Please help me digest dd ed pysch report.

[Crawling]

initial consultation
background information
dd is a delightful little girl who was referred to the ed and child psychologist by Dr Sr associate specialist in child health due to concern with regard to her development, communication and socialization skills.

Dr Sr has seen dd on a few occasions because of delayed speech and language skills .

Dr Sr reports dd does not show evidence of smiling or reciprocal interaction.

dd is reported to be reluctant to take on any changes and dislike physical contact

Dr Sr considered dd to have learning and significant social and communication difficulties .

hv reports dd demonstrates some understanding of single objects and instructions. has pretend play skills and can use a social smile. dd attention is described as fleeting and her eye contact limited.

due to the nature and complexity of dd difficulties postage was put inn place until she can access a preschool with 1:1 support.

dd did not have a successful start at her first playground and was withdrawn.

dd is known to s and l and has recently started pecs no speech was heard during the visit but dd is reported to say no and more.

dd can dress herself she is selective with food but can use a fork.

dd is not toilet trained and is reported to play with her faeces.

her behaviour is described as challenging at times. She is sensitive to busy places and loud noises -when outside she will flop to the floor put her hands to her ears and scream and cry.

Dd tends to communicate her needs by pushing a adult to the object she wants.

Dd likes to have her own way and can become upset when this does not happen.

Conclusion
Dd has not had the opportunity to socialize with other. children in a playgroup setting and although she is presenting with some features of Artist she does engage in imaginative play and can give a appropriate smile. Dd has made some progress in the short time she has received postage, her eye contact is improving and she is learning to sit and focus on short activities.

I feel dd would benefit from attending a playgroup where her strengths andweaknesses can be identified and her behaviour and development can be monitored over time to determine whether she meets the criteria for ASD or if her behaviours relate to areas of difficulty other than autisim.

That is dd first report from ed pysch can people help me determine if its a good report and is likely to get dd additional help when she starts school is September. Dd is 3:5 btw I just don't know how this report compares as I've never seen one before.

Sorry about grammar I am on my phone.

So, are you in liaison with the Area IncO about an appropriate early years setting where she will access 1-1 support?

What does the paed recommend?

How is portage going?

The report is a bit weird - it seems to have the background info, but no actual Ed psych evaluation or assessment, just go from background to conclusion? What tests did he/ she carry out? Formal assessments? Observations?

It reads not so much as an Ed psych report as the beginning and end of an Ed psych report with no actual clinical consultation or interaction between dd and the Ed psych...

Is there a huge chunk you have missed out, how did the actual assessment go and what did it consist of?

no i didn't miss any out except family history. pediatrician has referred on to cahms to assess whether dd has a Asd. Portage is going good but dd has taken to the portage worker and is being very cooperative for dd and im worried they won't realise how un cooperative she is normally she also reports dd to have smiled appropriately but dd has only done this twice.

No formal tests were carried out at home just observation.

my gut reaction is it is a v vague report, v wishy washy. as mad has pointed out, you would expect an ed psych to do some sort of cognitive testing/assessment of their own, rather than just offer an opinion on paed's opinion. Personally I'ld not be that happy about the suggestion that your DD has not had the opportunity to socialize at playgroup - as 1, she did but you had to pull her out of first playgroup and 2, there seems to be the implication that being at playgroup may magically resolve some of her difficulties.

The light passenger it has constantly been suggested that dd may get better if put in a play group which has really upset me as dd is one of 3 children sees children twice a day during school run times and goes to parks indoor play areas and mum and baby groups yet because I don't leave her it is suggested her lack of interest and social interaction would improve if instead of me sitting down and giving her quality one to one I leave her in a play group. Everyone has been pushing the play group the portage worker two of three Salt the Hv and the ed pysch. So your comment about playgroup fixing everything makes me feel alto better because now I know its not just me being over sensitive and protective thank you.

I was told the same thing about ds1 at about the same age - he was showing all the signs of classic/severe autism but I was told that a 'small nursery' would 'help' Being cynical, it costs them no time or money to say this - your dd needs specific therapy for her developmental delays - being 'monitored' in a playgroup is not therapy or help specific to her needs

I think it is very patronising towards you to suggest that playgroup will fix everything and that her lack of socialisation skills are because she hasn't been socialised.

How old is your DD? She sounds like mine in many ways. She has been in a pre school setting for over 18 months and still has no meaningful interaction with peers and she has had plenty of opportunity!

Not sure if this will help or not, but I was regularly told that ds1's (now dxd with AS) lack of social skills was down to him not attending pre-school (as in playgroup without me) and that he would catch up once he started nursery and then infant school ... he didn't.

Neither of my other two went to pre-school either and they are both highly sociable individuals with excellent social skills, which for me kind of proves the point.

I would not be happy with that report at all. In fact my blood is rising just reading it.

She has had an opportunity to socialise. She did so badly she needed to be withdrawn. Attending a playgroup for assessment purposes is a ridiculous reason. The ONLY reason your dd should be doing anything is if it is going to progress her development. WHO is going to identify her strengths and weaknesses there and who is going to monitor whether her behaviours relate to autism or other difficulties?

Princerogers she is 3years 5 months she does fit all the signs of classic autisim and until the last month or two was non verbal despite a year of speech therapy. Most Hcp who see her think she is showing alot of delays and find her behaviour indicative of autism including the pediatrician and her current Salt. Thank you all it helps to know that its not because I haven't sent her to know playground.

I have now given in and I am sending her to a playgroup for one session a week (which due to cuts I have to pay for) with a one to one helper then maybe they will stop harming on about play group. Thanks all it helps so much to know others understand im actually crying in relief that its not just me who is being forced into playgroup but sad at the same time that others are going through the same ordeal.

Thanks all again. Star I don't know who is going to monitor her. I feel so out of my depth this is so new and I don't know anyone personally who has been down this road. Add to that the fact that dd was also removed from group speech therapy as it was too much for her for (2 other children and parents) but also scared as no one seems to look past the fact that she hasn't been to playgroup I feel so lost and I just don't know what to do for the best.

Have you it in writing that she was removed from group slt because it was too much for?

If not get it in writing by writing to the SALT and clarifying that that is why she was removed.

This is evidence that she does not learn in group situations.

In terms of monitoring her, ask in writing for the EP to clarify WHO would be monitoring her in the social setting, how they would measure progress, what tools would be used to assess whether she has asd and the experitise and qualifications of the person allocated to do all this.

And don't worry. You'll not be out of your depth for long. But do have the strength of your convictions.

Thank you so much Star I will do that it's really good to have advice of someone who knows what to do. I don't have it in writing but I can get it I will get onto first thing in the morning and will ask the portage worker about examinations and monitoring.

Crawling Those questions that I mentioned you asked....well, they don't actually have answers. They should be asked all the same, but don't expect anything helpful. The non-answers should be enough for you to understand that YOU are your child's key worker and advocate and from now on YOU'LL be calling the shots, listening to and evaluating advice, NOT being bullied into subjecting your child to things you are uncomfortable with.

yes, unfortunately you will be lucky to get a sensible answer about who will assess her at playgroup, and how often, never mind any of the other questions star suggested.

btw I am 5 plus years down the line, so am in a goodish place with it all, so I have broad shoulders for this sort of stuff.

I understand Star thank you I will trust my own judgement more with regards to dd its just normally you listen to the experts but I guess in the case of knowing what's best for a child a parent is the expert thanks all.

Regular mother and toddler group is playgroup with 1-1 support. From you. And you tried leave-her-there playgroup already, but they/she couldn't cope. Any chance of getting reports off the old playgroup, and perhaps some sort of observation from the chief helper at the mum&child group? (Methodist-volunteer-type older ladies are usually great at letter writing )

Rest of the report wishy-washy.

And you're an experienced mum. Do your own assessments every couple of months.
I think the childminder's version is nice.

thanks mariamama Ill see about getting them to write it up for me thanks that's a good idea.

Hi, Crawling and welcome to SN:Children . I am 4 years down the road, and DD1 saw an ed psych for the first time at 3.9 (3 years 9 months) - she now has a statement and goes to special school.

I read your ed psych report. Do you realise that "no speech was heard during the visit" is the only statement in that report that has come from the ed psych themselves, apart from their conclusions?

DD1's ed psych report ran to 8 pages, detailing each of her SN in turn, assessing her abilities, commenting on strengths and weaknesses, discussing how atmosphere affected her responses, etc. If the ed psych was unable to assess something, there was a clear explanation of a) what she wanted to do and b) why it wasn't possible. For example, her report says 'I tried to observe DD1 from a distance. Unfortunately, this was impossible, because she wouldn't stop interacting with me...'

That Ed Psych's report can be boiled down to "Poor lamb, hasn't had a chance to socialise, no wonder she isn't talking much." It will get you nowhere.

My real concern is that it is very obvious from what you write, that if your DD isn't coping in a small group situation, then she certainly won't cope in a mainstream class of 30.

Your DD will start school in 1 year. I would bet my bottom dollar, from what you have shared, that she will need a Statement of Educational Need. Those take 6 months to complete, and summer holidays don't count.

That means that you need to try and get the ball rolling NOW.

Here is a link to a model Statutory Assessment request. Do it, tonight if possible. Send it recorded delivery.

Hi there

I read this report differently.

I agree it's very brief.

I think the EP is trying to make a case to the LA that your daughter's needs are not yet clear, as she has some challenging behaviours suggestive of autism but the health visitor is suggesting social play etc. and she hasn't had the opportunity to 'socialise' in a nursery because it didn't work in a 'mainstream' setting.

This is a good thing because unclear needs in many local authorities means what we call an 'assessment over time' in a specialist playgroup. That is either an integrated playgroup or a playgroup attached to a special school which you don't need a statement to enter. The child is given smaller group attention than normal and begins the process of monitoring their response to teaching before triggering statutory assessment.

Maybe it would be a good idea to call and ask him to clarify what he is recommending and whether it is a specialist nursery place?

Lougle - Summer holidays do count towards statutory assessment time. The only exception is if a school recieves a request for advice within 2 days of the end of the Summer term. Otherwise it is all counted.

Crawling - I would ring the EP and if everyone else's reading is right, then do go ahead with a parental request. But make that call first, as if a statutory assessment has been started she may not be able to go to one of these 'assessment' nurseries which would be quicker and beter if tha IS the EP's intention.

Ilike, that's an interesting take on it. Dc needing a full statutory assessment banned from assessment nurseries [shakes head in disbelief]. How on earth do you guys cope trying to be professional in such shoddy set-ups?