Independent therapists: who would you recommend?

[inappropriatelyemployed]

If you had to make a recommendation for any independent therapist/professional you had used during the SEN process, who would it be?

Actually, you've got a point there! I'm very conscious this is public open forum and no I certainly don't want THEM lurking on here!

What do you think we have to fear? It can be quite difficult to share experience, particularly relating to 'experts' given the level of paranoia that LA staff might spy on us. ime LA staff are crap over-stetched and don't even do the bare minimum.

Keepon - you talk as someone that has been through the 'process' and come out the other side smiling with what you want

I, on the other hand, am weeks away from the evidence deadline and Tribunal. The LA pulled so many dirty tricks before the last Tribunal that whilst I don't 'fear' them, I know that they don't like me, hate my legal representatives, and have so far done everything in their power to stop my DC getting any form of accessible education.

When I'm through 'the other side' then I'll share properly

I will PM you Rosielou678 and like you, I so wish I had known about mumsnet special needs forum when I started out on my journey all those years ago and then the statementing process 14 months ago. Only discovered the group in my final stages of the process.

It would have saved me hours and hours and hours of research. I did it all on my own, nobody in real life to ask and in hindsight there were people who could have helped me but they didn't. I will never understand this wall of silence. I help anyone who comes to me or talks to me about their child who has SEN, I can't stay quiet.

Again like you, it is the experts reaction how my kid has been neglected big time by school and LA, that I knew I would get what I set out to achieve.

I look forward to hearing your good news soon!

rosie - I went to tribunal with no WD. LA produced insufficient printed versions at the hearing but no electronic document. Assessments that hadn't been done for SA (SALT, OT) were only requested when it moved to the legal team. Is it really dirty tricks or incompetence (or both)?

ime they do both - Data Protection meant that we recieved copies of emails etc. Our legal rep would ask for electronic statement/WD and the internal email would say 'shall I send a paper copy?' But they resort to this crap because they have nothing else.

FS is wonderful with this sort of 'response'.

You only have to really worry if they are competent.

My LA are incompetent with a extra large dash of stupidity.

In fact, they are so incompetent & stupid that when they tried to pull something that very obviously was a massive dirty trick from a vengeful in-house lawyer LA, they tripped themselves up several times (in writing) to a Tribunal judge who wasn't impressed at all.

Just be aware that the panel will want to resolve issues at hearing and so will be willing to accept all sorts of incompetence/shenanigans provided that everything is 'ok' on the date of the hearing. (Can you imagine if parents did that?)

Thanks. Yes, I've been told that even though my DS's Statement was finalised illegally (breaking both the Education Act and the SEN Code of Practice), the Tribunal won't be interested in this at all.

My LA are nasty shits who pretend to be incompetent and befuddled when court out!!

Caught out even...

Taking the thread sideways a bit, I don't know what the Newport Uni's dyscovery centre are like at tribunal, but they do a good 'sort out' of the underlying problems. Bit like BIBIC but less 'alternative' so NHS use them too.