Case Study 1
Client:
School and Hampshire Local Authority
Needs of Young Person:
Anxiety, ASD (Autism/ ASC), Language Disorder, Limited Interaction and Attention Skills, Verbal Dyspraxia
Specialist SEN teacher:
Background:
The referral for this student initially came from the school as the student was still on role, despite having never attended. The student has faced many challenges and due to his anxiety has not received any formal education for three years. The student struggled to leave the house and had only done so twice since 2020. He had been given some tuition previously but had not engaged as it was in person. The EHCP states that he has a diagnosis of ASD with associated language disorder. He has moderate speech difficulties, and his interaction and attention skills are not yet fully developed. He has moderate to severe difficulty with expressive language. He had Speech and Language Therapy input under the Early Years Service in 2014-15 due to a severe speech sound disorder, language difficulties and feeding difficulties. He was also diagnosed with verbal dyspraxia in 2014.
Specialist Tutoring:
Tuition was arranged to take place online Monday – Thursday for 45 minutes. It started with an initial meeting in January and commenced from February. The tutor has focused on building a positive relationship and the parent is always present and very supportive and helpful when he is not able to communicate. The targets for the placement were to build trust and get the student to engage regularly, establish his preferred learning style and the age expected level he is working at and to increase his communication skills. We have been working on English and Maths with the English having a history focus as he likes this subject.
The student attends every session and has gained in confidence, despite still finding communication a challenge. The tutor has established a good working relationship and the sessions are adapted to suit his needs. The student is well supported by his mother and she attends each session. She allows him to work independently but is on hand to help with any communication issues. The student works well and has coped with all the work we have covered and is making progress as he gains confidence. Currently he is not aiming to reintegrate into a mainstream setting, so the sessions are ongoing and will look to increase over time.
Outcomes:
The tutor recently had a team call with the school and Hampshire Local Authority, and all expressed that they were happy with the support he is receiving and that is engaging well. His mother expressed that she is very happy with the tutoring sessions and that he is engaging better than he has with any other provider. A suggestion to add one more session to the week which would be planning, preparing, and sending independent work has been made, to increase the level of challenge and allow for more of the curriculum to be covered.
