A Site for Resources and Reflections That May Help Those Navigating Aspects of the World of 'Special Education Needs'
Tag: disability
'Catch all' strategies prescribed indiscriminately (and that must be completed before other services are accessed) can't possibly be the right approach. Sure, it is a way to manipulate waiting time information to show an improvement. No doubt it will reduce demand too, as some families simply can't face it or can't manage to get there … Continue reading Early Intervention does not mean: “send them on a parenting course”
Next month I will start my 'Return to Nursing Practice' course. This is not 'exciting' - I am not being turned into a carefree, responsibility-free 18 year old again. It is 31 years since I first started as a student nurse and I worked until 4 years ago where I had a senior job in … Continue reading SEND: There are costs to parents too.
My superpower is being able to get to sleep wherever I am. Trains, planes, Minions films, I can tell myself to go to sleep and I do. What I can’t do lately, is stay asleep. I wake each night around 4am. And I wake with a jolt, and it is without fail the same thought … Continue reading What I think about at 4am.
This Situation The open secret that teaching staff can decide that the conclusions of an 'expert' about a child's specific difficulties are wrong, without following any agreed process, became well publicised over the last week. So what 'should' we expect from the professionals that we entrust our children to every day? Examples of the types of … Continue reading Disagreements over ‘diagnosis’: What should happen next?
Every school-age child with a special educational need (SEN) should have a written plan of support. Every single one. That is my interpretation of the SEND Code of Practice (SEND COP) and I will explain why. Published in June 2014, Chapter 6 of the SEND COP describes the provision of SEN Support in Schools. It … Continue reading SEN Support in Schools – We’re Missing the Point
By Rosie and Jo’s mum There’s a new word for parents like me. I realised that the education system was failing my children very badly, I found the guidelines their educators should be following and I spent time, energy and, eventually, money on making sure their needs were met well enough for them to have … Continue reading SEND Parent = Agitator?
By Rosie and Jo’s mum. Those words seem so innocent yet they can feel so loaded. This is the kind of advice parents generally pick up at toddler groups when dealing with the terrible twos. We see it on TV, in parenting magazines and on parenting forums. There can’t be many parents out there who … Continue reading Please Don’t Suggest a Sticker Chart
“He is 2 years behind but the SENCo says he won’t ‘qualify’ for an EHC assessment.” “School say she is doing well in set 3.” It seems to me that this is misinformation and not in any way within the spirit of the SEN Code of Practice that all schools are obliged to follow: The SEN … Continue reading How Far Behind Does She Have to be for an EHC Assessment?
Yesterday's guest post highlighted difficulties that many have found shocking. There is one element, however, that she has reflected on more here: that of being a parent when you are "on the spectrum" yourself. Further to the “Surprise Child Protection Meeting” incident where I went to a meeting expecting ‘help’ and after arriving found … Continue reading Engaging with Professionals when you are a Parent with Asperger’s
It was snowing, I felt empty as he packed his last bag into the car, this was my new life as a single mum to three. They would see their Dad, and there was a glimmer of hope that social care would finally provide the help we had been begging for to prevent this break … Continue reading The ‘Surprise’ Child Protection Meeting
Welcome to Jon's Mum who has written a Guest Blog 🙂 I looked up at the kitchen clock, it was almost that time again. It was the same every weekday at 3pm and I’d have that awful lurch in my stomach. Not that I was wasn’t looking forward to picking Jon up from school, but … Continue reading Alien In The Playground
By Rosie and Jo's mum I never wanted to be one of ‘those’ parents. In fact, I still don’t want to be one. I need to send my child to school knowing that she will be looked after with integrity and that communications between me and the school will be honest and open. It is … Continue reading One of ‘Those’ Parents
Following on from the tips from Rosie and Jo’s mum (see unable to attend school) I want to share some lessons learned from the experiences of Peter and Jack. Peter and Jack were almost 9 and in Year 4. They had shared the same kind, nurturing teacher for 1 term in Year 3 and the same unkind … Continue reading Unable to attend school – what next?
Just so you know - for those arriving here after reading "the book" - this blog was 12 months after Part 8 was written. So Peter did make it to the residential school which he so desperately needed. However, as you will see it wasn't all plain sailing. 😦 In case you have doom and … Continue reading 36 Hours in the Life of an SEN Mum Trying to Re-enter the Workplace
James and Barry have disagreement in class and disrupt the lesson. The teacher takes them both to one side, asks for an explanation from both of them and gives them both a playtime detention. Equal treatment but not fair treatment. Both boys are bright 12 year olds. Whilst James is a typically developing child Barry … Continue reading When Equal Treatment is not Fair Treatment: a case for more SLT in schools
This morning was another little first in parenting – I nipped to the shop leaving my 9-year-old at home with her 11-year-old brother, very briefly, for the first time. We enjoyed a relaxed breakfast together and it felt just so deliciously ordinary. I am aware that the word ‘normal’ can make some people flinch and … Continue reading What is “Normal” anyway?
It Must Be Mum 