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ModestyBrown

Meltdowns at school, are we getting strategy wrong?

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My 6 year old is really struggling to settle back into school at the moment. He has Asperger's but doesn't yet have a formal diagnosis, he's on action plus and has had previous problems settling at school at the beginning of the year. The EP came for an observation on Tuesday, she has offered school some ideas to help but admitted that she does need to seek further advice from an ASD specialist.

 

At the moment he is having frequent meltdowns at school (including object throwing) and he often leaves the class for extended periods of time. We've never had problems with him running away but he's been showing signs of wanting to run home from school, especially at times of the day when the gates are still open. He seems to be struggling with the more formal setting of Year 2 and the fact that he can not longer opt out of the adult led activities that he doesn't enjoy. Joining adult led activities has been a target of previous IEPs. He has two new class teachers as they jobshare and new TAs this year, and doesn't seem to have particularly bonded with any of the adults.

 

I have tried lots of social stories and introducing a 0-5 scale to help him identify when the anger is rising but he's flaring up so quickly, I'm not sure he can see it coming. I did discuss the possibility of him having more dedicated TA support to get through this tricky period, as it's much easier to calm him down and spot impending meltdowns this way. When he had similar problem last year, a specific TA shadowed him at 'danger times' and this helped tremendously. However, school say he's too able to justify it and cite concerns about him becoming dependent on 1:1 support. In fact, the teacher has suggested that I try not to give him my undivided attention when he's catching up on the work he missed at home.

 

I want to support school as I'm desperate to get him settled but I do worry that not giving him that 1:1 support at home might end in disaster. I feel J needs to feel relaxed at home as the school day is obviously stressing him out. I suspect the reason they see '0-60' reactions at school is because he spends the majority of the day in a state of anxiety so it doesn't take much to set him off.

 

Are school right in thinking it's wrong to give a child with Asperger's extra support as they will 'enjoy' it and become dependent? My instincts tell me a bonded relationship with an adult will help him to settle and feel less anxious but I feel at sea without specialist advice.

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Yes, it is a double-edged sword, one I'm very familiar with. My lad really struggled with primary school and had full-time support. He still wasn't coping and so went part-time and eventually we gave up and I took him out and home education for the last two years. Anyway, on the subject of full-time support, for us it was essential as the class couldn't cope with his behaviours but it did lead to him becoming totally dependant upon having an adult with him at all times, a dependancy that, at almost 19, we're still struggling to wean him off of! So, yes, I do understand what the school are staying to you. Also, having an adult velcroed to his side the whole time is a real barrier to mixing with other children, they become almost an unreachable pairing, an island unto themselves, if that makes sense, and other kids will stop trying to approach your lad if he is constantly shadowed by an adult. Having said that, if he needs the support, then he needs it.

 

For my lad it ended up that he would spend a lot of the time out of the classroom. This was never presented as a punishment though, merely that when he'd had enough of being in the class, and started to become loud or stressy or fidgety, he would quietly be taken out to do some of his other activities that were specifically for him. They would avoid putting him in situations where they knew he couldn't cope; at break time when the bell was about to be rung, a trusted child would run off and find my lad and take him quickly into the changing room and change his shoes for him, avoiding the crush and she'd then take him into the quiet classroom before the others got there. Likewise, I took him into school later than the others, so he would avoid all the hustle bustle. If he managed to sit quietly on the carpet for a few minutes he would be rewarded with his 'special box', they learned not to take him to assemblies anymore after he'd shouted very loudly in front of the whole school that it was 'BORING!' - oops!

 

So, yes, I understand your desire and need for extra help, but I do recognise also how much of a millstone it can become. I wish we hadn't needed it for our lad, I wish there had been an alternative, not sure what that would have been though. Not sure that's much help to you either!

 

~ Mel ~

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Thank you so much Mel. I've just spotted you're in Oxfordshire too :waves:.

 

Sharing your experience is actually very useful indeed. From December to July, J was really settled last year and the shadowing and some of the small group stuff he did was phased out, so we know he can manage on his own. From what you've said, I can better see the schools reluctance. Having said that, he's had another bad day today, throwing things around and it's definitely that physical aggression aspects that makes me want someone to be there to prevent the meltdowns before they happen.

 

At the moment he goes in 5 minutes early to get settled in. Since the beginning of the week, I've had to stay on site until all the gates are shut to prevent him trying to run home too (he doesn't know I'm there). I'm not sure if there are patterns emerging in when he misbehaves yet. He was outside when I went to pick up, which I expect was assembly avoidance - funnily enough he says it's BORING too. When I ask him what he doesn't like about the day, he just says he wants to be back in Yr1 and have more play time. We've talked at length about how it can be boring doing work all day but everyone has to do it.

 

School would really like advice on how to deal with the angry outburst but I'm out of ideas tbh and I'm not sure what advice I can access without a diagnosis. I'm constantly going through social stories, he knows the rules and expectations, we're talking about the feeling of the anger building and he knows he should go off to calm down when that happens. But once he's got himself angry, all of this goes out of the window. I just don't think he's capable of joining in all of the lessons through the day, maybe if he had a break from the classroom doing a couple of the subjects 1:1 or in a quiet area out of the class he'd be a little better? I can feel myself clutching at straws!

 

Thank you so much again for responding and listening.

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Oh yes, I didn't notice you were in the area too!

 

It does sound as if your lad is struggling to cope. When my lad was in the nursery class at the school he was an absolute angel, quiet as a mouse. He loved just sitting and playing with the toys, even though it was alone. It was only when he joined Y1 that all hell broke lose, he just couldn't cope with all the new expectations on him, having to sit and 'work', he would just scream at the top of his voice. With him, he is very much a perfectionist and if he feels he can't do something he won't attempt it at all. His motor skills were extremely poor when he was little and he could hardly hold a pencil so he would just scream the place down when they wanted him to sit and try to trace shapes because he found it just so hard.

 

I think you're right, it sounds like your lad needs breaks when it's all getting too much. How are his reading and writing skills, can he actually do the work? What about socially, does he have friends?

 

Is there a diagnosis or investigations in the pipeline? If not, the school could still request a visit from the Autism Outreach Team, who could advise them.

Hope things improve soon. I remember what a worrying time it is.

 

~ Mel ~

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My boy sounds very similar in the sense that he hates getting things wrong and not being very good at something. He also doesn't take well to other people being wrong too! He dislikes writing and drawing as he's not adept (he's had assistance improving his fine motor skills for pencil grip etc) and asking him to write a story from his own imagination, well you can pretty much forget it!

 

His reading is very good, he taught himself to read around 4 so he's currently got one of his favourite Thomas books in his book bag in the hope that he will read it when he needs to calm down. He's not taken to the beanbag that they've provided for him to use for 'time out' but I don't know where to suggest to him as an alternative. Socially, he enjoys interacting with the other children but he doesn't get invites or anything. His best friend is probably his younger brother and watching them play together, it's clear that J is still very immature in his play.

 

Diagnosis wise: we tried once before when he was 5 and just starting school. He went for a multi-disciplinary assessment and they saw nothing beyond the motor skills issues and some delay in answering questions. PCAMHS was fruitless too. We're going to try again though and HT is waiting for the EP report for him to submit with a request to PCAMHS. Thanks for mentioning the Autism Outreach Team too, I will investigate that as input would be most welcome.

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do u know what causes his meltdowns, is it sensory overload , is it down to noise, amount of people in the class, the pupils? There could be a reason why he is having meltdowns - i think to find the route to the problem helps then to reduce what the cause is

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Hi, yes I think you're absolutely right that we need to identify the cause of the meltdowns. I can't get much out of him beyond the fact that there isn't enough free play in the day anymore. I don't think it's sensory overload, I think it's the fact that they are repeatedly making him do work that he finds a struggle. Without me being able to observe him myself, it's hard for me to see if there's a pattern. I strongly feel that he can't manage a whole day sitting down and doing work in the classroom.

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I think you really need expertise ASD advice.

His school is mainstream and so everything is geared towards those types of children, and although some adaptions can be made the whole learning system and environment maybe too much for him.

 

If he is on the spectrum he will have problems with understanding and interpreting his own emotions and the emotions in others. My son is 11 and still cannot do it [although is better than before], and he has alot of input on this very subject. That is part of being on the spectrum.

 

He needs a Statement of special educational needs because this is a 'need', he has which should be met by specific provision and if that requires full time 1:1 that is what he should get [lots of other kids get it].

 

The teacher seems to be implying that your attention is causing his behaviour. She is a mainstream teacher, not an ASD qualified teacher and what she is saying is wrong. Of course there are times when you don't give them attention for certain behaviour, but what he is doing is typical of children with an ASD.

 

He will have a high level of anxiety because things will be too overwhelming for him, or he maybe getting too overloaded from a sensory point of view, or even a language processing point of view, and that will cause the "fight or flight" response. This is all very familiar behaviour as any Clinical Psychologist who specialises in working with children on the spectrum would tell you.

 

I would advise that you ask your GP for a referal to a Clinical Psychologist that has experience of working with children with an ASD. They will then be able to detail the cause of his difficulties and give recommendations that must be included in your son's Statement.

 

My own son was similar and he did not cope in mainstream, eventhough he is around average cognitive ability.

 

How is your son doing with literacy, numeracy, writing etc - is he at the same level as his peers?

 

The best way to go with those on the spectrum is always 'smaller', so a small size class, small school, 1:1 and group therapy, 1:1 support, speech and language therapy for social communication skills and emotional literacy, occupational therapy for sensory difficulties.

 

I think you need to get the ball rolling with a Statement, as they take about 6 months for them to be finalised, and the finalised Statement is usually so ambiguous that you need to appeal it [so that the wording is specific and legally binding], and that takes about another 6 months. By then your child could have deteriorated significantly without the right support and learning environment and specialist teachers and therapeutic staff.

 

If it does get worse, then you need to think about what other kinds of school he could go to. If he is average cognitive ability he will not be suitable for a MLD special school as they are not ASD specific and would not contain a similar peer group.

 

You may need to look at independent schools, especially for secondary stage. At primary level your LA may have a speech and language unit or an ASD unit for children with Aspergers. But often they are for more severely autistic children, and again that is not a suitable peer group.

 

But educational law says that the Statement must identify each and every need in part 2 and part 3 must quantify and specify to meet each of those needs. Part 2 and 3 add up to make the type of placement clear. So, for example, if an educational psychologist recommends that your child needs to be taught in small class sizes of no more than 8 peers, that would indicate a special school, and as he is average cognitive ability, that must be a special school for children with Aspergers. There are some schools like that. My son goes to one. He was out of school for over a year, and developed an Anxiety Disorder. We had two educational tribunals, one in 2009 and another in 2011. We won the placement we asked for in 2011 and he has improved so much since he started there is it unbelievable.

 

So you need to get clued up about the SEN Process. Do you have a copy of the SEN Code of Practice? You can download it from the top of this forum under the Education Publications link.

 

You will also find websites like www.ipsea.org.uk, www.ace-ed.org.uk, www.SOSSEN.org.uk, www.network81.org, and www.nas.org.uk useful websites to learn more about ASD and also the SEN process and what the law says about SEN and Statements.

 

But you also need to put your foot down and not accept that this is a parenting problem. Because if you end up going down that route you will find that everyone jumps on that bandwaggon and you are labled the bad parent, and maybe offered a parenting course. Which is not the cause or reason for his behaviour. Any ASD professional would recognise that. That is why I think a referal to a specialist clinical psychologist is needed. And you MUST state they need to have expertise in working with children with Aspergers and ASD.

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What people often don't get is that because our children look 'normal', that they expect their experiences to be the same as ours and they are not.

 

If he is struggling to recognise and/or name class staff or children, he may have prosopagnosia. My son has this. It makes it very hard for him to recognise people. It takes him years to learn their name, and if he met them out of the school environment he might not recognise them.

 

So if you imagine how their day goes, ie. anxiety going into school because they don't know what the day will bring, problems understanding and processing language, problems interacting with staff and peers, feeling different, knowing that they are struggling with work that other kids are doing easily, sensory issues [all those on the spectrum have them to some level] so he may struggle with distracting visual things, sounds, smells, taste and texture during lunchtime, problems with co-ordination, sequencing, planning, problems with transition, problems during unstructured time such as playtimes and break.

 

Then remember that they are having to put double or triple the amount of effort into doing everything, because it is such hard work for them, and they get tired, frustrated, upset, angry. They try their best, and when they can't do anymore they are at breaking point and likely to run off, cry, explode etc.

 

My son has highly structured lessons. There are 3 TAs in a class of 8 kids. He has frequent breaks to stop him getting overloaded. He has lots of 1:1 and group therapy. He has a sensory integration programme that helps to calm and organise him. The staff know what they are doing and more importantly listen to him and to me if we make suggestions. For example my son told me a member of staff had asked him to 'try' to touch the door handle. This is an OCD issue for him and he cannot touch them due to fears of germs and contamination. He got very upset and anxious when asked to try this. But when I told school they immediately make sure that all the staff knew they were not to encourage him to do anything UNLESS it was part of his therapy or a specific target made by the psychologist.

 

My son now has OCD as well as ASD and he has talked about how hard it is for him every minute of every day. He has intrusive thoughts all day long, and is anxious and fearful alot of the time. It is not surprising that he feels as bad as he does.

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I see it could be the work he having a meltdown about., I know the time i was getting into class 9 we were taking sats it was getting overwhelming for me and I could not cope with the work and was struggling through

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Dyspraxia could also be a factor if his motor skills are poor.

 

~ Mel ~

 

Exactly, and if his fine and gross motor skills [which is a sensory processing problem], are affected, then there is a good chance his other sensory system could be as well. It isn't always obvious by looking at the child, but when an experienced occupational therapist carries out an assessment such as the Winnie Dunn, then it identifies where the problems are. These difficulties can make it very frustrating for the child because they experience huge problems when they try to tackle things which can be physical or mental. If you imagine a hurdle race, and due to sensory issues the child cannot get over even one of the hurdles, it means the child cannot complete the race regardless of the fact that he can get over all the other ones.

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Thank you so much for all of your input Sally, very much appreciated. I downloaded quite a few bits from ace the other day when I saw they were closing down. I will definitely investigate the other websites you've mentioned and get a copy of the SEN Code of Practice.

 

If he is on the spectrum he will have problems with understanding and interpreting his own emotions and the emotions in others. My son is 11 and still cannot do it [although is better than before], and he has alot of input on this very subject. That is part of being on the spectrum.

 

He's definitely struggling with his own emotions at the moment. When he's not anxious or uptight he gets on ok but at the moment I think he's stressed trying to remember all the do's and don't of the new class and his behaviour plan

 

He will have a high level of anxiety because things will be too overwhelming for him, or he maybe getting too overloaded from a sensory point of view, or even a language processing point of view, and that will cause the "fight or flight" response. This is all very familiar behaviour as any Clinical Psychologist who specialises in working with children on the spectrum would tell you.

 

Precisely. I think "fight or flight" I think he's wrestling with it most of the day, hence it appearing to others that he's suddenly gone off at the deep end without an obvious lead up. I think it's also hard to understand for others that just because we wouldn't get upset at something, doesn't mean he won't. He has seen and been observed by a Clinical Psychologist before. Neither of whom really picked up on anything as he was having a good day both times. We've been discharged from them completely but I remember I was told we could return to the GP for referral if required. I will remember to specify someone with particular experience of Aspergers. The Educational Psychologist on Monday said she would really need to contact a specialist in Autism for the most appropriate advice.

 

How is your son doing with literacy, numeracy, writing etc - is he at the same level as his peers?

 

In numeracy he's above average. He's average to above average in most areas and he's really advanced in reading. For the most part, this is his natural ability not what he's been taught at school. I can see that some of the methods they use at school actually confuse him with things he can do naturally e.g. addition.

 

What people often don't get is that because our children look 'normal', that they expect their experiences to be the same as ours and they are not.

 

Then remember that they are having to put double or triple the amount of effort into doing everything, because it is such hard work for them, and they get tired, frustrated, upset, angry. They try their best, and when they can't do anymore they are at breaking point and likely to run off, cry, explode etc.

 

This is absolutely a problem in our case. Because my son is bright, it's easy to expect that a whole days worth of lessons would be great and that he would respond to normal reasoning. It's easy to interpret his behaviour as manipulating and that he's thought through running off in order to avoid work. It's definitely not the case at all and I'm positive he's trying his very best to please everyone and do as he's supposed to, it just gets to much for him.

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Dyspraxia could also be a factor if his motor skills are poor.

 

~ Mel ~

 

I'd never really considered it before tbh, particularly as the OT never suggested it. In her words 'He doesn't have poor motor skills, per se..more an issue with planning and organisation of activity'. She particularly picked up on his poor pen grip. James seems clumsy at times with general movement and fine at others. Having read up a bit more about dyspraxia now, I can't discount it and it would definitely be worthwhile raising the questions when he does have another MDA.

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"more an issue with planning and organisation of activity'"

 

That is what Dyspraxia is!

The NHS OT my son saw said he did not have Dyspraxia he had "motor co-ordination and motor planning issues".

 

And that is what Dyspraxia is. But by not calling it Dyspraxia they don't identify the need, and they don't provide anything for it anyway. The OT gave us some exercises to do at home. But by hometime he was in no state to do anything.

 

Anyway a couple of years later, he was out of school for about a year. We saw a good CAHMS Psychiatrist and she noted he had motor co-ordination difficulties and said it was "dyspraxia falling under the umbrella of his ASD".

 

So I wrote to the OT and asked her why I had had to wait xx years for the Psychiatrist to diagnose Dyspraxia and could she confirm that that was the case. She replied within a week that he had dyspraxia. Have a look at the dyspraxia website, because it is not just about planning and sequencing movement, it can affect planning and sequencing of thoughts, so there can be problems with problem solving and organising themselves.

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This is a link to a report carried out by the College of Occupational Therapists about Dyspraxia.

 

http://www.baot.co.uk/sites/default/files/publications/public/doubly-disadvantaged.pdf

 

Although the NHS OT service does not provide any 1:1 therapy for children with Dyspraxia or Sensory Processing Disorder, independent ASD specific schools do because they employ OT's on site who deliver these programmes, because it is common for children with an ASD to have these other co-morbid disorders.

 

My son never received any help or input whilst at a LA mainstream school. But he gets weekly therapy at his new school. But it took us years, and alot of stress and money and private reports to get where we are now.

 

How the SEN process works from a Statement point of view is you need to first identify the need, which goes into part 2, and then the provision to meet that need must be quantified and specified in part 3. Often only private reports will do this, as NHS and LA professionals don't identify needs or quantify provision for them due to the costs involved.

 

As you will see from the report i've mentioned above, the COT obviously feel that Dyspraxia is a serious disorder - yet the NHS service provides nothing.

 

But once those needs are in part 2 and 3 of a Statement the school has to provide it, and if they don't have it the LA is legally bound to fund it. Only a Statement is a legally binding document. And often you have to get your child into a school where these therapies are provided "as standard", otherwise there is a continual drive to reduce therapy and remove provision to save money.

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Have only just joined this site and was flicking through the posts and am so glad to see this particular post from you ModestyBrown - I too have a 6yr old with definitive diagnosis of Aspergers and ADHD due on the 12th March - Consultant was quite insistent that she couldn't diagnose our son before he was 7 (b'day due in May) although she informed the school that this was very likely and that she would put a 'stamp on it' at this up and coming appointment. Our son sounds as if he is having very similar issues at his school/class also Year 2. He has not settled at all since returning from the christmas holidays and has been excluded three times in the past three weeks due to his outbursts and complete lack of control of his emotions throwing chairs and lashing out at the adults/teachers. He too runs out of the school and hides under tables refusing to come out - if pressured emotions goes to extremes - he lacks self esteem/confidence in his work which often means he refuses to comply. He is above average in literacy and reading, now being a free reader and completing Year 4 literacy without much effort although writing is often messy (can be neat like others but doesn't 'see the point') - numeracy is average although due him starting to miss work/lessons due to behavioral mentioned is starting to fall behind meaning that we are completing that work at home.

 

The school have provided him with the access to a child psychologist that he meets for 1hr every monday and he also has of two weeks ago and his second exclusion, a 1:1 TA within the classroom setting - all without statementing - however at the moment there is obviously a trigger at school that is really unsettling him as he is a complete mess at school - very stressed as soon as we reach the school gates - nothing has changed although we have a massive up and coming change with his teacher leaving at Easter (son is not aware of this yet as he appears so unhappy and unsettled at the moment)

He is also beginning to isolate himself - not wanting to go out to play and we found out the other week that he eats his lunch outside the headmistresses office on his own - his choice! - he says that the hall is too noisy and confusing - it makes his ears and head hurt and he just wants to be quiet! Because of this ability to isolate he has started to loose friendships which were already slightly strained at times due to his lack of personal space and need to be in control. Kids are starting to call him names as they are starting to realize that if they do this he will get angry and have an 'outburst'

 

We really don't quite know what to next - we meet regularly with the school but at the moment its all getting a bit too emotional for us and Son is constantly worn out due to his outbursts which take so much out of him.

 

Although i can't offer you much advice hopefully the support of knowing that it's not just your child at this stage that is going through this will help as it has me!

Thank you for sharing and requesting advice it has helped me too

x

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Welcome girlracer, hope you and school find some solutions that are effective for your son soon. I can totally relate to your situation, it was a very similar story with my son, although, thankfully for us, we are out the other side of it now, my lad is now 19! Hold on to the fact that things will get better, it won't always be like this and you will all come out the other side. I know this isn't much compensation to you now because you are all suffering and it feels like it will never end, but it does get better with time.

 

~ Mel ~

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Altough your child is 6 years, his social development of language and undretsanding language and short attention span in a very noisey enviroment maybe about that of a 2 year old. He is angry because he is confused and proberly anxious and scared .Does he have a chance for a quiet corner, where he can destress?

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Hello girlracer! I'm really pleased that the thread was useful for you too and I'm very sorry to hear that you and you're son are having such a tricky time of it at the moment. I'm particularly sorry to hear about the exclusions, that must be extremely hard because it disrupts any routine you manage to get into, I would imagine? I completely identify with you saying how emotional it's becoming for you meeting up with school to discuss things. I find it impossible to be emotionally detached and school have been good about respecting my wishes not to debrief me every day unless something specific had happened and to call instead of catching me during the school run.

 

Things have settled down for us significantly at school, and I'm pleased that the running away from school has stopped for now. It's not perfect though and as we've finally got a date for CAHMS, I will be pushing for a diagnosis so that we have better access to support. It must be extremely frustrating that you have to wait till May for a diagnosis? Can you access any support locally on the basis of the consultants likely diagnosis? It's great that you've got the 1:1 TA without a statement. Do you feel like the TA is someone that your son will feel comfortable with?

 

If you ever need an ear, I'd be happy to give you my email to chat (feel free to PM me). I've had such a lot of support from online friends which has made all the difference, as it can be so isolating. As you say, it's good just to know you're not alone x

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Firstly you need a copy of the SEN Code of Practice. Read it. It is the SEN Bible and tells you what triggers each stage of SEN. It details what is an SEN [not just academic - it can be speech and language, social communication, emotional and behavioural, sensory or physical]. It is totally untrue that a capable child or average intelligence child cannot have an SEN. Yes they can. And this book also details the type of provision that could be provided for each SEN such as a specialist teacher.

 

It is also not true that you have to wait for a child to be 7 before they can be diagnosed. I was told that about my son who did get an ASD diagnosis age 6.5 years, but they would not diagnose dyslexia/dyscalculia because they said he had to be over 7. Not true.

 

Here is the link to the SEN Code of Practice. http://media.educati...of practice.pdf

 

Additional help/therapy/support/provision or a different placement are ALL triggered by evidence of 'lack of progress' via IEPs, school results, KS levels etc. Parents can ask the LA to assess their child for a Statutory Assessment towards a Statement. They don't need to wait for the school, or even for the school or any professional to agree. You just write to the LA asking for them to carry out an assessment as detailed in the SEN Code of Practice.

 

Regarding age. Here is a link to a government document "autism exemplar". Here you will see that the child involved is much younger. Many children are diagnosed before age 7. http://www.dh.gov.uk.../dh_4090571.pdf

 

For a child to be on the spectrum there has to be clinical differences/difficulties in three main areas. Most children also have sensory processing difficulties too. This is a link that details the DSM IV Criteria for an autistic spectrum disorder [which includes Aspergers]. http://www.cdc.gov/n...sm/hcp-dsm.html

 

Anxiety is also experienced by many children on the spectrum. These children need extra support and may need a different educational environment or special/specialist placement. There can be many causes to the anxiety ie. change, lack of structure, inappropriate teaching approaches, sensory overload, a learn disability or a learning difficulty [poor short term or working memory, dyslexia etc]. Difficulties with understanding language and what is expected of them in class. Not finding it easy to socialise with peers, being bullied, left out, feeling different.

 

If there is evidence that a child needs 1:1 support then that is what they should get. That applies to all the needs the child has. However ONLY a Statement of SEN is a legally binding document. What the Statement contains must be delivered in school with the LA funding the Statement regardless of cost. A Statement is about identifying needs and quantifying and specifying provision to meet each of those needs.

 

So read the SEN Code of Practice and get your child onto School Action Plus with IEPs. When you have two IEPs you can ask the LA to assess for a Statement. Best to have a diagnosis first, so also push for that. If a child is not coping, waiting until they are 7 is just putting them through undue stress and anxiety and is totally unjustified. So get clued up on how the system works.

 

This is another booklet ive found which is very informative. It talks about the early years ie. preschool through to school age and is worth looking at https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/ES12-2010.pdf

Edited by Sally44

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