Worried that dd2 won't get a place at SN school.

[Marne]

I spoke to dd2's SN nursery leader this morning about my change of plan to send dd2 to SN school instead of MS, basicly she supports my choice but is not sure if SN school is the right place for her, she said dd2 is very bright and is capable of the level of work at ms school, dd's only real problem is communication.

Dd2 works well if she's in a room with 1 adult, can complete tasks, talk, answer questions and do activities but as soon as you put her in a room with 5+ people she will not respond to instructions, will not answer questions and does not listen.

I feel at MS school she may get over looked as she will sit nicely, not talk and basicly fade away in the background. I don't want this for her.

What are my chances in getting her into the SN school? It has to go to a panel which often includes her Ed phyc (who thinks dd2 is not suitable for the sn school).

I'm really confused as to what to do for the best, one minute i'm thinking MS with support will be best and then i think SN school for a year (see how she gets on).

My dd1 is in MS and from the start we were told that she should struggle, but would do 'ok' in MS she is now in year 5 and still making very slow progess, she is working at lower KS1 levels. She loves school and the school she is in have been great, but we are looking to move her to SN secondary school.

If you feel that she needs SN then fight it hard now, I feel we have failed DD1 by letting the LEA make the decisions and allowing her to go to MS school.

Having same problems for ds .I went looked at couple of sn schools and found they. Tend to have differnt crtiera to what there intake is sadly ds does not fit there or ms

Thanks Sparkly- i'm so worried that i will make the wrong choice for her, if i send her to MS she might struggle, get bullied or get over looked. If i send her to SN school she may not be pushed enough and given the choices that you get at MS.

Dd2 can count, read, knows her phonics etc which is great but what use is all this if she's sat in the corner of the room in her own little world?

Also, dd2 has progressed so much in the past 6 months, has gone from being non-verbal and almost non responsive to talking sentences and following commands (but only when working with 1:1). If she continues to progress there is a chance in september (6 months time) she may be ok for MS. At the moment i think she would struggle in MS mainly due to the schools lack of understanding of ASD.

Phoenix- your thread is one of the reasons i posted , our DC's seem to be similar, we have a language unit (which has been mentioned to us by Ed phyc) but its 15 miles away and attached to a huge school (which puts me off a little).

The deputy head at the SN school seems to think dd2 will be ok to go there but he hasn't seen dd2 for over a year (he ran the early bird course we went on last year) and dd2 has progressed a lot since then.

Phoenix- your thread is one of the reasons i posted , our DC's seem to be similar, we have a language unit (which has been mentioned to us by Ed phyc) but its 15 miles away and attached to a huge school (which puts me off a little).

The deputy head at the SN school seems to think dd2 will be ok to go there but he hasn't seen dd2 for over a year (he ran the early bird course we went on last year) and dd2 has progressed a lot since then.

its easier to go from SN to MS than the other way round (as we are finding now) so if she is flying through the work at SN then you could move her easier than from MS to SN

similar situ here too with language delay, havent a clue which one would be best, ms as he can gt on with kids well sociably but sn because of language and understanding delay.

Can we visist a sn school even though a decision hasnt been made whether to send dc to ms or sn yet by lea, as i would be interested to see what levl the kids in our sn schol are at and know sounds terrible , buto compare to ds then might get better understanding of which school to send to.

yes you can visit the SN schools before a decision has been made, I looked around the SN when DD1 was 3 so I could work out if she 'fitted' in IYKWIM. Phone the school and arrange an apoointment

I'm not following you around threads, honestly

The way I see it (and have said it before), what use is intelligence if you can't function? DD1 is thought to be quite bright (although not reading, no clue about phonics, etc). But her sensory and other differences mean that to try and engage her in a group setting is like trying to catch your own shadow - you move and it's gone. Just trying to encourage her to put knickers on today, for example. I glanced away, and the knickers that were half way up her leg were suddenly on her head. She had completely forgotten that she was meant to be putting them on, and thought they'd be a nice hat .

I don't seriously buy the whole "Special schools don't expect anything of children" line. I think that the truth is that they will spend as much time concentrating on life skills, socialisation and independence as maths, literacy and science. I am ok with that. In 12 years time, will DD1 need to be able to cross a road safely, dress herself, concentrate on a conversation; or know matrices and vectors, chemistry and english literature? Both would be ideal, but the first is essential. You can get by without the second.

If a child is that bright, they can always do study outside of school, anyway.

Sorry, that was my DD1, by the way, not your DD2. Wouldn't presume to know what your DD2 will need in 12 years' time

Thanks lou- thats my thought exactly, what use is being bright (good at maths and English) if you can't dress yourself or cross the road? I would rather dd2 could cook for herself as an adult and dress herself/look after herself rather than having A levels and not being able to fend for herself. Yes dd2 can count,add up, read simple words but she's not even toilet trained and can't put her own shoes on.

I have dd's portage working coming over today so i'm hoping she will help (with a referal) to get dd2 a place at the school. I have spoke to her key worker at MS today and she feels its the right choice.