Attheendofthestormisagoldensky ·
27/09/2026 11:51
Hoping for some suggestions as to where may be a good fit for DS (11) who according to the EP, SALT and OT we have instructed as part of his EHCP appeal needs more extensive provision than they have seen in their (very many) years of practice! Plus all say he has a very unusual profile.
in summary he has/is;
- severe speech dyspraxia and is pre verbal. No consistent communication form
- otherwise very dyspraxic profile affecting fine motor, processing, coordination
- sensory issues that affect his ability to engage with lessons/ classes/ staff/ other children… will either sensory seek or completely switch off and disengage. OT ‘sensory diets’ to date have done very little to change this
- otherwise very academically capable. Especially around literacy and numbers. In some areas almost age aproprietor according to non verbal tests he has completed recently. However tapping into this ability or furthering any communication skills have not been achieved by any placement he has had to date. They say primarily due to his unwillingness or inability to engage with what they are trying to do with him in their setting.
He has had assessments as part of his appeal and the gist is he needs a highly specialist, bespoke programme, individualised teaching with high levels of SALT/ OT from experienced providers to open up his ability to learn and progress. EP comments that he is currently at his ‘general’ SS completely outside the box and is being babysat, the results of which are that he is making no progress at all. EP has said in the right setting he has no doubt he could do extremely well.
However I feel like we are searching for the holy grail in finding a school that can meet this/ his profile. Obviously we are very nervous about jumping from one failing placement to another which could be very easy to do if we aren’t super careful.
Does a school like this exist (in Yorkshire) and if so any ideas? Ideally more north/ west Yorks, rather than south/ east but I appreciate we may need to make concessions! He is fine travelling and generally pretty placid with no difficult behaviours, very small/ young for his years and very vulnerable for all of those reasons.
Any thoughts?!