What would you do?

[alfiemama]

I'm a bit concerned about ds who is 4.5 (5 in June) dx although not on paper but the paed said she had seen enough to say it was ASD and probable dyspraxia.
I have just been to son's parents eve. Ds is currently on half days as he wasn't coping well.

The teacher advised that ds was very behind the others in his class, but hopefully he seems to be being fast tracked by Paed (who is coming in to observe him in school on Monday) and that when he gets one to one he will improve. We asked would he be able to repeat reception, but she declared that no he had to go onto yr 1 as she has 30 new intakes, even though she had told us that he has to have play related learning at the moment.

Me and hubby cant help but feel our son will be let down if he goes onto the next yr and will struggle immensely. We sneaked a peak at the others books to compare and there is no way he would cope, he is only at the level on putting his coat on and his hook!

So here are my questions and perhaps options.

1. Can he repeat reception somewhere else as he will only be 5 in June.

1. Can I request that he DOES repeat in this school.

1. Special schools, do you have to have a statement.

1. Statementing, I was going to request this through IPSEA, but the Paed got involved and thought I would see what she could do, she mentioned ESAP FUNDING which I have now learnt is only for mornings. I have to go into school to fill in a form from the head of the ED PHYSC dept, should I see what they can offer? Or would you go ahead regardless and see if I can get him into a sn school?

As you can see I am a bit of a tizz with regards to this one, as I literally only have 6 months to find him the help that he needs. I am going to try him on full days next week, so that he can then have a rest over the holidays if too much.

Any help would be very appreciated with this one, thanks

Hi. Can't really help with your specific questions but wanted to reply to offer sympathy and what little help I can. My son has dyspraxia. What I have learnt is you really have to push to get as much help as you can.

The NHS does offer some help but it is really stretched and I think the school is the best place to offer help. We got no really help in year 1 and my son was really behind. I then pushed and complained to the head. Since then they have a motor skills group,special needs support and an IEP and we have also found a private therapist who the NHS recommended. This year he has made incredible progress and although he is behind it isn't as much.

So basically go with your gut feeling and really nag to get help.Good luck!

Thanks WorkInProgress, It's so hard isnt it? dont they think we have enough to worry about without having to push for help in this area.

I know there is so many worse off and I am grateful and suprisingly wouldnt change ds at all, as he is the person I fell in love with. I would just hate to think of him sat there struggling

i can only answer question 3, which is yes, you do need to have a statement to go to a special school - it needs to be in the statement itself, where you name the school to take on your child.

In a few rare cases the special school can take on your child if the statment is in the making and a 'sure thing', unfortunately so many statements take so long and cannot be guarenteed until right at the end that many schools are unwilling to 'wait and see' whilst still taking on the child.

I do feel for your situation tho, its horrid and stressful and so 'unknown' (as in not knowing whats going to happen).

i would let the 'year' decsison slide for the moment and concentrate your efforts into getting the support sorted. once he has that support in place it won't be so important which year group he is with as the work/ play will be suitable differentiated anyway. you can leave the 'year group' argument until towards the end of the summer term.

you won't get him into an sn school without an EP assessment tbh, so if he hasn't been assessed by the EP (sorry, not sure what the form is) then i would be pushing for that. the ep would be a good person to advise (later) on year group and whether a special school would be appropriate.
EP will have access to other funding and will be able to suggest whether a statement would be appropriate at this point. if so, there will be assessments from everyone in any case (have they referred for OT as well? can be helpful for dyspraxia) so it will be a case of rolling with it for a while.
sorry, but none of this is overnight stuff - it will take a little while to sort out. statementing is usually six months but can take longer. push for ep referral and OT from paed.
honestly, don't feel that you have to rush - it is absolutely impossible to rush this, and you will burn yourself out lol. i wouldn't rush to send him in all day every day if he's only doing mornings - why not start back gently after easter?
what are they doing currently? has he got an IEP set up with some sensible targets?

ooh forgot to mention, as the councils will only pay for so many years of education - even if you do manage to get reception repeated, they will ask you to forfeit another for it, usually yr 6... so the child that was struggling in year1, goes straight to year7 after finishing year5, a difficult decision to make.

go for statement ,one thing i have learnt here if you do it yorself you have right to appeal.were currently going through it now.

In north essex they will not let you repeat orholdthem backa year i asked as my ds will be 4 in July and start september f/t so if held back year would only be 5 weeks older than next intake . but i am going be pushing for sn school and here they do need statement one I want does not take till term there 5 so ds wwill stay at preschool till then

ds is ,GDD,SLI and asd traits there sitting on fence for that

Thanks everyone, advice very welcome.

Madwomanintheattic, the form is the referral for the the Ed Physc, we had requested assesment but she had broke her foot and we had to wait, however when the comm paed got on board she contacted the head of the Ed Physc and told them he needs looking at asap.

He has also been referred to the OT just waiting for the appointment to come through.

I suppose we just assumed that as he was on half days he would just repeat, as he has missed so much schooling.

Miscut sorry thanks didnt know they had to forfeit for another year and think this is a very important point you have raised and one we will have to consider.

Madwoman, ourselves and the school just thought he could start full time just before half term, as A) the comm paed observing him and would be good to observe him at lunch time and B) he could have a little go and then have a rest in the half term.

ok - it's all moving along then, slowly. there is no way to rush these things, unfortunately. wait and see what ep comes up with - they will have a view lol... you can refer for statement with that report too if nec.

I would start ball rollling by writing to say you would like them to look at statementing him

bear in mind that the ep does work for the Lea,c ,when you read the report so if you think its not enough.true reflection of ds problems go for statment still,least you can then put your concerns as point of view to.Call me cyncial but am learning that seems be a monsy saving issue first not nescarrly whats best for your child

And see if paed will put findings on paper ,then you have yet another stick if needs

Thanks everyone.

Madwoman, yes it was moving along slowly but now the paed is involved things seem to have picked up.

Phoenix, I have a report from the paed saying he has complex issues and is being referred to the complex behaviour team, OT, specialist speach and lang.

I am going to see the senco today and will just ask her honestly if she feels he can cope in school from what she has seen. They are pushing for a statement and not Esap funding as they have said he needs urgent 1 -1 help.

I just dont see how in 6 months (well not even that, if they have to wait for the go ahead for 1 - 1 and then employ somebody) he will be ready for the next class.

If I have to I would rather pull him out and let him do reception in another school.

Does it not make a difference if he is 5 in June, as I thought legally they didnt need to go until they are 5?

ok - when you speak to senco - double check he is listed as being on school action plus, then ask to review the targets on his iep. they should be reviewed at least six monthly, but termly at this age tbh. you need to know what they think are the most important areas, and how they are helping him to achieve them.
tell her that you will be asking the therapists for target input when the referrals come through.

honestly, try not to worry about yr 1 at this point. concentrate on what they are doing now.

Thanks Madwoman

I spoke to the senco, had to fill out the referral form but she said the paed had been on the phone to Ed Physc, requesting he is fast tracked.

Also had to fill out the CAFF form (I think this is what its called)

She said we should ignor going for ESAP FUNDING and go for a statement as he needs full 1-1 throughout the day not just in class.

She did say that class size could be a worry to the Ed Physc (30 in class) but they tend to prefer them to go to mainstream rather than sn.

I asked did she think would be ok in YR 1, she said only if full 1-1 to help him and even then she was honest and said may struggle.

Will wait until Monday when the paed comes to observe him.

that sounds positive, though - hope monday goes well. at least it sounds like the senco is being sensible. full time 1-1 means that esentially they can let him take time out and have a much more differentiated learning experience, joining into small group and class activities where appropriate. ep round here doesn't worry about class size if a child has 1-1, unless they aren't going to fund full time 1-1 lol...
good luck x