What direction I should go down to get more help?

Verschoyle
Verschoyle Community member Posts: 5 Listener
in Education and skills
This discussion was created from comments split from: Hello my name is Hannah and I'm an educational psychologist.

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  • Verschoyle
    Verschoyle Community member Posts: 5 Listener
    Hi

    My 4 year old son who is in reception at school suffered with chronic ear infections as a baby/toddler. I was refered by my GP to an audiologist for hearing tests. My son showed positive for glue ear and over a year he failed most hearing tests and I was advised that grommets were an option. However on his follow up appointment a year on his hearing tests came back fine however I was still very concerned about a few things which I will list below..

    My son (Ralphie) struggles to hear in a loud environment and gets frustrated. He is comfortable at home and in quiet surroundings. Struggles to hear if more than one person is speaking. Very easily distracted. He finds it difficult to follow instructions and results in him giving up.
    He can't dress himself. His understanding isn't great and needs extra explanation.
    After speaking with his teacher she says it's early days however he is struggling to make relationships and he is struggling accademicly.

    All of the above we have learnt to deal with together and have just changed our lifestyles to suit and make Ralphie feel comfortable where ever possible.

    He is still under the audiology department, the doctor audiologist sent a letter to the school explaining he needs as much help one on one as possible however I still feel like Ralphie will eventually fall behind.

    I would love some advice as to what direction I should go down to get more help for Ralphie.

    Regards Kirsty
  • EducationalPsychologist
    EducationalPsychologist Community member Posts: 118 Contributor
    Hi Kirsty, while Ralphie is under 5 I recommend making full use of your local children's centre and/or child development centre. Access to professionals is much easier while under 5. There are various reasons for the difficulties you describe Ralphie having. I would recommend asking your GP for referrals to the following:

    Speech and language therapist - receptive language skills
    Educational psychologist - processing and memory

    If you can afford to employ independent practitioners you should ask for full assessments:
    www.helpwithtalking.com
    www.achippp.org.uk

    Also ask for a full and detailed clinical audiology assessment, the sort carried out by www.chears.co.uk

    Its great you're looking into things now. The earlier difficulties are identified the sooner interventions can be put in place to help, which may reduce difficulties when Ralphie is older.

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