Quick question please - Statutory Assessment

[claw3]

Just finished my parental contribution to SA request, after LA have agreed to carry out Statutory Assessment.

Do i need to send copies of all reports, evidence of lack of progress etc again?

i dunno but i sent loads for mine, especially things that i knew the la were not asking the relevant professionals for ie ot had stopped seeing ds so i sent a report from their last assessment so that it had to be considered!! i sent a huge envelope full!!! i didnt send much for request to assess so no idea if that would already go in appendix without you needing to send it again, would sossen know? ive just come off phone to them they are lovely! or ipsea??

Yes Meerkat, IPSEA etc would know, just takes forever to get through to them on the phone doesnt it! Will try now, thanks.

SEN SOS is shut for lunch and IPSEA is always engaged.

Sod it, i will send again! Taking photocopies has to easier than trying to get through on the phone for hours.

I sent around 18 reports.

i always seem to get no answer from ipsea it just rings forever, always get through to sossen so maybe try after lunch before photocopying everything?

Lougle how about IEP's?

I photocopied all reports, letters of exclusion, even some meeting notes I thought were relevant.

have just back the proposed statement and they have attached all the 'advice' they received. The advice they asked for amounts to four reports - Ed Psych, Paed, School and mine. The other chunk of dead trees is all stuff I sent in . So, if there is stuff you want them to see or that can back up what you are saying, send it. Definitely.

re: IEPs and school stuff - our relationship with the SENCo is cordial and I trust him (ish), so asked that he send IEPs, a behaviour log and make his report meaty (which he did). Do you trust the school to do it? If not, make those photocopies and send them!

Have just got back the proposed statement, I should have said

Damn, thats going to be a lot of photocopying, old school were bordering on neglect and i wrote to them literally every other day, about leaving ds sitting in his own poo, not being able to eat, being strangled etc, etc and claiming that ds had nothing 'wrong' with him!

He started new school on 24/6/10, will they contact old school or new school?

We sent in copies of lots of stuff, medical reports from neuro and paed assessments and private speech therapy report, most recent ot report, and made suggestions that they contact portage and nursery and SALT NHS which of course they were planning to do anyway.

Also sent in really good literature from the Tuberous Sclerosis Assn. Was a pain coping it all but we could refer to it all when responding to proposed statement when it came..

Would have thought LEA would contact both old and new schools..

Good luck.. We kept trying to call IPSEA but never got through!

Anything you think might have a bearing on a decision that your DS needs a Statement of Educational Needs.

Do be aware, though, that if the LA feel the school haven't been good enough about their IEPs, they can write a 'Note in Lieu' and say that he needs new IEPs, etc.

Only send stuff that supports your argument. Don't send stuff that might indicate that your DS would have been OK on SA+ if the school had used it properly, IYSWIM.

Claw, just handed ours in today! I sent copies of everything I sent originally just to be on the safe side. Apparently everything is scanned in and stored electronically - so they can have fun with that lot I left it up to school to send the IEPs etc. but supplied my own attendance chart showing how much he has missed, and how reintegration is not really working.

P.S. How is the melatonin going - hope things have settled?

Do not accept a note in lieu - its not worth the paper its written on.

Thanks guys, no IEP's it is.

and no note in lieu, ok got it, thanks.

Amper he is going to sleep quicker than usual, although not as quickly as the first time. Last night for example gave at 9.30 and he wasnt asleep until 11.30.

He seems to be getting extra hyper when it kicks in, literally bouncing off the walls about half an hour after taking it. He usually has trouble getting to sleep, but will usually read quietly with lots of fidgeting until about 1am. Last night he literally went berserk for about an hour and half, really hyper, agitated and stroppy. Thanks for asking

Glad it's working Claw. Ours is very slow too - give it at 7 and asleep by 10. Tried 6 but it doesn't make any difference.

We don't get the hyper bit, but it reminds me of when both DCs were very little and we used to get the 'mad half hour'. Oddly enough the dog does it too! Our DS did react like this with anti-histamines, less acutely but over a longer period and I would never give them again unless I have to, was like he was possessed.

Might he be reacting slightly to any of the ingredients??

Looks like our SAs going along similar timescales (slap in the summer holidays, grrrrr, but won't complain) - will be thinking of you.

Amper, i think ds is trying to fight the tired feeling he is getting and what better way than bouncing off of the walls! (he hates sleeping, he has terrible nightmares) maybe he is finding the feeling quite overwhelming still and bouncing off the walls and bed, is his way of trying to block out the feeling.

Im not sure which is worse, laying there quietly reading, albeit fidgeting until 1am or bouncing off of the walls for an hour and half and sleeping at 11.30. Still i suppose i can try adjusting it and give it to the end of the week.

Yes ds is like something possessed too! and he acts very ASD like if thats makes senses, lots of strange noises (like constant humming) and hand flapping and leg kicking.

My deadline was 14th or 15th July to get my parental contribution in. I dont mind if they drag their heels slightly, as i was hoping to get ds's dx report and submit that too. Can i do that after deadline?

Good luck to you too we can hopefully compare statements soon!

Oh that's hard isn't it. Does he still get the nightmares with the melatonin? Can you speak to the person who prescribed, I wonder if there is an even lower dose - I think that link I gave you says they can be halved, maybe a much slower introduction would help.

DS2 is afraid of sleep too, the other day I went in as he was drifting off (I make excuses to leave for a few moments at a time, he never seems to notice that I have been to the toilet or fetched a tissue over and over ) and he looked up with a start and said 'Oh, I haven't died' in a surprised/relieved way. What on earth do you reply to that ...

Our deadline is middle of this week so fingers crossed for us both. I am not sure about submitting after the deadline, someone will know better than me, but do you have anything official that says DX will be coming that you could include?

Well i gave him the tablet at 8.30 tonight and he has only just gone to sleep, not sure if half would work. I will give it to the end of the week.

The person who prescribed was ASD Assessment Team, after CAMHS asked them to and ds has now been discharged after receiving his dx. My GP will only repeat prescription and nothing else, as she knows nothing about it! For CAMHS to prescribe i have to go on a waiting list to see someone who knows about Melatonin and can prescribe! More bloody trouble than its worth.

He hasnt mentioned any nightmares, but he has been twitching in his sleep and making noises as if he is dreaming. Sunday morning i came downstairs to find him asleep on the settee and unsure of how he got there

Oh bless him, the things that go through their minds.

I have a letter from the ASD team, stating date of concluding meeting, but it doesnt mention that he will or has received a dx. I will include it anyhow and hope for the best.

Let us know how you get on