Do ed psychs have an ongoing role in the lives of young people?

abstractLucas

This discussion was created from comments split from: Ask an Educational Psychologist.

abstractLucas

Hi Hannah, I have a bit of a random question for you, hope that's okay! My son is 14, dx at birth with a unique chromosome disorder, not expected to walk/talk/make eye contact etc. He was assessed age 2 for a Statement, in specialist education since, and now in the process of converting to an EHCP. He walks (with supportive footwear) for short distances, wheelchair for anything more than a couple of minutes walking, falls often (wears protective helmet), trips over everything and nothing, often misjudges perspective and bumps into door frames etc, can't read/write at all, speech is very unclear with a vocab of approx 100 words/signs, has gained (over the years) additional dx of epilepsy, haemophilia, heart condition, SPD, multiple skeletal abnormalities. He is still on p levels for everything - maths, English etc. I have just found out that although his initial assessment (12 years ago) included an assessment by an ed psych, he hasn't seen one / been assessed by one since. Do ed psychs have an ongoing role in the lives of young people with this level of need, or would it be unnecessary? I don't want to cause a fuss at school etc if he wouldn't benefit from their involvement!

EducationalPsychologist

Hello abstractLucas
What a great question! There is no right or wrong answer here. In true psychologist style I am going to answer with questions...
Is there information about your child's current needs that you are unclear about and want to understand better?
What would you hope to get from an assessment?
Are current strategies and interventions working?
Answering these questions should help guide you as to whether an updated EP assessment would be helpful.