This blog post was written on 28/6/2020

I honestly do not know where the last month has gone! I had vowed to write weekly, and that has just not happened. But we have had so much going on. Still in the lesser stages of lockdown, what I mean by this is that many of the restrictions have been lifted, the majority of people are back at work but there are still restrictions in place. None of the children are back at school, and possibly won’t be until September, when they will have had a whole 6 months off. Potentially for Charlie, that even might be October, as I’m unsure where to send him just for a few weeks.

Right, news! There is lots of it, hang tight. The more positive news of course, is the tribunal. So far, I have enlisted help from Small Talk speech therapy, who has given us a private assessment and diagnosed Charlie with a Language Disorder, which I did know already, it’s not too much of a surprise, however, she had quantified and specified exactly what Charlie needs from a provision and that is key when writing an EHCP. This is key as the staff need to know how much therapy to deliver, to ensure a child’s needs are met.

Next on the list, was occupational therapy. This assessment is much more intense. The speech therapy one was a phone call, questionnaires and a zoom call to do the assessment. However, the OT one so far has been a phone call, numerous emails, lots of intensive questionnaires, a zoom call in a week’s time and then the final face to face contact a week after that. We then have a really tight deadline of only 2 weeks to get the evidence into the hearing bundle which needs to be completed by 28th July.

We are still having weekly zoom sessions with Natalie from Relax Kids, she sends us homework and resources which is just fantastic. Really worth the time and the money to be honest, we would never be able to take part in a community based activity, as Charlie’s anxieties mean that he really struggles with doing anything with people he doesn’t know.

I have completed a draft of my dissertation, and that has been so time consuming. Along with the tribunal case work and just raising three children single handedly, its been exhausting. So, I took the decision to look at legal aid and see if a solicitor can support us through the tribunal. I have the forms to fill out so looking forward to the outcome of that. What I find most disheartening in all this tribunal process is that the LA have solicitors, and our case has just been handed over to them. Almost like the 3 years of working on EHCPs and schools with a caseworker has been for nothing, and our case has been handed off as if we weren’t even important. There’s been no communication around this either, so I have discovered this, through another SEN parent, when raising concerns that the LA weren’t emailing me back.

On speaking to the administrator at the solicitors, she suggested the first job was going to be to commission an educational psychologist to view both schools. If she deems HH in chesterfield as unsuitable for Charlie’s needs then there is a possibility the tribunal will rule in our favour of placement. Happy days!! Long way to go yet though, can’t get too excited at this.

We’ve been having some teething problems with contact with Dad. Contact has had to be on different days and times, which can be frustrating. Charlie needs such a set routine and structure as he quite easily gets dysregulated when things aren’t structured around him. I’m hoping it doesn’t drift off and get impossible to manage, because at that point I’ll really have to decide what’s in Charlie’s best interests overall.

We got the grant from Family Fund for play equipment. I picked a nice swing set with a rope ladder but unfortunately it is out of stock until August! So I will keep looking as I desperately want more for Charlie to do in the gardens so it limits out reasons to go out of the house. I’ve also seen some rock climbing footwells, that you can attach to the outside of buildings, that would be awesome too, as we have quite a high shed that he would be able to climb.

Charlie is currently obsessed with anime. Could be worse.

Stay safe

Georgina x