How late is to late to cancel a private appointment with a Professional.

[Theydonotcare]

NC'd
Posting for traffic.
I have an important private appointment booked for December.
I panicked ATT DD is having serious issues in preschool. We are waiting on early intervention and on the waiting list 16 months for an assessment.
As things are getting worse I booked a private assessment for December.
The issue is I can pay it but it means a really tight Christmas no fun outing or nice gifts for the other DC over Christmas.
I don't want to let the assessment lady down. How bad would it be if I asked her to defer until January.
January is a good month for us we work over Christmas lots of double time etc but bank holiday days.

I'm sure that would be fine. You'll be giving her several weeks' notice. Just ring & rearrange.

Perfectly reasonable, she should state cancellation policy in her t&cs was hich will give you an idea if expectations. But if you are moving appointment to January with at least a month's notice I would think fine.

I would tell her exactly what you’ve told us. There’s always a small chance she may defer payment until January.

Check her cancellation policy, and ask nicely

She might be counting on her wage to pay for her family, so remember loss of your appointment could make her Christmas tight (in exactly the same way as you seek to avoid). So be tactful

Depends what level of professional some you pay for afterwards so it may be worth asking her way of billing. If she accepts insurance company payments she may be used to waiting.

I think it would be fine to call and discuss changing it...but

We are waiting on early intervention and on the waiting list 16 months for an assessment.

...I don't know what the concerns are, but as support and early intervention should be needs based and not diagnosis based, you should be able to get support whilst waiting for an assessment (but not having this is often used as an excuse for not supporting fully).

What support is your little girl getting whilst waiting?

Be careful. It may not be as easy as just being able to get a January appointment. It may take much longer. I’d call and ask what the options are and see what they say before making a decision.

What support is your little girl getting whilst waiting?
Not a lot she takes all of her keyworkers time in the class, no help for SN assistant until assessment if need is complete.
Thank you all for your replies.

Depends on the profession possibly, but I think it would be fine to call now and explain situation, asking to delay appointment until January. I'm an Ed Psych (working privately) and have never had an issue if parents need to delay or cancel a couple of weeks before. Although, as a PP mentioned, it can sometimes involve a wait for the next appointment. Call and ask.

It's fine. I thought you were going to say it was today! Most people have a 24-48 hour cancellation period.

I would also ensure that the private professional is one whose report will be deemed acceptable (e.g. if it is a funding issue for extra support). Has the senco/you called for any cancellation appointments?

We have had children who have no diagnosis/awaiting assessments, for whom the senco writes support plans, and who we have got funding for, and put support in place - these things should not be entirely reliant on an assessment from professionals. Is it the senco who has said there is no help available?
How old is your dd? When will she be starting school?

If you post on the sn boards - there are some very knowledgeable posters who can help advise about accessing support.

(I work in a preschool as a 1-1 ir a variety of children and have a child who has had full support throughout his preschool/school life despite only having a diagnosis last year)

Thank you. It is a recognised assessment.
I will give her office a call today and gage the response.
The School have applied for extra help, there isn't much available without a report the waiting list is huge.
I want it complete before primary school starts so I can access services.

Do you think I could offer 500 security with the appointment, paying the rest in January for the report to be released.

Sometimes if you cancel things you ahve a 12 month wait (particularly if long free NHS kind of thing) for another appointment so I would sound her out first to see what other appointments there are.

Also check her terms and conditions as they might say you have to pay a full fee if you cancel probably depends on how close to the time - I have been booked for a lot of courses in my profession and that is the way it tends to work although you should be okay now as she can probably rebook someone into your slot rather than lose all the money she would have earned in that slot. The contract will usually decide the issue.

Didn’t you receive written terms & conditions when you booked the appointment?

No I didnt recieve any T&C. The appointment is booked for a private psychiatrist. I am not sure of the waiting lists, they are usual 6 to 8 weeks for a private booking.
I booked it 3 weeks ago, I chose December to get extra time to get the money up.
It is stressing me out trying to save the extra money this time of year.

@hazeyjane Thank you. The School have applied for AIM's which I think is senco. They are starting next month.
Her primary school is the issue, I am not sure if she'll get into mainstream or need a special school, time is ticking with new applications.

No need to offer security, just call and find out whether you can swap an appointment in January. What you're asking for is not unreasonable at all. If they're in demand then they'll probably be able to slot somebody else in early as you're giving so much notice. I'm sure it will be fine.

If her waiting list is 6-8 weeks then she probably could offer someone else a cancellation anyway.
Do you have a credit card? If you put the payment on that you could pay it off in January or February.

Have you claimed dla for your daughter? Because you could use that to pay for assessment.

The primary school need a formal diagnosis to apply for a SNA. They need to have a confirmed report by February otherwise she will not get an SNA.

Sorry I'm not sure what an SNA is (are you in the UK?)

Have you started the EHCP process?

If there are queries over whether she needs specialist provision she will need an EHCP - and starting one will trigger the process for referrals to ED Psych etc and there is a statutory requirement for these to happen within a specific time frame.

Has the senco at preschool been using any ieps? Specific my support plans? Strategies for intervention? Are any other professionals involved (Speech therapy? Paediatrician?)

It might be an idea to contact IPSEA, who provide independent advice wrt SEN, or your local SENDIASS (who are specific to each areas authority).

She can't access a special needs assistance or resource hours without a report with a diagnoses when she starts primary school in September.
The cut off date is February to apply for assistance.
AIM's are in with her at preschool but unable to diagnose.
I am in Ireland. The waiting list is 2 years for an ASD assessment.

I think you mean psychologist not psychiatrist although I see you are not in the UK so it may all be different over there.

Just check with the psychologist to see if she can cahnge the date date to one that works for you better or she might even let you pay by instalments but keep the original date if money is the only thing putting you off having it so soon.