Statement appeal tribunal next week

mucklebones

teabag29 wrote: »

So far she has been diagnosed with pda (which is on the autistic spectrum), sendory profiling disorder,

I think you mean sensory processing disorder? Does she not have an OT? Who diagnosed this and why did they not offer more support. I really think a sensory processing disorder requires a good sensory diet and good occupational therapy too. This would be good supporting evidence for your statement. It seems to me she has all these complex needs but not many people in her support?

Who sent in an appendix as evidence towards her statement?

kingfisherblue

mucklebones wrote: »

I think you mean sensory processing disorder?

PDA is Pathalogical Demand Avoidance Syndrome, a condition related to autism. My friend's daughter has PDA as well as autism and learning difficulties:

http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/related-conditions/pda-pathological-demand-avoidance-syndrome.aspx

mucklebones

kingfisherblue wrote: »

PDA is Pathalogical Demand Avoidance Syndrome, a condition related to autism. My friend's daughter has PDA as well as autism and learning difficulties:

http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/related-conditions/pda-pathological-demand-avoidance-syndrome.aspx

I did not mean to include the PDA part I know about PDA, sensory processing disorder is also related to autism but usually there is some OT involvement with this. My daughter has sensory processing disorder and currently being assessed for autism, but I had not heard of sendory profiling disorder.

An OT would be really helpful to the OP for this.

kingfisherblue

Sorry, misunderstood - trying to doo too much at once, as well as reading one here

teabag29

Sorry yes that was a typing error as I was in a rush, sensory processing disorder is what I meant to put. She has no OT, infact she has no support for any of her diabilities, no behavioural team involved nothing. OT assessed her before she had the spd diagnosis but discharged her and said there wasnt much they could do with her even if she had it due to her age and they usually work with much younger kids

meritaten

teabag - I feel for you! both my DDs kids have Aspergers and I know how difficult it is to get a diagnosis. The eldest had to change schools as the intitial secondary school sound exactly like your DDs school - his new one is very very good!
her younger child sounds very much like your DD - my own DD has given up on CAHMS psychologists - GD was playing them like a violin! not to mention they all seem to be behavioural psychologists and in my opinion behaviouralism and ADHD/Aspergers doesn't mix. (the advice she was given for GS nearly drove HIM to suicide).
OH and I are paying privately for a therapist for GD at the moment - first session was yesterday and DD said she immediately clicked with him and understood completely what he was saying. we are 'hopeful' that he will help her understand her issues to the friendlessness and her perceived bullying (as well as the actual bullying).
You may have to take drastic measures to find her a new school - personally I would take her out of the State system and home school - then after a few months apply again at your preferred school - anything is better than what she is going through.
as for the statement appeal - you can but try and if you have enough written evidence to go it alone - do so!
have you contacted any ADHD parents groups? They can be a fantastic resource and will often give a lot of personal support - my DD wouldn't be without her local group! she has learned so much about which resources to apply for and how. plus they get 'experts' to come and talk to the kids and parents and this is really useful.
I wish you and DD all the luck in the world - be positive!

teabag29

Ok ive wrote my summary for the end of the tribunal, does it sound strong enough and any other tips that may help my case? (ive blanked her name and schools name out)

[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]In the words of the diagnosing Doctor at the ENC Nottingham, ***** is a girl who has a range of complex and long standing difficulties with learning and social communication. She is a vulnerable child with a high level of emotional need and her profile is not straight forward. To date she has received diagnosis for PDA, SPD, ADHD, Dyslexia, and significant learning difficulties. The complex nature of her personality is highlighted by the degree of time taken to reach diagnosis for her. Attributable to her complex profile, ***** is often misinterpreted by those around her.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I feel that *****’s emotional and educational needs are not being met. ***** has always found all aspects of secondary school extremely difficult which has lead to high levels of anxiety and disruptive behaviour. Her learning levels have been impacted by this and she is not making adequate progress. Her mental state has also been impacted resulting in suicide attempts and more recently self harming in school.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Every child has the right to access the curriculum and it is my opinion that a statement of special education needs is necessary for ***** to ensure that all of her needs are clearly identified in order that she can access the curriculum and make adequate progress. A statement is a legal document and therefore would travel with ***** and ensure early intervention so that any new teachers or schools would get a clear picture of ***** and her needs before she arrived, hence less chance of relationships breaking down whilst information is being gathered and teachers are trying to work ***** out.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The statement of special educational needs clarifies Monitoring of progress which would allow *****’s progress to be monitored on a regular basis. As progress is monitored externally the same system will be used allowing for consistency and clarification on how much progress ***** is making. Additionally if progress is slow it will be clearer on which agencies to involve enabling ***** to move forward. It is hoped that a statement would also reduce the likelihood of discrepancies in advice and recording of academic results as well as recommendations not being followed up which have formerly occurred. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]***** has received help on school action plus for over 2 years and although she has received a lot of support her progress has been very slow and the gap between ***** and her peers is widening. I believe her emotional needs and complex profile account for this lack of progress and I thoroughly believe ***** has yet to reach her potential. If a child is not in the right place emotionally and suffering anxiety they cannot access the full curriculum as they are in an anxious state of mind which then impairs their learning. *****’s emotional needs are clearly affecting her progress, it has been evident both at home and at ****** **** hospital school that when her anxiety is reduced she learns at a faster pace and is happier in herself. A statement to clearly identify *****’s needs would ensure that the correct strategies are put in place to reduce her anxieties and enable her to make adequate progress moreover loosening the gap between her and her peers.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]On the contrary I am concerned that if ***** is denied a statement of special educational needs and does not receive the right support to access education then she is likely to continue to feel unsupported which will be detrimental to her mental health. I feel without the support a statement would bring, that ***** is at high risk of entering the criminal justice system and will cost the economy more money in the future. A statement would be an efficient use of resources to enable early identification of difficulties.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The decision whether or not to issue ***** a statement of special educational needs is an extremely important one which I feel will ultimately impact upon her whole future. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

LannieDuck

One very brief suggestion - it would be helpful to know where the doctor's comments finish and yours begin.

teabag29

oops lol, yeh his words are just the first sentence, some speech marks may be a good idea lol

Savvy_Sue

teabag29 wrote: »

oops lol, yeh his words are just the first sentence, some speech marks may be a good idea lol

First sentence, or whole of first paragraph? Assuming it's the latter, I'd strengthen it by removing some of the 'I feel / I believe' bits, and if you can add bits from professional reports then do that. At all costs you want to avoid any possibility of "you would say that, wouldn't you?"

I'm also not sure what you want from this statement. If what you wanted was to have a different school named, I might word it rather differently. Have you, btw, put in a complaint about this school tearing up the application for another school? And how do you know they did this? That seems rather bizarre: on one level your relationship with them can't be very good, why are they so keen to hang onto your DD without the support a statement would bring?

So, don't know what others think, but something like ... (some typos corrected too) ... can you get Parent Partnership to give this the once-over? Or talk to IPSEA?

In the words of the diagnosing Doctor at the ENC Nottingham, "***** is a girl who has a range of complex and long standing difficulties with learning and social communication. She is a vulnerable child with a high level of emotional need and her profile is not straight forward. To date she has received diagnosis for PDA, SPD, ADHD, Dyslexia, and significant learning difficulties. The complex nature of her personality is highlighted by the degree of time taken to reach diagnosis for her. Attributable to her complex profile, ***** is often misinterpreted by those around her."

[STRIKE]I feel that [/STRIKE] *****’s emotional and educational needs are not currently being met. ***** has always found all aspects of secondary school extremely difficult which has [STRIKE]lead[/STRIKE] led to high levels of anxiety and disruptive behaviour. Her learning levels have been impacted by this and she is not making adequate progress, as evidenced by (insert SATS, test results, ongoing issues). Her mental state has also been [STRIKE]impacted[/STRIKE] adversely affected, resulting in suicide attempts and more recently self harming in school.

Every child has the right to access the curriculum and [STRIKE]it is my opinion that [/STRIKE] a statement of special educational needs is necessary for ***** to ensure that all of her needs are clearly identified [STRIKE]in order[/STRIKE] sothat she can access the curriculum and make adequate progress. ***** had a statement at primary school which ensured she had (insert 1:1 support / extra help with core subjects / whatever it said!) and if this had been continued then at least some of her needs would have been met.

A statement is a legal document and therefore [STRIKE]would travel [/STRIKE] should have travelled (??? not sure about this!) with ***** [STRIKE]and [/STRIKE] to ensure early intervention so that [STRIKE]any new teachers or schools[/STRIKE] all staff would [STRIKE]get [/STRIKE] have a clear picture of ***** and her needs [STRIKE]before she arrived[/STRIKE], [STRIKE] hence less chance of [/STRIKE] reducing the risk of relationships breaking down whilst information [STRIKE]is being [/STRIKE] was gathered and teachers [STRIKE]are trying to work [/STRIKE] were trying to understand *****'s needs. [STRIKE]out.[/STRIKE]

I don't really follow this next bit: is progress really monitored externally for children with SENs? I don't know if it adds anything - what do others think? The statement of special educational needs clarifies Monitoring of progress which would allow *****’s progress to be monitored on a regular basis. As progress is monitored externally the same system will be used allowing for consistency and clarification on how much progress ***** is making. Additionally if progress is slow it will be clearer on which agencies to involve enabling ***** to move forward. It is hoped that a statement would also reduce the likelihood of discrepancies in advice and recording of academic results as well as recommendations not being followed up which have formerly occurred.

Although ***** has received help on school action plus for over 2 years [STRIKE] and although she has received a lot of support [/STRIKE]her progress has been very slow and the gap between ***** and her peers is widening. [STRIKE]I believe her [/STRIKE] A lack of understanding and support for her emotional needs and complex profile would account for this lack of progress. [STRIKE]and I thoroughly believe ***** has yet to reach her potential. [/STRIKE]

[STRIKE]If a child is not in the right place emotionally and suffering anxiety they [/STRIKE] *****’s complex emotional needs and excessively high levels of anxiety mean that she cannot access the full curriculum. [STRIKE]as they are in an anxious state of mind which then impairs their learning[/STRIKE]. *****’s emotional needs are clearly affecting her progress, it [STRIKE]has been[/STRIKE] wasevident both at home and at ****** **** hospital school that when her anxiety [STRIKE]is [/STRIKE] was reduced she was able to learn [STRIKE]learns [/STRIKE] at a faster pace and [STRIKE]is [/STRIKE] was happier in herself. A statement to clearly identify *****’s very complex needs would [STRIKE]ensure that[/STRIKE] enable the correct strategies [STRIKE]are [/STRIKE] to be put in place to reduce her anxieties and enable her to make [STRIKE]adequate [/STRIKE]better progress [STRIKE]moreover loosening[/STRIKE], while also narrowing the gap between her and her peers.

[STRIKE]On the contrary I am concerned that if[/STRIKE]If ***** is denied a statement of special educational needs and does not receive the right support to access education then she [STRIKE]is likely to [/STRIKE]will continue to feel unsupported and extremely anxious which will be detrimental to her mental health.

I am not sure about this bit, because I'm not sure the LEA would be paying for the costs of the criminal justice system, so that wouldn't be relevant. What matters is YOUR DD's needs NOW.
[STRIKE]I feel without [/STRIKE] Without the support of a statement [STRIKE]would bring, that [/STRIKE]***** is at high risk of entering the criminal justice system[STRIKE] and will cost the economy more money in the future[/STRIKE]. A statement would therefore be an efficient use of resources to enable early identification of difficulties.

[STRIKE]The decision whether or not to issue ***** a statement of special educational needs is an extremely important one which I feel will ultimately impact upon her whole future. [/STRIKE]