think. You don't say (and I don't know your DS's story) but if your DS is cognitively able, but has difficulty specifically with writing, then his learning shouldn't be held back by that. If his peers are doing report writing (which, let's face it, isn't necessarily about the writing itself, but more about communicating ideas in a factual and lengthy way), then he should be facilitated to use the same cognitive skills in forming a report. The fact that he can't record it using a pen and paper shouldn't stop him from using his other skills.

I also agree that he should have time set aside to progress in letter formation, etc., but that is a separate issue.

Forgot to say, that I guess the distinction will be whether the support is 'handwriting support' or 'scribing'. If it is 1:1 handwriting support, ie. someone to help his handwriting skills, then that's one thing. If however, it is 'writing support' or 'scribing' I would anticipate that it is a compensatory measure to allow his thoughts to make it to paper without him being penalised for his motor and other issues with writing.

he has a diagnosis of Aspergers. We have had him assessed for Specific Learning Disabilities but it came back as no Dyslexia or Dysgraphia. We have a behavioural optometrist appointment in June and the Learning Disabilities person strongly believed he has ADHD and has put a referal in for assessment for this (we and school have filled in Connors forms but I don't think that this is the issue)
We are in NZ so it works a bit differently here. He has had one hour a week teacher aid for the last two years and this year it was increased to five hours a week. He gets support with reading (toe by toe, buddy reading, guided reading), writing (as above), spelling (a computer programme called steps which seems to have made absolutely no difference what so ever) and social interaction (in the form of a social skills club which teaches reading body language and facial expression, protecting themselves from bullying, relating to others etc (he is in his third year of this club and tbh has learned very little from it but he enjoys it) It has been made very clear that he doesn't actually qualify for this extra help (I'm not sure how bad he would need to be to qualify) but that they are doing so basically to get me off their backs.
He cannot read or write and while he is high functioning in alot of areas he has severe sensory processing difficulties which the school struggle to accomodate for.
I was hoping that they were just using the same sort of work as the other kids and that he still might be getting the basics I will definately investigate this further.

Lougle was so much more eloquent than I was.

Hmm...if he has aspergers, then it's quite possible that the work he is doing is within his capabilities, so it wouldn't be appropriate to withdraw him from that. I suppose that the key is to see what activity he can miss to fit in the basics.

I think it sounds like they don't know how to help his specific needs. Has he been assessed by an OT who is qualified to assess sensory difficulties? Who assessed him for spld?

thanks cooling off a bit now...when I read the email I went straight into reaction mode and assuming that they were expecting him to do things he wasn't even close to being able to do (write a report) I didn't even consider it maybe support to form the concepts of reporting and expressing it verbally for it to be scribed...as you say though I need to ensure he is actually getting the basics as it was my understanding that was what the one to one was actually trying to address. At the moment he does his one to one writing during writing once a week (they do writing every day) so he leaves writing to do one on one writing and then the rest of the time he stays with the class and well that particular writing book is a bit sparce to put it mildly.

Isn't the toe by toe used for children with dyslexia?
I don't know how things work in NZ but is there any chance of him using a computer and voice recognition software for some of his work too so that at least he can show off what he does know?

Are the school doing anything for the sensory issues. I wonder if they are so severe that this is preventing him from concentrating on the teaching?

I assume that if you were told no dyslexia then the behavioural optometrist is for tracking and/or colour problems?
Have you asked him if the words are dancing on the page? or pulsing?
Also I found with DD that changing the background colour on the computer helped, although I have not had her assessed by an optometrist and am debating whether or not to do so ( just found she is dyslexic). - I was just wondering if there was anything that could help a bit before your appointment.

What sort of sensory issues? I wonder if the people here can give you ideas for the school to use if they are prepared to listen?

We've had limited success by following the theodorescu write from the start programme for a year. (DS can now write but his handwriting is terrible iykwim). It develops handwriting skills from a developmental viewpoint in a very systematic way. His AS primary teacher Gran rec'd it to me.

The sections DS found really hard I photocopied the sheets and repeated & repeated till it clicked for him. It meant he tackled the specific issues he has problems with.

10 mins a day for a solid year at home & we are finally nearing the end. I basically ran out of patience & bought it online at Amazon. www.amazon.co.uk/Write-start-Programme-Perceptual-Handwriting/dp/1855032457/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338283569&sr=8-1

I wouldn't rec' you push the child to spend longer than 10-20 mins a day as it works best when they are concentrating fully, but it is a bit boring. Better 10 mins of their full attention than an hour done grudginly. I also think now it was better done at home as it meant I could supervise it, so know it was being done properly, (my standards and schools don't always match ).

We also do lots of fine motor crafts etc that DS actually enjoys to continue to support his fine motor development at home. I have a list somewhere I'll try and dig out for you.

Yes toe by toe is used for children with dyslexia but school have begun it even though he is not dyslexic as he is not learning to read any other way so that has been their suggestion. I think if we could fund a computer and voice recognition software then he may well be able to use it, not sure if the school would go for it or not. Yes the behavioural optometrist is for tracking etc.
Re sensory issues his biggest issue is touch so has difficulty with the materials that the school uniform is made from and throughout winter is clad only in the t-shirt as he cannot cope with the fleece and school won't budge in regards to having another material, so he is actually often cold (I have tried a number of different materials under his t-shirt but haven't yet found anything that he will actually wear. School says he has choice to be cold or wear fleece and he is choosing cold. He needs to chew constantly and I managed to school to allow him a chew q last year and finally was not getting bloodied nails, holes in his collars, chewed pens etc, he was also for the first time able to sit right through an assembly without being removed for disruption as he was allowed to chew his q in assembly. He is hypersensitive to pain and discomfort and cannot filter this out (at least that is how it seems to me) so if he is hungry, thirsty or has a minor injury then he goes into absolute meltdown and is unable to centre himself until these issues are dealt with (school have called me a number of times to calm him when they can't when if they had just given him something to eat then he would have been fine) they are quite inflexible in terms of bending the rules so that if it is not break time and he decides he is hungry then he is expected to wait. The other major issue for school is he has a close proximity issue he doesn't like anyone in "his" space but at the same time has very little ability to keep out of other peoples spaces (this is why we were first awarded a space in the social skills club but he has not yet improved with this) He has other sensory issues but not so noticiable at school (washing, dressing/textures, anything invasive such as hairbrushing, toothbrushing, hypersensitivity to smell, some noise sensitivities (still can't stand the hoover)
Sorry for novel and thank you for your comments and just letting me vent

thanks bochead off to look up that link...I'm not sure it is a fine motor issue necessarily as his fine motor skills in pretty much everything else are great (lego, actual pencil grip, threading, he loves arts and crafts so will cut, stick, use stickers, do collage for ages, he has a squeeze ball at home which he uses often as he likes the sensory feedback and has the added bonus that it strengthens his hand muscles.

here at school all the children have water bottles on their desks so that they can drink as and when they get thirsty. Do they do this in NZ? and if they do would he remember to drink ( it doesn't help DS as he has a phobia of the school toilets) .
I cannot believe they are so inflexible as to not give him something to eat to avoid a meltdown.
Are schools not under the same duty to make reasonable adjustments for a child with SN as they are in the UK - ref the uniform. I would layer him up with vest, and another t-shirt underneath it personally.
I remember Ds having issues with "fluffy" feeling materials. He would not wear sweatshirt material or woolly jumpers. It was a nightmare layering him up with enough warm stuff in the winter. Then we had a eureka moment one day at the park when he had gone out without a jacket and it was cold and he was moaning so I offered him my cardigan which was made of cashmere ( cheap tescos cashmere - but still!!) and he was so cold he took it. Then declared it to be lovely and soft and warm and didn't want to give it back. That was the start of him wearing "normal" clothes again. - so there is hope for you.

No they are not allowed their drink bottles or food until break times. They have said they will only bend the food rules for a child who medically requires food (eg diabetic) outside of break times and that he uses hunger and thirst as avoidance tactics to get out of things he finds overwhelming and to their defence I think there is an element of that in it however once he has entrenched in the idea that he is hungry and thirsty he is unable to switch it off or filter the discomfort out. I have tried numerous layering techniques and again the school say that he is not medically unable to wear the uniform but that he chooses to be cold rather than wear it and he should therefore learn from the consequences of said choice. Most people at the school involved with him have had some training in working with children with Autism but they still don't can't accept that there isn't a choice element in his sensory processing. The school will make accomodations to a degree so they will remove him to the resource room ( a quite room that joins two classrooms when he is overstimulated by either sound or visual stimuli), they use loads of tools such as visual time tables, buddying, awareness of explaining idioms etc but there is loads that they just don't get and I wonder if maybe those who do not either live with aspergers or is trained thoroughly in working with those living with aspergers just can't get it?