Educational psychologist

[DollyCocoa]

Hi

Does anyone know of a really good Educational Psychologist with a good knowledge of FASD? We live in Buckinghamshire. We had an Ed Psych report done through the local authority which was a complete waste of time & took a year. I then sourced an independent Ed Psych from Oxford who said there was nothing wrong. Our adopted daughters display most of the typical FASD behaviours & are 2 & a half years behind at school. The independent Ed Psych charged us £1000 for 2 reports that are 3 pages long!!! He said that they couldn't have FASD as they didn't have the facial features-at this point I knew he didn't know what he was talking about & had really ripped us off. To apply for EHCP's we've been told that we need really detailed Ed Psych reports but don't want to make the same mistake again.

Thanks in advance

[ChrissieD]

Hi DollyCocoa

I live in Bucks too, will ask some learned friends for any names.

V frustrating for you.

[WildPoppies]

Hi

Yes it's a minefield with ed psych's who don't understand adoption and FASD.

I contacted special schools in the area to find out if they either had on staff, or knew of Ed Psych who would understand FASD & adoption. Through that I was able to encourage the school to use a knowledgeable EP and it makes a world of difference.

If you have no luck with special schools, phone your local authority parent partnership and they might be able to point you in the right direction.

We aren't in your area so can't help with specific EP.

Good luck!

[Joygirl]

Try you GP and ask if they can refer you. Ask your local Parent Partnership and also try your community paediatric team for recommendations or referrals..

[Boots5623]

Hi. Poor you. It's so frustrating isn't it.  

Do keep on with the EHC plan procedure though. You don't actually need really detailed Ed Psych reports for a plan. I would go to someone higher up and explain your situation. Speak to the GP and tell him you want a paediatric referral, get school to make a report about how the children are behind. I was homeschooling when I began the process and so had very little 'evidence'. I had a report from the local adoption support agency - might be worth seeing is you can get some support there? 

Also I had a independent Ed Psych report which was more than 3 pages (!) which showed how behind my daughter was. And some support from the local homeschooling monitoring officer. It was  enough to get the ball rolling.   

I guess it's a case of trying as many different avenues a possible and being very persistent to the point of annoying! Some time ago, I was explaining my frustration with the system to a policeman  (who was returning my daughter after she had run away) and he told me 'keep on asking for help - it's the squeaky wheels that get greased'

BW,