I have some questions re a statement for my son with Aspergers - please is this OK?

[MsDemeanor]

Hi, my son has Aspergers and is 6 and in year one. I have just got a proposed statement (hooray) BUT it offers 15 hours a week partly 1-1 and partly small group plus and 1.5 hours speech therapy a TERM (including training his teachers etc which I think is shite)plus lots of guff about how he needs 'plans' and 'access to support across the day' within the school.Some of it is good stuff (ICT to ensure his work is readable a social skills group) but not sure that there is any funding etc for this.
Ds is clever and has friends and talks etc so I know I am 'lucky' but he is odd, has attention and social problems and if left to himself at school would sink.
SO is this a good statement? I've never seen one before so I just don't know!

if he NEEDS more speech therapy, if he NEEDS more one-on-one support, then it's not an adequate statement. Phrases such as 'access to support' are not worth the paper they are written on. That's why they are trying to fob you off with a vague document. It needs to be quantified - who does it, how many hours per day, etc.

I'm sure others will give more specific advice but all the parts of the statement should flow together - Part 2 is like a diagnosis, where all his needs are detailed, Part 3 sets out the educational provision that meets each of those needs, and Part 4 is the place where Part 3 is delivered.

Is the speech therapy in Part 3? how many visits per term? You will not get direct (one-on-one) speech therapy into Part 3 unless you appeal with a good independent SALT report, methinks.

I'm not sure on what's normal but 1.5 hrs speech therapy a term doesn't sound much, sounds like a bit of a token thing to me. Im slightly embarrassed to say I blanked ds' statement from my mind after he started at lovely sn school and I don't feel the need to stress about it for a while (the profile was done by his old school and is really mean - I know they have to make it bad but still, some of it was a bit OTT).

Hi MsDeameanour

Sounds like you've got a vaguely worded statement there particularly with regards to "access to support". You need both quantified and qualifed support.

I would also try and get the speech therapy element of his difficulties in Part 2 if it is not in Part 2.

Would urge you to talk to IPSEA as well about Parts 2 and 3 www.ipsea.org.uk as they are good at all this and can advise you how it should actually be worded for it to mean something.

OK thanks for this girls. Really appreciate you giving me your input. I didn't really undestand at all how a statement was supposed to work. Added to this, to my absolute horror, the draft statement was sent to the wrong address - which I only knew because his lovely OT emailed me to express her concerns about no proper OT provision in there (he has dyspraxia) and I said 'what draft statement'. Comments are supposed to be in by MONDAY! And I got the statement by fax at 3.30 on Friday. I am also concerned that I've heard nothing at all from ds's school, which has had the statement since 27th May. Would it be normal for there to be a meeting between school and parents to discuss the content of the statement? The school applied for it after we were turned down.
I will contact ipsea on Monday and also make sure we have two weeks from Monday to make our representations.
Thanks again. I may be back with more questions!

Please, I'd be very grateful for anyone with any more information/opinions. Especially re is it normal for hte school not to contact us.

I think their silence is a worry. If they are happy with statements, I'd expect them to say so.

See what they say.

Find out what they know about children with an ASD.

They should be able to tell you the standard checklist of no flickering lights, no sudden noises, hypersensitive to texture, smell, taste, overreaction to being touched by other children, unable to see body language, or hear voices over a crowd of other voices. And of course obsession with particular things, pedantic voice tone that can seem rude, tendency to slump, not good at sport (all generalisations - some children may not have all of these).

If they can't name the ways our mind works, there's no way they can adapt the classroom and playground to make it safe for us.
You may have to help teach them.