A bit of background....
DS, who's 3, is due to start reception in sept. he has severe verbal dyspraxia (can hardly say anything that can be understood) and ASD diagnoses. While he undoubtably shows some ASD traits, eg limited imagination in play, a lot of the things that probably contributed to him getting the diagnosis 8 months ago have faded away, eg he no longer hand flaps, is really happy and settled at his mainstream nursery, copes ok with changes to routine... He's definitely a lot happier and more confident and independent than he was last summer when he got the diagnosis. The consensus among professionals seems to be that verbal dyspraxia is his "primary" diagnosis and that a lot of his social problems are to do with the fact that he cannot communicate verbally. The pre school specialist teacher assigned to DS says he tries to communicate a lot more than other children with ASD diagnoses. He doesn't seem to have any sensory issues aside from being a bit scared of handriers and fans in toilets. His understanding (receptive language) is average / just slightly below average, depending on which test is used.
We are very keen, desperate even, that DS goes to a mainstream primary with speech unit and we are lucky enough to have a great option in this regard only 20 mins away from where we live. His nhs and private speech therapists both agree this is also the best place for DS and the speech therapist in charge of our local unit came to observe DS and said she would be happy to take him. The LA have just done a SA and when I called for an update last week and was told they had drafted the statement, I asked if the content was consistent with DS being placed at the speech unit. The case officer confirmed it was and said that if we named our local speech unit in part 4 they would have no objections.
So, on the plus side, things all seem to be heading in the right direction for us. However the statement itself is not great. Although part 2 seems generally ok and reasonably accurate, part 3 is a load of crap. In line with what loads of other people get, very little is clearly specified or quantified.
For us the key thing is speech therapy, and what is in the draft is:
"communication targets written by the SLT... incoprorated in the IEP"
"individual sessions following a particular speech intervention programme carried out by a member of staff several times a week" and a few other similarly pointless things!
I'm kind of ok with how to deal with that sub section on language skills, clearly we need to be pushing for the recommendations of the SLTs to be adopted, which include 3 sessions a week with a therapist experienced dealing with VD, and daily practice.
However what is trickier for us to determine is what other support we want written into the statement. There is currently some stuff under "early learning and play skills", "attention and concentration skills", and "social skills". Our main area of concern is that he will be ok during playtimes and lunch times and where things are not structured or closely supervised. We feel he is vulnerable to being bullied by other kids and he often tries to join in with what other kids are doing, but is shunned, which is clearly going to damage his self esteem if it is allowed to happen regularly. Sometimes because he cannot talk, or because he doesn't understand social rules as well as others, he will do something inappropriate like snatch a toy from another child.
Some of the bits in the draft are:
"an appropriate programme of support which focuses on developing his early learning skills"
" a daily programme of reading development ..."
"frequent adult supported teaching of early literacy and numeracy skills through play based activities... Sessions will be short and frequent and delivered through direct instruction with an adult"
" use of visual prompts and support ..."
" use of a move and sit cushion"
" short term work on developing attention and concentration..."
" adult directed play sessions at least three times a week but ideally daily with the adult facilitating the interaction and helping support and interpret DS' communication with his peers"
" access to an adult who can help him work through tricky situations arising in and out of the classroom"
" a programme of activities to develop his understanding of appropriate social interaction. Staff can use role play or puppets..."
Obviously a lot of the above is way too vague but I'm not really sure what we should be asking for or expecting. One thing we are aware of is we don't want to jeopardise his place at the unit. The idea is they don't take children with "complex needs" so i am scared if we are too demanding they will say they can't meet his needs and it's not the appropriate placement for him. On the other hand we obviously want DS to receive the support he needs for his wider ASD relatd needs.
Any advice on what to go back with to the LA will be appreciated. Should I write back confirming we want the speech unit in part 4 but saying we want to tighten up all the stuff in part 3. Do people generally rewrite the statement themselves and send to the LA? Should I ask for a soft copy so I can make comments / proposals directly on that ?
Thanks in advance for any help or advice, and thanks for reading if you've made it this far!!