DS is five and is in first year at primary school in Northern Ireland. He has been diagnosed with autism. He also has low tone and seems to have a terrible attention span. The LEA turned down my self referral for a statutory assessment, which I had hoped would lead to a statement (and a classroom assistant). I am now appealing this. It seems obvious to me that DS needs a classroom assistant. He is not able to follow what is happening in class and not able to communicate effectively with peers. He is becoming increasingly anxious, waking up at night to ask about school and say he cannot attend. He is even grinding his teeth now when he asks! He also bolted out of school one day, crying and trying to cling on to every surface he could, while I carried him to the classroom.
School accept that there are problems and have now drawn up a second IEP. They have evaluated his performance in IEP period 1 as "developing well" and "moderate success", which I would disagree with. He is at occupational therapy, speech therapy, paediatrician, and has seen a dietician.
I am desperate to draw out the relevant factors which will support a positive decision at the tribunal. It seems impossible to know what to do/how to present this information when you are not in education and seems like you are very much on your own.