Anyone used Margo Sharp for SLT assessment?

[Skylar123]

Can anyone give me thoughts as above , any idea on costs . Just looking for a good SALT to throughly assess dd.
thank you

Hi skylar There is at least one fairly regular poster that has used margo. If she doesnt see your post I will give her a nudge later for you

Thanks.

I have used Margo. She is very good but not cheap. DS1 is very complex and presents more like a girl iykwim. NHS SALT had discharged him years before. When she assessed DS1 she had to travel from Birmingham and then stayed overnight in a hotel and visited again the next day. DS1 was not in school so the visits were at home. She did a bunch of assessments with DS1 and DH and I completed the childhood checklist questionnaire and she then did the DISCO with DH and I. DS1 also had her diagnosis confirmed by Daphne Keen. He has never had NHS assessment but his diagnosis is accepted as 'official' by the NHS and the LA conceded at tribunal hearing and he is now at OOC indi ss. Margo would have been an expert witness if the LA hadn't conceded and so although she was present she did not get a chance to speak (another £950 + travel + overnight stay + VAT). PM me with your email if you want more details.

One assessment that Margo didn't do was the TOPS 3 assessment of higher level language comprehension. The LA had to pay for a private SALT assessment for tribunal and this test blew it for them as DS1 was over 5 years behind.

We have a appt with Margo for next week to assess dd2 who has many quirks, lots of sensory issues, huge control and emotional regulation problems, and is now (in year 2) beginning to show problems at school (her ability puts her 18 months+ ahead NC levels-wise, but her performance and output in class shows up more as falling behind)

I will report back (look out for the thread!) once it has all happened.

Thanks for the info on margo keep
I hope your appointment goes well alarm

We are about to be discharged by nhs salt had two assessments over two years about to get a refusal to assess from LA so would like a more through assessment done for Ds with possibility of using at tribunal stage

Nhs salt seemed a bit, well, rubbish tbh, said yes difficulties down to autism but nothing really bad , no speech delay, social interaction skills should be worked on by sch for which she put recommendation for, no full report just summary of assessment. When I asked about his difficulties with regards to higher language skills and comprhension of more complex language she said that she thinks he understands but is choosing not too. Poor attention.

I've also looked into Jackie Harland

SALT have stayed on board with DS2 since he was referred for pronunciation delay after his developmental check at 2.6 - he is now nearly 8. NHS have done loads of assessments and there are specific tests to see whether DC understand but don't follow directions. One of the first assessments DS2 had was the CELF 4 subtests Understanding Spoken Paragraphs and Concepts and Following Directions. Which assessments have they done?

I don't even know what assessments they have done! The report last year doesn't name any assessments but I know it wasn't a full assessment. What they did yesterday I don't know. Asked Ds to point to some pictures, then asked him to repeat back some sentences.

We used Margo recently and I'm a big fan of hers now!

She picked up loads of things with DD age 15 years who has amazing speech and high average academic levels! Some of the issues she identified were major (eg verbal comprehension 1st centile). Her report was great and helped secure an independent placement which dd started this week.

She sounds great and that's fab news about helping with your dd's placement.

I'm going to helpfully use Margo's report for refusal to assess tribunal

However I feel a little more at ease regarding nhs salt we saw yesterday as Ds is being assessed soon (ADOS) and the notes say that a different salt wil be assessing him at school beforehand. She specialises in autism and seems to work private as well.

Thanks for the comments on margo - here's hoping I can afford her on top of the ed pysch and goodness knows what else.

Going to owe a lot of money when we get through this but if it helps Ds I would double it anyday of the week!

I've been searching online for info about Semantic Pragmatic Disorder and read something by Margo Sharp - it was like she was describing my son down to a tee! Does anyone know how much she costs?

To give some back story, my son is 4, but he is going to school in September 2017 as he is an October baby. He has something, but they don't know what, they think Aspergers. But they aren't going to do anything about it until he gets to school because he is "high functioning".

His use of language now is really making him quite different to his peers and I am worried he will be picked on or become socially axious as he's noticing the differences. He hates going to his swimming lessons because one of the instructors "doesn't like" him. He also says things like "I'm not very good at taking" :(