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SN children

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Original poster

Why does portage stop?

11 replies

Crawling · 05/03/2013 15:30

Is it because you get a block like with SALT?
Or is it because the child is deemed to no longer need it?

I know it stops if the child starts school but why does it stop if they havent?

OP posts:

silverfrog · 05/03/2013 16:11

Ours stopped when we started our ABA home programme, because apparently Portage and ABA are incompatible

TheNinjaGooseIsOnAMission · 05/03/2013 16:13

ime it's down to budgets, here it stops when a child goes to preschool. They'd rather target the youngest that get no support from an educational setting, if the money was there they'd continue to reception age.

Original poster

Crawling · 05/03/2013 16:46

Thanks both I have had a hard time with Portage and her dismissing my worries pushing for ms school when most HCP think special unit is best. Well Portage stopped dds visits, she is not due to start school but has recently started play group with 1:1. Im just concerned that her constantly saying dd is fine may be why it has been withdrawn and not because she had had her amount or because she started play group.

OP posts:

TheNinjaGooseIsOnAMission · 05/03/2013 17:16

could you ring and ask what their criteria are? If that's her attitude you may be better off without her, I would have thought she'd carry little weight with placement if she's a lone voice, ed psych's report was the most listened to for us. Playschool must have concerns for her to have 1:1, I doubt they'd say she was fine?

lougle · 05/03/2013 17:25

It will be because she's started preschool with 1:1.

Portage supports the child in the home because the home is the 'setting' and you, if you like, are the 'keyworker', so they are supporting you to deliver the input to your DD.

Once she starts preschool, then the setting is her 'keyworker' and she may be entitled to 'Portage Outreach', which means that Portage visit the preschool and support them in working with your DD.

I'm not absolutely sure that all areas do Portage Outreach though, so you should check that.

elliejjtiny · 05/03/2013 17:31

DS2 was entitled to 4 terms of portage. It started when he was 18 months old so finished a long time before he started preschool. He also had to have delays in at least 2 areas to qualify so a child with a very specific disability eg who was blind wouldn't qualify at all. It probably varies depending on area though.

Original poster

Crawling · 05/03/2013 18:29

Thanks all I feel calmer now I just panicked as I thought her opinion on dd might be swaying other HCP. Ed pysch has seen dd at home but is yet to see her in a school setting and will make her report. Im just scared that Portage workers opinion may sway ed pychs decision. Thanks all I feel better now.

OP posts:

silverfrog · 05/03/2013 18:33

we had portage while dd1 was at preschool, lougle.

that was fine - dd1 was attending 3 pre school sessions a week. she still had portage at home, and also got 'seen' when her portage worker went into preschool.

it was ABA that was the nail in the coffin for us, definitely. which was od, since our home programme was all about play at that point (what 'work' with a 3 year old isn't?!)

hazeyjane · 05/03/2013 19:12

It varies from area to area. Ds will get portage until he starts school (and she is able to come into school for the first 6 weeks), so he will have it all the way through preschool, even though he will have 1-1. But I know that in other areas it stops when preschool starts.

MerryCouthyMows · 06/03/2013 04:01

I am assuming that DS3's Portage will stop when he starts the SN Nursery next January. It may even stop before then as we will be starting transition in at sound October this year. He hasn't even started the Portage yet!

Maybe that's why they are happy to give it to him without a fight? Because I have found an SN Nursery that will take him from 3yo? And they use ABA...

So they will only have to do 6 months, maybe.

SallyBear · 06/03/2013 09:53

I've done it twice. It was Early Stimulation Programme in 2000 (which then became Portage about 2003) we stopped it around 2003 when the twins went to Nursery at 4yrs. Funnily enough the Portage was specifically for TDD who had medical problems but TDS needed it too, though he was never documented as using it. I think I was lucky that the Portage worker that we had was happy to include him in the sessions.

In 2009 I started it again for DS4. We had a long wait and only had it for 15mos. She was a lovely person, ex teacher but more into Downs than anything. DS4 and his deafness and Autism was a bit tricky for her to master as she would set him activities that wouldn't challenge him as he could already do it. So I was quite pleased when he went to preschool. So two very different experiences of Portage.

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