GRandson needs help -!!!!

kaykay_2

Just wanting advice really
My Grandson is in his first year at secondary and his mum has been told he is not making any progress - and hasnt been for a few years but ed psychology have been involved and help in school has been made available without a statement. He appears very anxious started biting his nails and picking at things till they fall apart and quite withdrawn at school. My daughter has had him to the hospital and the community peadiatrician is looking into things but says he needs a high level speech and language assessment but the health authority dont have a therapist to carry this out - what can she do about this can she ask to be referred to another authority. My daughter does not know where to turn and should she be asking the education authority to assess him for a statement - she feels the authortiy will say we need to know whats wrong with him as the hospital are still investigating - any advice would really be appreciated.

changkra

Your daughter has the right to request a referral to any other hospital int he UK. We have a nation health service not jut a regional. You could be living on lands end and request to see a doctor in John o Groats or even Belfast for that matter. Not 100% sure but i think the request has to be made to you GP but I'm sure someone will correct me on this.

emg

Is it that they say they have no SLT service or that the post is vacant at the moment?

I work in a SLT dept and we don't accept referrals from outside of our areas so I am not sure that you could just approach any dept in the uk. For us school aged children need to be referred through the school SENCo (this is because the LEA fund this part of our service) but referral routes are very different in different areas.

The school should be able to access some kind of speech and language therapy support but you may have more luck approaching your local SLT department yourselves.

You can look up your local SLT services here...

http://www.ican.org.uk/TalkingPoint/Talking%20Links.aspx

This website also has lots of other helpful information about what to do if your child has language and communication difficulties as well as information about statementing.

Your LEA should also have details of a Parent Partnership Service. This service is independant of the LEA and provides a helpline for parents of children with special educational needs. They mainly advice on assessment, statementing and how to get your child the support they need.

kaykay_2

From what i can understand there is a service but the SLT who does high level assessments is booked up until september and is not taking any referrals presently. Can she pay privately and how much would it cost??

Savvy_Sue

I think - but might be misremembering - that someone's recently paid £100 for an assessment for a much younger child. It's the Autism Concern thread.

You can ask for a statement before it's clear what's wrong.

I think I might go to the GP and ask for advice about getting a referral privately, if there's nothing obvious on the site emg refers to.

Also might be worth contacting IPSEA, they can be great on advising how things should happen wrt statements, and what to do if they don't.

emg

You can look up private SLTs in your area on this website,

http://www.helpwithtalking.com/

if you go with one make sure they are registered with the Health Professions Council (HPC). The cost of assessment varies but can be about £80-£100. Some SLTs will charge more if you want a written report.

I'm surprised at what your local department have said - it may be that their specialist SLT is booked up until September but even a newly-qualified therapist should be able to assess a child's higher-level language skills (and then refer to the specialist for further assessment if required). May be worth pestering them a bit more....

kaykay_2

Thanks v.much for all thye advice. Ive got some things to go on now and hopefully i can help push things forward for my g'son - much appreciated.
Kaykay