I had a disheartening discussion today...

[CardyMow]

One of my friends in RL has a DD the same age as mine. Her DD has down syndrome, and attended MS primary school, but was moved to SN school in September for Y7. We were talking about their transition to Secondary. Somehow we got onto the subject of what NC lvls the girls were working on. Her DD is streets ahead of my DD. Yet her DD is in an SN school, and mine is still languishing in MS. I really hate the system. Dx and school backing you=SN school. Vague/informal dx and no school backing in primary = NOT where you need to be. It's not a 'competitive mum' thing btw, I'm genuinely very very pleased for her that her DD is making such wonderful progress now. . But I can't help feeling a bit that my DD's years in education are slipping by, and by the time she gets the help she needs, she'll only have maybe 4 years left to catch up, when she's already 4-5 years BEHIND IYSWIM. All because the NHS can't be bothered to sort out an official dx of anything for my DD. It's all fluffy 'she's asd, here's some leaflets' 'she's got hypermobility syndrome, do these physio exercises every day forever with her' 'she's partially deaf, she covers it up by lip reading rather well' 'she will need a heart op for her leaky heart valves soon' 'we'll keep an eye on her, come back when she's 16 if there's no improvement'....FFS! by 16 it will be too late to get her a decent education because the pricks idiots at the LEA won't do ANYTHING without a formal dx that you won't give me because you want to 'watch and wait' for ANOTHER 4 years when that's what you've been doing for the previous 12years??!!......AAARRRGGHHH!!!

sorry to hear that loudlass , sometimes it is easier when its something obvious that they can see iykwim.

We have had teh same fight with the same le since apart from the wheelchair/afos you can see irs other problems have took a lota of pushing yelling before they see

I can certainly sympathise, as ds has complex needs and m/sLD but was without a dx for years - and left to the LEA he would still be sat ignored at the back of a ms classroom without any support learning zilch of use -I fear. Ds is now in sn school and making progress - all be it very slowly. Some of his school mates (including some with have DS) are doing very well too. It is lovely to see other children thriving - but it does make me sad (and angry and worried) for ds too.
I would send a vertual hug but I think a kick to your LEA would help more!

It depends on the school. Some SS have very low expectations and some MS schools low expectations. There is a DS girl in my sons m/s class and she is doing well and in fact the SS teacher came to see her and said she doubted she would have done as well at SS. So it can work both ways. My DS is of the ASD type that just needs the 1:1 direct teaching away from distractions. He does some ABA at home and goes to m/s nursery a few mornings and everything he learns I can trace exactly back to something from ABA. He never comes home from nursery with something new where I have to go "I wonder where he learnt that". Its so different from my other children who just soak it up and learn from observing others. DS doesn't learn anything from exposure to general class teaching or from being around other children, but I know some ASD children are a bit better at learning observationally and do copy other children. Our SS has its biggest intake now at secondary, ie they have forced the children into m/s they get by while it is just 1 class teacher and familiar peers then at secondary they agree its not going to work in m/s.

David Cameron announced educational proposals yesterday which said going to stop assumption have to go to m/s and stop closure any more SS. TBH I think Ed Balls said something about special units attached to m/s being way forward so its being recognised inclusion has gone too far. Won't happen in time to help our children though.

Certainly not enough to help my DD. I'm just about to rip her PE yeacher a new one as she's threatened to put my DD in isolation for wearing tracksuit trouser...DD's heart condition leaves her vulnerable to hypothermia, and the head of year has ok'd DD to wear tracksuit trousers (she's meant to wear cycle shorts for indoor PE, in an unheated hall, in January) and has told the PE teacher twice, and the PE teacher is ignoring this. AND the evil witch PE teacher turned round to my DD and said "What gives you the right to be different to everyone else!" !!!!

I've phoned, the HoY will phone me back, and I have asked the PE theacher to personally apologise to my DD for what she said, and for mistakenly giving her detentions. If I'M wrong with anything, I will apologise to my DC's, so I see no reason why she can't, and that comment was over and above what is acceptable for a SN child with medical conditions...ERRRR OI evil wench PE teacher....SHE IS different!!!!!! GGGGRRRR!!!! Why is it that ALL the other teachers seem to at least try to understand DD's problems, but the PE teachers seem to be a law unto themselves??!!