Doesn't meet CAMHS critera, referral refused.

[fleshmarketclose]

So where do I get help for dd?
Dd has autism which is currently manifesting as anxiety, social phobia, school refusal etc etc. Saw GP who advised that school refer to CAMHS.
School referred and referral has been refused fundamentally because of the autism not being within the criteria for support.
Have appointment now for GP again but how can I get support for dd who needs help if CAMHS won't see her because of the autism and there is no service for support for autism locally?
There is support for learning difficulties/disabilities which CAMHS consider autism to be but dd doesn't meet criteria for support from there either as academically she is too able.

[Freespirit70]

My GP referred my son to a paediatrician who then saw possible needs and she made the referral to CAMHS. We are waiting to see them. But I have been assured that for they refuse to assess based on the amount of ticks we put in their stupid boxes even go back to the Paediatrician as if he/she requests those tests. Camhs can’t ignore.

[SealSong]

Don't blame CAMHS for their criteria, it's the local CCG (clinical commissioning groups - made up of GPs etc) which decide in each area what CAMHS can and cannot do and what budget they can have to provide services.

However, I know me saying that does not help your situation OP. I suggest you go back to your GP and ask for a second referral, which emphasises the mental health concerns rather than the ASD. Many CAMHS are not commissioned (by the CCGs) to provide after-diagnosis input for ASD except where there are mental health difficulties present also.
The other thing to pursue is this - if your DD is unable to attend school due to their anxiety, and is still on the school role, the school should do a referral to a service in your area which provides eduation (sometimes in the home) to children to unwell (physical or mental health) to attend school. In my area this service is called the medical needs team, but it may be called something different in your area. The local authority has a duty to provide education to your child.
Also look out for local parent/carers groups who may be able to offer you some support and advice, and check out if the National Autistic Society has a service in your area.
Good luck.

[fleshmarketclose]

I've seen the GP who has made a second referral to CAMHS, he seems pretty confident that the referral will be accepted but if not will refer dd to a paediatrician who will refer her to CAMHS and that referral will be accepted apparently. I've also been offered support through Young Minds so don't feel quite so helpless just now.
For me, I think dd needs to come out of school for a while because I can see the effect that school demands are having on her. I don't want to home school though so contemplating pushing for home tuition. She hasn't managed a full week in school in the last six weeks and it's getting more and more difficult every morning, She is also struggling to eat and sleep.
Being year 10 and dd being a high achiever there seems to be a huge reluctance to lessen the demands placed upon her which might help but school seem so focused on GCSEs that they don't seem to grasp that there is a very real possibility that dd will be out of school for a long while if we don't make it easier for her to be in school. Simple things like she isn't coping with tests just now, I say stop the tests for now, school say if they don't test she wont get the practice for GCSEs and the teachers won't know her progress so instead dd misses days to avoid the one hour assessment My argument that it would be better to miss a one hour test than a full day falls on deaf ears.

[IamtheOrpheliac]

I just wanted to stop and say that there is hope! I was in the same position as your DD at that age (down to the not getting help for mental health issues because of ASD diagnosis), I am now 24 and out the other side.

I hope that CAHMS accept your referral, they should, since your DD is being referred because of mental health, not because of ASD. If the referral goes through, CAHMS can work with the school on things like stopping the tests and having alternative arrangements. In the meantime, do you think your GP would be willing to write a note for your DD explaining that she should be exempt from tests for now?

Does your DDs school have a SENCo? When I was at school my Head of Year and Headteacher weren't so great with making exceptions, but I had the most amazing SENCo and a really good TA who would fight my corner. I used to be allowed to sit in the library if there were class tests I couldn't cope with/lessons I couldn't deal with. I don't know if that would be an option for your DD, but it might be worth mentioning. You're totally right, better that she misses a test than a whole day! Surely teachers can get an idea of her progress from her classwork.

[Freespirit70]

We have been waiting a year to see Cahms and before that a year to see the Paediatrician at which time my son has been out of school since last December. No support. No help. So I de-registered him. The experience I’ve had so far of Camhs has not been positive and the psychiatrist I spoke to was not helpful at all. All ticking the same boxes, filling out the same forms again causing my son more anxiety. Regardless who makes the rules. The system is failing.

[dangerrabbit]

Try speaking to the school. Do you have a CAF in place? Your family may be able to access help through youth support or family support. Or you could check what children's charities there are in your area. Any that specialise in autism?

[CrochetBelle]

Ridiculous. Our CAMHS also don't treat anyone with a diagnosis of ASD, as everything is considered an 'understandable part of their ASD diagnosis' [anger]

Can I suggest approaching individual services for advice, so Ed Psych, OT, SLT etc.

[RedRubixCube]

I'm in a similar position to you op. GP useless, DC is on waiting list for Communication disorder team for the last year. The system is shit

[Freespirit70]

Because we have had to Home ed and we don’t have an EHCP we can’t access the services even with the diagnosis he has now. He has been in the system since he was 2 and her age 13 the paediatricians said how can he go so long without being diagnosed. I said no idea I’ve been fighting for 10 years. Can’t get any help with charities at all. And I am also disabled. We get no support. He will be offered one speech therapy appt but no other as in my borough they only go into mainstream school so if you are home ed due to failings of the system we are still failed. It’s very unfair. And then if we do apply for an EHCP when we get all the definitive diagnosis the system can then force my son into school. So ur dammed if u do and ur dammed if u don’t. And the Camhs in my borough said they don’t give appointments they assess from the questionnaires. Even though paediatrics have met my son and want him tested. It’s an absolute joke and all down to money. No care for the child at all. And as everyone knows no 2 ASD kids are the same and actually we don’t want to tick bloody boxes. We just want a diagnosis. Sorry it makes me so angry. A non verbal child until age 7 and still no help. I had to pay for speech therapy too as my borough discharged him down to funding. I mean u couldn’t make it up really.

[fleshmarketclose]

Danger no CAF as we don't "meet the criteria" apparently. In a way I can understand as dd's school has lots of children and families with lots of problems and dd has a close and loving family, a nice warm and clean house and enough money to ensure her needs are met however I'm not sure just where I am going to get help for dd.
I spoke to Educational Welfare when the refusal started taking hold and fundamentally they weren't all that interested and said it would have to be an awful lot worse before they would become involved and if I was working with school and trying to get her help then there would be nothing much more they could suggest.
It feels as though health don't want to know because of the autism and education don't want to know because it's not going to be a quick and easy fix. Dd seems to fit in a void where they can all shift the problem as being not within their criteria.

[RaindropsAndSparkles]

This is why the BHS is a mess. CAMHS refuse referral so GP has to rerefer and if that doesn't work GP has to refer to a paediatrician to refer as that way the child will be seen. It would be cheaper and better for the child if CAMHS accepted the first referral. Think what the wasted money spent on triplicate referrals would cost.

When my dd was referred to CAMHS they explained how busy and short of money they were and it was the government preventing them providing good enough care. Well, we arrived at 9.15 All the CANHS offices were empty. We watched the staff arrive from 9.20. In a team of 10, 10 x 20 minutes = 3 hours per day. 15 a week. How much lost help does that add up to. Often this team didn't answer the phone after 4.45 either.

If a 9-5 service is advertised it has to be that minimum. 9-5 isn't acceptable anyway it doesn't suit the patients, it suits the staff. Overworked and under resourced? I saw no evidence of very much work at all from our local CAMHS team. I saw incompetence, laziness and gross disorganization.

We paid to support our teenager. There were no other options on the NHS but There was a neck of a lot of money being wasted.

Complain to your MP OP. That shifted things here.