diagnosis and statement

[Mum of 3]

Hi. I've just had a meeting with G's teacher.

 

At the last meeting, she put him on School Action Plus (The 'Plus' is because he has already had some input from SALT). We wrote some targets for him, although I know for a fact that these have not been kept up (or even started in some cases!).

 

At the meeting yesterday, we talked for a long time about the various meetings that have been set up for his multi-agency assessment, which meets at the end of August to decide on a diagnosis.

 

I was also keen to discuss how far G is able to cope with general classroom life without adult support...it seems as though he is unable to access most of the curriculum without help, and even then, is allowed to pick and choose what he does, and only spend seconds on activities he's not too keen on...like writing!

 

I explained that I have huge concerns about what is going to happen to him as he moves up through the school and goes into classes with fewer adults to support him. It looks to me as though he's going to need some 1-1 support in place very soon. The teacher agreed with me, that he could do with some designated support for some of the time, and then said:

 

'Oh, but we'll be getting this in August, won't we, assuming they say he's got AS, they'll give him his statement then.'

 

Is she right? I don't think she is...as far as I understand it, the dx is just that-a diagnosis that will tell us why he is as he is and which areas he is stronger/weaker in. I'm hoping it will also give us some pointers of things to do to help him in areas he finds particularly challenging. But, as far as I'm aware, it will then be up to the school to go through the SN stages (does he need 3 review meetings before they go for a statement?), and press for a statement separately.

 

She's also under the impression that a statement will automatically come with funding for support, but again, I don't think that's the case. I believe the statement may, or may not include extra support time, depending on need.

 

So who's right...and what does the diagnosis 'give' in terms of actual, practical help/support?

All advice gratefully recieved!

[bid]

Well, my son was diagnosed with dyspraxia when he was 5, and AS and ADHD when he was 7...and he finally got a Statement when he was 15 after trying at 5 and 8

 

Bid

Edited June 21, 2009 by bid

[Sally44]

A diagnosis does not automatically mean a Statement.

You need to find out from your school or LEA how much support the school's own funding has for each child ie. it might be up to 15 hours per week extra support. And you need the school to put in writing how they are using that funding to support your child, and they need to be specific. eg. is he being taught in small groups, if so how many children. How much support does he need from the TA - not just in lessons but in the playground etc. You need to make sure the professionals eg. SALT/EP have identified all his needs and that they have given recommendations to school about how to meet those needs. If your child has an ASD they will have social communication and play difficulties which SALT should assess and make recommendations for. This will take up more school funding and TA time. You need all of this specific information and at least 6 months IEPs/MEPs before you ask for an Assessment from the LEA towards a Statement. And you need all the info I have mentioned above so that you can say to the LEA the school are doing X, Y and Z and that is still not meeting all his needs. You need IEPs/MEPs to be smart to prove whether he is making progress or not. Again that is evidence of whether he needs more support.

You will also want school to put in writing to you how they support your child in school eg. visual timetable, work station, small group work, how much time the TA spends with him or his group etc.

If there is any need you suspect your child has that has not been mentioned by a professional or is not being met in school I would put that in writing to the school and ask them to seek advice from the SALT or EP. For example the various SALTs involved with my son did not assess his social communication or play skills for three years, until I cottoned on to that. He should have had access to a Social Skills Group, Circle of Friends, structure during play times, suitabily qualified adult support during playtimes, dinner time clubs and all professionals should have been using an ongoing assessment and monitoring process such as SCERTS. Now all that is happening.

If you don't do the above, the LEA may simply reject the request for an assessment saying that school has not yet done everything that they can do to meet his needs.

Any extra support in terms of hours and staffing arrangements over and above what the school provides has to be met by the LEA through the Statement. I don't know for sure - maybe others do - but I think that you would need to prove that your child has needs over and above what school normally provides. And most schools/LEAs do have a cut off level of support in terms of hours anything extra would need to be through a Statement. That maybe different if a child needed less support than school could provide (eg. less than 15), but needed specialist support eg. physio or OT or SALT input, then I am not sure if that would also mean a Statement was made specifying how that child would receive that specialist support.

So have a good think about your own child and their needs. Write them all down. Other things to look at as to whether you think they are relevant to your son and whether those needs have been recognised and documented yet are Sensory Integration Disorder, Auditory Processing Disorder, Auditory delays, Dyslexia or Dyscalculia, learning difficulties, dyspraxia, OCD, depression, echolalia or Semantic Pragmatic Speech Disorder, problems with working memory, executive function difficulties and all the social interaction and play skills needed to communicate and play effectively in school.

[chris54]

You are right a Statement does not automatically follow a diagnosis, in fact you don't need a diagnosis to get a statement.

In very simple terms what is needed to get a statement is that your child needing more help in school than can be provided under school action or school action plus.

The amount that a school will/can provide from its SEN budget will depend on how much delegate funding there is in your area.(How much of the councils SEN budget is given to schools to spend as they see fit and how much the council keeps back to fund individual statements direct). This is allowed for in the SEN code of practice. It is intended that the funding provided in a statement is in addition to that already provided by the school from its SEN's budget and not replacing it as is often the case.

 

As has been said by others, a statement does not only cover funding.

 

Before a statement can be applied for the school need to have evidence that what they are providing under SAP is insufficient for the child's needs. It may be that SAP is sufficient and no additional funding is needed (That sound unlikely in this case).

If you set the ball rolling now you may be lucky and have a statement in place by this time next year. You can apply for a statement yourself but you will need the cooperation of the school.

 

As for your last point, it really depends on who does the final report (Statement) as to how much it identifies what help may be needed. It does not give any help in itself, it is what it says a Diagnosis.

 

 

[Mum of 3]

Thank you so much for your advice

 

I'm having another meeting with Teech on Thursday so I'll let her know all this, I think knowing that funding is to be provided by the school in the first instance might mean that we make those targets really smart!

 

 

[jacquelineh1468]

Hi. I've just had a meeting with G's teacher.

 

At the last meeting, she put him on School Action Plus (The 'Plus' is because he has already had some input from SALT). We wrote some targets for him, although I know for a fact that these have not been kept up (or even started in some cases!).

 

At the meeting yesterday, we talked for a long time about the various meetings that have been set up for his multi-agency assessment, which meets at the end of August to decide on a diagnosis.

 

I was also keen to discuss how far G is able to cope with general classroom life without adult support...it seems as though he is unable to access most of the curriculum without help, and even then, is allowed to pick and choose what he does, and only spend seconds on activities he's not too keen on...like writing!

 

I explained that I have huge concerns about what is going to happen to him as he moves up through the school and goes into classes with fewer adults to support him. It looks to me as though he's going to need some 1-1 support in place very soon. The teacher agreed with me, that he could do with some designated support for some of the time, and then said:

 

'Oh, but we'll be getting this in August, won't we, assuming they say he's got AS, they'll give him his statement then.'

 

Is she right? I don't think she is...as far as I understand it, the dx is just that-a diagnosis that will tell us why he is as he is and which areas he is stronger/weaker in. I'm hoping it will also give us some pointers of things to do to help him in areas he finds particularly challenging. But, as far as I'm aware, it will then be up to the school to go through the SN stages (does he need 3 review meetings before they go for a statement?), and press for a statement separately.

 

She's also under the impression that a statement will automatically come with funding for support, but again, I don't think that's the case. I believe the statement may, or may not include extra support time, depending on need.

 

So who's right...and what does the diagnosis 'give' in terms of actual, practical help/support?

All advice gratefully recieved!

My son is already dx with adhd from when he was aged about 6.He is now aged 10 and has just been dx with a severe anxiety disorder and asd.I recently went to a multi agency meeting and the psychiatrist asked the senco if she had funding now for my son which she replied yes[aithough i do not know how much funding they get or what it is for}she then said that she was going to get my son statemented.I dont know if this helps you,i dont even know how statementing works

[Sally44]

It would be useful for you to contact the National Autistic Society as they run seminars about the Special Educational Needs process, including the Statementing process. They also run HELP programmes for the parents of newly diagnosed children.

It is very important to understand how the SEN process works. A Statement is a legal document and is legally binding on the LEA to meet the provision mentioned in the Statement. As parents you need to ensure that all your child's needs are identified in the Statement (section 2) and that recommendations as to how to meet those needs are in section 3. A Statement should be a precise document, there should be no ambiguity. Words such as 'regular', 'appropriate', 'frequent', 'significant' etc should not be used. Afterall what is 'regular' is it daily, weekly, monthly etc. It should specify support in terms of hours of provision and staffing arrangements.

If you don't know about the process get on a NAS one day seminar.

Sometimes your local Parent Partnership also runs one days events about the process.

Don't rely on the school or professionals to ensure your child's needs are met. Remember that all support and help costs them money. Most parents find that they have to get clued up and be firm and keep pushing and prodding to get the right level of support in place in the right edcuational setting.

[Locwood]

It would be useful for you to contact the National Autistic Society as they run seminars about the Special Educational Needs process, including the Statementing process. They also run HELP programmes for the parents of newly diagnosed children.

It is very important to understand how the SEN process works. A Statement is a legal document and is legally binding on the LEA to meet the provision mentioned in the Statement. As parents you need to ensure that all your child's needs are identified in the Statement (section 2) and that recommendations as to how to meet those needs are in section 3. A Statement should be a precise document, there should be no ambiguity. Words such as 'regular', 'appropriate', 'frequent', 'significant' etc should not be used. Afterall what is 'regular' is it daily, weekly, monthly etc. It should specify support in terms of hours of provision and staffing arrangements.

If you don't know about the process get on a NAS one day seminar.

Sometimes your local Parent Partnership also runs one days events about the process.

Don't rely on the school or professionals to ensure your child's needs are met. Remember that all support and help costs them money. Most parents find that they have to get clued up and be firm and keep pushing and prodding to get the right level of support in place in the right edcuational setting.

 

Hi there. My son is just finishinghis 1st year at school and we managed to get him school action plus funding before he started last september. 5 of those hours are provided from within the schools existing budget and the additional 10 comes from the lea. Ask the school to put together a timetable showing the lessons/activities they have, look at what they have to do to ensure he accesses the curriculum successfully (ie does he need a lot of prompting, longer explanations, assistance etc) and how many minutes per activity he needs 1:1 assistance. All of this helps build up evidence and will enable the school to apply for funding before statmenting etc and gets the ball rolling straight away.

 

My son does have a diagnosis but a very wishy one and we are going to seek a second opinion, but the diagnosis is such that it talks about all the problems he has, speech and language disorder, sensory processing, autistic behavioural traits etc etc but not a one liner like ASD or SPD. Professionals are sometimes reluctant to give a one liner (as in my case) but the needs are based on what is written within the document. Hense the panels involved with funding and statement assesments will review the whole document.

 

From what I have been told, a statement won't necassarily detail hours, but the legal obligation if on the school to meets your childs needs as detailed in the statement. Fingers crossed for us all there!

 

Good luck with your meetings, be strong, you know your child best.

[Sally44]

Hi there. My son is just finishinghis 1st year at school and we managed to get him school action plus funding before he started last september. 5 of those hours are provided from within the schools existing budget and the additional 10 comes from the lea. Ask the school to put together a timetable showing the lessons/activities they have, look at what they have to do to ensure he accesses the curriculum successfully (ie does he need a lot of prompting, longer explanations, assistance etc) and how many minutes per activity he needs 1:1 assistance. All of this helps build up evidence and will enable the school to apply for funding before statmenting etc and gets the ball rolling straight away.

 

My son does have a diagnosis but a very wishy one and we are going to seek a second opinion, but the diagnosis is such that it talks about all the problems he has, speech and language disorder, sensory processing, autistic behavioural traits etc etc but not a one liner like ASD or SPD. Professionals are sometimes reluctant to give a one liner (as in my case) but the needs are based on what is written within the document. Hense the panels involved with funding and statement assesments will review the whole document.

 

From what I have been told, a statement won't necassarily detail hours, but the legal obligation if on the school to meets your childs needs as detailed in the statement. Fingers crossed for us all there!

 

Good luck with your meetings, be strong, you know your child best.

 

I just wanted to pick up on something you have been told as I believe you have been mislead by your LEA - as unfortunately alot of LEA's tend to do. The Code of Practice towards the statement specifically states that the Statement should specifiy 'in terms of hours of support and staffing provision'. And on the IPSEA website there is case law, where again it states that the need for this amount of specification is needed because otherwise a parent will not know when the school/LEA are not fulfilling their requirements under the Statement and therefore would find it hard to challenge then at tribunal. In my son's Statement everything is itemised in terms of hours of support per term and staffing provision ie. who is going to do what and when.

The only exception to this, is that the Code of Practice states that in some cases if a child is to go into a Special Educational Needs provision that there may not be such a great need to specify (as in day to day supports), as a child in that environment will be supported thoroughout the day anyway. However any professional input ie. SALT/EP/OT etc should be specified as well as any specific teaching strategies such as Precision Teaching or SCERTS.

The Code of Practice further states that any flexibility built into the Statement should be for the benefit of the child and not of the system. So if you are told that the Statement is not so specific to allow the school flexibility that is illegal. The flexibility built into my son's statement is termly hours of support rather than weekly ones. The Panel agreed that this would allow my son to carry over any therapy sessions he missed due to illness, otherwise if the Statement says weekly Speech and Language therapy of 30 mins, the therapist would have to turn up regardless of whether my son was in school or not. So it says a figure of 6 hours per term for direct SALT therapy from a suitabily qualified therapist and an additional 9 hours per term for liaising with staff and parents, observations and note taking, adjusting of the therapy programme, instructing the TA in the daily implementation of the programme, input into the Social Skills Group etc. His Statement also further lists every area of difficulty ie. social communication problems, receptive language, expressive language, narrative skills, etc.

 

[Locwood]

I just wanted to pick up on something you have been told as I believe you have been mislead by your LEA - as unfortunately alot of LEA's tend to do. The Code of Practice towards the statement specifically states that the Statement should specifiy 'in terms of hours of support and staffing provision'. And on the IPSEA website there is case law, where again it states that the need for this amount of specification is needed because otherwise a parent will not know when the school/LEA are not fulfilling their requirements under the Statement and therefore would find it hard to challenge then at tribunal. In my son's Statement everything is itemised in terms of hours of support per term and staffing provision ie. who is going to do what and when.

The only exception to this, is that the Code of Practice states that in some cases if a child is to go into a Special Educational Needs provision that there may not be such a great need to specify (as in day to day supports), as a child in that environment will be supported thoroughout the day anyway. However any professional input ie. SALT/EP/OT etc should be specified as well as any specific teaching strategies such as Precision Teaching or SCERTS.

The Code of Practice further states that any flexibility built into the Statement should be for the benefit of the child and not of the system. So if you are told that the Statement is not so specific to allow the school flexibility that is illegal. The flexibility built into my son's statement is termly hours of support rather than weekly ones. The Panel agreed that this would allow my son to carry over any therapy sessions he missed due to illness, otherwise if the Statement says weekly Speech and Language therapy of 30 mins, the therapist would have to turn up regardless of whether my son was in school or not. So it says a figure of 6 hours per term for direct SALT therapy from a suitabily qualified therapist and an additional 9 hours per term for liaising with staff and parents, observations and note taking, adjusting of the therapy programme, instructing the TA in the daily implementation of the programme, input into the Social Skills Group etc. His Statement also further lists every area of difficulty ie. social communication problems, receptive language, expressive language, narrative skills, etc.

 

Hi Sally

Thank you for the clearing that up! I will remember that his statement should depict hours etc, that's a big help. At the moment his SSNA goes into school even if my son is off school and he loses those hours.

The schools response to that is well it's tough and that's how it goes. They seem very much to use his SSNA as a general member of staff at times as it's really infuriating.

Thanks

J

[Sally44]

What is useful to anyone going through the SEN process is to go to any seminars the NAS or your local Parent Partnership are running on the SEN process.

Get a copy of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice. This details the whole process and what should be happening and what should be in the Statement.

Download, or read your local authority's Assessment Criteria for the SEN process. I only just found mine! I went into my local authority website and searched under 'assessment criteria'. That will help you see what the LEA expects to be happening in school at School Action, School Action Plus and requesting a Assessment towards a Statement. So you will know what school and outside agencies are expected to do and should avoid any refusals to assess if you have ensured that you've ticked all their boxes.

Use the NAS,IPSEA websites and helplines to ask questions and get info, and post questions on forums like this.

Remember that the whole SEN process costs the school and LEA money. So they have a vested interest to keep it as low as possible. Remember that the professionals that carry out assessments and produce reports towards the SEN process are employed by the LEA or NHS and therefore their hands are tied in some respects as to what they can recommend in terms of support and provisions to meet needs. Each department ie. SALT/EP has their own budget and schools have their own allowance of SALT and EP time per term.

The important thing to remember is that the SEN process is supposed to be about recognising and meeting needs and not about keeping to budget. It is about the child's whole development (ie. social communication and play skills), and not just academic. And any shortfall in funding is supposed to be met by the LEA, as long as you have the written reports stating that that is what your child needs.

So you do need to get clued up and be prepared to put questions to professionals and get answers from them in writing. For example 'as my child has a diagnosis of an ASD and therefore has to have significant difficulties with social communication and play skills to get the diagnosis, can you please inform me when you will be assessing his needs in this area and making recommendations to school about how those needs can be supported in school.' Many times that does the trick and you get the answers. If it doesn't that is still written evidence that you have asked and the SALT/School have done nothing about it, which you can use towards a Statutory Assessment or when requesting a different placement etc.

[Sally44]

The final thing I forgot to say is that the Statement is the only legally binding document in the SEN process. On School Action or School Action Plus, if there is a staffing shortage, or no SALT for a year, then your child simply loses out. Whatever input is detailed in the Statement has to be fulfilled by the LEA. My son's Statement was finalised at the end of January. Our own LEA had to bring in an OT from quite a way out because she was the only one suitably qualified to meet his needs. The LEA has since recruited another SALT. Prior to that I had SALTs that had no experience of autism until I complained that they were not recognising and meeting his needs.

[Mum of 3]

Thanks for all your replies. T G's teacher has since talked to the SENCO and been told the same thing, so we're all in agreement...

But I went for a Paed visit yesterday, as part of G's multi-agency diagnosis, and he said that, when they all meet to make the diagnosis in August, they may or mey not diagnose ASD, but all the people involved will discuss his needs, and will get together at that point to write a Statement! I said I didn't think the Statement was dependent on the diagnosis, and he said no, it's not, but in some cases, when a Statement is necessary, it's easier to get it done while all the professionals are together and discussing that child.

This all seems to make very good sense to me, although it sounds a bit too good to be true, so I'm not holding my breath!

Will post more when I find out more. Meanwhile, thanks everyone.

[Sally44]

I haven't heard it done like that before. Usually professionals observe and assess and put together reports that the parent sees. Also the parents are asked for their own opinions and views as well. Maybe other parents have had a similar situation, but i've not heard of it before. It might be wise to run it past IPSEA.org or the NAS as there might be something you need to know about that way of diagnosising and obtaining a Statement.

[Kathryn]

Thanks for all your replies. T G's teacher has since talked to the SENCO and been told the same thing, so we're all in agreement...

But I went for a Paed visit yesterday, as part of G's multi-agency diagnosis, and he said that, when they all meet to make the diagnosis in August, they may or mey not diagnose ASD, but all the people involved will discuss his needs, and will get together at that point to write a Statement! I said I didn't think the Statement was dependent on the diagnosis, and he said no, it's not, but in some cases, when a Statement is necessary, it's easier to get it done while all the professionals are together and discussing that child.

This all seems to make very good sense to me, although it sounds a bit too good to be true, so I'm not holding my breath!

Will post more when I find out more. Meanwhile, thanks everyone.

 

Hi Mum 3,

 

It sounds as though your Paed doesn't understand the statementing process, or maybe he's just trying to be encouraging. Only the Local Authority can write a statement, and it is only written at the end of a long process of assessment, (assuming the LA agree to it, and that is by no means a certainty). All the professionals involved with your child would be able to provide evidence towards it, but health professionals are not in control of the statementing process, and although they can be useful allies in putting pressure on the LA, the decision to give a child a statement isn't theirs to make.

 

It's good though, that you have a lot of support from the Pead and the school, so things are looking hopeful so far.

 

See this link below for more about the process of statutory assessment, the first step to getting a statement.

 

http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1763&a=3232

 

 

K x