Husband not on board

[GinPink]

Me again. My son has this week been diagnosed with severe verbal dyspraxia. I want to push to get him to a specialist SAL school. This will make our lives so much more complicated as it's far away and we already have two children in different settings (primary school that wouldn't suit my son and a nursery). My husband hasn't really accepted the diagnosis and just thinks he will catch up on his own.

I feel like I'm dealing with all the SEN stuff, googling everything until stupid o clock and calling round to explore any possible avenues we could take to help him. I'm crying a lot as I am sad and worried for my son. But on top of this I have to plan how I will broach the subject with my husband and persuade him this really is what our son needs.

On the flip side, what if my husband is right and on a years time my son is fine and could go to the same school as his sister (I highly doubt this but who knows eh?)

Specialist provision is in such short supply, that if your ds doesn't need it in a year's time, then he could move to his sibling's school and someone else could have the place.
EHCPs are reviewed annually.

Thanks backforgood, but what if in a years time his sisters school is full and they can't fit him in the class?

Think you'll find anyone offering to move from special to mainstream (I presume) the local authority will bite your hand off and make it happen for you. Even if it's still full you can still name it and insist on it (have to admit never fully understood how that works).

In reality, the Authority can finance another place at a school if a child has an EHCP and it is deemed the best provision.

However, if the diagnosis is such that specialist provision is recommended pre-school, it would be unlikely this would change so completely in a year, that it was then decided that the specialist provision was no longer needed.

Would your husband be prepared to talk directly to the SaLT ? To get a clearer understanding of the difference between a speech delay, and a speech disorder?

If he can't get time off work to attend appointments, could he arrange to speak to a SaLT, through the TalkingPoint website call back system, or even asking your SaLT when he could have a telephone conversation with her ?

TalkingPoint Fact Sheet

Unfortunately it's highly unlikely that a child with severe verbal dyspraxia will catch up easily.

If he gets an EHCP and at some point reaches the stage where he could return to the mainstream with the EHCP, you stand a strong chance of getting him into his sister's school. With an EHCP, if parents prefer a particular mainstream school the local authority must meet their preference unless placing the child in that school would be incompatible with the efficient education of other children and there are no reasonable steps that can be taken to overcome the incompatibility. So it's very difficult for them to say no, even if the school is full.

I taught a child with severe verbal dyspraxia who was in specialist preschool provision. When he started reception I could not work out any of his speech at all, he would switch/ substitute or omit every syllable. By the end of year one though he could be understood and by year 3 speech therapy ceased. He was by yr 4 day ahead of peers in writing.
Only telling you as a potential positive outcome though, not that you shouldnt use the provision, it just for experience sake