Advice required - been given a date for meeting EP

[MrsPear]

Hi

Ds1 is four and starts school in September. He has moderate to severe hearing loss and wears bilateral hearing aids. In preparation for school we are having assessment with EP. What do I say? How do I work out what he needs? And what is reasonable? Should I call his TOD? And will the EP actually know anything or just be given a line to do go and see him?!

Ask what accomodations or adjustments will need to be made to the classroom and presentation of materials. Get them in writing.

Does he need a 'loop'? Where must he sit in assembly? What provision can be made to ensure he is able to socially interact with his peers when he won't always be able to keep up with developments in play due to his hearing difficulties? What other placements does the LA offer should this placement not be sufficient?

yes, definitely call his ToD, they should be able to give you all the info you need, especially if there's a HI base that would be appropriate Have you applied for a statement? You want to be thinking about radio aids and soundfield systems as well as the acoustics for the school you are wanting your ds to go to. What situations make listening difficult, what support will there be for hearing aid maintenance, deaf awareness training for school staff, what SALT is available and how often and is there a specialist HI SALT in the area and how much ToD/communication support time will there be each week? Think about playtimes and lunch times as lunch halls can be very loud and echoey and bad for communication and playgrounds get very loud too. What support does your ds need to make friends, does he get left out easily if he can't follow conversations? If he's at preschool, they can probably give you some idea of the support they provide.

Are you in touch with the ndcs? I'm sure they have a starting school booklet thingy, been a while since dd3 who's also deaf, started school so trying to think back they were also great when we had issues with school placement so it's always worth a call to their helpline if you're unsure of anything.

Thanks for the in depth replies which have given lots of food for thought. I think I am going to make notes before I go. I just want a plan put in place so he doesn't fall behind or get left out.