A 1:1 session to review all assessments, to summarise needs and to map recommendations providing a clear direction to support meetings, professionals and provide you with a voice
'A child with significant difficulties in overall intelligence might be predicted to have future issues with learning & academic performance at School. A child who has significant difficulties with impulse control, hyperactivity, strong expressive language skills and slow processing might be predicted to have possible difficulties with calling out and disrupting the class.
A child with significant difficulties with memory, impulse control and who is unable to understand abstract concepts, might be predicated to have difficulties with taking things that aren't theirs.
Why would we want to predict difficulties? Don't they already have enough challenges? The primary reason for doing this is so that we can set young people up for success and avoid failures that are predictable. By being aware, 'in tune' of possible areas of difficulties we can target these areas early, prior to them causing even bigger issues.
'With good information we can modify the environment, expectations and implementation so that young people can minimise negative experiences. If young people dont have the basic core skills and abilities to be successful in a task or activity, it is better for this to be supported from the start than waiting for it and for them to fail.'
Clinical Psychologist Dr Vanessa Spiller
We will review all assessments and reports gathered to date, summarise key recommendations by turning the theory into practice; charting a clear summary of needs to help multi-agency professionals see presenting needs to be able to identify a clear plan.
We will listen to you whilst you tell us about the needs of your child/young person or adult. We will consider carefully existing and needs emerging to build a visual summary and map of a child’s strengths and challenges.
This forms part of exploring the brain related areas impacted by prenatal alcohol exposure; NICE Quality Standards for FASD.
Trauma research will be discussed, to guide prioritising which areas of needs to focus on first; to look at the trauma responses we need first, to understand the whole childs needs.
By the end of the session you will have:
· Identified your childs strengths
· Considered challenges and explained what you see everyday
· Look through the lense of FASD at the masking and blending in to keep safe
· Looked at common assumptions made about your child
· Reflected on skills and abilities with the aim to plot these against assessments of need
· Reviewed all emerging needs and considered longer term impact
· Prioritised interventions and reviewed options for future support
This is not a clinical assessment but provides vital support to help you interpret assessments and plan interventions where multiple recommendations may have been made to support needs or perhaps where non-specific suggestions need summarising into objectives.
This method of summarising is helpful in discussions with School or with other services including EHCP reviews where you might be unclear about the priorities for your child.
Not only can the results be used to identify strengths and challenges but can be used to explain behavioural symptoms of those with prenatal exposure to alcohol; where as they are recognised they can be planned effectively for. In School for example this might be through risk assessing or allocating additional support.
Understanding and tuning into strengths can also be used to predict areas that might be further developed to encourage progression and to balance our challenges.
Includes 1:1 session with the Director of FASD & the completion of a skills & abilities summary.
©FASD Informed UK
Image with kind permission of one of our FASD Friend @Charlie Mackesy
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