formal assessmnet?

[Willmum]

guys, thought I'd ask for some advice on here as you guys seem to be such a wealth of knowledge. My ds has just turned 3. He has some difficultiesw but no formal diagnosis. Although there is some suspicion of asd and poss dyspraxia/veral dyspraxia. He see's a salt and an ot for sesnory integration issues and sees portage weekly. Portage are sugesting we ask for a fromal assessment (he starts pre school in Sept) but thinks as do I that they will refuse as he's not bad enough to warrent a statement.
SALT sees to think we leave it until he starts pre school and see how it goes. So basically I haver a few questions.

1. Who actually makes a formal diagnosis, is it the paed, ed phys etc or others or can any of them do this?
2. Is it better to apply for a formal assessment now or wait till he starts school. My gut feeling is do it now myself but I don't want to jepodise him not getting it if theres more chance if school apply if that makes sense.
3. How do you request an assessment, who do you contact, is it the LA?
4. Is there anything I should be doing with a view to requesting the assessment, e.g I've just requested his medical records is there anything else I should do.

Many Thanks

'nobody's asd ds' are 'that bad' when they are 3. The problems arise when the gap between them and their peers is allowed to get bigger through intervention that is far too late and far too little.'

Amen to that!

Are you talking about getting a DX assement?

I wish with all my heart that i had ignored the 'proffesionals' when my DS was younger and pushed for DX as the school are only interested no he is failing and it's almost to late. If he had one before at least all the children would have grown up knowing DS had x rather than thinking DS is weird.

If your son is not already under the care of a developmental paediatrician I would suggest that you see such a person asap. These people can diagnose (Ed Pysch cannot make a diagnosis).

If portage are recommending a formal assessment in terms of a Statement I'd be applying for this asap. Apply personally rather than let preschool or school do it; they can sit on applications and delay them. Also you have far more power in this regard than preschool or school ever would. You can appeal in the event the LEA say no.

You would need to write to the Chief Education Officer at your LEA and give them six weeks to reply. www.ipsea.org.uk is good and has model letters you can use.

You are your son's best and ONLY advocate.

Apologies for shouting here but DO NOT LET ANYONE TELL YOU THAT HE IS NOT BAD ENOUGH TO RECEIVE A STATEMENT!. Its balls frankly. The Statement criteria is based on need and nothing else although LEAs do try it on and break the law with regards to statementing regularly.

Hi Willmum.

I have lost count of how many times I have heard this on the SN boards - parents being told it is 'unlikely they will get a statement' by school staff, HPs etc.
It makes me so angry. Only the LEA can decide this, and the only way you will be on their radar is if you request a statutory assessment of his needs.

You can do this yourself. You do not have to wait for the nursery to do it. Look on the IPSEA website at the model letter for SA requests. Of course it helps if the nursery are on your side. You should tell them you plan to request an assessment (or just request it, and tell them you have already done it), and encourage them to support you (they will be asked to submit their view of the situation). However, do not be put off if they do not share your view.

In addition, if you believe your child needs a diagnosis, push for it. A diagnosis definitely helps to chivvy the LEA along re: SAs, but in no way should you accept a hold up in diagnosis as a reason for refusal to assess. If the LEA do refuse to assess, you can appeal. Many, many LEAs will turn down first applications for SA as a matter of course, actually. Do not let this put you off.

Re: diagnosis. have you seen a Paediatrician? We went all around the houses (CAMHS, SALT, OT, Paed etc), which in a way was helpful as it means we built up a file full of reports detailing DS's issues, however, it was only when I started firing off angry emails and insisting on a diagnosis that the Paed finally brought forrwad our appointment and diagnosed ASD. And yes, it has opened doors. The LEA are assessing and interim funding has been released to provide extra support for my son (he is in reception).

In terms of who to send your request for assessment to - it is usually the chief education office or Head of the SEN Performance Team at your LEA. Look at their website or give them a ring.

Any evidence you can compile is a good thing. Professional reports, medical records, nursery records etc. Start taking notes of all meetings / conversations you have with nursery staff and professionals - you may need this as back up in future.

Sorry, I am also a bitter old hag about the whole statementing process

Cross posts with Atilla and ABat!

Thanks very much for all the replies. The portgage lady was talking about a sa rather then a dx assessment although I think I need to push this also. He has seen a developmental paed after being refered by another consultant at the hospital, but I was really unimpressed. He basically let me sit and talk for an hour about ds and then said 'so why am I seeing him'. He basically said very little other then being concerned about adhd that he was only young and to come back in a year. I think I am going to ask to see someone else or else go back and be a bit more ddemanding!. I have now got a letter from the ispea (thanks for the links) and am ringing the la in the morning to find out where to send it. I just struggled a bit with the part of the letter that said ''My reasons for believing that the school cannot on their own make the provision required to meet my child?s needs are:'' obviously as he's not at school yet It's hard to say exactly but I can't imagine they can give him much 1 to 1 support or salt or sensory integration therapy etc on their own. Is it this kind of thing that should go here?
Thanks again

If your child is receiving help from portage his needs are greater than the average child his age.
I am not one to push parents into applying for Statements, but in your case I would definitely have a go.
Also ask your GP to refer to a Community Paed or similar for an assessment. Even if they do not diagnose straight away you will be "in the system" and kept under review.

Get a copy of the SEN Code of Practice if you haven't already got one.

Thank-you all, got a message from portage worker who left a message saying her boss has said to wait until he startd pre school. Spoke to Will's ot today who said, 'do it now, don't wait. She was very adament and said not to be put off by anyone saying wait till he's there. She also unfortunatly said that the pre-school I've got him down for is not good. Which is very contradictory to most parents/ofsted etc but she feels that they are poor with sen kids who they generally tend to label as 'naughty'. Its so hard to find an appropriate place for a child with sen isn't it. There doesn't seem to be anything to tell you how well they meet the needs of kids with additional needs. Oh well back to the drawing board. I am thinking I may forget preschool altogether.