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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To take DD to our GP about school not supporting her?

30 replies

theferry · 20/03/2025 21:45

Apologies, this will be a long one and I’ll try to cover everything.

I don’t know if it makes a difference, but we’re in Scotland.

DD is 14. She’s been on the waiting list for an autism assessment for almost two years and god knows how much longer that will take. I fully believe that she is ND, as do her teachers. It was the school that referred her to CAMHS.

The school has been supportive of her and has various measure in place to help her, including having a room she can go to if she gets into a meltdown. She uses it quite a lot. However, when i spoke with her teacher on Monday, they are planning on withdrawing that support next year on the basis she will be doing her exams and needs to be in classes and they now believe she’s not that badly affected anymore. There was an insinuation that she is making it up.

We've also had communication about her attendance (sitting at 80%). There are times when she gets so upset that I refuse to leave her at school to suffer. She gets so overwhelmed by everything very easily and so distressed.

I’ve also had reason to worry about her MH. She’s self harmed and expressed suicidal plans in the past. Since she’s had this room to go to at school, she’s been much better. I really worry she is going to slip backwards again.

AIBU to take her to our GP about her mental health? She’s seen DD before about this and I think she would be supportive. But what can she do to help? Would a letter from the GP help us with keeping the support ? And would it help with getting them off our backs about attendance? She was in such a bad way a few years ago and I don’t want for her to go back to that. I don’t know what to do and whether going to the GP might make things worse.

OP posts:
BeagleHound1 · 20/03/2025 22:10

GP can’t sign off kids from school

theferry · 20/03/2025 22:07

Many thanks for the posts. Could the GP sort of sign DD off school? ie they wouldn’t be on our backs about attendance?

@CatsWhiskerz no communication from them. It took a year for CAMHS to even accept her on it the list. I’ve been told a minimum of two years.

OP posts:
CatsWhiskerz · 20/03/2025 22:01

Both my children are like this a supported well by school, in fact DD16 sounds very similar and is taught from home via school paid teachers and online lessons!
Speak to the SEN team, and I'd also be discussing safeguarding as it's putting her at risk of self harm. Also find out from the local hospital when her appointment is likely to be if you've had any communications from them yet? Does your paeds appointment go through a certain route like Small Steps or such? Did she have an external nurse specialist come to school to assess? Try all of these routes - good luck

wonderstuff · 20/03/2025 22:00

I think you’d get more support by having a meeting with school, I’d want to know exactly what the plan is and why, I’d want to express concerns about the support being withdrawn and find out if there’s a back up plan or if there’s a way things can stay in place. If you don’t agree after that I’d push for educational psychologist referral. I am a secondary senco in England and I don’t find GP letters in these sort of circumstances helpful, the GP won’t know the child very well, and won’t know what the school can and can not provide.

LasVegass · 20/03/2025 21:53

I don’t think it would make things worse but equally I don’t think the GP would have enough info to support your DD not attending school.

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