Going to look at special school after half term

[KezT]

We gave it a good go, but DS is so unhappy at mainstream secondary - and even with full time support has not made any friends but has got into trouble several times:( I can't see it getting much better as his peers get older and more hormonal/tribal - in fact I would expect things to get much worse for him there, so made the decision to contact the local special school and have arranged an informal visit/discussino on Monday after half term.

 

I am going to pop in to speak to SENCo tomorrow morning just to give her the heads up.

 

In people's experince, is the mainstream school likely to be supportive? Do they gain anything by having a Statemented child on role? Obviously they get the funding specified in his Statement, but that nowehere near covers the support he is actually getting.... School has just become an academy if that makes any difference?

 

Also, assuming I have request the annual review to be brought forward early next term, and asuming I have to fight the LA every step of the way (as I did to get the damn SM in the first place), do you thinkit is reasonble to plan to move him for this September?

[glyno]

my sons 11 and hes been in mainstream school since sept.he hates it hasnt been to school since nov we hav a meeting on the 23rd ive spoke to his teacher and she agrees with me that j shouldnt b in mainstream i need to get j statemented first and then i shall go down the road of special school scares me to death but i just want him to b happy and make friends and feel comfortable within school,god knows how long this will all take js lost so much school and wont even discuss it not sure how im ever going to get him bak into any kind of school he just wants to stay in the house everyday only leaving for hosp apps hope all goes well for you.

[KezT]

He was OK at mainstream primary - it started to get difficult last year but we hoped he might settle better into the structure of secondary.... Its obviously not going to happen - he can't adapt enough into the school and even by bending over backwards the school can not accomodate him successfully...

 

He already has the SM, but changing he named school will be a nightmare. Our LA SEN woman is truely awful When he was first dx'd I asked her about statementing and was told that "there was no need for a statement unless he goes to specal school" - she then told me that the only two special schools in our area were School A and School B, which are for severe learning difficulties, and concentrate on lifeskills rather than qualifications. She completely failed to mention that there was also School C which follows the national curriculum and enters pupils for public exams, while working on their social and communication skills! (this is the one we are going to visit) When we finally ignored her and applyed for the statement with the backing of Paed, CAMHS, School, OT & EP - she still refused the assessment until we appealed, and then the Statement until we appealed. GRRRRRR!!!!!

[kirky]

It's a real shame that your LA woman was so unhelpful. We have just finished with the statement process. They named his current school because we hadn't made a decision on where we wanted him to go. But when we decided we just wrote a letter saying we wished to change the school. That was a week and a half ago and we heard yesterday that he has been granted a place. Just waiting to hear when he can start. Maybe it was so easy because the statement had only just been finalized? Anyway, the decision on a special school placement rests with a panel of professionals who sit every 2 weeks. I think the basic criteria is that your son should be at least 5 years behind academically, for instance, my son is in year 7 but is only working at a level 2 rather than the average level 8. His current school doesn't really have a say in the matter, although a letter detailing his problems with mainstream situations from them would definately help if they would oblige. My sons school wouldn't, they thought it reflected badly on them that they couldn't manage him or hammer him into their square holes, when he is quite obviously a round boy! ;-) Good luck!

Edited February 9, 2012 by kirky

[KezT]

He is ahead academically. The issues are social & communication skills (or lack of them) - he is unable to interact wih his peers in any functional way at all, and is starting to show signs of clinical depression due to the school nvironment. They sent him home he other day because they couldn't cope with him when he "clammed up" and refused to speak/react to anyone/thing.

[Sally44]

If he is academically mainstream material, but has the usual problems with speech and communication and social interaction, then you maybe able to look at an independent ASD specific school?

 

Are you school agreeing with you and saying that they cannot meet his needs, or that your child is not coping?

 

If he is not coping it covers you to have Clinical Psychology and CAHMS involved for them to state that the school environment is the cause of the problems, or the peer group etc.

 

With a local authority special school, you may find there are no places left. Afterall, there are limited places and they tend to get oversubscribed. So you may have a fight on your hands.

 

Also the special school maybe for moderate learning difficulties, which he does not have. So again, it is an unsuitable peer group [which is the argument you would use for seeking an independent ASD specific school for able children with an ASD].

 

Is there no mainstream school with an autism unit??

 

However from my experience the LA autism units tend to function by trying to "feed" those students over to mainstream classes as often as possible. For my son [and it sounds like for yours], the "coping and learning" in a mainstream class of 30 kids is not an option.

 

However to get an independent ASD specific school you may need an independent EP to assess your child and visit his current school. You would need them to confirm he was around average cogntiive ability at least on non-verbal assessments. And you would need him to confirm his current school cannot meet needs and that ONLY your parental choice can. You would need him to state your son needs class sizes of no more than 8 pupils [this is usually the special/independent ASD specific pupil class sizes].

 

Regarding the Statement. That should be meeting his needs regardless of where he is placed. So it sounds like the Statement is not doing that for any of the above reasons. Eg. if he needs small group teaching, and a low arousal environment, that needs to be in the Statement and that would make a mainstream school inappropriate. So you really need to go over the Statement with a fine toothcomb to identify where it is currently failing your child.

 

When parts 2 and 3 are right, then the placement becomes more obvious.

 

But you may end up at a Tribunal to get what you are after.

 

What other schooling options are there apart from LA special secondary school?

 

Do go and visit this school you mention. See what the class sizes are. How many children are on the spectrum. How many staff have additional qualifications for teaching children with autism. Do they use ASD strategies such as TEACCH. What academic level are the other pupils working at. What examinations will they take.

 

Ask what budget they have for SALT, EP and OT. But in reality the Statement should specify how much of each professional's input your child needs so that it is provided regardless of what the school budget is.

 

If he is starting to really struggle mainstream, make sure you get your GP on board and get referred to Clinical Psychology and CAHMS. If you don't and he starts have absences from school the school or LA may call in the educational welfare officer.

 

Sorry to hear you haven't found a suitable placement for your son yet. If he is getting upset/angry/frustrated/depressed etc please take it very seriously because from my experience it can all go downhill very quickly.

[KezT]

spoke to his current SENCo today. She agrees that he is not coping socially and doesn't "fit" into the school, although she said she would be ad tolose him as they had hoped to be able to accomodate him. She suggested possibly looking ata dual placemnet with the special school to keep his academic options open which they would definitely support.

 

His SM is upfor review in the Spring anyway- some parts of it were left deliberately open to see what he needed in secondary school that was different to primary. His school have also put in a formal complaint to the LA that they have not received the specialist ASD support they were promised and that is in his SM.

 

The special school has classes of approx 8 (based on ability rather than age, so it varies) and does have a large number of ASD pupils, but not eclusively so. It does use TEACHH and similar. There is no mainstream school with ASD unit in our county....

 

I will obviously have lots of questions to ask the special school when we visit and see where we go from there. I will contact CAMHS (As he has an open appt there) and discuss the depression issues with them too. Thanks Sally

[LancsLad]

KezT can I put another point of view across I also suggest you look on my profile page to get some background from where I am coming from, I fully appreciate even so that many people on here might not agree with the points I am going to make and that is fine, please come back if you strongly disagree.

 

I think you need to make a decision around what is most important your sons short term happiness or his opportunities to develop skills which contribute to his long term prospects in all aspects of life?

 

Personally I hated school, was constantly flirting with suspension, was absent at times and at times was suffering from clinical depression. Given a choice I would have it the same way again as it was excellent preperation for the hard realities of life. Though I couldn't see it at the time as I lacked the maturity I was having to develop a lot of strategies simply to hang in there. What school did provide me with was an opportunity to sit examinations, some of which I had to pay for myself, which eventually went on to open up opportunities for me and importantly acted as a foundation to building my self esteem.

 

As you say your son is not really having any issues in academic areas. Parenting is really difficult in that we have to strike a balance between protecting our children against providing them with enough environmental stress so they can grow and develop as individuals. I do not know your son and so am in no place to make a judgement on what is the right balance to take.

 

As an individual with AS I know that my preference is to be in real control of my environment and that is all about reducing factors which negativly impact on my well being. I also am fully aware that this is not a good learning and development environment for me and so I have to find the strength to leave my comfort zone and go out and opperate in difficult scenarios. My personal strategy throughout my life has been one of exploring my potential as much as I could, but then understanding I need to retreat back into a very safe place to recharge and rebalance my life.

 

My own view is that there are a lot of positives to be taken from getting through a mainstream school route, though having seen it from both sides I understand that even the best schools are a long way from being perfect. I would ask the question is mainstream a sustainable solution. In other words can the negative elements of it be counterbalanced away from that environment at home and through leisure activities. I fully understand that for all children and young adults who are not achieving academicaly in line with their peers schools and colleges start off on a negative footing and I have always believed they should be doing a lot better in this respect. In the case of a child who is simply going to get constant negative reinforcement in maistream about their academic positon I can see some arguments in looking at alternatives especially when this is coupled with something such as an diagnosis on the autistic spectrum.

 

I can also say that in my teaching career on a number of occasions I would go into our satelite schools which included special schools and deliver technology days which were great fun and on these days some children would really excell and I would recieve comments from staff that it was such a pity that they didn't have the resources or expertise to fully develop these talents. I have also had the imense privallege to work with young people up to 18 who were without doubt good cases for an AS diagnosis. Some of these individuals had real social issues at school and life was not easy for them but often they found their niche, normally in my department every dinner time and break. I can specifically remember spending weekends locked in school with one such individual designing and building a satelite which went on to recieve the runners up position at the Young Engineer of Britain awards presented by Prince Charles. That individual has gone on to work for the Russian Space Agency, NASA and the last Christmas card I recieved from him came from Antartica where he is a development engineer working on nuclear reactors and very happy. I can remeber these individuals as young men and women being nervous about going into the field of work or to university. I knew things would be difficult but I had real faith in their abilites to adapt to new situations. I can also remember them as very awkward 12 ans 13 year olds who stood out from the crowd and often came across as very unhappy little people who need a friendly smile and a few words of encouragement. it is true to say that at this stage of their lives they came in for a lot of stck from a yet to mature peer group. I can also say that as they went through the years the attitudes of many peers changed to one of being very respectful of what they could achieve, going as far as to being looked up to.

 

There will always be sections of society which base themselve around a social context, this is true of the workplace as much as it is of schools. There are also sections of society which are respectful of ability and talent, who recognise persistence, hard work and attention to detail. To be honest I learnt a lesson at your sons age and that was I was never going to be anygood at dealing with the first group but that this was not the be all and end all of life. Once I had come to this conclusion all I wanted to do was overcompensate and play to my strengths as a means of maintaining and building my self esteem. Having spent time in special school environments as an adult I know that I could never have achieved what I have done through that route. Had I recieved a diagnosis and gone through a more supportive system things would have been different for sure. I suspect they would have been a lot less stress involved, but would it have been better?

 

As I have said I do not know your son and as such can only reflect on my own experiences. I know this must be a difficult decision. I know now that what got me through school and other scenarios has been my core personality which is something very different from my AS. My advice would be to focus on the personality of your son and not get distracted by the realities of being on the spectrum that will be there in any scenario and we have to learn how to accept then manage our lives in whatever scenario we find ourselves in.

 

Best Wishes.

[KezT]

Thanks Lancslad - I do appreciate you views. I really wanted him to stay in mainstream because of the academic side of things and the fact that he needs to learn how to interact with the real world, because that is where he will live! I faught hard to get im into this school which has an outstanding academic report, but more importantly a brilliant reputation with SEN and especially ASD children.

 

But he has been there for half a year - he has four and a half to get through still. he is already school refusing (unsucessfully at the moment) and retreating into himself/refusing to interact at school. his hypersensitivity to noise not only means his anxiety levels are incredably high all the time, but also means that it is soooooooo easy to "bully" him and set him off into a violent outburst. The other kids are only going to get nastier as they get older:(

 

A dual placement might well be the way to go - but his social & emotional skills are probably at level of a 4 year old - with the hormones of an 11year old it is a recipe for disaster imo. If we don't get him some suitable social/emotional skill help now, he won't make it through to his GCSE's at all:(

[LancsLad]

Kez a few observations but I am honestly not trying to change your mind rather I am aiming to provide a balanced argument.

 

Firstly many kids find the transition to secondary school a difficult experience and I would suspect that in year 7 quite a few given the chance would opt back to a primary type scenario.

 

In my experience as a teacher things like bullying do not get worse as you progress through secondary school they tend to settle down. The first year at secondary school is often like putting together five or six packs of animals together and telling them to sort it out for themselves. Natural pecking orders take time to establish and it is natural to try and pick off the weakest links but in the mid term there is no qudos in maintaining this strategy and boys in particular settle down whilst girls tend to fragment into smaller groups.

 

Two years back as a 44 year old I sat down with my counselor who had recieved some specific training and we worked through things like flash cards in trying to get me to learn and develop reponses to facial expressions. As she said I was no better than a 7 year old she was working with in this task, to which I replied why would I be it was the first time I had ever had a go at this type of thing. I raise this point simply to highlight we have many things to learn to make us function in this world the real issue is what order should we take things and what should the priorities be. Whilst I was not good at reading faces for example it didn't stop me from attaining management positions.

 

I am going to take two extreme positions here for sake of argument though I appreciate there is a lot of grey in between. Some people would come from the position that you can kind of fix a person with AS and these people would go for a strong emphasis on life skill strategies in trying to normalise behaviour. Others would take a viewpoint that whilst there are negatives in having AS the best approach is in maximising strengths. I think these two positions lead to two very different learning environments. Without doubt I took this second route and as I have become more mature as an individual I have been able to work on my weak social and emotional skills even if this means going back to some basic strategies.

 

In an ideal world schools would be good at creating a balance between both areas, but often they are not. My experience as a foster carer with children is that education is an academic conveyor belt and once they have stepped off it for any amount of time catching up is almost impossible and opportunites post 16 to do so are very weak. My preference would naturally be to keep people on this conveyor belt if at all possible and work on everything else such as emotional and social development at home. In my experience this is very hard work and not easy. If you feel that even with all the support you can give him you can't keep him on the mainstream conveyor belt then you might decide it is in his best interests to go in another direction and you have no choice. It is my personal opinion from experience that this inevitably means a very different device and though special schools will say it is going in the same direction in respect to academic opportunities this conveyor never seems to deliver its travelers in the same place as the mainstream one and at 16 working out where you need to go from there in opening up conventional opportunities is very difficult in a very poorly signposted environment.

[Sally44]

I think you really do need to get tough about his Statement.

If provision has not been provided you should have put a complaint in writing to the school and copied in the LA and given them a timescale of 14 days to get in touch with you. After that you could start Judicial Review proceedings.

BUT it all depends as well on the WORDING of the Statement. If it does not quantify and specify it can be very hard to even know what the school/LA should be providing.

 

They should not have left anything "open" for the secondary transition because they did not know what he needed. That is the whole point of a Statement. It is for children that cannot cope with the support/provision in that Statement. The SALT, EP and maybe OT should have assessed him and then they would have known what he needed.

 

Although each child is affected differently by an ASD, it is not rocket science to see where and how they are affected in the triad and provide appropriate support.

 

Can you get his current school to agree he is not coping? You could send in a letter stating something like "Further to our conversation on xxxxx I am relieved to see that you are also of the opinion that xxxxx is not coping within your school and does not fit in. And I appreciate the fact that you have tried to accommodate him, but that it has not worked."

 

Then see what their response to that is, to test the waters. Mainstream schools find it very hard to state they cannot "include" a SEN child because that is the LA policy.

 

But if he is capable, this maybe a good chance for you to find an ASD specific school where he has the same peers and he does fit in.

 

My son is doing very well at his new school. He has already made a friend in a boy who is as obsessed with Pokemon and Yugioh as he is. And this school offers so much more than just academic teaching. There are the relationship/friendship and social skills as well as the weekly/daily SALT and OT that can make a huge difference to the child.

 

Have a look around and see what is out there.

 

And gather any evidence you can that your son has not made progress, or is not coping, or the statement has not been fulfilled, or the current school say he does not fit in/is not coping etc.

 

Of course there is the possibility, as Lancslad has said that this is due to the transition into year 7. However I don't agree that these things tend to die down. They don't. The difference and the gap becomes wider and those children who are capable notice this and it affects their self esteem and confidence. Often these children end up finally being unable to cope and refusing school just at the time they should be sitting their GCSEs. That then makes all those years a waste, and you are left hoping that they recover, and feel strong enough to pick themselves up and go on to college.

 

It also means that those children who are not coping due to the social communication; friendship/peer group difficulties don't get any input for this UNLESS it is in the Statement. And again there is no suitable peer group for the SALT to work with with your child.

 

My son now has daily support during breaktimes and dinnertimes. They have social communication lessons. They have group relationship and friendship lessons. They go out into the community every week into a shop or cafe to start gaining confidence in going out. These are all the things that our children struggle with and a mainstream school simply does not/cannot do these things.

 

He also has a Sensory Integration Programme, daily SALT input. And the OT even gets into the swimming baths with the class and works with them!

 

The OT is even telling us to expect our son to riding a bike this summer as his gravitational insecurity has improved so much since starting there.

Edited February 11, 2012 by Sally44

[Bren T]

Hi Kez,

 

I am Mum to a 16yr old boy who was only diagnosed with ASD in October 2010. Our nightmare time started with school refusal when my son was 11yrs and had progressed to High School from a very small Primary School.

 

For four years we were totally unprepared for the changes that we would have to face. His total character and way of life changed. Were were given loads and loads of what would turn out to be very unhelpful advise. He was diagnosed with Social and School phobia and became more and more reclusive in nature. We were pressured to try and force him to comply. During this time he was being seen by Specialists from CAAMHS, an Educational Psychologist etc. Nothing we tried seemed to work. He become depressed and over time, more and more reclusive, only attending an Inclussion Unit of our local High School for a very limited and inconsistant periods. In June of 2010, after being put on Prozac for his depression which was getting worse, my lovely good natured son, attacked another boy who was in the Inclusion Unit. To keep a long story short, this culminated in a Medical Exclusion from school and because this behaviour was so out of character, nobody could understand why he had done this and would not give him a risk assessment. This left us with a reclusive child who was only being offered a very limited home tuition.

 

In August 2010, he was admitted voluntarily into a Mental Health Unit some 50miles away from home. A very hard time for us. By this time we knew that Social and School Phobia could not be the whole picture. We had been crying out for help. Anyway, this proved to be an amazing decision. At the Unit my son was diagnosed within days as having ASD (Aspergers, High Functioning Autism). THE LIGHT WENT ON........... At last we started to get the help and understanding we needed.

 

He stayed as an inpatient for 8 months. During this time we (and the Specialists at the Unit) requested that J get a smooth transition from the Unit to a residential special school (which was not in our area). Js main problem is that he has a reverse sleep pattern which I understand is quite the norm for his reclusiveness. At home, he always reverts back to nocturnal tendancies.

 

Anyway, of course the LED dragged their feet (we also had an awful LED Caseworker) and after offering us some completely unsuitable placements, we went all the way to Ed Tribunal in September 2011. We won absolutely with extensive Speech and Language and Occupational therapy assistance. We gained a placement at the school we had requested initially and the one that the Mental Health Unit had recommended that he go to!

 

So, another whole year had passed, my darling was now 16yrs. I cannot believe that 5years have passed since he started to be a school refuser.

 

I suppose what I wanted you to know is that all of our kids are different. My son does have huge problems with social interaction. He is very bright but without life skills he wont be able to ever lead an independent life and will become more and more reclusive. Because of this, I now am only focusing on the life skills and hopefully the education will come later.

 

Due to his sleep pattern and anxiety, we have not managed as yet to take up the residential placement at the school but we take him on the 100mile journey to school twice a week (sleep and anxiety permitting). He is gaining more of his confidence due to the intensive SALT and OT sessions. He wont travel by himself, so I take him one day and his Dad takes him the other. We are both Self Employed so we give up one day a week each.

 

Local High School option was so very unsuitable for us. It caused so much damage because of lack of understanding and because of this we are having to do this ridiculous journey too and from school to engage our son back into life. Only the peope on this forum will understand fully why I have to do this!! To give up is giving up on my son having an independent life!!

 

Good luck to you Kez X

 

LancsLad and Sally 44 - Always look forward to getting your advise. I am not a great one for actually posting advise but I always read the advice that you give.

[Bren T]

Just a note - I got an initial SEN without a school placement when J was first dianosed with School Phobia and Social Phobia. I got an idependent SALT assessment and this showed that he had Receptive Language Disorder. One of the main reasons that we won the SEN Tribunal and got our school placement was that the Ed Department had failed to provide us with any help for his Speech and Language needs even though they had recognised that he had problems

[Sally44]

I think this is why thorough assessments are so important [unfortunately not everyone can afford them!].

 

I find it so frustrating and annoying when I hear and read time after time that a child with an ASD diagnosis is in mainstream secondary school and is not recieving any SALT input.

 

Just because a child is speaking does not mean they don't have a lanague disorder.

 

To get a diagnosis they have to have lifelong difficulties with speech and language and social communication. That is a speech disorder. Yet these vulnerable children are placed in an environment where they will not flourish. They will struggle and become anxious to the point of becoming mentally ill and who can blame them! Their difficulties are real, they aren't making them up. And they are becoming ill because they are not coping due to their diagnosis.

 

I'm sorry you had such a negative response from clinical psychology and CAHMS. When my son was referred I specifically asked, in writing, that he was referred to a team that had experience of working with children with an ASD. We were initially referred to the wrong place. There are professionals out there who do work specifically with our kids. But sometimes the struggle is just to get referred to the right people!

 

Thankfully I was referred to the right people, and I really had to push them to give me the support and information I needed, in writing, to help us win our tribunal. I had to tell them "I am not happy with the amount of physical force and threats that I am having to use on my son every day to get him into school - what level of force do you advise I should use?" They responded that I should only use gentle but positive encouragement. Well I know that that meant he would not be in school because I was having to practically wrestle him out of bed, downstairs, and out into the taxi. Often he would be so anxious that he would be sick either in the taxi or on arrival at school. I would then be phoned and asked to come and collect him and keep him off school for the next 48 hours. That is no way to start every day. I bought this up at the Tribunal and said that IF I had been employed that I would have lost my job years ago due to the frequent requirement for me to go into school to take him home because he was ill. I have no problem with collecting my child from school when they are ill, but when it is a couple of times every week it makes it impossible for you to hold down a job.

 

And thankfully the psychiatrist wrote to the LA when they threatened to refer me to the EWO and told them that forcing my son back into school could have a serious detrimental effect on him.

 

I had to arrange meetings, and double record them [one copy for me and one for the LA] so that I could get everything verbatim because we had ridiculous meetings where ClinPsych and CAHMS were saying it was due to school and school, the LA and EP were trying to talk their way around that advice and still trying to get him back into the school he was refusing to attend and trying to put the blame on me.

 

My independent SALT told me that NO SEND Panel would recommend that a child was placed in a school they were currently refusing to attend. It is logical really. That placement has broken down. Something new and additonal needs to be on the table and the Panel know that.

 

In our case we could prove that the placement had broken down. That the NHS SALT had tried to reduce input eventhough she admitted she used more hours than were detailed in his Statement. We proved there was no joint planning, cohesive delivery of therapy or any multi disciplinary team approach. We proved that strategies and therapies that were recommended were not put in place years after they were recommended. We proved that the LA and his school did not have any member of staff with any additional qualification above their teaching qualification for both ASD or Dyslexia. We proved the LA had withheld evidence from a previous Tribunal and that the LA had ignored previous advise that said my son was not suitable mainstream material and needed to be taught in small groups of 8 similar peers. That could have caused my son to be placed in an autism unit - but our independent EP evidence and assessments proved he was around average cogntive ability and therefore was not suitable for a MLD autism unit environment. We proved he had received no OT input at all for his sensory processing disorder. We proved that the OT had failed to diagnose Dyspraxia. We proved that the NHS does not fund any 1:1 OT therapy for both of these disorders and therefore the LA would have to buy in: SALT time, OT time and Specialist Dyslexia teacher time, which all had to be delivered flexibly across the week and therefore could only realistically be delivered in an ASD specific independent school of our choice that had class sizes of 8 pupils who were all similar to my son.

 

The most frightening time for me was when I found my son on the window sill with the window open and he told both me and the CAHMS psychiatrist that he had intended to jump and break his neck so that he did not have to go to school anymore. If my son had killed himself, how would I have lived with that? I knew he was not coping and I knew I had to do everything I possibly could to get him into a school where he would flourish.

 

He has come on alot since November last year. However his anxiety not being addressed or managed has, IMO, lead to his diagnosis of an anxiety disorder and also OCD. As the CAHMS Psychiatrist said to me "anyone can develop a mental illness if they are in trapped in an environment for long enough."

Edited February 11, 2012 by Sally44

[Sally44]

The way that "life skills" are taught at my son's school are not about 'normalising behaviour'. It is getting the individual into a situation/environment that they will come across on a daily basis as an independent adult. And with support helping them to cope with that environment and task and for them to be explicitly taught what they need to do so that they can be as independent as possible as an adult. We did all this type of thing with my sister [who is MLD], when we were preparing her for living independently. Things are not automatic or obvious to many capable children with an ASD. They need to be taught how to do it until they feel relaxed and confident enough to do it on their own.

 

For example my son and his class go out every Friday morning to either shop or to a cafe and they just learn to buy things or order things. They aren't taught how to disguise that they are ASD. They just gain confidence to do those things. I think this is so important because many adults on this form post that they cannot do these things due to anxiety. Now he is only 11. When he is older he will be taught how to manage money, open a bank account etc. And sometimes the positives are small and unexpected. For example last Friday my son managed to dry his hands using the hand dryer. He wasn't asked to use it, he decided to do it himself. And the fact that his anxiety was so low that he was able to do that is brilliant in itself. On the downside his OCD behaviour and fear of contamination means that, at 11, he is no longer able to go into toilets on his own because he needs someone to open and close doors for him [won't touch handles], and he needs the reassurance of an adult that he can use the loo without having to take his clothes off [because he is afraid that by using the toilet he will in some way contaminate his clothes]. This is a major deterioration of how he was a couple of years ago pre OCD when he was totally independent.

 

I know i'm going off on a tangent a bit - but I hate those adverts on TV about germs and how long viruses can survive on surfaces etc.

Edited February 11, 2012 by Sally44

[KezT]

It was much as I expected - nice enough. Looks like a primary rather than a secondary school - party because of its size but als the resources and equipment was just not as high tech..... Obviously they offer less subjects at GCSE, but they do offer (probably) 5 that he could take, and a phased introduction into the local college.

 

They have approx 1/3 ASD (including headteacher's son) and 2/3 other complex needs

 

It smelled like a hospital:(

 

But I think that it will work out for him - if I can get him in. The only other options would be to try for a residential place somewhere, but I'm not keen on that TBH.

 

Next step is to bring his Annual Review forward so it happens ASAP - do I just write to th LEA SEN dept to do that does anyone know? I also have to visit the other special schools in area as Head said they will ask why we haven't if we don't! And wait, and appeal and wait.....

[Sally44]

I would have a look around at what is available on the independent ASD specific school. Although that may mean residential, you could argue that that is going to teach life skills. And it could be weekly boarding and home for weekends??

 

My son is going in as a day pupil, but I would want him to be boarding when he is a bit older.

 

Why did the other school smell like a hospital??

 

Find out what academic levels [what key stage] the children are working at in his year group.

 

We looked at an autism unit [special school type of formula]. We found that there were too many children that were none-verbal or had emergencing speech. There were also some children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, and those outbursts would have scared my son to death. So we said there was not a suitable peer group, that they were working at a lower level than my son and had a lower cognitive ability and that the school/LA would still have to buy in all the therapies he needed ie. SALT, OT, Dyslexia Teacher, EP input etc. And that the ONLY school that had all those professionals on site, with a suitable peer group was our parental choice of school. So you might find the same arguments apply in your case. Afterall he is failing because of the peer group/social communication [as I understand it], not due to the academic side of things. So for him to learn and benefit from a suitable peer group, they have to have a similar level of social communication and for the SALT to be working with them as a group for social communication/interaction targets.

 

The school MUST be able to meet his academic ability and needs. So HOW would they teach him to GSCE standard in a classroom of other children that were on P scales or KS 2? They would only be able to achieve that by teaching him 'separately', which is not inclusion is it.

 

If the school are agreeing that he needs a different type of school environment you are in a good position to seek an independent placement. Unfortunately LA's don't tend to have other options than mainstream or special school, and for some children neither is suitable enough. He sounds more Aspergers and there are schools for children with Aspergers who are capable of taking GCSEs, but who need the small class sizes and the additional input and therapies for their speech and communication difficulties. What other difficulties does he have eg. dyspraxia, SpLD, sensory processing disorder?

[KezT]

He "only" has ASD - officially dx'd as Aspergers, now mostly called HFA. His academic ability is A or A* level on anything they can make him write down (with the general acceptance that he will mot be able to take subjects such as History/RE etc past options level anyway)

 

I would say that he is socially approx 4 years old and emotionally approx 2 years old! He is completely incapable of understanding/describing what his emotions feel like. He can just about manage working in a pair (if the other person is laid back enough) but can not work in groups. He is hypersensitive to sound, touch and temperature.

 

Head agreed hat manay of the pupils there were working below age leves, but some were academicaly able. He could work with older groups if suitable(he is very big for his age)

 

How d I research out of authority schools and whether they would be suitable? where do I start? The closest NAS schools are about 2 hours drive from us

[Kazzen161]

There are some Priory Group schools close to you. There does not seem to be one list of all schools - ask at your local ASD Support Group, research groups such as Priory and Cambian, ask your LA for a list of its special schools, ask neighbouring LAs for a list of their special schools, look at the NAS list, look at the Gabbitas list, Google "Aspergers specialist school".

[Sally44]

I think you have a very good case for arguing for an ASD specific school, which is usually for children with Aspergers and HFA, many of whom go on to take GCSEs. His social and emotional ability makes him unsuitable for mainstream and his academic ability makes him unsuitable for LA maintained special school. And a Tribunal Panel would agree with that if you have that in reports ie. his KS levels, and also details of his social and emotional age.

 

Usually in an ASD specific school, because the children are more capable, they do work with them alot using 1:1 speech therapy [usually from a speech therapist, because social communication is their remit], and also in pairs or small groups. This is reinforced during lessons and during breaktimes. As many on the spectrum struggle during typical outdoor breaktimes, they often have indoor options where they can play games. They do this at my son's school, and the class [of 8 pupils], has two adults with them during break times.

 

My son has little emotional recognition in himself, and also struggles with social communication. But he has already made friends, and even enjoys breaktimes because he can play with other kids connecting on their Nintendos, or playing yu-gi-oh with their cards. They can take in their toys such as transformers etc. And because ALL the kids are like ours you often find they enjoy similar things.

 

Do you have written evidence from the mainstream school saying that they don't feel he is suitable for the school? Would they put that in writing to you? Do yo have any written evidence of his emotional or social age? Have any assessments been done by the speech and language therapist?

 

Typically for an independent school you are probably going to need an independent SALT and EP report.

 

Most independent schools would also want your son to spend a few days with them, and they may write up a letter or report about how he was with them. You also need the school to have offered you a place in writing for you to submit as part of your Tribunal Bundle.

 

I would suggest that you say at the AR that your son is not coping mainstream [and hopefully school will agree with you]. Don't at this stage say you are seeking an independent placement. Just wait and see what the LA suggest as an alternative placement. They are either going to try to keep him mainstream, or offer him a place in the special school.

 

If they offer a placement at the special school that demonstrates that the LA also believe he is no longer mainstream material - and you have his very good academic grades to show that he is not MLD special school [and I presume this special school is for children with MLD?].

 

After the AR, when the LA decides to amend, or not. That is when you submit your appeal, and that is when you state your parental choice of school.

 

If you do get any independent reports, you want to submit them just inside of the deadline for submitting evidence for the Tribunal. That then makes your reports the most up to date ones.

 

You should have quite a number of independent schools around you as the majority of them are South of the Midlands.

 

You can also search for independent special schools on the OFSTED website.

Edited February 21, 2012 by Sally44

[KezT]

I have re-researched independant ASD schools, but again the only ones that sound ideal are too far away for anything other than weekly bording and neither I nor DS want that. I am going to look at another LA special school next week, but unless it is unexpectedly outstanding, I will stick with the local one I saw last week because it is local - he will, eventually, be able to get hinself there and back which is an important life skill in itself. They have a direct tranition to the local college and they are expanding their ASD povision following an outstandon OFSTED report. Itmight noit be the perfect place, but I think it is the best option and a suitable estblishment - and lets be honest - hardly anyone gets to go to the "perfect" school....

[Sally44]

If that sounds like the best placement for your child then go with what your gut feeling tells you.

 

Make sure that his Statement ensures that he is taught up to his academic level ie. GCSEs. And make sure that the speech therapist is involved to give 1:1 speech therapy and also for social communication and to work with him both 1:1 and in a group of similar peers [up to 2 other children].

 

IF it becomes apparent later on that this school is not meeting his needs you can again look at whether an independent school, boarding or not, maybe more suitable. As he gets older he may benefit from the boarding aspect from a life skills point of view.

 

So concentrate on getting everything quantified and specified in the Statement.

 

I have another friend whose child is in a MLD special school. He isn't MLD, but she too had no other option. She says moving him was the best thing she did because his anxiety has disappeared. And it is so much easier to learn anything when you feel happy in yourself.

[Sally44]

I did a quick search on the OFSTED website for Somerset.

 

Is Farleigh anywhere near you?

 

They take Aspergers pupils and also accept day placements. They also have SALT and OT on site.

[KezT]

Thanks Sally, but Farleigh is about 2 hours away - I'm in North Somerset which is a separate county unfortunately as there are a few good independant schools in Somerset proper

[Sally44]

Being out of county is not a problem. My son's school is in a different county/LA.

 

But it would involve weekly boarding.

 

Weekly boarding could be an option - I know any child would have to spend at least one night with them for them to confirm the placement was suitable and to offer a place there. And I know you've said you don't think your son is up to boarding.

 

I think it still maybe worth a visit, just to see what you think about that type of school compared to the special school you have already visited.

 

My own son managed a 3 day trial placement at the independent school he is now attending, and he did that when he was at his worst. The fact that he managed 3 days there [agreeably with alot of anxiety needing alot of support], where he was not tolerating even an hour at his old school, made me even more confident that that was the right place for him.

 

If you think this is really the ONLY school that can meet all your sons needs, and IF your son were to visit and say himself that he liked the school - then you might feel it is worth fighting for it, with the potential costs of independent reports etc. If you visit, and come away feeling that it is not different to the special school within your area, then at least you will feel that you are placing your son in the right school.

Edited February 25, 2012 by Sally44

[bed32]

A number of people have commented to us that weekly boarding can very effective and that certain ASD pupils thrive in that environment. It is certainly an option we will explore for our son when we get to that stage (may not be long now).

 

You make a couple of other points above that are of concern.

 

Firstly the LA ought not to be concerned about changing from one maintained school to another. If that is what you want then you should almost always get your own way unless the school you want to move to has very good reasons why they can't accept the child.

 

The idea of a statement is that the full cost of the provision should fall on the LA - a school should never be financially disadvantaged by accepting a SEN child. If that is the case then you should review the provision on the statement, and how that provision is provided.

 

I would have thought most mainstream schools would be supportive of a statemented child moving to them if they had the facilities to cope - but if they weren't I would seriously question whether you would want to send your child there in the first place

[KezT]

Hi Bed32 - as I have said, neither I nor DS are comfortable with the idea of boarding. It s a personal thing and something I have felt for many years. I would have to be sure that there was NOTHING suitable locally at all, and tbh I would be more likey to go for home tutoring in those circumstances

 

His current mainstream school is very supportive - as I said, we worked very hard to get him a place there BECAUSe of the good support and reputation they have. The LA SEN woman is extremely unsupportive - I don't think she believes in anything other than severe academic learning difficulties! And it is she who gets to decide whether the LA will support the move to the special school, and I'mpretty certain she won't based on our previous dealings with her

 

Annual review has been set for 6 March - which is pretty quick I reckon!

[bed32]

So far our experience is going along the same lines as yours. The LA are totally useless - they only exist to obstruct, obfusticate and procrastinate. No one doubts our son needs the statement but they rejected our initial request out of hand - and only gave in when we appealled. We are 99% confident that we will have to appeal the statement too.

 

Although M is only in yr 4 we are having to think very hard about what the next step is as that will shape what we get put on the statement. I am very interested in the experience of bright ASD children in Mainstream schools, at present we are very concerned that he won't cope although we still have a couple of years to make progress. Round here the only special schools within easy reach are of the MLD type that really don't seem right for a bright ASD child. Seems to me we end up having to choose the least worst option.

[Sally44]

I think you just need to put your case at the Annual Review, and if a move is not agreed by the LA just take it to Tribunal.

 

However, the LA may argue that it is not a suitable peer group for your son IF he is academically able, and the special school is MLD in an attempt to keep him mainstream.

 

However you MUST appeal, and if the special school is the one you want, you are going to have to argue its the ONLY one that can meet his needs locally.

 

You need evidence from the special school that they can cater for his ASD, his academic ability, his social communication and interaction difficulties etc. He must fit their criteria. The special schooll may say they have no places available. A Tribunal can order the school to make another place.

 

And if the LA resists this move because of the above, then it might be worth letting it out that IF he does not get a place at this maintained special school that you would have to look at an independent placement [such as Farleigh]. That might help concentrate their minds a bit as Farleigh will be much more expensive.

 

Make sure you get the provision of SALT and any other therapy quantified and specified into the Statement so that he receives that input regardless of what the schools budget of SALT therapy for the whole school is.

 

Also worth looking at what OT input he may need if he has dysraxia or sensory processing disorder.

 

I still think Farleigh is worth looking at, just to see what they do there. There are some ASD children that benefit from being in the same environment ie. boarding, rather than travelling between the home/school environment every day. And by visiting it you would make an informed decision, rather than a decision on maybe past experiences???

 

Hope you get what you want. Let us know how the Annual Review goes. Remember that now you can Appeal if amendments are made, and if amendments are NOT made.

[KezT]

CAMHS appt today. Pysch there said outright she would support a move to special school:) OT went in to school again last week - not seen her report yet, but tbh, her suggestions are not possible to implement in a mainstream schol anyway! Looking ngood for review meeting on Tues so far...

[Kathryn]

Good luck for the meeting Kez.

 

K x

[KezT]

The review went pretty well - there was a lot of nodding frm the school straff when we said we thought mainstream was not suitable - it looks like they will suport the change of named school. LA tried to tell us there were no spaces in requested school, AND that all the spaces that will arise in September have already been allocated, but did agree that we could request the change and appeal if it was refused. So I gues it's now just a matter of getting the amended SM and see wht it says.....

[KezT]

Got nabbed by his primary headteacher yesterday (the younger ones still go there) who was devasted at the idea of him moving to the LA special school:( He said they would not be able to cater to his academic needs and he would get bored and therefore have equal issues there as at his mainstreeam schol who can't cater for his social/emotional needs...... I turst primary headteacher a great deal - not only did he sucessfully integrate DS into his school when we moved him there in year 2 (even though the first year was spent under a desk), but he was seconded to the LA for a year to write their SEN plan so knows his stuff. I'm going to ask on Mondayif he would be willing to state his opinion in writing....

 

After spending a day crying, I have now decided the only option is going to be to push for an independant school - probably Priory Group. I REALLY don't think my LA is going to like this idea at all.....

 

I have contacted our preferred school and they will be ringing me on Monday to discuss next steps from their end.

 

I have managed to get current school to admit outright they are not coping with DS at this time. Now to try and get it in writing:)

 

I think I'm going to need some private S&LT/EP/OT reports - if anyone has any recommendations of who might do this in the Somerset/Devon/Bristol or N. London areas, please pm me...

 

I'll keep you all updated with progress.....

[Sally44]

The thing to remember is that the LA can use the same arguments that parents do ie. it is not a suitable peer group in the special school.

 

But IF they do say that [and please try to get someone, school or LA to put that in writing]; ask the LA Inclusion Officer to write to the special school NOW to ask them if your son is suitable, and if they have a placement available.

 

Do that BEFORE you mention anything about independent schools. Because once they know there is a possibility of you seeking an independent school, they may become much more defensive in what they say to you or what information they give you.

 

Remember that you are doing this process once or twice for your child. The LA knows the system inside out, eventhough they pretend they don't. The LA will often be attending SEN Tribunals.

 

Take a step back, and have a breather, and a good think about things. Whatever placement you get for your son you want it to be able to meet ALL his needs.

 

It seems clear that in mainstream he is not coping due to his anxiety, social communication/interaction [probably speech and language issues], emotional literacy etc.

 

It seems possible that the special school will not be able to meet his academic needs, although it may have a more suitable environment, smaller classes, more specific work with the children - but is that ASD specific or MLD?

 

The whole point of mainstream is inclusion. If a child is not longer included [because they have to be taught separately or withdrawn for them to cope], or the child excludes themself due to anxiety, school refusal etc, then that placement is not working.

 

The whole point of a special school is that it is supposed to meet the needs of that population of children. If it is mainly MLD, then it isn't meeting his academical needs, and MLD children don't necessarily have speech and language/social communication and emotional literacy difficulties. They learn in a similar way, but maybe slower and not to the same level as in mainstream.

 

So even in a special school environment, he could again be excluded and have to be taught separately for his academic ability. I know that teachers have to and do differentiate lessons, but if the MLD school is teaching to P8 level and your son is 3C level, that then makes it a totally different lesson.

 

IF you are going to be going to a Tribunal, you need to start thinking about, and looking into, the arguments that WIN at tribunals. It is about progress, or lack of progress, or deterioration in any or all areas eg. academic, social, emotional, behavioural etc.

 

If your son is not making progress he either needs more support, specific therapies that could be delivered into his current placement.

 

However if the "mainstream" environment is part of the problem and the "peer group" also part of the problem, then the provision of this support/therapies still leaves those issues not being met, and could still leave to your son disengaging from education because of how he feels about himself, his confidence, his self esteem.

 

If you are looking at an independent school, most of these have a class size of around 8 pupils [you need evidence that that is what your child needs, or that he is not coping in a mainstream classroom, is not able to do homework etc].

 

Independent schools have SALT and OT on site [again you need evidence that that is what your child needs], and for those professionals to be employed on-site so that the provision can be delivered flexibly across the week.

 

In mainstream, the SALT may come once a week and if he does not engage, or if he is ill, or the SALT or the TA is ill, then the session is cancelled - and the SALT needs a suitable peer group to carry out not just 1:1 work but also group work with other similar children. And your child needs to be explicitly taught in 1:1 and group sessions and those skills need to be generalised into the classroom/playground/dinnerhall, and out of the school environment on regular trips that an independent school would do. This teachers your child independence skills of going to the shops, buying things, looking after themselves etc.

 

Your child may need a similar peer group for his own self confidence - for him to see other kids like him and feel that he fits in.

 

You need all the evidence that you have reported difficulties and the school have not sought additional advice from the SALT, EP, OT, Autism Advisory Teacher. Any evidence that his Statement has not been met. Any evidence that the school or other professionals have not attempted to hold multi agency team meetings about your child [and don't bring this up with them, because they will quickly organise one].

 

Since you raised concerns with the school detail what the school did, who they contacted, what meetings were held, who attended.

 

If you have spoken to, or written to the SALT or EP or NHS OT about his difficulties, that is also evidence.

 

If CAHMS are involved with your son has anyone from the school or LA contacted them for advice etc.

 

This is all evidence that they cannot provide a multi agency cohesive provision and delivery of his Statement.

 

You will be arguing that your child has potential, potential to gain examinations, potential for independent living and working - however he has deteriorated to such a degree that he could disengage from the education system and refuse to attend school.

 

Note any differences in his behaviour or sleep patterns. Has he stopped doing things he used to enjoy?

 

In primary I had a similar conversation with his class teacher. The school verbally agreed to me that my son was not coping. However they would not put it in writing because the LA told them they had to include children with an ASD otherwise it was disability discrimination.

 

This teacher visited another primary school with an autim unit. The teacher said my son was too capable for that unit. The SENCO of the school that had the unit said she felt my son would "regress" in the unit as it was not a suitable peer group.

 

That left me the option of moving him again to another mainstream primary that had a higher proportion of pupils with an ASD. That still did not work. He became anxious. We were referred to CLinical Psychology and CAHMS.

 

He eventually refused school, and did not attend for most of year 5.

 

You have tried mainstream. And you have always come across as a very reasonable parent. Your child is not happy and is not coping. If the only types of school the LA are offering are not suitable, then you don't have much choice left.

 

DO visit all the LA Secondary Schools that you think are a possibility, or which the LA may offer. Realistically, if you appeal, the LA has to come up with something significantly more than he is currently receiving, and if he is refusing to attend [and please log and detail any occasions], the Panel are less likely to name his current placement.

 

Whether the LA may concede a place at the special school when they realise you are seeking an independent placement is another matter.

 

I believe the current course they are taking is to say that special school is not suitable and to try to appease you to keep him where he is.

 

When you lodge your appeal you have to be clear that xxx school is the ONLY one that can meet his needs. The Panel will pick up on any uncertainty.

 

You need to visit any independent school and your son needs to stay with them over a period of days. The school may write a report on him, that would be helpful eg. in saying that he is academically within their criteria, and that he has needs which would require input from their therapy team [sALT, OT etc]. They may give a more detailed report.

 

If it would involve boarding, he will need to stay for a night.

 

IF the LA decide to offer you a place at the special school before the Tribunal date, you have to decide what to do. It maybe worthwhile going to the Tribunal anyway to get the Statement more specific.

 

His current school are not presently meeting his needs. If it is agreed the the special school is also not suitable, that only leaves an ASD specific school.

 

Once you have visited such a school, and your son has had a trial period with them, you may feel even stronger that that is the school he needs. If you don't feel like that then your appeal has to be only for the special school on the grounds that he is not coping and although it may appear not to be able to meet his academic needs, the other school is not meeting his social or emotional or sensory needs and that he is at great risk of disengaging, whereas in a more supportive environment he may cope.

 

If you then found he was starting to fall behind academically [if placed in the special school], you would again need to go to a Tribunal to try to move him to an independent ASD specific school for children that are cognitively able.

 

Please make sure that Clinical Psychology or CAHMS are involved, and that you get their advice in writing.

 

Some independent schools do buy in edcuational or clinical psychology input. Simply because alot of the children do have anxiety and other issues that require their input. And any programme can be delivered so much more effectively when everyone is a member of the on-site staff that meet and talk every day. It enables them to meet a child's needs immediately, whereas in a different school the child might come home and then refuse to go back to school for weeks. My son gets alot of "off curricular" support ie. time out, additional relaxation and play sessions, more time in the sensory room etc - just to allow him to be in a calm and alert state to go into classes. There is no way that his former school could have been so flexible and stepped up immediately to support him throughout the day. So far, he has had 100% attendance [attending part time]. He has never refused to go in.

Edited March 9, 2012 by Sally44

[Sally44]

I just wanted to add, that for us, because my son had not coped in a typical mainstream primary - and the SENCO of the other primary school had written to the LA stating her opinion that my son would regress in their autism unit - and when I moved him to the mainstream section of that primary school [that was classed as Enhanced Resource for ASD], and he still did not cope - that did not leave the LA with any other options. He was attending the ONLY enhanced resource primary mainstream school. The SENCO had already stated he was too capable for the Autism Unit, so the LA could not suggest moving him there. And because we had the Tribunal date cancelled twice, that bought us to year 6, and so we went to Tribunal seeking an immediate move to a secondary independent school.

 

When I look back, alot of what we had as evidence, and the timing of the appeal, was quite by chance.

 

I would definately recommend doing a Freedom of Information search, but leave that until you have the actual Appeal date. You want everyone to be writing notes, unaware that you may seek copies of everything held on file about your son.

 

So it is important to get the views that the special school is not considered suitable. That leaves the LA with less options. If he isn't coping mainstream, there is little point offering a different mainstream place. And if the special school is not suitable that only leaves an independent placement as the option.

[Aginoth]

Hi Sally,

 

I'm KezT's Other half, I don't post very often, tend to let this forum be her domain

 

I just wanted to say thanks for the posts so far especially the last couple, from that I think we have our next course of action planned.

 

We've had many a long talk about all this and have decided to start the application/assessment process with Farleigh College near Frome.

 

From previous experience we know we're likely to have a long hard fight with the LA to get DS the education he needs and deserves; with that in mind we are going to kick off a private EP report sooner rather than later especially considering LA haven't carried out an EP assessment of DS for at least 12 months (and that was as part of the statement process). They have not carried out an EP assessment for his AR. If the LA start getting obstructive to the point of tribunal then we'll update the private EP report at that point.

Edited March 9, 2012 by Aginoth

[Kazzen161]

Be careful - some tests cannot be repeated sooner than 6 months since the previous one.

 

Also check with Farleigh, as many independent schools do EP, SaLT, OT, etc assessments as part of their 3 day assessment when deciding whether to offer a place.

[Aginoth]

Thanks Kazzan, will bear that in mind, nothings ever straight forward is it, it's not just jumping through Hoops, you first have to find the hoops and put the hoops in the right order.

[Sally44]

Go and visit Farleigh, just so you are more sure about your feelings for this school.

Your son could go for a visit [usually 3 days], and see how he feels about it.

 

You can always have a further visit to Farleigh IF you need a more up to date report to submit it just before the deadline for final submissions. You need ALL your information and reports to be less than 6 months old. The Tribunal Panel pays the most attention to the most recent advice.

 

My son visited the independent school, and they did a report, offered him a place etc. Then the appeal was cancelled twice. So, to make the independent school report up to date, we arranged for him to visit again. By coincidence my son had deteriorated further by then and was out of school. So that happened to be very useful information for the independent school to add as an addendum to their original report ie. they first saw him in February, and then again in July. They detailed how he had deteriorated and how severe this deterioration was, and how concerned they were for him.

 

Also, regarding the EP advice. You need that to be sent to SEND as your evidence JUST BEFORE the deadline for submissions.

 

If you get it earlier it gives the LA and their EP plenty of time to scrutinise it. And as Kazzen has said, it would allow the LA EP time to go in again and re-assess just before the actual hearing date.

 

If the LA EP does that there is every possibility that they could write a further report/advice, which the LA would submit as evidence, and it could say something like "xxxx was assessed independently by xxxxxx and found to have severe difficulties in x, y and z. On this assessment we found that xxxx coped very well with xxxx and we no longer feel that x, y and z is appropriate.

 

And believe me, they do do this.

 

At our Tribunal the LA EP argued about how unsuitable our choice of placement was, arguing that he needed to be kept mainstream. [i had found her file notes from a FOI search where the EP and also the Autism Advisory Teacher had stated in 2007 that my son should be in an autism unit, and should have class sizes of no more than 8 similar peers]. In 2007 she had told me that. Then she denied having told me that. And the LA denied that the EP had ever said that. So they were all rather embarrassed when I submitted that as evidence that my son should NEVER have been placed mainstream, and that the LA had not listened to their own professionals advice.

 

And they did not provide that information to me, or the first tribunal we had. So they lied and withheld evidence from the tribunal. So don't be surprised at anything they do. They did lots of things, that I cannot even really go into, that made it very hard to track who had done what and who had said what and to whom. They had meetings about him which the PP attended, and then did not minute those meetings and even told me there had been no meeting,eventhough the PP had attended and told me what had been discussed at those meetings. And because there were no notes or record of this meeting, I could not get that information via the FOI act search. Very naughty!!!

 

I don't want to make you paranoid. Just don't be naive. Play your cards close to your chest and don't give them information.

 

When they start to ask you "what do you want", which they will at some stage if you appeal. Turn the question back to them by saying "it is not about what we want it is about what your son needs. All we want is for our son to be happy and calm and to be able to cope in school so that he can make progress in all areas. We want him to reach his potential. What do YOU think his needs are, and what do YOU think he needs to meet these needs [and is that quantified and specified in the Statement???]. Do you think that can be achieved at his current placement?" Then watch them squirm and try to get off the hook by not saying anything.

 

The LA will fight tooth and nail not to have to pay these fees. But I have found that once the Decision is made in your favour, the LA just accept it and move onto the next child/Tribunal case.

 

So for the time being I would suggest you get in writing whether the Special school is considered appropriate and how they would meet his academic and social communication and anxiety and ASD needs.

You do not mention anything about appealing.

You don't mention anything about an independent placement.

You don't mention anything about seeking any independent reports yet.

 

The LA will make their decision after the AR. You then lodge your appeal to SEND. You can lodge that appeal for just parts 2 and 3, and amend your appeal later on to include part 4 if you wish. If you amend your appeal to include part 4 later on, that will introduce a real curve ball for the LA and they will be left playing catch up.

 

Then give yourselves about 2 months BEFORE the deadline for submissions, and send all involved [LA, [naming the EP and Autism Advisory Teacher], NHS [naming the OT, SALT, CAHMS, ClinPsych], and the school a Freedom of Information Act letter asking for all information held on file, both paper and electronic. Ask for copies to be send to you on a DVD. You have to £50 to each section eg. LA, and each different hospital trust - but it will be worth doing to see if there is something on file that you can use.

 

I know going to appeal is a stressful time, and I know you had a struggle to get him in mainstream.

 

You can make changes to appeals and make requests using a Request for Changes Form. You can do lots of things with those that parents often don't even know about. You can ask SEND to seek directions for judges to order the LA to do certain things eg. produce costs etc BEFORE the Tribunal date. You can supena people to attend.

 

You don't really want your appeal to get to looking at costs. What you want to prove is that his current mainstream school cannot meet his needs and that the special school is not suitable.

 

If you are going to get an EP report, I would recommend that they also visit his current school so that they can say their opinion as to whether it could meet his needs. And you also need them to attend as expert witnesses.

[KezT]

###### SEN team - after all the nodding and agreement at the annual review, they've just sent out a letter stating "no change" to DS's Statement! Grrrr!

 

I'm still a it confused as to how they managed to call an AR without doing an up to date EP report - or indeed ANY reports! Vulnerale Learners went in just after the AR and agreed that his funding should definitely be doubled to full time 1:1, that he should e formaly withdrawn from several sujects to give him time out time and time to have social/communication therapy, that all teachers and all staff woking with him should have specific ASD training...... All this was guarenteed to us verally, while we researched alternative providers as the special school was patently unsuiatel for him.

 

Now I'm going to have to go through the whole appeal process AGAIN, to add in the agreed increase in funding, withdrawal lessons, Communication therapy and ASD specific trining for his support workers. While still researching independant schools:( Wonder if "no change" after getting virtally no reports and then ignoring the advice they wre given will count as good evidence to a Triunal?