Educational psychologists

[SpicedGerkin]

What exactly do they do please. I was told on here that i should get the Ed Psyc involved but have now been told by the school that the Ed Psych isn't 'interested' as if his problems are ASD related she has nothing to do?

She has no plans to assess him even. Though i have said i want him assessed, and fully plan to follow up the request with one in writing just so they can't magically forget i said it!

As an aside, who is on our side? When everyone else wants to do as little as possible and ignore what is going on because to admit it would mean more work for them?

I have on here thank god, but what if i didn't have online?

What happens to those kids whose parents take the first no as gospel?

Well, both my boys have autism and the Ed Psych has monitored both of them in their transition into education. DS1 was seen a couple of times in nursery and the information used when we eventually went through statutory assessment for him and DS2 was seen almost a year before he was even eligible to start nursery and the Ed Psych actually initiated SA for him there and then, so he started nursery with a statement in place. There's no further involvement unless we want to move the kids into a special school, though.

The only criteria there was for the ed psych assessing either boy was a referral to a paediatrician, since his report was also used in the multidisciplinary diagnostic process.

In our case, the Ed Psych has been onside with us and the school (and to be honest, the LEA!) but we appear to be a rarity.

It is my understanding that a Ed Psych assess what a childs strengths and weaknesses are and makes recommendations on how to use or improve these, so a child can reach their full potential.

The fact that your child has ASD and could therefore be at a disadvantage is even more reason to assess, i would have thought!

You really have to fight your own corner unfortunately.

In my experience the parents who accept no as an answer have nothing to gain but a good relationship with the school. Parents who dont accept no, are regarded as a nuisance!

We have been with a paediatrician on and off since he was 2, he is now nearly 8.

School have no record of this.

I'm very wary as according to his file he saw ed psych once when he was 4ish and then i missed 3 or 4 appointments, however this is all news to me!

Thanks claw, that's what i had gathered from your post in my last thread, which was why i was confused when she said that ed psych wasn't interested.

She didn't look happy when i got her to clarify that ed psych wouldn't assess, then i requested that they did assess. I am expecting written confirmation of what ed psych said home with him today, and i will follow that up with a written request for assessment.

I did recieve some good news today, we have recieved a cancellation to see a paed next week, so hopefully things will start to move forward!

Thats brilliant news, so glad things have started to move for you. You could ask the Paed to make a recommendation for an Ed Psych assessment.

School would only have a record of Paed if Paed copied them into reports etc. Give Paed the name and address of the school and ask for them to be copied in.

You could ask for a copy of the Ed Psych report, but it would be very out of date from 4 years ago. Whether your ds saw an Ed Psych 4 years ago, cannot be used as an excuse not to assess your ds again, things would have changed.

Good for you, asking for it in writing, schools are very shy about putting anything into writing.

Did you have any luck chasing up OT?

Oh and how did the meeting with the school go?

claw - The meeting with the school was interesting, it had happened when i last posted, the teacher wasn't happy when i requested that she put in writing what was to happen, but did it anyway. I think she felt i was criticizing her every time i asked a question.

He is having bother after school with some boys who are supposed to be his friends and the school are reluctant to do anything about it, probably to do with the fact that he doesn't seem bothered by it, he is though!

OT sent the report, which incidently the school are copied into but despite him having delays they aren't far enough back to warrant them seeing him apparently due to how streched they are.

One of the things i find hard to deal with is that no one explains what they are for, and how they help, so i don't know who i should be pushing for him to see, none of this is helped by the fact that his paed is never there.

Starlight - Thanks, that is largely due to these boards, i've spent quite a while paying attention to the facts so to speak, i've let this drift on for far too long and realise that now, so they are dealing with a different parent now, one who asks why instead of taking their answer.

Thanks Starlight, yes i guess you are right, there is no point thinking about the what ifs, there are far too many what matters now is what is going on right at this moment.

5 years is such a long time to have no one on your side, i really feel for those who don't have their families support, my DP has been a rock.

I have the same problem, the school tend to get very defensive when you ask awkward questions and its a great shame that they cant see it as working in partnership with parents, rather than blame.

If you mention the 'B' word, the body armor will be pulled from the desk quick as a flash!

Did OT make any recommendations for the school in her report?

Did the school offer any help or support?

Paed is supposed to be 'in charge' of referrals and what these are for. You should be able to speak to Paed about what your concerns are and he should be telling you who you need to see.

Our new Paed is brilliant, he has really taken charge. Our old paed's were useless.

That is our biggest problem i feel is the constant change in paeds, that and the waits for the appointments, with no hint that they can be contacted in between!

No help or support offered from school, i don't think they see it as a problem as he is quite passive.

I don't know how much use this paed will be as in theory we should be seeing the other one when they're back from being off.

I keep losing site of what i want as i've spent so long where the only thing i wanted was for them to acknowledge tha tthere is an issue.

The B word? My brain seems to have shut down, must be the shock of some sun!

Bullying!

I thought the school wanted a meeting because they had concerns?

Do you think your ds is on the spectrum?

If so have you asked for him to be assessed by autism specialist?

Star, it can be adapted to suit and used at will!

See, it's obvious now!

I phoned the school to arrange a meeting and while on the phone the teacher said she was glad i had phoned. I have my doubts as to whether i'd have heard anything otherwise, especially as things clearly haven't been good for a long time if the other children find him 'strange'. Yet when i spoke to her in Nov all was great, fantastic, no issues at all!

I do think he is on the spectrum, apparently the developmental clinic is the only way to go, i'm hoping that this paed is more on the ball than the other who said he can't be as he can hold eye contact.

I didn't get a written copy confirming the ed psych wont assess him, so i phoned and left a message to say i still wanted it despite our earlier conversation.

I don't understand why they can't just work with us rather than fight against it every step of the way.

We have had two Ed Psychs, both brilliant in different ways. Both were part time but I know they both put in extra hours. One rang us from the office at 8pm because she wanted to finish her report for DS' Statement and had some questions to ask.
The truth is that there is a shortage of Ed Psychs and therefore there must be a certain amount of prioritising.
Same with the Paed. I rang his secretary to ask when our next appointment was due, as he hadn't been seen for some time and she said he was snowed under. She did give me a cancellation though.
It seems terrible when you are on the receiving end but I think, certainly in our area, the demand is very high. They did take on another Paed (who is brilliant)but her workload increased rapidly too.
The school were not very tactful though in saying the ED Psych wasn't interested.

It all comes down to funding and the way the school prioritise. I have had to fight all the way for my ds educational psychologists assessment. The other galling thing is the gratitude you will be expected to show for the things that you have fought for.

I'm seeing that already olden.

Demand is high here too ima that doesn't give them the right to brush my son off as he is passive i don't think.

My son hasn't seen a paed for nearly a year and we are in the process of trying to get a diagnosis, i'd imagine seeing one is a big part of that.

spangles ....how right you are! You fight for these things for months, irritating everyone in the process, eventually people are forced to concede and ahen they start to do what they should have done in the first place, they look to you for praise!!

Spicedgerkin, I had this about EP to start with because school get so many allotted slots a year and prioritise (which I understand). But after professionals (at my insitgation) came in and told school DS has complex needs, they have had to respond by agreeing to have him assessed.

In our area, you can ring the EP team directly and chat to an EP so it might be worth searching on the net to see if you can find a number. Then you can tell school that EPs certainly do deal with ASD

It's bloody exhausting though isn't it? Teachers take things so personally.

spiced, debs, starlight - you all sound s bit ungrateful to me . I have lost count of the number of enemies I have made getting to the root of my sons issues, which are actually quite simple - dyslexia / specific learning difficulties. My route took me throught rountinely being patronised/ misled and outright lies before the icing on the cake a massive case of back covering. His current teacher is very good with him and he is settled socially which is why he is still there. I was told I needed an ed psch assessment, ed psch said not needed and 6 months on finally he is back on the list!

What does

giving specific roles in group tasks

and

adult mediation in pairing/grouping

mean?

In relation to support and strategies?

1. Making sure that your child has a specific role to play that he/she understands so that he/she feels that she is in control and confident. Takes away the need for working out what they are meant to be doing, so that they can just do what they are doing well.

1. An adult observes and engages to make sure that the children can communicate positively and effectively to avoid the child being left out or isolated/anger/frustration issues.