Rewriting statement and statement format help please

[claw2]

I am currently rewriting ds's statement. This is ds's first statement and I have no idea of what a statement should look like or the format, layout etc.

The statement the LA have sent me is more a long narrative, going all around the houses, without actually identifying need. Part 2 has an introduction, where the LA talk about which nursery he attended and other, what I think is totally irrelevant info, such as us moving house and this paed thought he might have ASD and referred to another paed etc, etc.

Can I do this kind of format? are there any rules about format and layout?
...............................................................................................

Introduction

Ds has the following diagnosis/difficulties

Hypermobility
Visual difficulties
Anxiety
Sleep disturbance
feeding difficulties
Peer interaction
ASD
Soiling

In xxxx 2009 ds was seen by Dr xxxxx (Consultant Community Paediatrician at and diagnosed with hypertension (hyermobility) in his elbows, wrists and hand joints.

In xxx 2010 was seen by xxxx (Specialist Orthoptist) and diagnosed with Oculomotor deficiencies type ll. Which means his visual memory is good but that his ability to follow lines as for reading and writing was very inaccurate and this also made it very slow.

In xxx 2010 ds was referred to CAMHS following being hospitalised and needing IV antibiotics in xxxx 2009 when his self injuries became infected. Ds presented with anxiety, sleep and feeding difficulties and peer interaction.

In xxxx 2010 ds received a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder from xxx Service after showing sufficient difficulties in the areas of social interaction, communication and behaviours. They also listed difficulties as interacting with others, difficulties with understanding, sensory difficulties, feeding difficulties, difficulties sleeping at night and continence issues/soiling.

and so on.

Then onto the sub headings of communication, cognitive and learning etc, etc, where I will give more detail?

Part 2 is allowed to have some scene setting, but the amount of history detail there is probably excessive. What is important is his current educational needs in school. The sub headings are useful, then if you can further break this down into bullet points, then each subheading and bullet point can be met with relevant details of required provision. For example, the oculomotor deficiencies need to be taken out of the history and made plain as an educational need, with the provision required to help with that in part 3.

Ok thanks Its just a page wasted of scene setting in 2009! with the conclusion that ds received a dx of ASD in 2010 after being referred here and there. I would have thought the fact that he got a dx of ASD in 2010, is enough info rather than a long history of how he got a dx?

Maybe I could make it shorter and include up to date scene setting?

Have a look at this. (pg 2 onwards)

That's brilliant Eatyourveg exactly what I was after, thanks very much.

Scene setting is this:

First sentence to set expectations of his ability I.e Ds is a very capable and hard working dude.

Next sentence, having been to 2 primaries where his needs coukd not be met adequately his confidence needs work and his capability needs careful nurturing to be fulfilled or some such.

That's the thing Star they have put the change of primaries down to me moving house, there is no mention of me removing him the first school or the second school.

They then go on to say a large number of services have been involved in assessing and advising on ds's needs, although that is correct, they forget to mention that both they and previous schools havent followed a single recommendation made by these services!

Rather than get involved in bickering again, I would just rather focus on ds needs, than scene setting. They seem more intent on 'scene setting' and blame throughout the statement, totally ignoring ds's needs.

I made sure that the background blurb included LA provision of EOTAS.

Put self harm under your list under intro. Put ASD at the top of the list.

Agree important to mention 2 failed mainstream placements.

If you pm me an email I can send you our statement. Its far too long but has some useful stuff.

What i have so far under introduction

Ds has a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) showing ‘sufficient difficulties in the areas of social interaction, communication and behaviours’. Speech and language needs, 'he struggles with more abstract and complex language and in common with children sharing his diagnosis, ds’s social abilities are delayed and he has difficulty in social communication and language, social engagement, understanding of social situations and understanding the feeling, emotions, motivations and needs of other people. Additional he has ‘hypertension (hyermobility) in his elbows, wrists and hand joints’ and 'delay in his gross and fine motor skills and self-care skills'. Ds has 'sensory processing difficulty, feeding and soiling difficulties'. Ds has a diagnosis of Oculomotor Deficiencies Type II which impacts on his tracking and scanning and also photophobia (sensitivity to glare). Ds has a long significant history of high anxiety, low self esteem and self harm which is triggered by his worries and sad feelings. (I will elaborate a bit here about his sad feeling being related to school)

I was then going to go on to say about more recent history, briefly about he has been out of school etc?