Stammering/dsyfluency - no direct SALT because he is not 'aware'

[KOKOagainandagain]

DS2 is currently at home doing internet school for year 6. His Statement is finally being transferred into an EHCP - the LA stopped playing silly buggers when we involved solicitors .

He has just had salt assessment as part of the process - indi SALT but employed by the LA. He has been under SALT for the past 7 years due to pronunciation problems. He has now generalised all speech sounds so does not need direct therapy for that.

On standardised testing he has very good language skills but he sounds different - tone, pitch, etc but he also uses fillers e.g. like, um, etc and proceeds answers with a 'nyah' sound which may be a stammer like filler or a tic. When he was at school he had SALT oversight and 1:1 with his LSA to learn strategies such as slowing down speech etc. The new report says that he was asked if he knew he was making a 'nyeh' sound in all sentences and he said no. The SALT said therefore no therapy now but make a referral to SALT if he becomes aware of it.

He may or may not go back to a brick school in September. If he does not become aware of his speech problems in the context of therapy, I fear he will become aware of them as soon as he starts at brick secondary through the teasing/bullying by classmates.

What would you do? My own SALT report to get therapy whilst planning his return to a brick school? Continue internet school? Pay for SALT therapy now?

Thanks zzzzz I am downloading it.

DS2 says that he wants to go to the local secondary because his friends from primary are going there and because of the science labs but it is huge - about 2,000 pupils. The SALT report says that he doesn't have a realistic expectation - he told her that because the school is so big they have lots of classes with only around 20 DC in each class. I have told him otherwise and he has been to visit but he is adamant.

She says he needs 1:1 due to issues with social skills, motivation and following instructions in the class room. That he needs dual placement initially or gradual introduction to transition from internet school in rural farmhouse to massive school in neighbouring town.

I have heard some things that concern me about bullying and its link to ASD in particular. A recent post to a closed FB autism group asking about experiences with the school was removed

DS2 had some issues when we moved him in year 4 with other DC getting him to say words that he could not pronounce in order to mock him I can't bear the thought of it happening again when he has returned to the happy, carefree square peg boy I knew in KS1.

Then I suffer terrible bouts of paranoia that I am projecting my fears onto him. I felt 'profoundly misunderstood' at primary but secondary was worse - especially as I had been raised Jehovah's Witness - because of the bullying. I always seemed to attract people who would pretend to be my friend for the amusement of others as, clearly, no-one really wanted to be my friend but I was too gullible to realise - I guess that's what not really understanding deception is.

The head of learning support was talking of tough love, not wrapping them in cotton wool and not projecting fears onto him. It feels like painting a target on his back and encouraging him to walk across a shooting range. Am I being over-protective and potentially negatively impacting on his independence or realistically considering the likelihood of real possibilities?