Kathryn

Completely speechless. Which newspaper are you going to contact first? K

Hi Sally A I would agree with barefoot wend, a private EP assessment, from someone who knows about AS would be a good investment. I know it costs the earth, but ours provided the foundation for all the appeals and challenges we have made so far. Incidentally, we also had the huge discrepancy between Verbal and performance IQ - it stood out a mile. I'm glad the NAS is helping you. I sent my advisor all our evidence and she wrote my rough draft for me which I found really useful as she was able to pick out the important issues to focus on: like you I had loads of thoughts about my child going round in my head, but there are particular things you need to say which will press the right buttons as far as statementing is concerned. You've summarised your son's problems very well, but the LEA will no doubt argue that the school has the resources to help him, and nothing extra is needed. As Simon has said, you need to emphasise that although the school are supportive, the amount of help your child is getting is not enough and the school cannot provide what your child needs from its own budget, that's really important. So you need someone from the school, the head or senco, to give you specific information about how resources are allocated, eg. what the sen budget is, how many children with sen there are at the school. This will probably form the basis of your appeal. hope this helps, K

That's great, Lisa. You must be relieved. I agree, no one should have to face these forms more than once - it's torture!

Hello hev, My 15 year old daughter has been out of school since mid October and receiving Home tuition since November. I was told she was entitled to 5 hours tuition a week although someone else on this forum has said that the official entitlement is 25 hours a week (not sure where that information comes from). It was explained to me that the Home and Hospital tuition service caters for children who are out of school temporarily due to a medical illness (we got it on the basis that my daughter was diagnosed with clinical depression, secondary to her AS). It is not meant to be a substitute for appropriate provision for someone who cannot cope in mainstream. The expectation is that the child will one day return to school in exactly the same circumstances and will have kept up with the work they have missed in the meantime. Our LEA has said that home tuition is the most appropriate provision for our daughter at the present time - I think they are trying to use it as an excuse to avoid providing anything more specialised. In short, home tuition does not automatically mean the LEA will find your son a place, you need to continue fighting on his behalf for this. Home tuition in the meantime is better than nothing, if your son can cope with it, but you are entitled to more than the 3 hours you have been offered. K

Hi Helen, I'm sorry you're having such a tough time, keep fighting, you're doing a great job. Our director of education didn't even reply to our letter - the fact that you had a phone call is amazing. I think your LEA are acting illegally in not informing you of your right to disagreement resolution, by the way. God luck, stay strong, K

Hi Helen, Yes the ACE book is brilliant: (mine is well thumbed and underlined!): it covers everything from approaching the school for help right up to statementing, tribunal etc, basically everything you could want to know if you have a child with SEN. It doesn't just tell you the procedure, it gives lots of advice in very parent friendly terms. It tells you what the law says and what the implications are. I'd definitely recommend it - as it was recommended to me by at least two people on this forum. It's the ACE Special Education Handbook, available from their website (sorry don't know how to do links, but I'm sure it's been recommended on here somewhere.) Whilst we're on the subject, an essential resource for the tribunal stage, (and even before), is the IPSEA "Sent Ahead" guide, this de- mystifies the tribunal and clarifies the legal issues involved, giving clear step by step advice on how to present your case. I couldn't have done without it. The Ipsea website has an address to order this from. K

Thanks Lisa, I think you're right. Part of me was almost looking forward to hearing them trying to justify themselves at tribunal. I'm just angry it took this long and they let us go right up to the case statement deadline. I think they knew three weeks ago they were going to make this decision. The very best of luck for yours next week, by the way. I'll be thinking of you. K

Thanks everyone Don't worry Helen, even my short experience since September has taught me to take everything I hear from the LEA with a large grain of salt until it has been signed sealed and triple - checked. As it happens I got the letter today with the official decision. I also got a copy of their letter to SENDIST stating they do not wish to oppose the appeal and are going to assess. Do you think the letters would look best in gold or silver frames? I know there are tough battles ahead so I'm enjoying the moment while I can. K

Hi sylvm, Just checked my trusty ACE handbook - parents do have the right to appeal if the school made the request. K

Hi all, Just to tell you the good news that the LEA have finally decided to assess my daughter. I heard it directly from the official who was so sceptical and hostile to me back in October when this battle began. It was a sweet, sweet moment. I know it's only the first stage in the process of getting the statement, and we still have a long fight ahead of us, probably with more opposition, but at last we can begin to move on and make progress. Ironically I was up all night last night, (till 5.30 to be precise), writing the case statement for tribunal. I posted it off a couple of hours before I got the decision. I'm relieved we don't have to go to tribunal, (yet! ) but so very angry that we have been put through all this stress just to get to this point. The LEA will never be called to account for the impact it has had on our family. I'm going to have a Gwyneth Paltrow moment <'> and just say thankyou to everyone on this wonderful forum for your advice and encouragement throughout these months - without you I wouldn't have found the strength to persist or even known what was possible. I'm aware that there are a lot of people on here going through really tough times at this moment, especially with education, and I hope this encourages you just to hold on to what you want for your child and keep persevering and not listening to all the negative people who tell you what can't be done. <'> Stay strong! exhausted but a lot happier, K

Loulou, I'm sorry you both had such a traumatic time. <'> I don't know what to suggest. It seems like a slower gentler approach is needed to help your son get back into school, whether it's this one or another one. I know there are a couple of ASD specific schools not too far from you, it might be worth visiting one to compare. K

Well, my daughter's case goes back to the third panel on Tuesday. I wonder what wonderful excuse they'll come up with not to assess this time? In the meantime the case statement for the tribunal has to be sent off on Wednesday, so I'm trying to get that finished in the next couple of days. As if that isn't enough, I start a new job on Tuesday as well - (I'm a glutton for punishment, aren't I. ) Actually, I'm looking forward to the last bit, it's something I really want to do, and I've worked there before and know all the people. I don't think it will be any more stressful than being at home, and it's only a couple of mornings a week. The job came to me, I would never have gone out looking for it at this stage in my life! Oh and Social services are coming round on Thursday to do an assessment, at long last. It's going to be a heck of a week. By the weekend I'll definitely need some of this (if I have enough stamina to hold the glass).

Loulou, I don't have any wisdom to pass on, but just wanted to say good luck for Monday. I hope the visit goes really well and Kai gets to meet the fish. K

Thanks Carole and Kazzen. Carole your explanation makes sense. I don't usually scrutinise the school finances that closely - who does - but I suppose we should all take an interest in what our schools are spending money on. The senco, who has been extremely helpful in finding everything I need, doesn't have much idea about budgets, I think his heart sinks every time I ring as he knows I am going to ask a question he can't answer.

Hello all, I'm trying to get my head around the finer points of SEN funding in schools, in the process of writing our case statement for tribunal. I have the school's governors' annual report and I'm looking at what the school gets for SEN. It lists the amount for pupils with statements, amount for non statemented pupils and something under "standards fund SEN" - �3606.00. Does anyone know what this is and what it gets used for in schools? Does your annual report have something similar? It seems to be something over and above the normal SEN budget. Hoping one of you wise people will know the answer K

I would agree with everyone, keep on complaining long and loud and don't let them forget you. We have only just started to get the right kind of treatment for my daughter who has AS and is severely depressed after 8 months of waiting and receiving completely inadequate, non specialist support which did more harm than good. We were told we couldn't be referred to the local team for children with disabilities (where, it turned out, all the ASD specialists are) as they had no money till April. We dug in our heels, complained to the trust, I threw a tantrum and said I couldn't cope any more, and we got our referral. My daughter is now in the hands of people who understand her - and it makes all the difference. Don't give up, Rabbit, and if your GP isn't prepared to help you fight - change your GP.

You're doing great, Sallyanne, keep going! K

I take your point, Noetic. But some of us parents are actually interested just as much in the theory and research as in the practical everyday aspects of autism. Many parents of autistic children could not afford the cost of attending such a conference as thay are unable to earn due to their care commitments. Perhaps the NAS and other autism related charities could sponsor a few places for parents at such conferences.

Oh Beverley, <'> This is so frustrating for you. At least the funding is there in principle, I suppose, although you are far from getting what you want. Don't give up. K

Well done, bjg, and fingers crossed for the stat. ass. K

Hi Suze, Apologies if anything I said in my post alarmed you. I realise I have painted a somewhat bleak picture of secondary school. My daughter entered this phase with nobody aware of her problems, outwardly she seemed to be coping well. Even we, her parents, underestimated the extent to which she was struggling; we were not even sure what support she was entitled to or what problems she would face later on. You are much more aware your child's needs and what kind of setting would suit him best so you are already far better prepared than we were to make the transition as smooth as possible. I'm sure your son will have a much more positive experience than my daughter did. K

I agree with Helen, oh for the wisdom of hindsight.. When my daughter transferred five years ago she didn't have a diagnosis, let alone a statement, so there wasn't any support in place for her. She struggled with finding her way around long after the settling in period, and found lunchtimes stressful as she couldn't cope with the dining hall arrangements, the noise, handling money etc. so she stopped eating at school. She was often the last to leave the classroom as it took her a long time to gather up and pack her things, so she would meet the crush of pupils coming in for the next lesson. On one such occasion her head was accidentally banged against a wall and we had to take her to casualty. LSA support would definitely have helped in these situations. Ironically, in the classroom, where she was struggling least, LSA's attached to other pupils would try to help her and she would angrily reject them because she didn't want them to think she was "stupid". One of the main problems at secondary school is the way information is passed on (or not). In a primary school you are dealing only with the child's class teacher. At secondary level there are many teachers, supply teachers etc. and it is impossible to speak to them all personally and make sure they are all singing from the same hymn sheet. Parents evenings are chaotic - we found it impossible to talk in depth in the five minutes that you get. It's good for parents to build up a relationship with one teacher, usually the form tutor, who can be the first point of contact and make sure concerns are passed on.

Hi Sallyanne, on your behalf. We are at a similar stage, fighting to get a statutory assessment, so I sympathise. I've had two letters like that so far and it does leave you feeling awful. I've got nothing to add to the excellent advice already given. IPSEA and NAS are helping me a lot. Phone them soon and leave a message because they take a few days to get back to you. I got my LEA's criteria for statutory assessment from Parent partnership. (This was slightly different from the information booklet produced for parents!) Your school might also have a copy of this. You have a lot to think about at the moment. Don't lose hope, you'll get there! K

.... and still waiting. We were hopeful that L's case would go back to (yet another) panel a couple of days ago. They were just waiting for an update from the psychiatrist at Camhs. His secretary assured me that she had faxed it over on Friday afternoon. Yet it still didn't reach the required desk at the LEA till Tuesday afternoon - too late for the panel. This means that we now have to wait till the next panel - in two weeks time. This is three days before the deadline for submitting our case statement to the tribunal. I was holding off doing anything about that in the hope that something was happening, and now l've got to do it after all. I am angry, frustrated and weary. We had allowed ourselves to hope that everything would be resolved soon. Now it feels like we are back to square one. Everyone is saying how "positive" the multi agency meeting was last week, but it's done nothing to ease the immediate pressure on us. K

Hi Tez, No effort at all. I have the file in order to help prepare the case statement for tribunal. It doesn't have that much in it, actually. It consists mainly of reports and information that we gave the school! I hope your son does get the concessions, it seems so obvious that he should and the EP seems to have said all the right things. My daughter never got rest breaks, it didn't occur to me or the school to ask, but it would have made such a difference. She finds it hard to sit still for any length of time and concentrates better when allowed to move around. Is it worth contacting the exam board yourself and finding out what their "special arrangements" criteria are and what evidence they require? K