SEN at school for a 4 year old

Hi,

Have you spoke to the school SENCo? Some details here. https://www.gov.uk/children-with-special-educational-needs

IPSEA is also a good place to start. https://www.ipsea.org.uk/Pages/Category/get-support

Hope this helps.

Hi @xenia - Just in case you didn't see my reply yesterday, here it is:

'.....altho the hypermobile type of EDS is the commonest, unfortunately there isn't a genetic test (as in taking a skin sample) for this, rather a clinical evaluation of the hypermobility of their joints, & any family history. There are some supports for use with writing that can help, & I'll have a look at these for you. I'm so sorry; I know how awful it can be seeing your children with difficulties you'd rather go through yourself. Does your child have a diagnosis?'

Helping your child to write. Chunky pencils (& crayons for drawing) would likely be helpful. There are also many grips you can fit to pencils, but I think it might be a bit of a minefield working out which would help a child with with hypermobility issues. Ideally they should be referred to an Occupational Therapist who can assess, & see what might work best.

Also I found this site of interest.....perhaps the 'Adapted Tripod or D'Nealian' method of holding a pencil would be easier especially with a hypermobile thumb: https://www.ot-mom-learning-activities.com/correct-pencil-grasp.html

There's also a little advice here from the Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome support website about SEN which might back up about their problems with hypermobility. Please scroll down to 'Statementing.' See: https://www.ehlers-danlos.org/information/your-child-and-the-ehlers-danlos-syndromes/

May I ask does your child get any physiotherapy, as this can help too?

Hope some of this helps, & kindly let us know how you get on.