Statementing saga - an update

[Kathryn]

Hi everyone,

 

It's good to be back! I haven't been posting for a while as I have had a rather turbulent few weeks and felt the need to hibernate for a bit. Here's why:

 

Our LEA have become adept at screwing up major holiday periods for us - and they did it again, right at the end of last term. I was expecting to spend the holidays checking my daughter's proposed statement. I was told in June it was being written and despite a delay while updated information was gathered, I wasn't too worried. After repeatedly phoning to try and find out what was happening I finally managed to get hold of an official who reluctantly told me that they had decided to not to issue a statement, but a note in lieu.

 

The letter and subsequent "note in loo" (that's where I'd dearly love to flush it) was such a risible concoction of lies, illogicality and distortion that we were for several days, just stunned.

 

My daughter, apparently, does not meet the ASD criteria for statementing as her difficulties have "not persisted over time". To back this up, they cite her year 9 sats results as proof (!) that she was functioning OK prior to her dx last year. They state that she has now improved from her "severe depression in skills" (whatever that means).

 

They refer to our reports which we mention specific occasions around April/May when L telephoned her only remaining schoolfriend to invite her to see Star Wars. L saw Star Wars 3 times. After one viewing we managed a pizza at a restaurant - the first and only time she has eaten out in well over a year. Spot the common theme - L is obsessed by Star Wars and this was the motivating factor in all these activities. The LEA have, unbelievably, twisted this information to make it appear that my daughter has suddenly acquired the social habits of a neurotypical teenager. I quote: "She is now making social interactions such as telephoning friends, going to the cinema and out to dinner". Their entire case appears to hang on this one flimsy assertion.

 

The truth is that we struggle every day with a child who still becomes mute under stress, who has a meltdown if you move a book, who has had limited contact with only two people of her own age in the last year etc.. and who, even on a good day, is functioning at a far lower level than many statemented children in mainstream schools. And yet the LEA still - after a year long battle and a truckload of strong evidence - does not get it. Or more to the point, they don't want to get it, because acknowledging her needs would mean a huge commitment of resources.

 

When I started this process I was sure that L's needs were so clear cut and it was just a case of supplying all the appropriate evidence, dotting the i's and crossing the t's and jumping through all the bureaucratic hoops. Now I see that we were never going to win by shooting straight - the LEA just keep moving the goalposts. In November my child was deemed too low functioning to be assessed. Now she isn't autistic enough.

 

It is my cynical belief that there was never any intention to issue a statement. Their parting shot, you see, is that now my daughter is above statutory school leaving age, there is no duty to statement her. They could have said this earlier in the year, but the Stat Ass. was granted in March and I think they just did this and strung out the process quite creatively to keep us quiet up to the end of the academic year. Without any pretence of any transition, they are now trying to dump us on the LSC (the body which funds post 16 education) which has its own bizarre system, including proving that the young person's needs can't be met at the local college...more battles.

 

We aren't taking this lying down. We still have the right of appeal, our MP has asked for a meeting with the DOE and I am going to report our LEA to IPSEA for using illegal criteria for statementing. What precisely we do with L this year is a more complex problem. Answers on a postcard please....

 

I see that I joined exactly a year ago when I was in turmoil over my daughter's education. It seems, depressingly, that not much has changed outwardly, but I am stronger for the support I've had from this forum and I could not have coped without it. Being away for a month has made me appreciate all the more that I still need you! (Cue violins <'> )

 

K

[smallworld]

Well Kathryn,

what can I say ?

I think you're probably right in that the LEA were just delaying things until your daughter was out of their hands. It's disgusting to just string you along for so long, whilst knowing they could do this if they delayed long enough.

I'm sure you know all the right bods to continue your battle, just get your armour on and prepare to fight (however dirty !)

It's funny cos I came across another 'kathryn' on a different board earlier tonight, and cos I'd been wondering where you'd got to, I thought you'd defected

Of course, it wasn't you and then thought maybe you'd gone on a very long holiday(an envious idea!)

I've done the opposite to you, I've been here in the virtual asd world but have totally cut myself off from the real world and not made contact with anyone

I'm sure I won't be alone in wishing you all the best in yet another battle,

glad you're back,

wac

sorry, I don't have any constructive support for you, I'm still struggling with a totally manic 5 yr old who fortunately has a school to go back to on tuesday (better check that, not sure what day really )

[annie]

Hi Kathryn,

 

It's good to see you back.

 

I can understand why you haven't been about for a while, the whole process is totally draining.

 

What your LEA has done to you and your daughter is awful. I agree, they have been delaying everything deliberately.

 

It makes me mad to think that there is an SEN Code of Practice, but LEA's and schools can find loopholes and abuse them.

 

As for widening the goalposts, I've reported my LEA to IPSEA about their criteria for assessment as well.

 

By widening the goalposts, LEA's are trying to make it near on impossible for ASD children to be assessed. LEA's are supposedly giving the funding to schools to support our children, but it is very rarely being used for what it is given. So whatever way we look at it our children are losing out. Unless they have full support in a mainstream school most cannot cope. People who write the criterias for assessment have absolutely no idea what ASD's are about.

 

Good luck in your fight, we're right behind you.

 

Annie

<'> <'>

[pim]

I'm so sorry to hear that the LEA have done this. I'm shocked that they would blatantly lie that they were writing up the statement, while they knew they were trying to delay you.

 

I had wondered why you hadn't been on this board for a while. I also thought you might be on holiday.

 

I don't know what to say, what advice to give except to keep fighting. Also that there was nothing you could have done.

 

I'm waiting for our proposed statement, which we should get in a couple of weeks I hope.

 

pim

[lil_me]

Welcome back, sorry to hear about this, it makes me dread posting the letter I have done to the LEA tomorrow.

 

All I can do is wish you the best of luck in getting this sorted

 

<'> Take care

[barefoot wend]

Kathryn

 

Pleased to see you back!

 

Words cannot begin to express the disgust I feel with your LEA. You are right, I think they have deliberately made things as drawn out as possible.

 

It really saddens me to think that there are children, like your daughter, who need help and who are being denied it so blatantly.

 

I wish you loads of best wishes with the battles to come.

 

Barefoot

[oracle]

Hi Kathryn,

 

What a set of - really nasty people - you are dealing with

 

I hope that IPSEA can expose your LEA they certainly deserve it

 

It is however good to see you back here.

 

<'> Carole

[nellie]

Kathryn <'> <'>

 

It's good to have you back, you were missed.

Just remember you have not failed, the system has!!!! We are all here to support you in any way we can.

 

Nellie <'> <'>

[Kathryn]

Thnks for your support everyone. No I didn't defect or go on holiday! When I wasn't hiding under the bedcovers I was working. A holiday would have been the pleasanter option - (we did manage a few days away at the parents in law though. )

 

I have been puzzling over whether the LEA are nasty, stupid or both. It's disheartening that after months and months of hammering home the basic info about ASD, the LEA official who has been hearing all this apparently told our connexions adviser, "oh L is fine now", as though everything she suffered in the past year was just a temporary blip and the autism has just gone away. Can people who work in SEN really be that ignorant?? It is scary, if so.

 

I'd like to see them defend this at tribunal. The whole Note in Loo is a complete contradiction - spelling out all the SEN provision L needs, and then saying at the end that this assessment was done before her improvement and so no longer applies, basically, and she's now over 16 anyway, so there. They are also trying to suggest that the DX itself triggered her problems (nothing to do with the school environment of course! ) I have sent them a 4 page letter spelling out everything we disagree with.

 

I'm sure (as one can be) that this would be fairly easy to challenge, if there is any justice in this world. And I'm up for it - I would relish my day in court. But time is running out for L and the cynical ###### know it. Going down the tribunal route takes time, not to mention all the stress, although we have a very good IPSEA rep who will help us there. Still deciding on that one. Trouble is, L is now 16 and a half and this could drag on for most of the next academic year.. I am happy to go with the LSC if they can provide anything appropriate, but the trouble is, in our area it's the same old story - very little and what there is is not specific to ASD. It's not so much the academic qualifications we're worried about, she could do that kind of thing online any time, it's support with the social stuff she needs if she is ever going to gain any independence, as well as ongoing help in understanding herself and the world - after all she's had none of this and it is, incredibly, only 18 months since her dx..

[nellie]

Kathryn,

 

Just a thought. I know you have an IPSEA advisor but have you contacted NAS advocacy for advice. I know they both get the same training but the NAS might have some help and advice to offer on the ASD front.

 

You have my sympathy, you should not be in this situation.

 

Take care

 

Nellie <'>

[Beth]

Kathryn,

 

Just to say I am thinking of you <'>

 

It sounds as if you are back on your feet ready for the next round.

 

I do hope you can get some useful amunition from IPSEA or NAS and that L. is O.K.

 

All the best

 

Beth.

[Tez]

Kathryn,

 

Welcome back. I hope that you soon sort something out for L and that one way or another your LEA is called to account ffor the way that they have handled L's case. Unfortunately, the words you are using sound frighteningly familiar and I think that maybe your case is just the tip of the iceberg.

 

Don't give up, keep on fighting for what is best for L and remember that we are all here to support you.

[Sallya]

Kathryn,

they are a crumby lot, your LEA.

Good to see you back, you have been very missed.

S

XXX

[baddad]

Hi kathryn -

not even going to begin my rant over your LEA and their treatment of you and yours, firstly because it's ben's first day back tomorrow and I've a squillion things to do, and secondly because apart from blind rage i'm not sure i've anything to offer - and i guess you've had enough of blind rage for now.

Just said it in your other post, but will say it again here just in case you missed it: Welcome back. You have been greatly missed.

I know you won't take this lying down (not the 'Gimli' spirit!), so when your ready, and in your own time: UP AND AT 'EM!!

L&P

BD <'>

[puffin]

Kathryn - i don't really have anything to add - I just hope that you get the help you need from IPSEA and NAS.

 

Just one thought - do you have it written anywhere - meeting minutes/letter etc that they were writing a statement? If so perhaps you could use it as evidence that they are deliberately misleading you and stringing out the process.

[UltraMum]

Have you thought of approaching the LG ombudsman?

 

The Local Government Ombudsmen investigate complaints of injustice arising from maladministration by local authorities and certain other bodies. There are three Local Government Ombudsmen in England and they each deal with complaints from different parts of the country. They investigate complaints about most council matters including housing, planning, education, social services, consumer protection, drainage and council tax. The Ombudsmen can investigate complaints about how the council has done something. But they cannot question what a council has done simply because someone does not agree with it.

A complainant must give the council concerned an opportunity to deal with a complaint against it first. It is best to use the council's own complaints procedure, if it has one. If the complainant is not satisfied with the action the council takes, he or she can send a written complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman, or ask a councillor to do so on their behalf.

 

There's a summary of their education judgements and details of how to complain here

 

Sorry not to have been of more help.

[Suze]

Welcome back Kathryn, wish you were coming back to us full of good news.So sorry it,s with this dreadful saga,whats happened to you and your family id dreadful.The defence that she obviously has social skills because she has been to the pictures is laughable.It shows a complete lack of understanding.Thinking of you <'> <'> ...stay strong..Suze xx.

[bid]

 

Bid <'> <'>

 

Don't forget that supper invitation!!

[Kathryn]

Hi all and thanks <'> ,

 

Bid - haven't forgotten - how could I??

 

Puffin - it was never explicitly written anywhere that they were issuing a statement alas. The closest we got was at the multi agency meeting in June when I got the LEA officer to admit in fromt of everyone that if L continued in a school as opposed to an FE college the LEA would continue to be responsible for her.

 

The ombudsman is one route we are considering. Problem is, the process of complaining, appealing etc takes so long. and we need something now. This is a crucial time in my daughter's life when she should be learning some vital skills in an environment where people understand her. She is still so fragile and on medication to control anxiety and OCD (a minor detail the LEA seem to have overlooked) and as a family we are cracking under the strain of having to be all things to her all of the time. The psychiatrist from the Camhs outreach team breezes in every couple of weeks and talks to her about medication mainly and this is the sum total of the support we have at the moment.

 

(Hi Baddad, hope Ben's first day went OK.)

[UltraMum]

Kathryn

 

<'> <'> <'> <'> <'> <'> <'>

 

[mossgrove]

Kathryn

 

I am still in shockk at how you have been treated, and wish I could offer some advice that would make it better.

 

I am really glad you have come back to us.

 

Keep fighting!

 

Simon

[Kathryn]

Will keep fighting, but don't have much in the tank at the moment - just so very weary after a whole year of this - and a but shellshocked: I expected a fight over naming a school but did not thinkat this stage I would still be arguing the basics of ASD and whether or not my daughter actually has it.

 

I'm steeling myself to put in the appeal (again), just looking at the form gives me the shivers though, so I keep putting it off and doing a sudoku instead. My heart is not in it right now, and yet not to challenge it would be unthinkable - tantamount to admitting they are right.

[baddad]

Will keep fighting, but don't have much in the tank at the moment

There's a tiger in there somewhere (god that shows my age!!)...

Rest up, K. - sounds like you need a few days off. I'm not going to offer advice, 'cos I know you'll have all bases covered... What i will say is that they're wrong and you're right; so somewhere in that pile of notes you've got will be the stuff you need to show that and turn this cr*p around.

Dinner with bid and J ? Sounds just what the doctor ordered. Hope you all find the time for it soon, and post me a piece of garlic bread!

Ben's first two days seem to have gone well... a brief chat with his new 'Mizz' today, and i think she's in love with him at the moment! That's probably just a temporary high 'cos he's been behaving, and she'd heard so many horror stories, but:- touch wood.

Very, very best, and it really is good to have you back in the fold...

L&P

BD

[Kathryn]

We have received the Director of Education's reply to our MP (we asked her to write as soon as we got the decision). She had asked for a meeting.

 

He repeats the same drivel the LEA gave us, in slightly more distorted form, and says he doesn't think a meeting will achieve anything.

 

My other half doesn't think we'll get very far with the MP as she is Tory and so is the council, mainly.

[nellie]

Kathryn, <'> <'> <'>

[barefoot wend]

Kathryn

 

I'm really sorry to hear this. Am really feeling for you.

[Helen]

Kathryn,

 

I'm so very sorry that you have had to go through so much in trying to have L's needs addressed.

 

Don't give up the fight <'> , Helen xx