Applying for a statement - difficult start.

A lot has gone on since I last blogged, and I just haven't had time to stop and think! Lovely half term, with trip to Butlins for me and Tamsin, and then a trip to Norfolk for me and both girls. We met up with my family there, and the girls had a fantastic time playing with their cousins. Sasha seemed a bit off colour for the 2nd day, and on the 3rd woke with a very unpleasant nappy which was a sign of things to come... she was hugely sick just before I was due to start the 3 hour drive back home, and carried on being poorly in the nappy department for the next couple of days. Am now very grateful that we hadn't pushed the toilet training issue ;) (she is still refusing on that front, so we're biding our time, will probably have a more concerted effort after Christmas). Still, it is the first time she's been sick properly in 3 and a half years, so can't complain! Medicine was suggested, but as that's another thing Sasha refuses, we've actually not given her any for the last 6-12 months. It's amazing how she manages without the good old Nuropol...

So. Applying for a statement. Not as easy as it should be, in my view. My anger has somewhat subsided but I'm still very frustrated with the whole system. Sasha's reports went to the panel (whoever they are) and she was rejected on the basis that a) there wasn't enough info (none was specifically requested mind you, and even so I sent in what I thought was a lot of info) and b) Sasha is receiving help at the moment. By this they mean the EYAS, which is a great service, at home for an hour every week, but as I've said before this doesn't really directly translate to what will happen in a chaotic classroom where the attention is not all on Sasha. They also mentioned SALT. I don't really call having one good assessment/report written over a year after first referring her a great service to be honest - and as lovely as the SALT is, she's still not offering Sasha any regular sessions, just a visit to see her at nursery once every 6 weeks or so. It's all just advice on how we can help her, but of course we follow that daily and it's not making a huge difference. So I have finally had to call in a private speech therapist, at great cost, who is comng next week for the first time and will see Sasha weekly. I'm just hoping Sasha 'plays ball' so it's worth it!!

So all this adds up to a lot more paperwork to be collected by me, and we will reapply in a couple of weeks time - in fact I intend to keep on reapplying until she is assessed formally. This is just the first step, to get the council to agree to assess her for a statement, and after 6 months of doing that they may still decide they're not going to give her one! It's ridiculous, it's not even as if the outcome will be any extra money to help her at school, it will just be a load of reports from the council and then it's down to the school to agree how much (or not) they want to spend their money on help for her. But to me it's obvious that Sasha is not the same as all the other children, and she will have huge difficulties at school, so this should be recognised and discussed openly. Seems to me like the council are just trying to brush any special needs children off their doorstep and avoid all responsibility.

Must go for now, more later.....