Where's the best place to live in England if your child has SN??

[ntt]

Thanks!

this is os off topic.. but I'm just quick aken bythe fact that someone used to live about 4 streets down from me, we're on wimborne crescent

All the agencies involved seem to work sat CDC at some point in the week!, and I know our SALT covers the Buxton and Bakewell area and I think our Psych does as well.

The world keeps getting smaller.

Hi Dino!

I'm generally feeling much better thank you! However, I'm beginning to worry that I might be only feeling ok because part of me thinks that ds might "catch up" after reading that a certain proportion of kids with a diagnosis like his, ie "mild" cp, have actually caught up by the time they get to school, which will be very dangerous for my mental health when it doesn't happen lol.

I'm in North Surrey and have just been referred to a cdc and see a new physio and a ot in a couple of weeks at acentre where physios, ots, salts are all based together, they have a pool, sensory room, nursery etc, so hopefully we'll be lucky. I've had no success however with referrals outside of this, like to see specialist paediatricians at GOSH, or to take ds to special therapy courses, like conductive therapy, because they say I am lucky to have access to the centre. I know I am lucky to be able to take him there, but I'm concerned there doesn't seem to much support for older kids or adults. There's one over subscribed special school and none of the mums (only 4 or 5 admittedly) I've met seem particularly happy with the support available in mainstream. And I can't find anything for adults apart from a few classes/workshop thingies at the centre.

MTPWMisdee - from what I've heard today on the radio, no one should live in Herts if they're EVER going to need the NHS for anything!

Have to go, ds very demanding today, be back later x

sw surrey, in the borough of waverley is v good, ds2 has cp and they have been great with him

London borough of Sutton where I like is one of the best in the country for special needs. The first borough to pioneer the children's trust for children with disabilities.
I am very happy with the services we receive and the educational provisions are also excellent.
I am very happy with everything that we get for my dd :)

where I live

Thanks for the update ntt

Well in my little corner of Kent, we are getting no SALT, no OT, now no physio, oh yeah...and they are saying it's "unlikely" Amelia will get a statement.

If we did want her to go to a special school....no places until September 2007.

So stay away from Medway!

Sorry it's taken so long to post again, it's been one of those days...

This has turned out to be an interesting thread, don't you think? It's been an eye opener to hear about differences between LEAs and the NHS in the same localities too.

I wonder if it's "easier" for me to see physios/ots because he's so young and has been under a paed since birth - from reading these posts, it would seem as if it makes a difference.

It's been really helpful for me - there are a couple of places, like Brighton and sw Surrey, that we were thinking about anyway (before the delays with ds), that I can look at again. I'll have a look at Sutton too, thanks Blossomhill for that!

Isn't it shocking how facilities are so different for people purely depending on where you live?! it's not like England's a massive country or anything.

Dingle, I'm really sorry to hear that Why don't you move?

Lou33, do you have to go to RSCH for much stuff with your ds2?

Eidsvoid, we live in a "nice" area of Surrey and when we moved here to London I was suprised at the poor state of the hospital here and the lack of resources at the local health centre, so I'm not suprised to hear that. I'm v jealous of you btw

GG- hijack away I used to live in Harrogate and one of my oldest friends comes from there. Really pretty place.

Anyone around from the West Country or London?

lou33 - where are you? Cos we're Waverley too!

I've found most NHS provision to be excellent, with a few major blips - local paed OT service is in collapse, Health Visitors ditto, really serious neurological issues not dealt with well (local Neurologist is tip-top but no PICU so if things are bad we're shipped elsewhere and anything difficult is referred to London where waiting lists are huge - 9 to 12 months wait to start surgery assessment is no joke if you're only 18 months old)

Education is good so far - into SN nursery without a murmur; nursery just got an "outstanding" in its Ofstead report and has minimum 1:1 in the class DD is in. However, she is not statemented so none of this provision is safeguarded and I forsee problems with that side of things.

Social Services is woeful, ime. Although 35 days after requesting it, you should get an assessment - we're still waiting 9 months later. We have only just got allocated a Social Worker, who is a temp.

Team Around the Child locally is excellent and has won awards.

Can't think of anything else.

near godalming

our ot is good, she is always in touch and sees ds when he needs to be seen

i havent really had a problem with any services on the whole

So far I am very happy with the SN help we have had for our son in North Yorkshire. His primary school is wonderful.

No-one's mentioned Essex as an LEA yet so I'll put in my opinion re them.

Perhaps their slogan should be "Not quite the worst!!".

They weren't tooooooo bad re DS when we applied for a statement on his behalf, felt that meeting with them at their office (and what a dump that is) was helpful to his case. However, they did lose his case file for a short while and the panel meetings are only held every 3 weeks.

Would not send anyone from County out for a cut loaf however!!.

Provision re services is slow at best and scant at worst. They didn't even have an OT for a long while; its not so long ago that they've employed someone. Speech therapy is given but again long waits are commonplace with the usual mantra, "come back in six months".

Have also heard that Herts as an LEA are truly dire.

IPSEA are truly needed in this day and age by parents who are desperately trying to access the provision their children need. I am truly thankful that they exist.

I live in the Peoples' Republic of Camden . We have the BEST GP, great Paediatrician, excellent EP. Our ABA home prog was fully funded for 4 years and the LEA now funds DS's place at an ABA school, transport included. When DS was statemented it took nearly a year but we got what we wanted without tribunal. At that time the LEA had NO provision for ASD, in theory disgusting but was a great help to us as we wanted our home prog!

HOWEVER, my observation is that even the same Authority does not treat everyone the same..... I suppose this is (in theory) what they are supposed to do as each case should be judged on its merits and the child's needs.... but I'm not convinced that's the underlying reason. I also know other parents very well who have the same Paed as me, for instance, and think he's crap!
Our SOc Svs dept is pretty good but, like most of this stuff, needs managing and careful prompting!
THe other thing is that we have a LOT of activities for people with SN/disability and LOTS of charities offering holiday schemes, weekend clubs, respite, parent networking etc.
The thing about the UK is not whether its big or not but it has a massively high density of population which affects everything.
I also think, although many will snort, that in the UK we are ENTITLED to a LOT..... its just getting it that isn't easy! Apart from obvious things like Statementing which, for all its faults and difficulty, gives our children a legal right to an appropriate education, we get DLA inc Motability, Carer's ALlowance, Tax Credits, free prescriptions (for children), free dental care (for children), free GP access, DIrect Payments etc etc. I have just started getting one weekend a month when DS goes to a special residential place for children with ASD, paid for by Soc Svs!!! I know, I know, we pay tax so GPs etc aren't free but you know what I mean. We ALL pay tax so that services are available for those who need them and that's our kids.
Anyway, sorry to drone on but I think we sometimes forget what we've got! I've written this in a hurry as DD is about to go to bed and DS is downstairs howling... so I haven't thought it all through. Please feel free to disagree!

hi,i live in Gloucester,my dd was only dx 2wks ago but it only took 6mths for dx from the first day teacher at playgroup thought there was prob with dd,i think this was pretty good!!been told next step is for her to see educational phyc to decide best nursery in sept and shes gonna get statment!but can anyone tell me what social services can offer as i dont have a clue and abit wary of asking incase it looks like i cant cope or something!!i was brought up to think ss was for kids in trouble,stupid i know!!!

I'm in South Cumbria , special schools are all good (but I'm biased) Morecambe bay health authority is hard work (but they are changing boundries at the moment)

dingle- I work in a special school and the head recently found out that the LEA had been telling people that we were full when we had space as they are pushing ms for little ones.If you want a speciaL school make sure you speak to the school about spaces not just the LEA.

i have a different experience to you of Camden Davros. My ds isn't severe (dyspraxia, possible adhd, maybe more). I have to fight for OT and physio (have just got his first 5 sessions of OT - he is 7), got some speech therapy. Basically have had to go private as much as we can afford (not much). State school was no help at all - he got no extra support, and was really struggling.

We are hoping to move to Brighton, so I hope it is better for us there.

we are in Suffolk & very satisfied, physio since about 3 months old, comes to the house.. Sorts out shoes & equip. Special schools have pre school outreach use of Hydro pool. Community paed holds local clinics & is also happy to pick up phone & talk.
Rang her secretary last week with behaviour concerns & have appt for next week. OT good, pre school fantastic, volunteered to do 1-2-1 speech with ds.
Only problem is with SALT, so far 4 monthly assesments but no therapy!!

Where's the best place to live in England if your child has SN?? ....................

answer....."as far away as possible"

Thats how I feel after she has screamed far too much tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lou33 - might CAT you (if that's not a bit stalkerish, do you mind?) as I think I'm only a couple of miles away & would be interesting to chat.

Attila we were told we were not even entitled to speech therapy in our area of Essex as they were short handed and as dd1 had no feeding problems they did not want to see her!!

Hello!! Stats show that something like 97% of people with down syndrome experience some form of language/speech delay!!!

There was however another mum who had lots of feeding issues with her little one with down syndrome and in the year we attended the cdc she was seen by a speechy once for about five minutes!!

Our provision in our area of Essex - once a month group with an ot/physio - if we were lucky for an hour. However the ot left and then the replacement ot hurt her arm and so was off for the longest time.

Our health stuff was pretty good except for gp BUT we did have a fab HV and paed community nurse and the hospital was fab BUT as dh worked for the hospital trust and we have an unusual surname well not strange but not common iyswim, I suspect that may have had a part to play too. Most people we encountered knew of or knew dh.

THink I have outlined here in Aus what we are recieving at the moment. Everything changes when they attend school and come under the education department for therapy etc... rather than disability services who are our therapy providers at the moment.

THat's what I mean Pollyanna, even the same authority is different for different people so there is NO best place iyswim. That's why I'm not convinced by the "post code lottery", I do think its a lottery but not necessarly purely based on post code. It can be type of condition/disability, age of child, luck with which professionals you happen to be allocated, luck with meeting other parents who can give you info and support etc etc. Its also true as Eidsvold says that everything changes once they are 5, you leave the CDC and move to school health, that's if your child is at school but DS didn't go to school until he was 6...... we were in limbo but I just kept seeing the same people during the gap and explained why. I have found that Camden has been great... but we've had to work very hard at it. Its also hard to get into systems, but once you're in its easier - whether its health, waiting lists for play sessions, soc svs etc. Getting that first foot on the ladder and developing relationships with the professionals takes time and effort although it shouldn't. The other thing is, its all very well to moan about the UK, but what would any of us get if we moved to another country? A damn sight less than many people get who come here Good for them, no problem with that if they're entitled, but it doesn't work both ways as far as I can see, unless one of you is a native of said country.

Hi Davros, I concur with a lot you have said and in light of ds's problems have felt thankful that we live in this country, and not Russia or Africa for instance. But we have a lot more in common with the us, Canada, Germany, Switzerland etc etc, all of which are able to offer so much more.

I especially agree with you about getting involved in your local system and developing relationships, it does take time and effort and that's why it's important to us to not make a big mistake by moving somewhere with a particularly bad reputation.

I'm probably being naive as it's still early stages for us and I feel a bit confused and overwhelmed with it all, but I started this thread because something our physio said when we first met her had been niggling me - she said you are very very lucky to have such a centre of excellence as you have here (meaning the cdc). We were hoping to move away from this area and I was beginning to think maybe we shouldn't after all for the sake of ds. This is quite a depressing thought as living here was only ever a temporary situation. But I need to know at the same time I'm doing the best I possibly can for ds's development, and so far in my limited experience, some people do seem to have access to more than others because of the area in which they live. For instance, just having a really great cdc locally can make a huge difference to your everyday life, and now I have experience of that I wouldn't move anywhere that couldn't offer at least the same.

Sorry if I'm waffling, I had some sleeping pills last night and feel really groggy

I agree ntt. Once you're in the system in your area then its very hard to move into the unknown. Maybe now is a good time for you as its early days but I couldn't move from where we are now in case of jeopardising what we've got and all the support and friends we've built up. I do know of people who have moved to get better services, one friend moved from Islington to Barnet to get a place at DS's school, I know someone who moved from Ealing to Maidenhead because of a school. Its a big risk though but if what you're getting is crap then its definitely worth considering because it can work.

no probs about catting me

I'm also in the same part of Surrey as Lou33 and I would also give it my vote of confidence. Ds2 is already being assessed for a statement and he is only 2 1/2 years. Also I think it is quite unusual that Ds2 is attending a Mainstream Nursery that has an allocation of SN places, where they have a sensory room and SALTS and OTs visiting regularly and all the assistants are Makaton trained with all displays being annotated with the Makaton signs. Very impressed (you can probably tell). We won't be moving from this area in a hurry - shame about house prices though!!

Have to say that there is still a delay though in waiting for NHS appts imho.