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?

Walk t beach and back for your exercise but if busy stay away as I expect in this whether many will be thinking the same.
(From a seaside town.)

In terms of 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. SEN kids are not immune from catching or transmitting the virus so unfortunately there are no exceptions - and nor should there be. But of course you can take him to the local beach for daily exercise OP, no reason why you couldn't. It's not like you are proposing to travel outside of your local area. Enjoy the beach, I am jealous you live so close to one!

If you live 10 mins from the beach you can go there for your daily exercise as long as when you get there if you find it's packed and
Cannot distance then you go back home

The advice is varied. On the tv an official said it’s fine to drive short distances to do your daily
Exercise but the police in my area are saying no only exercise from home.

I totally get It op. Both mine have sen and we live 5 minutes away from the beach and can’t see what harm it could do to drive there but we haven’t just in case. Where we live is quite busy with people walking around and kids out playing. The beach would be isolated 🤷‍♀️

Sadly the rules are the same for everyone. No exemptions.

I would pass the beach going to the supermarket. I’m wondering if you are allowed to stop on the way to a shop to do some exercise? I haven’t driven my car in 2 weeks though! Oh has been shopping around his shifts.

Do you think the reason why you haven’t been able to find out anything about exemptions is because there aren’t any?

Why do people still think the rules don’t apply to them?

I’m so pissed of with the stupid questions on a daily basis, ‘do these rules apply to me?’ YES THEY FUCKING DO

OP, I feel for you, I spend most weekends at the beach with my dd during the spring and summer, it’s the place I take her when she’s struggling, she has Autism and SPD, we live 45 minutes away from the beach so we can not go. It’s hard as it’s hard enough being stuck indoors with children with SEN but sadly we have to stick to the rules and stay home.

Maybe you can replicate some of the beach at home, sand, pebbles, water?

OP, the only mistake you could ever make is asking on MN.

I have been here 18 years, and it's the most batshit it has ever been.

You are obviously not going to have a mass gathering on the beach for your son (I have an autistic DS, too, though my children are older now), and you sound pretty sensible.

That being the case, I'd just do whatever works for you and your DS, and hide this thread.

When you say beach park do you mean a playground at the beach? The playground will be closed.

You can take your kid to the beach for a walk but they might not be happy that the play area is closed if this is why they like going there

You can't drive there.
That is not true. National Police Chiefs Council:
“people will want to exercise locally and may need to travel to do so, we don’t want the public sanctioned for travelling a reasonable distance to exercise.”

@ThanosSavedMe do you not think that if a SEND child had a condition that made being cooped up at home detrimental and potentially dangerous to them or their family, and driving ten mins to exercise would help mitigate that risk, then that travel could be classed as essential? Stop swearing at the OP, who's clearly struggling, and use your common sense and empathy.
OP, is it a ten minute walk? If so, then of course you can. If it's a drive, then it's trickier. Maybe speak to the local police? And some backup from your GP or child development team might help.

And please will people stop making assumptions about the rules or just making them up? It helps no one.

Go early in the morning as your daily exercise and walk there and back. Stay away from people. Easy.

One source of confusion mught be that children with an ehcp are in some circumstances still able to go to school.

@Nomorepies, so the Secretary of State for Health was lying or mistaken when he said last week you can drive to exercise? I’d take his word over yours.

I live a stone's throw from the beach.
A police car is parked up daily chasing drivers as they park up...
Car parks are signed closed and permit spaces are being watched...
Sadly op unless you can walk your dc don't come to Hartlepool..

People are dying all the time. It's not just Covid that kills people. This shouldn't be a revelation.

The death statistics overall are the same as they normally would be in this country. Because people are not dying (to the same extent as they normally would) in RTAs, for instance.

Has anyone yet produced any statistics for 'deaths by age'? I suspect the death rate has decreased in young people, and has increased in older people, but has overall remained the same.

My own family is no stranger to death. Perhaps as a result, the "people are dying" line doesn't sit that easily with me.

I live within walking distance (10 minute walk) of a couple of beaches and have been taking the dog and some of the kids every day. Car parks are open, but hardly any cars in them and I've seen police a few times. There have been a few people sunbathing(!) or sitting on benches, but otherwise it's just people like us - dogwalking or daily exercising.
My in-laws live next to a (bigger, nicer) beach and we've done our walk there on the days when we've dropped shopping/medication over for them. Police have been there both times and the car park there is closed.
My verdict - if it's walking distance, definitely fine; if driving distance, possibly fine depending on how far.

Yeah it's hard I have a,severely autistic child no.where near a beach we live in a built up.area ,but in your shoes Op I would take my child to the beach as part of my daily exercise ,I did read somewhere children with learning disabilities which my child also has are more at risk? But I don't know how true that is quite frankly I'm not taking any risks and my son is having to stay in the Garden .

The law is you must have a reasonable excuse to be outside one eg is daily exercise and another is to avoid injury. So if it avoided your child getting frustrated and harming themselves or others at home then it would be reasonable. My sen child has no spacial awareness or understanding so I have always taken him to remote places to exercise like the beach and often outside peak times so he can run freely without me always having to hover over him. He can now run faster than me and so needs safe contained open spaces. If I lived 10 mins from the beach I would definitely take him but probably try and get letter from teacher or social worker and take DLA letter and make him wear the sunflower lanyard. Unfortunately we are too far to drive but if your dc is anything like my son and gets up super early I’m sure you could go before breakfast or evenings and it would be fairly empty. My son really likes drives and so far he has been ok without them but if he wasn’t and he was starting to become unsafe to manage at home without doing some familiar activities I would get a letter from his school and take him. If you are sensible and going at quiet times or driving but not getting out the car then there is no risk and the police should be sympathetic. Personally I would go very early and be back before the police start patrolling

@littlemixarerubbish And @coronaandtired I’m sorry, maybe you caught me at a bad moment but I’m an sick to death of the daily questions where someone asks a question whether or not the rules apply to them. The swearing was general, not specifically aimed at @coronaandtired

We’re all tired, we’re all sick of being stuck in and I know it’s tougher for some people. But the rules are there to protect us all. Not just the elderly and those at risk. All of us.

So many people put themselves at risk everyday, not just the doctors and nurses, but shop workers, delivery drivers, teachers etc and now all the volunteers that have signed up to help out.

All the rest of us have been asked to do is stay at home. It’s not great, it’s harder than I thought it would be but we need to do it.

Why would he be exempt? He's not except from catching the virus is he?

But maybe you know something I don't?

Clearly the Health Secretary know something you don’t. Several police forces have had their knuckles rapped for over zealous behaviour. I understand those putting up road blocks have been instructed to find something better to do.

@senetti
I saw 597 deaths (still awful) in France today, not over a thousand as you claim, but maybe my sources are incorrect.
Regardless, i resent the implication that the high number of deaths on France is die to them relaxing the rules for autistic people!!
The relaxation of the rules only came into effect less than a week ago so will not be affecting deaths.
The lockdown in France is actually more strict than it is on England and o personally think it is excellent that they have recognized the immense struggle for autistic people. Not something you would understand unless you were living it.

If I lived 10 minutes from a beach and it was big enough and quiet enough to keep well away from people I would definitely be going there for exercise autistic child or not!