Jaime Said:

Which is better Special Needs School or Mainstream?

We Answered:

In the UK, the current policy to include children with Special Educational Needs in mainstream where possible, the school should be able to access Speech & Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, etc even though she's at mainstream.

Some children thrive in mainstream with help, some don't. It comes down to the individual child and the resources that are made available to support them. In some Authorities, mainstream schools can ask for support from Special Schools and in some cases a dual placement can be arranged, with the child spending some days at mainstream and the others at the special school but it depends on the child's needs. Other mainstream schools may have a special unit (sometimes called a resourced unit) which specialises in either language or autism, which means the child can access specialist help and still in a mainstream placement.

Ring your local council and ask to the Special Educational Needs section, they should be able to tell what resources are available to mainstream schools and what mainstream schools have specialist units attached to them.

If you have a special school in mind, ring the school in the Autumn Term and arrange to visit.

You could also ring the Parent Partnership in your area to ask for help and advice.
http://www.parentpartnership.org.uk/


Edit: Resources made available by the Health Authority usually come down to staffing levels, there will be some neglect if they are short staffed in some areas but also whether or not the schools know how to access the services.

If a child has a Statement and S<, OT, etc are part of their allocation of support then the Health Authority has a duty to provide it or accept the consequences.

Whether a child with a Statement goes to the top of the waiting list at a mainstream school depends on the policy of the local Authority but because a formal application must be made if the school fails to respond or fails to make it's case for why the child should not be admitted to the Primary School then the Authority can name the school.

Greg Said:

i am a speech and language therapy student and need to set SMART targets for a child with a language delay?

We Answered:

The SMART targets should be set at an IEP meeting and should be decided by all the people involved in the students eduction.

I am not sure what you actually want, as a speech therapist I am sure you know what you need to bring to the discussion.

No one at any of the IEP's had decided what was going to be on it until the meeting at any of the ones I went to. I have had 2 children with speech problems and 1 had a statement for speech.

It was decided at the meeting if my child needed 1-1 work with the speech therapist or was there anyway the school could back up the work the speech therapist was doing.

As long as you know what you want to do with the child try not to worry too much about it.
I would imagine what you need to bring to the meeting is attainable target that you hope to reach before the next IEP meeting.

Not all the targets you set will probably be met but the targets you hope to achieve will go on it. Some of the targets will be ongoing and that is acceptable.

I hope this helps. :-)

Aaron Said:

Does anyone know of any good resources for services or information regarding adults with autism?

We Answered:

I do not know where you live but here the Scottish Rite group of the Masonic lodge has an absolutely wonderful school that specializes in Autism. You might check your local Masonic Lodge for advice. Good luck

Gwendolyn Said:

My 3 year old needs speech therapy but we live in Fairbanks, Alaska which has limited resources, and all the?

We Answered:

Maybe you can ask the school if they have any work sheets for his speech that might help you to teach him. My son needs speech also and I took him for testing to determine that he needed it and they gave me work sheets to practice with him before his speech starts and I worked with him so much that I don't think he will need it

Kimberly Said:

What resources are available for children in texas who have autism?

We Answered:

I don't know where to help you, honestly. You'd need to contact a disability advocacy agency, that's the best of an answer I can give you.

Laura Said:

18 month old expressive speech delay...resources?

We Answered:

my son was 12 months behind in expressive speech when we finally got him checked. your daughter is lucky that you got her checked so early.

because of her delay, your daughter is probably frustrated that she cannot communicate with you well. teaching her some basic sign language will be great for both of you. My son's personality blossomed and his tantrums were almost gone within weeks of learning some basic signs. The best resources can be found at www.signingtime.com All the materials on the site were created by a mom with a deaf child. Her daughter was 12 months old when she was diagnosed as profoundly deaf. she did not like the quality of the materials she found, so she created her own. every parent who has seen them has totally LOVED them.

I personally have about 15-18 pages of basic pictures from an apraxia workbook that my SLP uses for my son. I would be more than happy to copy them for you if you would like. they have simple words on them. Also, his SLP says that if they can say the ABCs it helps with the formation of words---you make all the letter sounds when saying the ABC's. My son loved the leapfrog fridge phonics. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.