Ed Psych

[HHH3]

DS2 is being assessed by an Ed Psych in a couple of weeks after the LA agreed to assess for EHCP. Chatting to a friend about it earlier and she asked me what exactly they assess...and I realised I don't actually know

So, what do they assess?

And what can I expect in an EP report for EHCP?

They literally do what it says on the tin they look at their profile of skills and how that effects them in education and then give recommendations.

Usually they look for strengths and weaknesses, advise how the strengths can be used and how weaknesses can be improved or overcome by using strengths.

Thank-you

Ime you have to put your concerns in a particular way that suggests which sort of assessments might be appropriate eg. Cognitive assessment, working memory, processing speed, gap between ability and attainment, higher level language, functional and social use of language, sensory processing issues etc depending on profile of needs.

HLL and executive functioning are really just different terms that SALT and EP use to refer to the essentially, at least functionally, the same thing/skills. So for EP, ask for assessment of executive functioning.

Should have said - if you don't specify concerns the EP may just observe. Some things cannot be discerned through observation alone. If you don't identify a need, you don't have to meet it.

Oh - if my LA is anything to go by (and I sincerely hope this is not the case) what you can expect is a focus on key stage outcomes and bizarre assertion that provision is written in line with outcomes rather than need. This is complete bollocks.

Would all of this apply to a 3.7 year old KeepOn?

LA have agreed to assess for EHCP. EP has contacted nursery direct so I have no way of contacting her to tell her my concerns. She's asked to meet with me after she's assessed DS. So she'll have assessed him before she hears my concerns.

What LA are you in (feel free to PM if you'd prefer)?

Oh, and she'll have a job assessing anything that involves language as his receptive language is behind and his speech just scrapes on to the 1st centile!

Same as KeepOn, our EP in Herts made a useless assessment of needs so that it would fit in with the provision she wanted to give (none). But from what I've read on this forum not all are like that. Maybe just be alert to whether the findings ring true for you.

Oh dear - we're in the same LA amunt Having said that my friend's DC was assessed for EHCP recently and she was happy with the EP report.

When I get the report, if it doesn't ring true for me, is there anything I can do?

Yes contact the la ep department and ask for email or for EP to ring you before visit. Then provide a list of concerns and what you want assessed.

Ds latest EP report says he has difficulties in each area I was concerned about - despite DS school not sharing concerns.

I'll do that. I'm just unsure what sort of things to bring up. Am I aiming for things that could affect him accessing education? So things like being unable to sit still and concentrate, his understanding being behind, no understandable speech? That sort of thing?

If that's what your concerns are then yes!

Why not five the ep some of the stats you've given here re speech centile etc and ask for assess his cognitive ability against his ability to communicate.

SEN comes in all different shapes and sizes. There's children who are cognitively average or above but have below average speech, communication, processing etc skills which affect their ability to access curriculum.

You want to focus on them investigating his 'best possible outcomes' as that is what SENDCOP focuses on.

So what is his next step, what provision does he need to meet it and what barriers are there and what can be done to help.

Thanks. That's really helpful. Will try to get some contact details for the EP tomorrow and have a chat with her.

Also, is it worth me mentioning to her that he's very good at hiding the fact he doesn't understand something? So, if he's asked a yes/no question for example, but doesn't understand, he will very confidently answer yes. If the answer happens to be yes then it looks like he's understood and answered correctly. He never really looks unsure when he doesn't know something.

Or will she think I'm trying to influence her in some way?

She needs to know that. In fact it's more common for children who don't understand to answer confidently (even if it's wrong!) than for children who have a better understanding - therefore realise there's a right or wrong iyswim?

If understanding closed questions is an issue then communicate this to the EP, they can use this as a starting point for recommendations.

I didn't know that! Ok, I'll tell her that. Thank-you

I'll try and explain what I mean to see if it helps?

Say a child is 2.
You ask "how old are you?"
The majority of 2yo will answer "2". It's hard to determine if they've rote learnt that or U tulle understand they are 2 yo iyswim?

A child with speech delay who doesn't use words such as numbers won't answer this. This doesn't mean they can't and don't understand they are 2.

A child who has yes or no as vocabulary can answer "are you 2?"

Now, again, they may have rote learnt that yes, in fact, they are 2. So they reply "yes" confidently.

The only real way of knowing then if they've rote learnt or truely understand is if you ask again in the same jolly tone of voice "are you 9?"

It's likely a child who understands they are actually 2yo and what that means will answer "no". A child who has just rote learnt the tone of voice and general question meaning is likely to answer "yes" in the same way they'd answer "are you 2?".

Does that make sense?

That makes a lot of sense - thank-you.

Some things he understands so if you asked him 'are you 3?' he'd answer 'yes'. If you asked him 'are you 9?' he'd answer 'no' because he knows he's 3.

But if, as a Dr asked him the other week 'does it hurt when I do this?' he answered 'yes' without missing a beat and I had to point out that he hadn't understood and it doesn't hurt.

So, anything outside of the norm and what he's used to goes over his head and his answer is always 'yes'.

That's good then. Because it shows his ability to learn by rote. Ie, he understands that he has an age and that its 3. These sorts of things help form the learning profile and what ways he can be taught.

When my son was first seen by an EP she observed him in class first. We had a meeting straight after with her and the SENCO to discuss our concerns. After that she can back and did a thorough assessment. Then a few weeks later we had a TAF meeting to discuss her findings. The EP was fab but has since left, we are in the same county mentioned already.

Yep, he can recognise numbers and count by rote too but can't actually count things if that makes sense?

That sounds positive orange. I'm hoping to get her name in the next couple of days. A friend's DC was assessed by an EP recently and she said the EP was really good so hoping we get the same one. She said she really 'got' her DC within 10mins.