Dual placement- special schools- I'm tired

[adrianna22]

I'm actually exhausted.

My head is going around the twist. I feel like driving around Somewhere far away and to never come back.

I don't know what to do about DS about provision. His getting a full time TA on his statement but theres not much input about his speech and language needs.

On his statement it highlights that DS main needs are ASD and language difficulties/delay.

The LA said the ONLY school that they would recommend for DS if I choose a provision, is a school for kids with ASD and have profound learning disabilities.

Well I've been to see the school and it wasn't the right school for DS at all. He would get very distracted when placed in that schools
Environment.

DS is having his private assessment done soon, so hopefully that should be clearer for me.

Till then, I should be thoroughly reading through his statement.

Think about it tomorrow, you sound too tired tonight

Sometimes it is the least worst option you have to choose, there is no perfect

Ask for a list of all the special schools and units and go to see all the ones who have an admissions criteria which fits your ds's profile. There will be several schools each for a different type of need.

When it comes to mainstream or special school, its not always one or the other - ds2 and ds3 both had dual placements ds2 had 2 nursery placements 50/50 ss/ms and 2 primary schools 4/1 ss/ms ds3 just had a dual pre - school placement on a 50/50 basis

On other hand you may find a ms that will totally embrace him and be able to fully meet all his needs

No way no way no way am I choosing that soon. Lovely how it was. Wasn't right for DS at all.

School I mean

Bear in mind that you are entitled to nominate independent schools, if there are any that are suitable. LAs tend to leave them off their lists.

Your LA should have published their Local Offer by now and all schools in your LA and those with children funded by you LA in other counties must be listed on their. Google (whatever your LA is called) Local Offer and you should be able to find it. Even my really awfully crap LA have managed to get theirs up and running so fingers crossed.

Good luck and stay strong, you may need to offer to take them to tribunal to help them change their minds.

Thanks.

Ive searched my local offer, but they only list maintained special schools. No mention of other units/resources bases that I can look at.

This whole process is tiring me out, but I will stay strong and keep fighting for my DS.

Oh I know that overwhelmed and lost feeling well! Finding information even in the internet age is so hard! Do you have a local ASD parent support group (eg branch of NAS)or better still a telephone helpline? That might be a quick way of finding out about schools in the area that other parents send their children to. It may also be an idea to speak to the HT of the special school you know is not right for your child 'off the record' and simply ask if they know of any schools (independent or maintained) where children (with needs similar to yours) is thriving. Its quite hard to find the independants. There is a yearly guide book by Gabbitas Education that lists all the specialist school, called Schools for special needs, that lists all SN education (independent and state) by location and by needs. ISBN 978 0 7494 7039 5 The local library may have a copy. Ds was at least 12 before I found this! Its a starting point only as for instance just listing ASD does not tell you if the school is right for your childs ASD, but its a start.
are you looking for a split placement?

Hi Marsgo

Thanks for the info!!!

I've just received my proposed statement and they've sent me this big booklet of specialist schools/provisions yikes.

This would be so much easier if I had this booklet before.. But now I have 15 days to make up my mind.

I'm still deciding about split placement- but will see what the special schools have got to say.

Good luck. Exactly the same happened to us They seem to deliberately withhold information and then at the last minute give you 14 days to run around and get appointments to make decisions!

Have you got a report from the nhs speech therapist included. In the statement? Do they say what speech and langwuge support your son needs?

AAAhcantthink- it identified his speech and language needs- but not enough of it, I'll have to make amends on that part.

Sounds like it wasn't very clear, that's unfortunate. The SLT should have detailed which areas of speech and language he is delayed in and the sort of intervention that is required to address these. The relevant bits from the report should be slotted into parts 2 and 3.

Obviously I don't know your son but from what you've said in the past he has sounded not dissimilar to my DS... I am so impressed with the speech unit my DS goes to, they do such a wonderful job of making school a happy place to be for all the kids and they get the speech therapy they need too, which is, I gather, a lot more than they would receive in alternative settings. My boy gets a one to one therapy session once a week and also one group therapy session with two other kids at a similar stage to him. Then there is lots of language work going on in th classroom. I know you have been put off speech and language units cos of the ASD diagnosis but the fact that your son has managed ok in a mainstream setting so far suggests he would likely be ok in a speech and langwuge unit too. It seems very harsh speech units saying they don't allow kids with ASD to attend, without understanding how ASD manifests itself in the child in question - that would be like a mainstream school having a blanket policy of excluding a child with ASD. I guess we were lucky we didn't have to fight to get our son in the speech unit but I totally would have done if need be...

Thanks aaahcantthink-

Our local speech and language unit was actually a resource base and not very intensive.

DS is having a private assessment in a couple of days, which will include a very detailed report about his speech communication and education needs.

They have identified his speech and language needs, in part 3- not mentioned in part 2. Just not enough of it and does not contain many direct hours with a speech therapist but he gets a full time TA.

Quite a few people have told me from his report, that DS sounds as if he has a social communication disorder? I thought ASD was a social communication disorder?

Anyway, I am relying on this private assessment to spell out his needs.

So far, it looks like communication is his main need- alongside speech and language.

Good luck, hope the private assessments can direct you to what he needs. I'm afraid I don't know about social communication disorder, sounds like it might be related to ASD tho.