Hello all.
My daughter is five and was diagnosed with autism at age 3.7 after almost 18 months of assessments and observations.
Because she is high functioning, and her language is now wonderful, lots of our family, friends and even school staff are skeptical about her diagnosis (of course they're not here to see her screaming at 7am every morning when i try to brush her hair with 'glass' (a soft hair brush).
She is now in her second year of mainstream primary school.
At 3yo she was moved from a council nursery to a language unit council nursery.
At age 4.5, she began primary one, with an SLT from her old language unit nursery coming once a week to help with any issues.
Now she is 5.5 and in primary two and receives no additional help. This morning I have received a letter from SLT saying dd has been discharged because the (new) SLT could see no issues from her recent visit to dd's classroom several week ago.
I'm happy with this of course. And i realise that the door is always open and i can refer her back at any time if issues do arise in the future.
But i just feel strange that dd has a registered disability yet doesn't get any additional assistance.
Is it needs-based, or region-based?
E.g. if she was in England, would she receive any sort of help? I've heard of things called statements, and classroom assistants working 1:1 with pupils with ASD. I've heard of things like reviews and frequent meetings. Last year in primary one, when the old language unit SLT's visits were happening, we all had a review meeting maybe 3-4 times throughout the year. But now she has left, i've been told that dd will just have 2 parent's meetings a year, just like all the other children have, but the door is always open to arrange additional meetings if necessary.
Of course it's great news that dd's needs are not significant enough to qualify for extra help. But there are still issues there, but they're minor. E.g. sensory issues, social issues, not knowing how to act during unstructured times likes playtime. But the teacher assures me that she's working on these things with the class as a whole, so as not to single dd out and make her feel strange.
She loves school and her teacher is wonderful. And i feel like i could always go to her if i had a problem with any aspect of dd's schooling. But i just feel there are huge differences between additional help for autistic children in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK. I feel that in Scotland, they're expected to just fit in with NT children and routines, unless their needs are significant enough for a Coordinated Support Plan (i think this is the same as a statement?)
i don't think i'm explaining myself properly here at all. And i really hope i've not worded things badly or offended anyone.
To summarise my post:
Would my dd receive any sort of additional assistance if she lived elsewhere in the UK because she has autism?
I don't feel that she necessarily needs the extra help. But i do feel she would benefit from some. And i feel really cheeky saying that of course. I'm sure all parents would love their children to get extra help in school.
Her confidence and social skills soared last year when the SLT was visiting once a week. But now she's gone, i worry that dd might just relapse.
But until that potential relapse occurs, there is no extra help for her. She is treated just the same as all her NT classmates. And is the only child with a diagnosed disability in the whole school (so her SLT told me last year).