Special Educational Needs Tribunal assessments of Education Healthcare Plan (EHCP) Tribunal assessments
For the past 12 years I have been privileged to work for the NHS; Charities; Local Authorities and as a private speech & language therapist specialising in Autism.
By it’s very name and nature Autism is a Spectrum Disorder (i.e. ASD) and whilst “once you’ve met one person with Autism, you’ve met one person with Autism” the assessment process for children, no matter where on the spectrum they are, always starts with an observation.
Not only when I’m carrying out Special Educational Needs Tribunal assessments of Education Healthcare Plan (EHCP) Tribunal assessments but also when doing a “standard” SLT assessment I always prefer to see a child in their education setting first.
During the observation itself I write down EVERYTHING. I had a mother of a 9 year old with Autism ask me yesterday how I’d covered 3 pages in the first 15 minutes (LOL) and I explained I am noting down:
– What her daughter says (i.e. words). Verbatim!
– What sounds her daughter makes (i.e. vocalisations).
– Who does she interact with most and what do they do support this.
– If she can start an interaction and whether she’s able to keep it going and then close it.
– Does she get stuck on a particular topic?
– Does she notice cues that someone isn’t listening?
– Can I tell, from a distance, how she’s likely feeling from her facial expressions alone?
– What’s her intonation like?
– Does she integrate her speech with her gestures and/or eye contact; intonation and facial expressions?
– What instructions she’s following; how long it takes her to follow said instruction and whether she is possibly copying her peers.
– Whether the adults around her use her name to catch her attention first (before giving her an instruction).
– What cues those around her give her (i.e. “put on your coat” + handing the coat to her).
– What the environment is like (i.e. fluorescent lights; squeaking doors; busy walls; smells wafting down from the dining hall).
– Whether she is independently following the visual timetable or being told verbally what to do.
– How many teaching assistants are present and the ratio of adult to child.
The list goes on and on!!
Oh and this is before I start to interact and attempt to informally or formally assess. More on this coming soon 🙂