babnye1

After complaining about the ridiculous psychologist who was dealing with us at CAMHS we have been given another psychologist and an art therapist to conduct my son's ADOS. Has anyone had any experience with 'art therapists' and how common it is for them to do ADOS tests? I am told she has had training to be able to do the test but I'm not feeling confident that there is any expertise here.

Hi Has anyone got any recommendations for a really respected ed psych? Just about to apply for a SA and want an independent ed psych report. Thanks

Hi Thanks for this. Really welcome your suggestions and my actual letter would take into account what you are saying about not criticising the school etc - this was just a brief drafted listed of thoughts to see what issues there are. I have IPSEA's standard letter so I will look at SEN COP and go through my DS's reports and match them the assertions. I am speaking to SENCO about when the Ed Psych is coming in but SOS-SEN advised today that it was probably worth filing the letter and getting my own Ed Psych and SALT report,

If I make an application for a SA, I understand I don't have to put alot of detail down but I'm wondering if these points are enough: 1. SCD confirmed - SALT 2. DCD confirmed - OT 3. Profound sensory problems confirmed (although no OT report as she's still assessing) particularly proprioception (he cannot sit up staright and lolls and flop all the time) and smells/tastes (he vomits!) and he constantly chews everything in class. He also hates wet on him (e.g. rain results in screaming) and his routines and avoidance to manage sensory probelms are getting worse 4. High IQ but middling grades confirmed - the report from last year and this year showed some progress but it lists all his learning attributes e.g. ability to focus etc and they have all slipped from 'usually' to 'rarely' or 'sometimes' 5. DS has lashed out twice when he was moved to a different class with a different group 6. School cannot include DS on trips and suggest he stays at home in case he gets distressed or he ends up not being involved in activities because of sensory problems 7. Getting to school is difficult (lots of routines/sensory problems) as is communicating some problems to staff although he will ask questions about work - he was outside the classroom bent over hiding yesterday on the first day back but when the former class TA (who did the Early Bird Plus course) came over he was ok. Unfortunately they have now moved her out of the class - on the week she finished the course. His teachers have no ASD training 8. He is getting in to trouble in the playground because he can't control the play - e.g. he can't play football (coordination problems) so he stops the other boys. He has been told off for this. They have stopped 'gun games' which he loves and I have asked them to provide alternatives. His teacher told me today that he was getting 'too violent' with them??? They'd not mentioned this before 9. He can eat two hot school meals - the rest of the time he was coming home because he couldn't stand to be in the hall with a packed lunch and the smells. He is going back but only with a packet of crisps. School would not allow him to eat outside the hall. 10. He has been on SA+ since October. SA+ is clearly going to have to go on for a very long time to have any effect! No specialist SALT - difficulties quite subtle and no social skills training - no staff for it 11. Teacher confirms problems with inferences etc for reading 12. DS has problems with writing and needs some assistance although his writing is ok it is not really progressing 13. BIBIC confirmed problems with some aspects of working memory and planning and sequencing Is this enough for the intial letter?

Thanks Caroline. We are just waiting on diagnostic testing now - SALT has been done and OT is ongoing. But the CAMHS side is dreadful. I had little confidence in them to start with as they didn't seem to know what they were talking of but I have less now. Interestingly, whenever I raise this with any other health professional, they don't contravert what I'm saying!! Honestly, the professionals on the Early Bird Plus course knew more about these things. The local CAMHS has just been taken over by another MHT so I have asked that someone else deal with the case other than the two dysfunctional professionals who do the ADOS testing at the local hospital. There is a possibility this way that we might get some help from an out of area team as the new MHT is not from this county. Disappointed in my OT though. I just felt as if I'd had the rug pulled from under me.

Right, now, I am trying not to get too worked up and silly about this. We've just had a lovely holiday,although my son who is 7 and almost certainly has an ASD was very difficult and didn't want to leave the holiday cottage mlost of the time. Now back to reality. We get a letter on our arrival home from the useless CAMHS psychologist who is dealing with my son. She did a school observation in March which was pointless. She hadn't read any reports or ask teachers about anything of use and just reeled off a list of stupid statements in a one page letter e.g. he doesn't lash out, he can give eye contact. Really, who said he didn't? What a load of rubbish. I wrote and complained as she hadn't take into consideration or offer any help with the problems he has had at school e.g. not being able to stay for lunch, not getting in in the mornings, responding badly to change and lashing out. For example, yesterday he wouldn't go into class until the class TA he has been working with came to help. He was curled up outside the class, hands over head. He has gone into school this morning with a spare pair of pants in his bag because he is getting hysterical if he gets a splash of wee on them. This is a recent anxiety so I don't know where it is going to lead. But I am so annoyed as these things just seem to get worse and no one is interested, He is on the waiting list for an ADOS/ADI but the woman who does it is the head of the team and it is she who went in to school. She is useless. So we are trying to get a referral out of the area. Yesterday, we also had to see our OT who has been very helpful and supportive to date. Yesterday, she went through all DS's problems areas (we have been seeing her since before xmas so she knows him quite well). She then made a comment about last time we saw her. He had got wet on his sock and started screaming as we were about to leave. I whipped shoe and sock off and gave him a piggy back, thus defusing the situation and calming him down. She had someone with her observing so I didn't want it to escalate and I know what DS is like about socks etc. Anyway, she mentioned that she thought I might be giving rewards for this behaviour by offering a piggy back. I completely agree that some of these sensory issues become worse because they develop into routine based avoidance issues but how are we supposed to know how to deal with this as parents without help? I got a bit upset, not defensive, I accepted that these things can be behaviour related i.e. they do things to get a result but they start off genuinely enough. However, on this occasion DS was not looking for a piggy back, he just wanted his sock off and I wanted him not to scream. Mission accomplished and pat on the back for me I thought. I also think if I hadn't learnt to respond quickly that they would get the screaming, kicking child they seem to expect and who gets priority for assessment. I just hate feeling that I was being judged for it.Judged but not offered help. She has no strategies for dealing with the sensory issues at all. Right rant over....

I went back into school and checked with the teacher and TA and it is right. He got ten minutes a day (timed) with the TA! But it meant he built a bond which he could rely on. I recommend the Early Bird Plus course if you can get school to go on that

Why does school do it? I mean seriously why? I have a 7 year old with likely ASD - profound sensory problems, some coordination issues, social communication problems. He is bright. He doesn't cause any problems for teachers but in new environments he can really get very stressed. he took a very long time settling to his Yr 2 class but we were starting to make progress. We have spent the last three months on the Early Bird Plus course with DS's class TA. All went really well, she learnt alot about ASD although it was a constant battle to get suggestions implemented in class. The TA was also given ten minutes (timed with a clock!) to talk to DS daily and that seemed to really build up his confidence and seemed to make him really settle. Just when I think we are starting to build bridges and work together for DS, they pull the rug from under my (and obviously DS') again.......how's that for mixed metaphors! DS tells us today that his class TA is moving after Easter and won't be in the class any more. She is moving to be a 'whole school resource' helping kids with literacy etc. She has only just this week finished the Early Bird Plus course with us so I haven't a clue what they're playing at. They never warned us, or even told us, and have no transition plan for it so I had to go back into school to talk to the TA and teacher to confirm this. I don't expect to interfere with school's decisions and I don't expect special treatment but I do expect them to let us know about things that are important. Everyone has acknowleged that DS has really come on since she started working with him. Honestly, I feel like things are going ok and then they just treat us like ###### again

Sammysnake....you sound like you work in a very good school! I could never get my head around the lack of very basic knowledge. Yes, teachers are untrained and rely on SENCO etc but as you have said, it is very easy with a little bit of time on google to get some basic info about ASD so at least you understand what the parents are talking about. Or be honest when you don't udnerstand. In my experience, most of the problems are caused by a lack of understanding and a defensiveness on the part of teachers who want to duck the issue as they might be made to do something about it if they acknowledge it. This lack of openness makes them difficult to communicate with so you do end up with problems festering as you cannot get 5 mins to talk through problems. In my case, we have a home/school book, an Early Bird Plus course we are on with the class TA and ten mins a week to chat to one of the teachers (DS has two) so you would think there would be lots of opportunities for communication. As it is, the TA comes to the course but has no defined way of sharing the information with the teacehrs (who she says don't ask) and the home/school book has minimal comments so significant incidents (like yesterday when DS was scratched and pushed over) are recorded as 'DS had a bad playtime...all sorted now'. The ten mins with one teacher becomes a pointless exercise as nothing changes! So, schools protective of their budgets, with staff who don't understand and treat questions as criticisms mean life is VERY difficult for parents unless of course your child causes lots of disruption for the teacher and suddenly the issues become clearer for everyone.

Thanks. Believe me, our CAMHS are not worth their salt. Despite the psychologist initially telling me it was all clear, her assessment of him at school (compunded by her conversation with the teacher) clearly had changed her mind. So we had lots of comments about good eye contact and the teacher visiting his table to support him and how lovely the teacher was and what a great lesson she had taught and how welcoming the school were and how he had no problems asking for help, with girls, getting changed concentrating etc. Anyway, I just want to feel confident about any dx (or failure to dx) but this just felt like we were being completely undermined. It was suggested that this might be a sensory problem more than anything else and that the SCD problem might be a reflection of the sensory issues. Not sure what the difference between that and ASD is??? So, I don't know what the psychologist thought she was going to see (she mentioned him giving eye contact and not lashing out - we had never suggested these things were an issue) but the teachers clearly helped her lean away from ASD. She still wants him to have the ADI and ADOS though. I want to try and go somewhere else for them.

DS (7) is undergoing ASD assessment at the moment. He also has Developmental Coordination Disorder. It is pointing towards Aspergers. The head of the diagnostic team (a psychologist) went into school last week. She had seen him individually once before and said she thought the ASD signs were very clear. This time she observed DS in school and spoke to one of his teachers. School have been very slow to pick up on these issues. He looks like other children so why would he need special help? He doesn’t cause a problem, isn’t obstructive or aggressive. He must just be lazy and overdependent if he needs help. Intervention by the occupational therapist, community paediatrician and joint attendance on a specialist course with us and the class TA have helped. My concern is that when the psychologist went in speak to the teacher, she was told DS doesn’t have problems asking for help (he has an IEP aimed at helping with this), always gets changed for PE first (he can have problems dressing and this has previously been noted) and sometimes chooses to play with girls (much has been made of late of his antipathy to girls – for some reason he cannot cope with them and has lashed out). This didn’t sound true. Anyway, DS says he can never remember choosing to play with girls and looked horrified at the idea. He says he has only ever been first for PE once. As for the communicating, well that has got better after months of battling with the school for help with it. But he has had IEPs addressing this for the last 6-8 months and is confirmed as having social communication difficulties by a SALT. The issues with PE and girls are documented in his home/school book. What was the teacher playing at? I know school don't like outside professionals interferring but it felt like we were making things up. I am also worried that this undermines the diagnostic process as it contradicts what we have struggled to establish at school and why. Should I say something?

Had meeting with consultant clinical psychologist today at CAMHS. I've had a difficult history with her as her service is rubbish - massive waiting lists, poor communication etc. She is also dotty and presents as uncertain and not particularly expert. Anyway, after complaints about getting no help with anything whilst on the waiting list, and asking to be transferred out of the area, we got an appointment in January. She sees DS and confirms 'it (ASD)is very clear'. I was a bit taken aback by this as DS does not present clearly at all and I felt that as she is a bit dotty, he acted in a particularly aspie way with her. I even wrote to her afterwards to put forward his unaspie points!! Anyway, she agreed to do school obs. I have spent the last year trying to get school to take on board his problems and have had to badger them to do something. They have even failed to attend meetings with professionals before etc. They did nothing until community paed and OT came to a meeting and shamed them into action. They have now called in Autism Outreach team and Ed Psych. Teachers have been very defensive and went for months saying there has been no problems but have started to be more cooperative. However, things have improved since the Early Bird Plus course and my contacting the head. Anyway, Psych tells me today how great he was although she could see he had clear sensory problems. The teachers basically said they had no problems...... despite things recent discussions about stuff such as him not concentrating etc. What annoyed me was that she prattled on about good eye contact with his friends and how he didn't hit out when someone pushed him and that he didn't mind his friend hugging him The teacher suddenly had lots of visual timetables which were being used to remind the children what they needed to take for playing out... e.g picture of a sweatshirt....how fabulous says psychologist - making me look a paranoid loon when I say 'that's a first' Interestingly, psych woman then says 'visual timetable goes up and DS already had his sweatshirt on but still went outside with the other children ...I thought....what is going to happen here.....but DS seemed to know he was wearing his sweatshirt and came back with his coat which surprised me' Seriously, what were her expectations...?? Oh, and when we were talking about other children on the Early Bird Plus course who seemed to have problems with aggreession whereas DS was passive, she said 'it's all about your personality type'..... is it? Really? Is it not about having better coping skills or social skills or being better supported in your environment? So she was surprised because he knew he was wearing a sweatshirt, gave eye contact to his friends, could ask a question in class and didn't thump someone who bumped into him. Is this woman working on stereotypes? So, she says it's not straightforward - just as we said to start with. Bleeding hell what a waste of time. The woman is horrible and I left in tears, sick of the intervention in DS's life by people who don't seem to be expert at this at all . In the meantime, we remain on an endless waiitng list for ADOS etc. Don't get me wrong. I don't want a diagnosis if there is none to give. I do want to feel confident that the decision will be reasoned and definitive. I have asked not to go through dx here but to go to a referral centre in view of the fact that it is acknowledged his needs are complex. I've asked this before and been refused but what is the point at undergoing tests conducted by people you have no faith in when you know, whatever the decison, you won't have confidence in what they say and so will ask for a second opinion. It's just constant, unnecessary intervention.

I completely see what you mean. I think my feeling is that you need a school to meet you half way if this process is not to be so completely soul destroying. The reality is this school may always need battling to get anything done. You have to work out if that is worth the stress

Thanks Sally, I completely understand what you mean about small steps etc. I just have this feeling that there is going to be a battle every step of the way with school and that even with a statement I would be chasing to find out who had done what etc or if they were doing what they were supposed to be doing. I think if teachers/school don't understand the issues but you feel they care, you can keep going and feel supported. But when you don't even get the feeling that they're bothered, then it's a different kettle of fish We do have access to SALT, OT and the child psychology dept even pre-dx here and all of them have been involved so I'm not sure how much a dx would change things although we are pursuing that. The local PPS told me this school had dealt with another boy with similar issues. However the Community Paed mentioned him (not by name obv) a while back when she said school were 'failing another boy too'. The SENco told me on Friday that this boy ended up being Home Ed'd. His mum had moved from one school already and he was only there 6 months before his mum removed him. Given their absolute reluctance to do anything to assist without being forced, I'm really disappointed that they have learnt nothing. Not even the basics. The simple fact is that this is a Grammar school area. The schools are hugely competitive and I have a horrible feeling that no one has time for these sort of problems.

Thank you all so much! I really appreciate your responses as it is such an isolating world at school sometimes and no one knows what I am talking about. I'm so upset today that I don't feel like sending him in. It just gets harder as every time I think we've made progress something happens to demonstrate that not only do they not understand this, but they don't even want to talk about it or address it. I had a big meeting with SENco (deputy head) and one of the class teachers on Friday and they accepted my redrafted IEP targets (PPS told me the schools targets showed their inexperiences of ASD) and confirmed that, at last, they would be getting an ed psych consult (largely because the ed psych team now know of DS because of the Early Bird Plus course and so asked why they hadn't been consulted). However, I felt positive. Then I find out that there is the incident with girls (he won't tell me why he said it, I think he's too embarrassed). He was also sent to work with the TA as he wouldn't do handwriting. A big issues with him. She encouraged him by getting him to write about Star Wars (what a star!!) but she said that 'went down like a lead balloon' with the teacher. DS still won't stay at school for lunch. He started to come home when there was nothing he liked on the lunch menu as packed lunches made him feel sick in the lunch hall (he has strong sensory issues about food and smell). Now he says he's too nervous to stay. I've offered to sit with him outside the class while he eats lunch which has been rejected out of hand by school. I see no willingness to help (unless forced to by me badgering them with outside intervention) but, more importantly, there is no real interest expressed in his well-being. At no point has a teacher tried to take him under their wing to talk about problems in the school hall or otherwise. The head of the ASD team is coming in next week to observe him in class and will see us after that. The Early Bird Plus course is coming in the week after and I'm seeing the Head after that. I think that will be make or break time. I mean to be honest, how will this change with a statement? We can't go on beating school round the head to make them interested. My younger son starts school in September and I am tempted to home ed them both at least until we can decide what to do. Moving schools will be very hard for DS1 as he has friends so I've stuck with the school for this reason. If we move schools, we might move areas as the grammar school system here is appallingly competitive and ruins primary education. My husband works over an hour away so I don't really know why we're here. Maybe I will home ed until the summer after the intervention is complete if things don't change

Thanks. That is helpful! I also think it's partly his rubbish teachers as ASD aside, they should be capable of dealing with boys versus girls issues.

Ok, bit of a long and weird one. My son, who has not yet been formally diagnosed but who is considered to have ASD, really dislikes girls - I mean really dislikes them. He has just turned 7. He was moved on to a table with girls at the beginning of the year and I warned the teachers that he really doesn't like girls but they got a bit prissy as if I was demanding he be moved - I wasn't, I just wanted them to understand he might have concerns and that these might rise to the surface. Anxieties about things can act as 'triggers' to ASD children and need careful management. I actually think he finds girls very difficult to 'read'and predict. He is similarly difficult with his younger brother who has long hair (and therefore should be a girl according to DS) and very unpredictable. The school are not at all switched on to ASD and worse than that, there has been a certain arrogance to their behaviour over the last year. They would rather do nothing than ask for help and show ignorance. They are an 'outstanding' school and have 'lead' school status. I understand from his TA that last week he was taken out of class by his teacher who said 'I don't know what to do with him'. He had apparently made some comment about girls. The TA wasn't told what it was. She is fab and did some pictures showing how she looked as a girl and explained how all women used to be girls and how some girls even like Star wars etc. Today, DS told me what happened. He told me he had said 'I want to shoot all the girls'. A boy told the teacher. She shouted at him that he was never to day this and then took him out the class without explanation and left him with the TA. DS had made a similar remark in the week which the same boy reported to the teacher. He said he wanted to 'shoot Mrs X' because she had given him work he couldn't understand. She told me she had overheard it herself and that all the children were very upset by it. This appears not to be true - the boy reported it and he was told off. She made a point of raising this with me. Now, I know that these comments are not nice but I think they are clearly the result of some anxiety/frustration as DS is a very passive child who never causes any problems for anyone. This has in fact been the problem up to now as teachers have not seen him as having needs as he causes them no problems. The teachers have a communication book and we are on the Early Bird Plus course where these issues are supposed to be raised so they can be addressed. So, I am annoyed that if this is an issue they are concerned about or don't know what to do about, they should raise it with me directly. He cried and cried tonight when we talking about it. To date I have had nothing but grief from school who have no idea about what to do with DS. I am getting so frustrated. I had to re-write their IEP targets last week and they just express no interest in him. I'm always having to chase the provision he is supposed to have. I think they just can't be bothered with him.

Thanks Sally. Helpful as ever!! Hope you're ok. Sound like you've had an upsetting time from your recent posts. Trouble with my school is that they don't want to ask anyone for help with the targets. SALT discharged after confirming SCD on the basis that this could be left to the school. However, they have said they would help draft targets and I have passed this on to school. School have not contacted them and are not interested in doing so. I am going to try to talk to ACE and Parent Partnership before the meeting and then make some suggestions to school but if they don't want to know, I will make a comment on the IEP about it.

After much badgering, school have looked again at DS's IEP targets. The new ones are as follows: Target - To develop DS's awareness of facial expressions (as recommended by SALT - although his problem is with tone of voice more than faces which he is ok with if he manages to look at them!) Strategy - Use Blacksheep materials Success - DS will begin to recognise facial expressions as an important tool to communication Target - DS will begin to engage in true two-way interchanges. Success - DS will use active listening skills and questioning during 2-way interchange No strategy for that but a TA is having 5 minutes a day with him The other targets remain as before Am I right in thinking that this is all way too general and too vague to determine success?

Hi I'm a solicitor - used to specialise in criminal work but not practised since having the kids. To be guilty of theft, the prosecution have to prove that a person has dishonestly appropriated property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it. The two key things usually contested are (a) was the person being dishonest (according to what an ordinary decent person would consider to be dishonest) and did he realise he was being dishonest by those standards, dishonest? and ( did he intend to permanently deprive the other person of it? Ordinarlily, if anything, the police would caution for something like this if this was first offence and there was evidence and an acceptance of guilt. However, they cannot caution if it is denied. A further complication is the racially aggravated offence as there are two tests for prosecution - is there sufficient evidence and is it in the public interest to prosecute. Public policy dictates that it is in the public interest to prosecute crimes of racial aggravation provided there is evidence. To be racially aggravated, then it would have to be shown that either (a) at the time of committing the offence, or immediately before or after doing so, the offender demonstrates hostility towards the victim based on the victim's membership (or presumed membership) of a racial group or ( the offence is motivated (wholly or partly) by hostility towards members of a racial group based on their membership of that group. For a crime like this, it may not necessarily be a defence that a person has AS or ASD (things get complicated here and you need GOOD legal advice) but it is good mitigation (particularly if they are seeking help) and it maybe something which can be used to argue for a discontinuation of the prosecution (depending on the strength of feeling from the 'victim'). You need to get legal advice from someone who is a specialist in juvenile practice and tell them everything about this. Many solicitors will say they do criminal work and some will say they do juvenile work too but juvenile work is a specialist field. The courts are more informal, procedure is different and there are services there to offer help and support. if you ring the local youth court and ask for the names of solicitors firms who practice there, they should be able to help. A solicitor can make enquiries with the prosecution about whether this should be proceded with or whether there are other avenues e.g. reparation etc. You can apply to get legal aid The police may be able to refer you to the Youth Justice team or suggest how you can further access advice. Hope that helps

Good for you! I have thought of doing this with my son but he likes his friends at school and while that's the case, it seems important to persevere. How old is your son and how do you schedule your week? Do you work too?

We have the same problem and an OT has recommended that he gets bursts of activity to assist with concentration but also to help with hypotonia (low muscle tone) and tiredness. I don't know if your son has the same problem but children with low muscle tone often find just sitting all day very tiring. I notice my son is also constantly moving around at home and snacks alot as he is an oral sensory seeker too. OT says crunchy snacks often perk up the system and this is why he craves them. School either think these suggestions are bonkers or tell me that they're doing all this stuff already so I think alot depends on whether the school are prepared to take on board OT suggestions.

See below from TES: "Compensation cost fears as ombudsman boosts parents’ power to complain about provision Schools could be left out of pocket with no means of appeal after new powers were given to parents to complain about SEN education, experts have warned. The office of the local government ombudsman is now able to investigate schools that “act unreasonably” and fail to offer the right support to SEN pupils. It can demand more resources for children regardless of whether extra funds are made available by local authorities. It is also able to order that compensation be paid. Ombudsmen already investigate SEN maladministration, and tribunals will continue to decide whether children should get statements. But denial of a right of appeal to schools will leave local authorities and schools paying for the new powers “literally and figuratively”, according to the Local Government Association (LGA). “This will affect budgets and have a knock-on effect on all resources,” said Daniel Mason, policy officer at the LGA. “It could lead to ‘buck-passing’, where the problem gets passed between schools and local authorities if neither has the money.” Concerns have also been raised that “pushy” parents could use their new rights inappropriately. The changes have been made following Special Educational Needs Consortium chair Brian Lamb’s inquiry into SEN provision last year, which said radical changes are needed to the way schools and local authorities deal with parents of children with SEN. “I hope giving parents a proper voice will lead to a situation where schools are more ruthlessly focused on outcomes for SEN pupils,” he told The TES. Richard Rose, director of the Centre for Special Needs Education and Research at Northampton University, predicts that some parents will view the new powers as a “blunt instrument” to use against teachers in an “unsuitable way”. “It’s important sufficient power is still given to the professional powers of teachers and there is still room for dialogue with them,” he said. Lorraine Petersen, chief executive of the National Association for Special Educational Needs, said the changes could help teachers because it will make local authorities act more effectively. “Schools do their best, but often all the paperwork and changes they recommend don’t get further than local authorities, which leaves teachers despondent,” she said. But John Bangs, NUT head of education, criticised the decision not to allow schools right of appeal. “There are cases where teachers think provision is inadequate and want it improved but can’t act, and some parents won’t appeal themselves,” he said. “The Government has never faced up to the reality of educating children with SEN, and the actual cost of giving individual support while they are in mainstream education.” But the new rules, which came into effect this month, could reduce the red tape burden on schools. Mr Lamb recommends that they should have to submit less data on SEN pupils to the Government as a “trade off”." http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6034431

I got advice yesterday from ACE who suggested I asked the clinical experts involved with DS to write in support of my application for a SA. This is a tricky issue here as there seems to be alot of concern on the part of medical experts that they not say something which might step on the toes of education people. For example, my OT told me she had been recently told by education that she could not advise 1:1 was needed in a report as this was a matter for schools to deal with. So, after raising the question, the response back has been, we send in our reports and it is for the LA to decide whether an SA is required So what do you put with an application for an SA? Just list all the reports and all the chid's needs? How do you then comment on whether this can be met through school resources??

That is dreadful. Really awful. I fully understand your anger and upset. I think school don't see these issues because they don't understand them. They have ideas about autism based on myths. Every child is different - yes even children with ASD. I think it would warrant a complaint to the governors but I don't know if you feel that would help. I think schools also don't like extra work and so resent you for making them do it. My son is the opposite. Passive and causes no problems. But that means there is no problem because he causes them no problems. It's a similar situation in a way but I suppose because we are further down the line we have at least had the support and intervention of the Community Paed etc who have spelt things out to the school It is gutting though isn't it