Did your LEA meet your childs needs?

Carey2 · 24th July 2007, 07:50

How do you feel your LEA performed,did they understand and meet your childs needs?

Please vote and leave us your story.

Carey2 · 2nd August 2007, 07:19

Well in our case it was a constant battle that dragged out for over a year and was only resolved when it got to the stage of taking leagal action.The LEA were in breach of the law having gone well outside the time frames set in the cose of practice.

The education officer argued against any need for special provision,even openly stating that my son "had no special needs whatever."This being despite a mound of evidence and his having a formal diagnosis.

Once the legal action was brought to their attention there was a complete turn round and with amazing speed a residential placement in a specialist school was arranged.

rainbows · 4th December 2007, 01:10

may i ask how did your son settle in residential school?

Carey2 · 4th December 2007, 06:40

My boy had never spent a night away from home without me in 11 years. The idea of sleeping anywhere else was a big no no.
His rigid world meant food at the right time eveyday,in the right place ,the right plate /knife/fork/spoon etc.
He was out of school for over a year and had had several previous mainstream placements fail due to the ignorance of the teaching staff and lack of help from LEA's.
The school having agreed to a trial placement (3 months) spent some weeks forming a plan for him and I ended up driving him to school for a one day stay each week .
He would go in at 4.00pm sleep overnight and come home at 2.00 pm the next day.
Over a period of @ 6 months they gradually extended the time till he was staying full time. He is now a very happy weekly boarder and hates holidays of more than a week as he misses his friends...... yes he now has friends!
The boys are kept very busy and have a 24 hour timetable with text/pictorial instructions to follow for guidance.
They are being taught life skills,cleaning,cooking housework etc, and also get independance training.
He is gradually settling into the classroom which he has always found it hard to cope with,too many distractions and noises etc.
His whole world has been stood on its head and he has actually managed the change better than anyone believed possible,he is definitely enjoying the environment there and his behaviour has changed a lot.
The staff are amazing and go that extra mile for the boys which is reflected in their achievements.

rainbows · 4th December 2007, 21:32

Your story gives me hope!Did your son have to go residential because of the distance ? The school i hope to place my son is a ten minute drive away,that irks me even more when he's at home most of the time.He will rarely allow me to 'teach' him..he simply sees me as mum not as a teacher.

So your son was out of school for a year.I know it come good for you in the end but the stress involved in all this is not fair when they are the failures.

You have been where im about to go.What advice/tips can you give me.Thankyou.

Carey2 · 4th December 2007, 22:04

Yes the school is @55 miles away,if we were nearer they provide day places but to be honest they are much better educated if it is a residential placement as they get a continual education and learn social skills when not in class.

As they are split into floor areas with @ 8 boys per floor but a very heavy staff presence they have to deal with living in anextended "family" setting.They have to learn to share,take turns, help each other etc and they get continual guidance from highly trained staff so this is like continual councelling/therapy as well as academic education.

You need to make sure the statement of needs reflects all your sons problems,everything must be detailed and especially the need for 24hour constant supervision.

What affects him/upsets him,what environmental problems are there,is he a danger to himself or even others,every last thing that has worried you needs to be hammered into the LEA.
The other thing to note is that it is totally iseless trying to force an acedemic education into any child like this if their other social skills and autistic problems are not addressed first.

My son has tremendous attachment disorder problems as well as autism/asperger syndrome ,EBD and several associated problems,his school address each problem everyday and do everything in small steps geared to helping him gain confidence and see that he can manage things he felt were impossible.

The change has been truly dramatic.

rainbows · 6th December 2007, 01:12

I had better start preparing all the information for the statement then,it is going to be pages long,is there a limit to how long a statement can be?

Although i have already doctors info about my son,would it be useful for my doctor to provide more detail?I dont have too much from the doctor,say 3 paragraphs.

I will make sure i place him where all his needs are met--the last school admitted they were not meeting even one-they didnt know even how to meet them,but the lea are claiming its my sons fault--and i have this in writing too.

What is EBD?

It's great to hear your son's dramatic progress.Just goes to show what the correct placement can do.

My son was left bewildered at leaving his old school..he was constantly being told by the staff how well he was doing and was days away from being full-time when they admitted they couldnt meet his needs.The constant disruptions in his education has been three years now-i have to get him what he needs.Mind you,i must admit to being a bit scared of this all..

Carey2 · 8th December 2007, 19:29

The normal course to a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome is a multidisciplinary assesment which should have produced reports from several consultants/specialists.

There should also be reports from Sencos and the Educational Pschologist/s that were involve with your son.

It has to be a balance,if your submission is too big they will never read it all,the main thing needed is a summary of all the problems/difficulties your son has ,things like sensitivity to light/sound/sudden touch/ etc ,all the things that prevent him from functioning in a mainstream setting.
The LEA are required by law to meet all these needs and it is often the case that they simply cannot do this in a mainstream school,for a start they simply do not have extra totally quiet rooms for these needs

You can always keep some information as "extra " ammunition for later meetings.

EBD is Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties.

Carey2 · 8th December 2007, 19:35

Something you should obtain if you have not done so is this publication....

>>>>>> Special Educational Needs Code of Practice. <<<<<<<<

This is available free of charge and has the legislation of the SEN act set out for you.

Get your copy here..... http://www.dfes.gov.uk/ ...........

rainbows · 9th December 2007, 20:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carey2

The normal course to a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome is a multidisciplinary assesment which should have produced reports from several consultants/specialists.

There should also be reports from Sencos and the Educational Pschologist/s that were involve with your son.

It has to be a balance,if your submission is too big they will never read it all,the main thing needed is a summary of all the problems/difficulties your son has ,things like sensitivity to light/sound/sudden touch/ etc ,all the things that prevent him from functioning in a mainstream setting.
The LEA are required by law to meet all these needs and it is often the case that they simply cannot do this in a mainstream school,for a start they simply do not have extra totally quiet rooms for these needs

You can always keep some information as "extra " ammunition for later meetings.

EBD is Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties.

Yes,i have all those reports but not one good summary of everything included,but that will change.The nas pointed out to me,one of my sons most valuable documents,the occupation therapy report ,none of it was included in the statement.I never saw the relevance for it before until now..oh well,im still learning!

EBD-- Think i said,my lea have named an behavioural unit for sept 08 and plan to ignore his aspergers needs.They are making me mad...