madsadie

Hi all Does anyone know if you lose PIP if they go to residential placement. I would imagine they do if it's termly, but what about if they came back bi- weekly? thank you

hi martinjs You have raised a very interesting point. I think the thing would be - which area did they feel you did not meet the criteria for full AS or ASD diagnosis? This is what people would need to understand. Once this is known then there should be a secondary part of the diagnosis for example a-typical As without deficit in communication, or A-Typical ASD without obsessive interest….or scores were not high enough in area of…. This seems to me to be a problem even with full blown diagnosis - no two people on the spectrum will have exactly the same difficulties, they will fluctuate massively. My son has been given varying diagnoses over the past 7 years and none of them seem to fit so it has been vey difficult to get the right help,( still battling) but without a diagnosis it would be even harder.????Actually sometime I think it has made things worse having a diagnosis at all. I do wonder, really the reason we did any of it was because he didn't fit the system. He might actually have done far better if we had just taken him out of the system and restored his self esteem. anyway thats a different area. All the best.

Hello everyone Hope i'm posting in the right area. About to apply for provisional licence for DS who will shortly be 17. Does his Asperger and social anxiety/phobia diagnoses make any difference? I've just had a quick look and in the list it asks if you have a neurological or mental health condition. ASD is neurodevelopmental, right, not neurological? He also has a chromosome anomaly (translocation). Also does anyone know if it affects insurance ( which I'm expecting to be astronomical anyway) i am sure he will be a really good driver, with his own in built sat-nav! Can already answer all the theory questions so want to get his licence so he can take the test. I really want to encourage him, but don't want to if there are going to be problems. I'd be grateful for some advice. thanks

I applied to the LA for a search, including all records held under Education, Childrens services, health including connexions and parent partnership. I have just received the most pathetic 7 pages which only relates to connexions and parent link. I phone the FoI officer who told me they don't hold any other records and that I would need to approach the schools etc individually. I said to him that the council surely hold the records of these as they all come under the council. He said not. I asked him why they did not tell me this when I applied for the search on 11th January and he did not answer. I asked him to put all this in an email for me. I just phoned the information office commissioner who told me that re school records I have to apply direct to the head of each school, so now i know that. But there must be records which come under childrens services - SEN , Psychology etc that they have to give me? I am fuming as I will now not have the info before my deadline . i know I can make a complaint but that is yet more work and time wasting.

Thank you Sally. the problem is that SEND seem to be making blundering errors. however, if I get them to clarify ( and it's later deemed incorrect) then I have proof, and the ball will be in their court. Did you think that the panel took notice of the CAMHS report? I now have a CP who is willing to come to hearing but she cannot come on dates within the time I've been given. I've asked them to allow another date but SEND refuse. So, now I either have to push for it giving SEND reasons why she needs to come, or i do without her and just submit her report. I haven't met her yet, and she hasn't seen my son but in speaking over the phone she has been very supportive. She is not local CAMHS ( they were useless.) It has been suggested to me that I should take the EP to the hearing and not CP. But, as my son's issues are anxiety based I feel she is important.

Yesterday I received order from tribunal telling me LA no longer oppose my appeal. I could not believe it......however my release was short lived....i didn't even have time to eat a pancake... I have now been told that SENDIST made a MISTAKE and LA DO oppose, so we're now back in business. i thought it was strange as i had not heard from LA. So, folks, another glowing example of the wonderful system. Now, can anyone tell me : I have my date to respond to LA's response. Sendist today told me i only have to get the attendance form in by that date - anything else can wait til final deadline. Is this right? I thought i had to reply to LA's response.

Hi cathcart I've sent you a pm re schools. i hope you find the right place.

Yes, Sally, thank you. The form has just been taken in. They are allowed 40 days to reply, and unfortunately that is probably too late for my response but it is within the final deadline. Not sure I want to see it really, but I just hope there's something helpful in it. Another question. It's about tribunal deadlines. My LA have about 6 weeks to submit their response. I then have 19 days to reply. Is that about right? thanks

I've discovered how to apply for data information, so will do it now. it will be interesting to see what it holds.

Hello everyone, and thanks for the replies. I am quite aware I can home educate, and provide 'education otherwise than at school'. I have done so in the past but, I am not going to do it anymore. even if i did, i think I would have to do it until he's 17. I put the wrong title - it should have been 'what's the compulsory education leaving age?'. I answered my won question by looking on Gov website. So I am still perplexed as to why an experienced SEN solicitor would not know about this, and it is particulary relevant because of the possibility that the LA will cease to maintain the statement at 16. Mmm.

Unfortunately CAMHS wrote to the GP and told him that my son 'understandably did not want to enter into talking therapies'. And, even more unfortunately I was so stressed out with tribunal goings on, and being let down by advocate who was supposed to be doing working document and missed the deadline, then when it came it was rather dubious....anyway there was so much going on that I did not reply to that letter. However, I did tell the panel what had happened at CAMHS, but I will have to repeat it for this one. I will also write to GP so there is a documentary record. Unfortunately GP not very good, told me his son doesn't like going out after dark ie I should stop being concerned. He also was not willing to make a record of what was going on with school, he said he would put down that he was physically ill! At the time my son was suffering from tummy ache but I suspect that was due to anxiety. I don't know why i didn't argue. He used to be quite pro active but not any more. Can you tell me where I should apply for Data protection request? also, Sally - Do you mind me asking who did you take to hearing - was it just the EP? thank you all for your advice

Ok guys, Now I am really going crazy. I decided that I will try and get advice from a solicitor so I contacted a secialist one who had been recommended. Now, My son in Yr 11 will be 16 in March, She has just told me he's in final year of compulsory education.. I said he has to stay until 17 and she wasn't sure that that had been brought in yet. I have checked GOV website. She was very nice and seemed knowledgeable in other respects but this worries me. ??!!!

Hello everyone, and thanks for your replies. My son was assessed by clinical psychology at Gt Ormond St, who diagnosed AS and various anxiety disorders. They recommended that local CAMHS provide CBT. CAMHS did not appear to like this and treated us very badly. After the first appointment my son was so traumatised he thought he was going to be taken away from us. I persuaded him to go to the next appt and that was when she said to him ' Do you know what having aspergers means, it means you don't like talking, so what's the point in coming?'. This was closely followed by pressure to go on medication, which had specifically NOT been advised by GOSH. she also told me not to go looking at small schools as they were too expensive. I had forgotten at that point that previously we had seen the consultant psychiatrist at CAMHS who wrote a letter ( for the statementing process) supporting a small school with small classes stating that' his anxieties would lessen and possibly disappear'. the LA refused to allow this into the appendices, and it was ignored at tribunal ( presumably because it did not say ' this child must have...', only that she supported our view). In my tribunal application I raised this but it was ignored on the day. I then appealed and was told that it was up to me to have raised the issue at the hearing ( How was it my responsibility to determine the order of events? - that was their job). I appealed again to Upper tribunal on another point in law, which was allowed, but no comment was made about that aspect - I was told the panel were allowed to place whatever emphasis they liked on the evidence. I had plenty of evidence from professionals all trying to say what was glaringly obvious, but none of them independent ( i. like so many others, did not have the funds). GOSH wrote a letter 'strongly advising' small classrooms with low background noise ( in the event that's what we got, but in a unit completely isolated). OT said he was 'to be taught in small groups where possible'. CAMHS mental health worker who had helped him at school wrote stating he was still finding a big noisy secondary school very difficult to cope with and it was affecting his attendance. ( Her post has now been axed). It makes me sick that I worked so hard to try and get all the evidence I could without paying, but what for? Tribunal took no notice of any of it and sent him to an even bigger school, seeing it as a 'marvellous opportunity'. They decided to take the evidence of the LA's key witness who had never even met my son. Talk about waste of money for the public purse. As I said, i appealed and appealed again until I at least got somewhere at UT. Now I have to start the whole business again, but I will not give up. I'm now wondering if I should be going for JR instead. enough of my soap box. the point is no one in NHS/LA can say what they mean and yes I will probably need both reports. I'm beginning to wonder if I should just spend the money on some kind of treatment for him instead, as i can't even find a school who can really meet his needs. So many so called specialist schools have SALT, OT but they don't have Therapy. We tried two specialist schools locally who take asd children who did not understand the anxiety - just expected him to turn up for 3 taster days and spend the time with another boy he'd not met, and insisted he eat in the dinner hall with all the others. I had to fight tooth and nail to get through the front door and then I was accused of 'mollycoddling' him. Two more schools, with autism accreditation would not consider him because they can't cater for children who need help at break times. Is my son the only asd child who suffers this acute social anxiety - I don't think so. the trouble is he does not have aggressive behaviour, is clever, was ok pretty much in junior , had friends - not even on school action. Life shut down on going to senior school. I might try going back to GOSH to see if they can be a bit more persuasive. maybe I should have the EP assessment and see what they say, but then it might be too late to book anything else. The LA EP visited us at home and agreed with me the current school not right and suggested I agree to e-learning ( which I didn't want to). She even said she could come and look at other schools with me, but denied it all at the AR. I have been advised to get social care assessment, but I can see the same thing happening and will have to get an independent social worker. Maybe I should just sell the house to pay for it all. And what for - do children who've been through all this actually do any better in life? Children who've seen their mothers on the verge of cracking up, spending all hours, every holiday working on this wretched appeal after appeal. i really am getting off the soap box now. sorry everyone.

hello Merry nice of you to respond, thank you.

I need to obtain assessment for tribunal and am confused as have been advised by EP that as my son's main problems are anxiety based I may need an independent clinical psychologist's report. I note from the BBPS/Achipp search that some are listed as Clinical but give education advice ( but would they be seen as qualified to do so at tribunal?) Also I'm wondering if a neuro psych wouldn't be better. Am struggling to afford any at all so thought I could 'kill two birds with one stone' as it were. Can anyone advise. thank you