semantic pragmatic language disorder.

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Tolstoy
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Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:25 pm

semantic pragmatic language disorder.

Post by Tolstoy »

Has anyone had experience of this as a parent or as a teacher?
southbucks3
Posts: 3579
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:59 am

Re: semantic pragmatic language disorder.

Post by southbucks3 »

A family member has it and I taught autistic secondary children. It is a cognitive problem associated with autism. The family member has it mildly and due to his age (60) remains undiagnosed, but will quote huge chunks of tv as a means of conversation, cannot control his thought to speech link very well, cannot really make eye contact, takes most things literally and rambles on about nonsense really, and has problems with empathy. He has improved hugely since he left school and became an adult in the work place though and is married to a very tolerant wife. He has many other autistic spectrum tags, that I picked up on after working with autistic children, it's very sad he was not helped at school and in fact left school unable to read or spell properly. He now holds a degree after self teaching himself to spell with a dictionary! Oh thank goodness we do not live in the 60s!
Tolstoy
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Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:25 pm

Re: semantic pragmatic language disorder.

Post by Tolstoy »

Thinking maybe I should have put this in the SEN section, SB3. The reason I ask is my eldest has it. He was diagnosed about three years ago when he was tested for Asperger's on the advice of a counsellor and due to behavioural problems he was having at home and school. I am currently trying to get him into school and am wondering what the rules are on admitting SEN children, would this help our case at all i.e are schools more obliged to take children with a SEN, clutching at straws perhaps.
mystery
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Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: semantic pragmatic language disorder.

Post by mystery »

Tolstoy wrote:Thinking maybe I should have put this in the SEN section, SB3. The reason I ask is my eldest has it. He was diagnosed about three years ago when he was tested for Asperger's on the advice of a counsellor and due to behavioural problems he was having at home and school. I am currently trying to get him into school and am wondering what the rules are on admitting SEN children, would this help our case at all i.e are schools more obliged to take children with a SEN, clutching at straws perhaps.
Read the school admission policy. Usually sen comes towards the top but perhaps you have to be statemented for this. Is he homeschooled then? Most of all you want a good transition back to school and a school that is good at making children and teachers embrace difference.
southbucks3
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Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:59 am

Re: semantic pragmatic language disorder.

Post by southbucks3 »

Not sure, it depends a little on whether the school of choice specialises in your sons particular needs, but I do not know the ins and outs, but do know my friends child was not given a place at a particular school as they felt another school met her needs better and they could not help her. (She is now in a brilliant Sen specific school) I do know that prince's risborough upper has a very specialist unit within its school, even if they cannot accommodate your sons particular needs, they may be able to direct you?
Try a reach out for Etienne in appeals or even move it to bucks, as there is bound to be some people who are a bit wiser on the specific schools. I did out of school teaching assisting for teenage children who needed a lot of help in Thame and I am now moving to primary sen assisting for a year, so not very savvy on secondary school level Sen in the area (yet) Sorry x
Amber
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Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: semantic pragmatic language disorder.

Post by Amber »

When I worked in special needs, which was admittedly a few years ago, a statement essentially meant that parents had the ultimate choice of school for their child. This choice was supposed to be exercised with the appropriate input from professionals etc - and there were often funding implications if the best school wasn't in the child's home county. With the advent of School Action and SA+ I think a lot of this was devolved and with that a parent's right to choose a school was diminished. I think maybe it depends on if your son has a statement - that would I think increase your choices. Otherwise as SB3 says, it probably depends on whether you can appeal for a place by demonstrating that the chosen school is especially suitable for your son's particular needs.
Tolstoy
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Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:25 pm

Re: semantic pragmatic language disorder.

Post by Tolstoy »

No chance of a statement me thinks Amber, before we left UK his last school-head's answer when problems surfaced was to suspend him no questions asked. As I was told by our old primary head, unless they are throwing chairs around the classroom very few Specific learning difficulties children get the support they need in the UK. Hopefully that isn't the case but I have become very cynical over the years I have spent trying to get support for my DC. In France DC3 was tested and given support pronto. Here they are ignored because they are clever enough to get by for the most part and a lot of effort is put in by yours truly. Doesn't he have to be in school to get one though?

The thing is SB3 he would like to have gone to the local school. One of his biggest problems is forming good friendships and he feels this is not helped by being in a school he has to travel to therefore making it difficult to meet up with mates. He needs to be able to resit Y11 and the only school that seems to be prepared to consider him at this point is a good bus journey away even if he manages to pass the entrance test (if he doesn't I really don't know what avenue to try next am going in circles here with time ticking on)

He isn't being home schooled Mystery. He was forced into that situation in the past and it really isn't an option, plus he needs to be somewhere or will watch T.V series and films all day. At the moment I can envisage him leaving school with very few qualifications and not being of a practical nature I have no idea what he will end up doing. The local colleges don't appear to cater for complete sets of GCSE sittings and their A'level choices are limited plus his being limited by the number and quality of his IGCSEs. ( really wishing I'd stuck to my guns and not let him sit the blessed things) Even colleges further afield that do allow full sittings are full with long waiting lists. If I am honest he is being penalised because he is returning from abroad. Had we stayed he would have done his IB or equivalent no problem and gone on to do a Uni course somewhere.

Personally I think individual schools in the UK have far too much power over admissions since the recent change in Government. SB3 your comment on another thread about some Uppers seeking to be the new Grammars is the very thing I have been thinking myself.
Etienne
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Re: semantic pragmatic language disorder.

Post by Etienne »

am wondering what the rules are on admitting SEN children
Agree with what others have said. A statement naming the school would ensure admission - but, as you realise, statements aren't easy to get. (Statements aren't usually listed in a school's oversubscription criteria, because it doesn't matter whether the school is oversubscribed.)

Some schools have an exceptional social/medical criterion - but the threshhold is high (i.e. it is likely that evidence from professionals would need to show that no other school could cope with the condition).
Amber wrote:Otherwise as SB3 says, it probably depends on whether you can appeal for a place by demonstrating that the chosen school is especially suitable for your son's particular needs.
Agreed - you would need to research this carefully to compile the evidence, and I would advise meeting with the SENCOs at any possible schools you identify.

To give this thread a bit more exposure I'll move it to the SEN section - via Bucks - leaving behind a 'shadow'.
Etienne
Tolstoy
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Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:25 pm

Re: semantic pragmatic language disorder.

Post by Tolstoy »

Thanks Etienne.
berks_mum
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Re: semantic pragmatic language disorder.

Post by berks_mum »

I don't know how useful this is but are you a member of MENCAP? A friend has 3DCs with various SEN needs/disabilities/learning difficulties and she highly recommends joining one.
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