Just Starting Our Journey

[JoesMum1015]

Hello, I’m new to this. I’m a bit overwhelmed and feeling a bit lost and helpless.

I’ve been trying to seek help for my now 3 year old since he was 1. He’s non-verbal and is measuring at around 18 months old in terms of development.

He’s been seen by a Paediatrician, who has told me he is likely to have learning difficulties, but it’s too early to tell, and we must just wait and see.
He’s under speech therapy and has a MyPlan+ at nursery. He’s been referred to Educational Psychology and we’re waiting for contact.

Is there anything else I should be doing? Anything that I can do to help him?
We’re trying to teach Makaton currently, but my son has a very short attention span, making it difficult to get him to just look at me when signing.

I have no one close to me that has been through this or understands it. I’m trying to research and find support to make this experience a little less lonely.

[james.robinson]

Hi @JoesMum1015

Really sorry to hear you’ve had such a tough time getting support for your son. It sounds like you’re being incredibly proactive in trying to find answers and solutions.

My best suggestion would be to call the Contact helpline (it’s free) on 0808 808 3555. It specifically exists for parents and carers who want to talk through their issues with one of their parent advisers.

Otherwise, each local area is supposed to have a ‘Local Offer’ of support that’s available for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their parents/carers. One of the things it must include is an Information, Advice and Support Service that can help you navigate your way through the options available to you.

I hope this helps and best of luck!

James

[JoesMum1015]

Thanks James.

I’ll take a look!

[SarahL]

Hello @JoesMum1015

How are you getting on? Did you find out about your ‘Local Offer’? Has your local Information, Advice and Support Service offered any support?

Many thanks, Sarah

[margaret.gould]

Hi there,

I’m one of the information and advice officers on the learning disability helpline. We do hear from families in similar situations and I have some brief information for this post, but do contact the helpline on 0808 808 1111 if you need more in depth advice.

You have already taken some positive steps to get support for your son and the help he is getting through the nursery and speech therapy is a good start. I imagine you are looking at an education, health and care (EHC) assessment if he is seeing the educational psychologist and has a My Plan+ in place.

Don’t forget the holistic approach to the EHC assessment and planning process – it should take into account your son’s health and social needs too.

There is some useful information on the IPSEA website, including an EHC checklist which might give you ideas of things to think about: www.ipsea.org.uk/what-an-ehc-plan-contains

Your local authority will have a ‘local offer’ on their website. It will list all sorts of clubs and services available for children who have special needs and disabilities. This could be a way to meet other families in similar situations too.

If you’d like to meet up with people to share your experience of the issues you are facing you may be interested in finding a local support group through Contact: https://contact.org.uk/advice-and-support/parent-support-groups/

I hope that helps,

Margaret