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?

I was just coming back to post the govt link but see it's been posted. Some posters I think need to be aware that rules do need to be adjusted for people with different needs. It's the difference between equality and equity

Meaning that children with SN may be allowed to do something that you're not allowed to do just now. If everyone did it, it wouldn't be safe. It's safe for people with SN to do it on the assumption that everyone who is able to is adhering to the rules.

I don't know why you would think there is an exemption - it is hard for people for many reasons (mental health in particular).

Except there IS an exception as detailed in the links posted.

From the updated guidelines:

You can leave your home for medical need. If you (or a person in your care) have a specific health condition that requires you to leave the home to maintain your health - including if that involves travel beyond your local area - then you can do so. This could, for example, include where individuals with learning disabilities or autism require specific exercise in an open space two or three times each day - ideally in line with a care plan agreed with a medical professional.

This is in-line with the letter given to me by our GP a couple of weeks ago stating that DS1 and DS2 may need to exercise more than once per day for medical reasons.

@KatieB55 There IS an exception! Please see post above me!

@SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius Yes there is an exception.
You can leave your home for medical need. If you (or a person in your care) have a specific health condition that requires you to leave the home to maintain your health - including if that involves travel beyond your local area - then you can do so. This could, for example, include where individuals with learning disabilities or autism require specific exercise in an open space two or three times each day - ideally in line with a care plan agreed with a medical professional.

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

I am very relieved about the exception. I'm a mum of two with additional needs. I have a blue badge, DLA, OT report and a supporting letter from Social care that I'm carrying in the car with us at the moment as she needs to access safe places that are suitable.

@HavenDilemma - you are right - there is an exception - I didn’t know about that. But I stand by my point that, if the OP can walk to the beach in 10 minutes, and can safely socially distance once there, she doesn’t need the exception, since taking her child to a local open space falls within the guidelines.

So we are both right.

SDTG, OP isn't saying she can walk to the beach in 10 minutes - she specifically refers to driving him there.

@coronaandtired

The government says you can. Look at number 15 on this list. It specifically mentions autism.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do#can-i-exercise-more-than-once-a-day-if-i-need-to-due-to-a-significant-health-condition

Dozens of posters have piled onto this thread and made up rules that don’t exist. Why can’t people check their “facts” before upsetting other posters with them?!

"ideally in line with a care plan agreed with a medical professional"

Some common sense needs to apply - would a medical professional agree that the child needs to go to the beach?

According to the Department for Education report: "The number of pupils with SEN has increased for a third consecutive year to 1,318,300 in January 2019, representing 14.9% of the total pupil population. This is driven by increases in both the number of pupils with an ECHP and with SEN support".

If 1.3m families decide that their children are exempt from the rules then that is going to cause chaos and possibly drive stricter rules for everyone.

Police around here are stopping people and asking if their travel is 'essential'.

I'm not unsympathetic OP - it must be really hard, but really only you can make the decision.

OP is only ten minutes from the beach.

I'm only 5 minutes drive from the beach and haven't been there for 3 weeks. There are no exceptions.

This thread highlights the massive lack of understanding so many people have about the variety of SEN and how some children with a diagnosis - not all, may genuinely need to be outside in a safe space more than once a day.

Many of you piling in simply have NO idea about the sensory / OT needs some children have. You seem to think it's a mental health issue - it is not the same at all.

This thread won't change your views but it's just a microcosm of the same ignorance that parents with SEND children face from people day in day out

I think that’s why it says ideally.

In Ds case his ehcp says about regular movement breaks, in the therapy side of things it discusses the need of activities to help him from a physio side of things so that could easily show why he needs to be out.

As long as people are sensible and don’t take the piss though I can’t see it being an issue

1.3 million spread all over the country, it's not like they're all contained in one area. Plus..

Out of those 1.3 mil some will be siblings, some will have needs that mean they are in the shielded group, some won't need or want to go outside.

It won't actually make a difference on a population level, but for those individual families where they and their children seriously struggle atm, it can make a massive difference to their lives.

According to the Department for Education report: "The number of pupils with SEN has increased for a third consecutive year to 1,318,300 in January 2019, representing 14.9% of the total pupil population. This is driven by increases in both the number of pupils with an ECHP and with SEN support".

A child can have a disability/Special Needs and not have Special Educational Needs. Likewise a child can have Special Educational Needs and no corresponding disability/SN. One does not automatically equal the other so of that 1.3m families, not all of them will have a child who needs additional exercise due to medical reasons.

If 1.3m families decide that their children are exempt from the rules then that is going to cause chaos and possibly drive stricter rules for everyone.

They are not deciding they're exempt from the rules, they would be operating within the existing rules. If stricter rules were brought in then it would be due to people who are not sticking to the rules. Nice scapegoating there.

I'm only 5 minutes drive from the beach and haven't been there for 3 weeks. There are no exceptions.

Item 15 on the clarifications released by the government yesterday, people with disabilities including autism who require additional exercise may go out for this more than once per day and can drive to a place where it is safe for them to do so.

This thread won't change your views but it's just a microcosm of the same ignorance that parents with SEND children face from people day in day out

So true.

If it's within walking distance you can and if the beach is within that walking distance than great. Enjoy your walk x

I will be driving today with my DS to go to a quiet area so he can walk. I will be taking our dog and a copy of his dx letter which I always carry in the glove box.

I will not be walking and I will be entirely compliant with government guidelines.

I haven’t read the whole thread so you may have already seen this

”SDTG, OP isn't saying she can walk to the beach in 10 minutes - she specifically refers to driving him there.”

Eek - I missed that, @JudyCoolibar - now I feel like a numpty!

I took my dd out today, she had been indoors for 3 weeks, today we drove 5 minutes up the road to the woods so she could have a 20 minute walk. She has a EHCP which states she has no safety awareness and needs regular OT breaks. I told my mum I had gone out and why, she was really off with me. Some people don’t understand what it’s like to be stuck indoors with a child that can not sit still, a child that’s having meltdowns and hurting herself because she hasn’t been able to go out.

OP, I hope you have taken your child to the beach and I hope it makes things a little bit easier for you both.

I don't know why you would think there is an exemption - it is hard for people for many reasons (mental health in particular).

There is an exemption.

Common sense and a bit of understanding towards people who have huge challenges to cope with goes a long way.