Definition of disability

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susannah
Posts: 24
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 1:26 pm

Definition of disability

Post by susannah »

Yes, the year 6 teacher is writing a report. I also read another post on this forum about music. Though my son isn't grade 5 music, he passed grade 3 trumpet last Easter and is taking grade 4 in March. He also plays piano (grade 3), drums and guitar and is gifted and talented in music. The grammar school has performing arts status whereas the upper school scarcely has any pupils doing GCSE Music. Is this an argument? Or should I not mention it? He has no symptoms at all when playing music!
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Post by Sally-Anne »

Any G&T is good, and the range of his musical interest is definitely worth mentioning, as is the absence of symptoms.

He may not be Grade 5 in anything yet, but playing so many instruments and having Grade 3 in two of them is almost as good.

As this is a selection appeal, the choice of school is not normally relevant in any way. This appeal is all about whether he is academically suitable for any GS, not a specific one.

However, if you find that the panel are being chatty and you are all getting along well, there is no harm in mentioning it very briefly:

"We know the school we are applying for isn't relevant in the decision today, but it happens to have performing arts status. Given that he is symptom-free when he is involved in his music, we do tend to feel that attending a school that offers plenty of stimulation for his musical ability might lead to him showing fewer symptoms at other times."

Sally-Anne
sallyj
Posts: 212
Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2008 10:45 pm
Location: Lincolnshire

Post by sallyj »

Oooooh,another parent of a Tourettes child-great to meet you !!
Our son was diagnosed earlier this year. We weren't very suprised,& neither was he,as he has been a 'hummer' & a 'twitcher' since toddlerhood. It still wasn't the word we wanted to hear though.
We have encountered a lot of negativity during our secondary school selection for him,but this has been balanced with the incredible amount of support we have found on this site. I have no doubt you will find the same !
Unlike your son's primary,ours doesn't give the 11plus exam in the school,those choosing to sit the exam (our son was the only one !) must travel for three consecutive saturdays to the GS & sit firstly a practice paper,then the two actual exams. We had no idea whatsoever that we could have asked for extra time or for his Tourettes to be taken into consideration when he sat the exams,this all seems to be a viscious circle-you can't have unless you ask,but you can't ask because you don't know...etc He approached the exams like he approaches everything else in life,with total positivity,but also with a contorted face,a neck twitch that was giving him very real pain,& an absolute horror of disturbing anyone else in the room ! The last one he failed to mention to us until all three weeks were over ! He sat the exams in a place he had never seen before,with teachers & other children he had never met. This all contributed greatly to his stress.Thankfully his unbearable twitches have subsided greatly,& he is the calmest we have seen him since the diagnosis-the stress of exams & the presure he felt to perform perfectly now being gone !
We get two marks here,the pass being 120 on each-our son scored 119 on each ! To say we & he were 'gutted' is an understatement,and the thought of an appeal fills us with dread,but appeal we will !
Our son also sat an entrance exam for a different school a while later. He was with a whole group of children he knew extremely well,including current classmates & football & scouting friends locally. His mark there was an 'exceptional pass',proof surely if needed that these children can suceed. So why didn't we go for that school ? Well,high acheiving it may be,tolerant it certainly isn't. The word Tourettes frightened them to the extent that we were told 'we don't have children like that here' !
He's a consistent high achiever & we are extremely lucky(especially after reading your thread-your head is unbelievable ) as we have the full support of his head,class teacher & the SENCo.
I wish you all the luck in the world with your appeal & hope that your son's Tourettes fades sooner rather than later **** Please get in touch if you would like to discuss more xx
susannah
Posts: 24
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 1:26 pm

Definition of disability

Post by susannah »

Thanks for your post, it is nice to know we are not alone. It seems such a rare disorder that you never do meet others.
We have our appeal date now (end Jan) and have received the report from the Ed Psych. The IQ score is 122 which comes out in the Superior range (95th percentile) with a reading age of 16 and spelling of 14. One of his scores (block design, whatever that means) came out on the 98th percentile. The scores are broken down into reading, maths etc and most are in High Average or Superior. The one that isn't good is maths, where he has come out in the lower part of average and only on 37th percentile and seems to be related to his disorder (because of retaining sequences in his auditory short-term memory). There is an explanation as to how all this is related. However, I don't really know whether or not to use the report as evidence of academic ability. Like the 11+ plus day, the tics were very bad and the psychologist seems to think this may be the reason why there was such a discrepancy. I want to use the good scores but not the bad one!! What would be your advice?
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Post by Sally-Anne »

Hi Susannah

I am sure that Etienne will have good advice for you on this from her considerably greater expertise on EP reports, and I'm really posting to say "hi" and "how interesting". However, whilst I am here, I may as well give you my opinion too! :D

I personally think that you have too much really positive evidence to not submit this report. He is clearly an able boy, and you have a number of superior scores there, along with plenty of "high averages", which certainly should make him GS material.

The EP has said that the tics may have affected his maths score, so you have a good reason why it was so low. Also, as we discussed earlier, if the disorder improves as he gets older, that score may also improve. Even if it does not, and Maths GCSE and the Sciences elude him, he should still achieve well in Arts and Social Sciences. Not every child is an all-rounder.

Sally-Anne
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Post by Etienne »

I agree with Sally-Anne. I would err on the side of using the report.

And I think you know you won't get away with using it selectively! :)
Etienne
susannah
Posts: 24
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 1:26 pm

Definition of disability

Post by susannah »

Hi Sally-Anne and Etienne
Thanks for your advice. I wasn't going to use it selectively, but was considering not using it at all. It's odd, because he has always been predicted high scores in Maths and got SATS 3 at KS1 and predicted SATS 5 at KS2, yet his teacher has said that his Maths has been a problem this year. It must be to do with the Tourettes.
By the way, his symptoms are non existent at present (disappeared 2 weeks ago). We are all so pleased as it is giving us all a break.
I'll let you know outcome of the appeal. Merry Christmas.
Susannah
sallyj
Posts: 212
Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2008 10:45 pm
Location: Lincolnshire

Post by sallyj »

Hi Susannah,
I'm so glad to kow your son's tic's have subsided.
We too are in a period of quiet-which I must admit we are enjoying every bit as much as our son ! We have no idea when the next tic will strike,or how bad it will be,as you too must have found. So are revelling in our moments of peace !!
Have a wonderful & relaxing Christmas,& a very positive New Year xx
susannah
Posts: 24
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 1:26 pm

Definition of disability

Post by susannah »

Merry Christmas to you too Sallyj! When is your appeal?
sallyj
Posts: 212
Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2008 10:45 pm
Location: Lincolnshire

Post by sallyj »

Hi there,
I don't know what part of the country you are in,but here the appeals process cannot begin until after all places have been allocated in March ! So not only will we be facing an appeal on the grounds of non-qualification,but also on over subscription !! Not a happy thought,but if we don't try we'll never know !
We haven't really explained the 'in's & out's' of the whole process to our son. He was just happy to know there was a possible light at the end of the tunnel after the dreadful disappointment of a letter which told him he was a failure(it was the GS head who told me he missed by one mark per test in a telephone conversation) He know's there will have to be a decision made as to which school he ultimately attends,but we saw no point in giving him a reason to worry(that's what we're here for !) & probably triggering his tic's into overdrive again.
How long the whole process will take after we submit our appeal is anybodys guess. we could be waiting to know the outcome literally days before he should be beginning a new school ! This worries me,as during the spring and summer terms his primary school class mates will obviously be preparing themselves for the big move 'up',discussing & visiting thier choice of school. As we have made the choice to go for GS(no-one else locally did !) he will feel more than a little left out.
We were prepared for this had he passed the exam,as he would have had a rosy future to look forward to,stupidly for us as parents we never contemplated what would happen if he didn't ! Call it big-headed,or pompous-some have,after all pride goes before a fall !! I prefer to think we only saw the positive,having total confidence in his abilities !
Will your son-positive appeal permitting-be moving on with a group of friends ? What are the alternate schools like in your area ?
Sallyj x
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