Good experiences with SN professionals

[daisy5678]

Agree with Logi and Likeacuppa that some stories about good experiences might be nice for any newcomers who might otherwise just run off and down a bottle of vodka in despair

I haven't got many, but one person really stands out for me: J's consultant psychiatrist at CAMHS. She spotted the autism (when another psych hadn't), pushed for quick ADOS so dx could be made, wrote to help us get Blue Badge, DLA etc. and just generally goes above and beyond what she 'has to' do. She is also the only professional who I know who does the right thing for J without ulterior motive and is also the only reliable professional J has.

She's fantastic and gives me the best advice out of anyone.

I've found all sn profs difficult to deal with but probably because I get so anxious about dd that I can't think straight! However I had a fantastic HV when dd was born who had a child with sn herself and certainly knew how to help me through the situation. She even phoned the consultant to discuss my dd so she could tell me in a way I could understand better. Without her I would have been a complete mess so here's to Health Visitors who usually get a bad press from most people!!

The rehabilitation team at our local hospital were brilliant: dd spent a month in there two years ago and it made all the difference to her. The OT particularly good and v helpful with the school.

Also, just seen a genethicist who took a long time and seemed very careful.

And our GP has been supportive throughout; doesn't know a lot about dcs SN but will do anything he can.

I've had much better experiences with the professionals sincer we moved to berkshire.

I'm very grateful to our paed for helping us to get dla, and to the OT for seeing that ds needed therapy straight away and referring him for a wheelchair so we can have one that fits him properly.

most of my experiences with professionals are not so good, mainly the HV that never did the proper checks on dd. But her OT should be given an award for doing more than her jobs worth, she has traced reports, called peads about appointments not recieved, advised on DLA, and has been a shoulder to cry on. basically she has done the job of SS. Also given a lot of help when it came to statmenting and finding a suitable school.

Our HV is ok, she phoned today to check on dd2 as she had a letter from the hospital telling her that dd2 had been taken in after a reaction to the MMR, the HV knew i was unsure of giving her the MMR in the first place but i thought it was nice of her to phone.

We have also been lucky to get a great Portage worker for DD2 (dd2 loves her to bits).

We havn't been so lucky in other areas, the OT wouldn't see dd2 at all and her SALT is ok when we see her but a bit slow on getting back to us after discussing new ideas (doesn't follow them up).

Our local pead is a waist of time but the pead at the hospital was great.

Our consultant community paed would win hands down... in fact i nominated her for a local hero award..
She is straight talking, honest, open, very effective great at kicking arse but also understanding & kind. She listens!
We have her mobile number, she's not one for sending loads of emails & letters, she prefers to give you a call & then gets her secretary to follow up with the bullet points for file!

DS2'S pre school OT was also fab, got great results with intensive input.

In fact Suffolk pre school services from ESCDC were amazing

In general dealing with the professionals has been a bad shock but when the good ones come along they have been exceptional.

Our current (Thank God) OT who has the knowledge and skill to work with DS as he is and is prepared to take the responsibilty of finding the right equipment, which made such a differnce. Knows far more than the previous 7 put together (sometimes high turnover is a good thing when you finaly get one that knows her stuff)

The Clinical Psychologist who saved him from spiralling downwards at school, by managing to convey to them that anxiety was causing huge difficulty for him and preventing him from learning, when they were completely underestimating his abilities and dismissing me as the overly-optimistic mother..

Both seem remarkanbly willing to help in ways that are really above-and beyond (ie the responsibilty of others on their team). Dont forget a decent professional will be silently aware of where their colleagues are not up to scratch

IMO it comes down to the level of expertise, ability to listen to you and observe your child, ability to act in a professinal manner. Basic humanity and decency are neccesary but unluckily not sufficient as they have to go with knowledge. I wasted a lot of "oh but she's really nice and she's trying" time and stress on the willing-but-unable ones before realising that.