Athena

Thanks Cat, I have completed mine too! I would also be very grateful if you would raise the following points with Mr Lamb: I have read somewhere, maybe on here, that there is a proposal to abolish Statements altogether. This is very worrying, as a Statement is the ONLY way to have the special educational needs of your child protected, legally, by law. IF there are any proposals to replace Statements, then any replacement MUST have the same legal status, enshrined in law. This is vital, to protect the rights of our children. The delegation of SEN funding to schools is very problematic. The formula used, based on index of social deprivation, does not relate to the prevalence of ASD, which cuts across all demographic groups in society. Assessment and provision of special educational needs MUST be separated, as previously recommend in 2006. In its report on Special Educational Needs published in July 2006, the Education and Skills Committee recommended that assessment of need and funding of provision should no longer be carried out by the same body: “There is an inbuilt conflict of interest in that it is the duty of the local authority both to assess the needs of the child and to arrange provision to meet those needs, and all within a limited resource. The link must be broken between assessment and funding of provision”. (Paragraph 99) Thank you! Do let us know how the meeting goes.

Hello bettyhen, and welcome to the forum! I am still a newbie, finding out about ASD, but I will try to help. I don't see why the SENCO was shocked at your request for an IEP. I would expect the school to suggest it, in the light of his difficulties, regardless of whether or not he has a diagnosis. DD has had an IEP for over a year now, and is still, as yet, not formally diagnosed. Is your local Parent Partnership helpful? Maybe contact them and see if they can send someone to the meeting or help you to write down your concerns. Have a look on the NAS website, here is some useful information NAS IEP guidance I hope that helps and I am sure that you will get more help and advice from other members.

Had a response, from the LEA, telling me that they will not be consulting a SALT as part of the assessment. They have told me to ask for a referral for SALT via my doctor, but that will take more than the statutory 6 weeks to arrange. 6+ months or more in my area, far too late for the statutory assessment. No explanation has been provided of why they are not complying with my request. I can feel another letter coming on!

Thank you Kathryn that is really helpful! I am sat here drafting the letter right now.

The LEA have agreed to carry out a statutory assessment of DD. Hooray! The have sent me what appears to be a standard letter, stating that they will consult the ed psych, medical officer, the school and social services. I would also like them to carry out a Speech and Language assessment. The school have suggested this to me. DD is also having OT and I would like her OT to be consulted too. Can I insist on this? I have had a look in the Code of Practice ( so I can quote it at them!) but couldn't find anything. How can I most effectively word my letter?

I am in the process of writing my parental views for Statutory Assessment of DD, and it occurred to me that she NEVER has nightmares. Not once, even after watching Dr Who! Is the is unusual? Is it an ASD trait? In fact, she never mentions dreaming at all.

It is not so much the summer holidays, but the return to school in September that I am dreading.... It was horrendous last year, tears, tantrums, toileting regression....just awful. Poor DD! She was so upset by having a different classroom and different teacher. I have booked DD on some mainstream activities during the summer holidays, have well briefed the play leaders about her so fingers crossed and hope for the best!

Very sorry to hear that bid, hope that DD makes a fast recovery! Maybe they give her Tamiflu or Relenza they are meant to help.

I am having the same dilemma. LEA have just agreed to carry out a Statutory Assessment of DD. She is in local mainstream primary school, very supportive. DD has a yet no formal diagnosis of ASD, only verbal from LEA Ed Psych. I believe that with significant 1 to 1 support, she could stay in mainstream primary; mainstream secondary definitely not! She has MLD, sensory processing disorder, attention difficulties and the school have said that ideally she needs FULL TIME 1 to 1 support, in order to gain any benefit form being in school. But I will be looking for a Special School placement for secondary school, which is one reason that I am starting the Statementing process now, as I expect to have to fight for it!

Thank you so much for your replies - plenty of "ammo" there for me for fire at the LEA! In the end, the funding is not really my problem, it is up to the school and LEA to sort it out between them, but I want a formal diagnosis, so that the school can access the autism advisory service and I want to protect my daughter's education. The provision of additional support specified in an IEP can be taken away, but not if it is specified in a Statement. I now understand it all much better. I am going to stick to my guns and go to appeal if necessary, to ensure my daughter gets a Statement. Also, long term, it is the only way she will get into a specialist secondary school. Maybe mainstream primary will be OK with a LOT of 1 to 1 support, but no way can I see that she would cope with all the changing classrooms and different teachers in a large secondary school.....

Hope that everyone gets better soon! Flu of any kind is horrible to have.

Great news!! Inspires me to stick to my guns for DD's educational needs. Just staring out really, with LEA agreeing to assess (Yes!!!) but your story does give me hope that I can get a proper education for DD. Well done for all your hard work and tenacity, so glad that it was all worthwhile. (Do feel free to share any advice with a "newbie" like me!)

My LEA have told me that all the money for SEN is delegated to schools, and even if DD DOES get a Statement, the school will not receive any additional funding to provide the support specified, so that there is really no point in having a statement really. ... They have told me that all DD support can be adequately specified in her IEP. I have also been asked why I want a statutory assessment and why I am so concerned about obtaining a formal diagnosis.... I thought that a Statement was a legal document, that meant that the LEA is legally obliged to provide the necessary funding to provide the support specified in the Statement. Would like to know where it states this so that I can quote it at 'em!! Despite being told the above, the good news is that the LEA have agreed to Statutory Assessment, but from my coversations with them so far, it sounds like they are looking to avoid issuing a Statement...

DD has accidents, mostly at school. She forgets to go, leaves it until the last minute or will not go if the toilet cubicle that she uses (she will only go in one particular cubicle) is dirty. During times of change = stress, she will suffer full toilet training regression, bowels and bladder. I believe that it is part of her ASD. She has a verbal diagnosis of ASD, we are still waiting for it in writing!

Congratulations on your new job! Glad that it went well.

Yes, sometime I feel like I am "grieving" for the person that my daughter would have been, but never will. Then I feel terribly guilty for wishing that she was different from how she is..... I love her dearly, and I worry what the future will be like for her. Also I feel so resentful and angry about having to fight so d@mn hard for her to be properly educated, when other children just have an appropriate education given to them, because they are NT. It is just so hard somedays, seeing other children running out of school, telling their parents all about their day at school, when DD doesn't... Seeing other children playing with their friends - DD has NO friends. It just tears me apart; almost physically painful for me some days. So yes, I feel the same some days. Other days, I watch her playing, happily on her own, see her beautiful face, (she is stunningly beautiful, I know I am biased, but it is true) lit up with the biggest smile and my heart just fills with love and happiness that I am her Mother.

Thank you so much to Kathryn and Jaded for replying. That it much clearer. Still concerned that out of my 8 weeks to lodge an appeal, the school will be closed for 6 weeks. But there is nothing that I can really do about that, so I think my motto is "Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst". Hopefully, the LEA will agree to carry out a Statutory Assessment, otherwise I feel like I have "fallen at the first hurdle". Unfortunately, my LEA do not have a very good reputation for SEN provision, and my one and so far only telephone conversation with them has done nothing to reassure me regarding their approach to SEN children....

Thanks for publicising this! Let's hope that the Government will listen!

Just wanted to add that I have looked on the Sendist website and can not find any reference to the 16 weeks mentioned.....

Did you hear me? Are you listening? DD is mostly in a world of her own and it takes a lot of effort to gain her attention.

In the event that my LEA refuse to assess, I intend to appeal to SENDIST. I telephoned SENDIST today, to ask about the process and they said that I had 2 months from the date of the decision to appeal, but that I didn't need to submit all my evidence with the appeal form, I had a further 16 weeks to submit my case, after I had lodged my appeal. I thought that the rules had changed last year, but the person from SENDIST confirmed that I had 16 weeks to submit my evidence. Just don't want to get it wrong!

julianne - shark infested waters, preferably!!

Letter sent, recorded delivery - don't want it to get "lost" in the post!

Hi Sally, At the moment, we are looking at keeping DD in a mainstream school, with 1 to 1 support from a Learning Support Assistant, school have said ideally full-time, but that we may only get 15-18 hours a week, but that would be be a huge improvement on the woefully inadequate 20 mins a day we have at the moment. School have applied for a statement as they have told us that they cannot meet DD needs from their ordinary SEN resources. Definitely don't think DD would cope with Mainstream secondary, so would be looking at a Special Needs school placement. Would the LEA argue that if she coped in Mainstream primary, she would cope in Mainstream secondary? She attends a small local primary at the moment.

Thanks Lizzie, I will order some. They look fine, doesn't matter if they are marketed as for boys at all.