jomica

Sorry you had a bad experience with PALS, Eastern Moon. There are lots of good PALS teams about, SimonJC, so please do give it a try.

Simon - talk to the NHS Trust's PALS department(Patient Advice & Liaison Service)to see whether they can give you any help in getting your referral back on track quickly. If you look at the Trust's website, there should be details there about how to get in touch.

This amounts to an illegal exclusion and should be challenged. . . . and this is disability discrimination. I would make an immediate written complaint to the governing body, as well as implementing the suggestions of other posters above. The school (and the LA) can't be allowed to get away with this.

Yorks, your child will be given a Y6 review because legally he has to leave primary school at the end of this year. The fact that he has dropped back a year makes no difference. Good luck with sorting out your LA! I've got all sorts of things crossed for you.

It's a long time since I've been here, so apologies for butting in. What you're describing Justine1 is basically unofficial exclusion, which is unlawful unless carried out under the proper exclusion procedures. See: http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/b...iour/exclusion/ Have you been to Parent Partnership to get help, or phoned IPSEA?

Mum of 3 - when you apply for DLA you must focus on the worst days and describe how often those days occur. DLA forms are (very sadly) no place to be accentuating the positive.

Me too!

Hi, When my 4.5 year old started in reception he had 31 hours' support - every hour of every school day was supported. He's now 11 and it's down to 17 hours. His diagnosis is high functioning autism.

At 4.5, when he started in the reception class, DS had 31 statemented hours (ie every minute of every school day, in and out of lessons). He's now down to 17 hours in year 6. We fought long and hard for them. No other child in our school has had as many hours before or since. He has a diagnosis of HFA, non-verbal learning disorder and has hypermobility of fingers and wrists.

"He's like a little dog - you just have to train him" - so said ASD specialist teacher before I got up and walked out.

Thanks - perhaps they're getting wise to the fact that they're wasting everyone's time by insisting on renewing DLA every couple of years. We can only hope!!

Hi Smiley Did it say "16" on the letter? Mine just says "indefinitely", which I would assume to mean longer than that? Has anyone else had an "indefinite" ruling on DLA? Thanks,

Thanks, I wondered if that might be the case. I won't miss filling in those horrible forms every couple of years. This year we did it online and, having got it almost complete, took a well-earned break for Christmas. When we came back to review, edit and press "send" in the new year it had automatically archived itself and we could no longer access it. I phoned up the DLA techies who were unable to help, other than to say I'd just have to start again. I wonder if they know how soul destroying that is?!!

DS has just turned 11. He has HFA, a non-verbal learning disability and some fine motor problems being addressed by OT. He's had DLA since he turned five at least, which has been reviewed every couple of years. He usually gets middle rate for care and lower for mobility. He was reviewed again for DLA in March and has been assessed as receiving the same rates. This time he's going to get them "indefinitely". I was surprised (though not at all upset!) by it being given on an indefinite basis. Is this usual? Does it just mean that they've finally seen the light and realised that he will always have autism!

That's funny - it does for me. Try this: go to www.dfes.gov.uk and click on the "consultations" section and then on the section about SENCOs. <'>