To take my SEN child to the beach?

[coronaandtired]

DS is 7 and autistic and we live ten minutes from the beach. He is struggling greatly with being made to stay at home and is used to going out to the beach park etc every day. He also has sensory needs and obviously the beach provides a lot of input.

I'm not sure what the guidance is for SEN kids or if they are exempt from the 'only go out for exercise or to buy meds/food' rule. I wouldn't take DS unless I knew they were exempt, so don't think I'm going to just load him into my car and drive down there!

Just wondering if anyone has heard of a relaxation of the rules in this regard?

as someone who lives a couple of minutes walk from the beach but hasn't been going there for exercise because everyone in the world seems to be I would say please don't. The beaches are busy enough with people who do live here and for whom this IS their local exercise area and there are people still driving here and parking in residential roads as car parks are closed. Some of us DO understand children with special needs needing to go out but many of us are adapting to try and avoid putting anyone at risk.

@nonicknameseemsavailable is it really that busy that you can't possibly stay at least 2 m away from people? The police haven't done anything about it? Or the council?

I saw this earlier and thought of this post

on the beach itself you can keep away from people but we live in an area with cliffs so you have to go down set paths and steps to get down there, you can't keep 2m apart whilst using those

the car parks are all closed but there are still cars and camper vans parking on the roads. Police are trying but we have a huge stretch of coastline with a lot of entry points

Why do you need exemptions? Take your DC to the beach he can exercise and run around there. If you're worried about people then go when it's quiet, you live very nearby so you must know the quiet times. Or if you mean it's 10 minutes drive as opposed to 10 minutes walk well the walk can be part of your exercise, especially if it's a quite scenic walk. Again, go out when it's quieter.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do

No. 15.

Are there any other alternative open spaces that are safe for your child with additional needs (eg away from traffic if that applies to your dc etc) for exercise within walking distance from your home?

If not then from the way I’m reading and interpreting guidelines you will be able to explain your reasons to police officers and it would be considered allowed.

However if there are large green open spaces or safe walking trails around your home then now you should remain within your local area and not travel for exercise.

I’d would research and make a decision based on your local areas.

You can leave home for a medical need so this can include people with disabilities who need specific exercise.

I’m not surprised to see the complete lack of understanding of some posters to the needs of disabled children though particularly in the earlier part of the thread. Just typical of the attitudes and prejudice our kids face all the time. Depressing.

Someone I know has posted about it on FB along with a whinge about "how is this fair!?”

For fucks sake, some people really are cunts.

It’s not “fair” my child has autism and mental health problems but he still has to deal with it for a lot longer than lockdown will exist for any of us!

Anyway I hope the beach helps your LO. My son loves being by the sea, the sensory input from the noise of waves etc really benefits him but it’s the best part of an hour’s drive to a beach for us, so we won’t be going in lockdown

The clarification has helped, but it is hard to find open spaces that are quiet at the moment. If you can genuinely find a quiet beach where he can run about and stay socially isolated then fill your boots. Absolutely no chance of that round here, especially with this good weather & over Easter weekend, and "exemptions" or not we stil have to keep 2m apart. So we are sticking with pavements as it's the only way to keep DS reliably away from other people. Sensory circuits made in pavements with chalk seem to be popular at the moment.

It’s not “fair” my child has autism and mental health problems but he still has to deal with it for a lot longer than lockdown will exist for any of us

There will always be dickheads out there who seem to think we've won the Life Lottery by having a disabled child - free money, free car, free pass for slack parenting, and now a Get Out Lockdown Free card too.

And yes, I deleted the person who posted on FB whinging "how is this fair!?" Obe thing handy about this whole situation, it makes twats easier to identify.

New guidance/clarification OP thought it might be helpful: www.autism.org.uk/get-involved/media-centre/news/2020-04-09-guidance-on-exercise-coronavirus.aspx

There IS an exemption. Some people apparently can’t read

www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/government-clarifies-outdoor-exercise-limit-following-jr-threat/5103839.article

Yes you can OP.

Did the OP come back?

No, did you expect her to after some of the replies?

Interesting although the guidance says you can only go out once a day for exercise that is not the law (save for Wales).

In England for example the The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 state

6.—(1) During the emergency period, no person may leave the place where they are living
without reasonable excuse.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), a reasonable excuse includes the need—
(b) to take exercise either alone or with other members of their household;

I am not suggesting that people don't follow the guidance but it would be helpful if the law and guidance were the same.

No, did you expect her to after some of the replies?

Some OP's do even after a roasting

Not many do when it's an entirely undeserved roasting.

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/14/uk-coronavirus-rules-autism-learning-disabilities-lockdown?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Pages_Manager&fbclid=IwAR2e1vc6GE1M9jXWN28sXm6rExGjkeKpxG7VZCUoQGFLfu2q-yz-qkG7FR0#maincontent

Hi. I may be late to the party here .. but there are exceptions for SEN. I.e if they are used to going out twice a day it’s fine to keep it up for routine as long as SD rules are applied etc ...