To ask if anyone has ever been successful in getting an EHCP based on social and emotional needs?

[LostinMadness]

DS10 has ASD. Academically he is bright but socially and emotionally he is very underdeveloped and is mostly mute outside of his home environment (with the exception of a few close friends).

He is off to secondary school in September and I’m worried how he’s going to cope; he has barely spoken to another adult throughout the whole of his primary education. He also has explosive meltdowns after school and suffers from a huge amount of anxiety.

His school have put in place various things to accommodate him but we are still in the same position we have been in since reception. I’ve approached his teacher about an EHCP for more support but she has refused to start the process as we have little chance of success.

AIBU to think this is ridiculous? DS is clearly struggling but because he can meet academic targets he’s just expected to get on with it

His behaviour and worries about school are taking a toll on his mental health and it affects our whole family.

What might be in such an ECHP?

Have you tried speaking to SENDIAS? They might have some good advice for you.

Go to the principal you know your DC needs best from experience my advice is keep fighting, it is disheartening no-one else is going to do it.
Write to your MP anyone who'll help.

Can you get your gp to refer to CAMH'S for extra paperwork to back up your plea.

Have PM'd you.

Yes, I have applied for several for SEMH.

Apply yourself if you feel he needs one; the school doesn’t need to do it.

I have been involved in hundreds of SEMH EHCPs over the years. As the PP said, what is the support that you would be looking to secure with a plan?

The last ones I have had accepted have been for SEMH needs, two have been full time 35 hours support so it is possible!

You can apply for an EHCP yourself if the school won't help. Try contacting SENDIASS or you local SEN support services.

My son has an EHCP. I mentioned it to his head teacher not long after he was diagnosed with ADHD and he said that as a school they wouldn't apply for one. He said that in his experience the chances of it being agreed based on my sons particular needs would be extremely low- basically he wasn't going to waste his time. A couple of years later I mentioned it to the SENCO who agreed to help, and his EHCP was agreed with no issues. I just wish I hadn't listened to the head teacher because it would've potentially saved over 3 years of my son not getting the support he needed.

It is absolutely possible, I have been involved in provide evidence to support these for children (worked in a number of roles in schools). The last one for social and emotional needs was given the maximum hours. You know your child best but a strong case with plenty of evidence has at least some chance and I would not let the teacher put you off, it sounds like they don't want to at least try for him. The SENDCO should be more understanding, I would make an appointment to speak to them.

We have a number of children at my secondary school who are academically high achievers but have EHCPs for SEMH. I would suggest you apply yourself - we did that for both our DSs. In our experience, a good educational psychologist report is invaluable when applying.

Yes we have one for SEMH and my son at the point it was given was ahead academically (he isn't now)

Apply yourself if you think that it would be helpful to have his needs assessed and to have a legal document outlining his needs and how to support them.

I didn’t know I could apply myself . I will look in to it and contact SENDIASS.

What does an EHCP for SEMH typically include ? I have not a clue where to begin . I do know he needs a one to one TA to help communicate his needs or ask for help but what else should I be thinking of?

You can apply yourself. We have at least 1 child in school who’s ehcp is based on social and emotional needs. All ehcps are hard to get. Doesnt mean it’s not worth trying.

On some of our kids' it's strategies like opportunities for 'time out' if needed, we have a 'social support group' (it's nit called that!) at form time, teachers not putting them on the spot in lessons with questions, awareness tasks might take longer or need breaking down/explaining differently. A good Ed psych will note down strategies in their report.

My daughter does. She is academically able but is demand avoidant and explodes at school. I guess she got one as her needs make her disruptive and impossible to ignore. She has TA support in MS secondary.

So does he have a 1:1 TA at the moment?

Yes you can - though it is trickier. You can apply yourself and your probably want to look at getting your own experts in so that you can use these reports to argue what his ‘needs are’ and how these can be effectively ‘met’ in the relevant parts of the EHCP. As a parent you need to prepare evidence of how you feel he is vulnerable due to his social and emotional needs. I hope this helps. Depending on your LEA you may need a good solicitor to help you. You could do a freedom of information act to ask your LEA questions that you are interested in getting the answers to. Eg how many children with ASD in full time mainstream school within the LEA were given an EHCP without going to tribunal xx

You don't need to determine what is in the EHCP, you can say what support you'd like and you can ouch for certain things to be included but it's down to the LA to assess his needs and then put together a plan on what support he would need to meet those needs. As an FYI, the first draft is usually rubbish and they will try to offer the bare minimum but a quick trip to a tribunal usually sorts that out - the vast majority of parent who appeal, win, either outright or from the LA conceding before the tribunal date.

You can apply for a Needs Assessment yourself, IPSEA have template letters on their website. You don't need to prove why he needs an EHCP or why he needs any specific support measures, all you need to do is demonstrate that a need may exist. As he has a diagnosis, you've already met this test. I did the application for DS myself and it seeks really daunting at first but once you sit down and take it one letter/form/application at a time, its not too tricky. I'm happy to share an outline of the letter I sent to request the Need Assessment if that would help? Its not identifying to DS (I'll remove those bits) and can be adapted to whatever you want to say to the LA.

You can apply yourself, please don't be fobbed off by class teacher. I've got a super bright boy in year 11, just secured a very academic college place, his EHCP gave access to specialist provision in KS3 which at the time was really helpful.

Look at what provision is available locally, contact your county SEN parents advice service (they must have one). I'd also talk to the secondary SENCO. If he needs 1:1 for communication he absolutely needs an EHCP because that is very unlikely to be offered in secondary without a plan. I'm surprised the primary hasn't wanted to apply to support their funding. You want provision in there for the current support to continue and regular intervention to support his social communication development.

Depending on what's available near you you might consider a specialist provision, local to me theres an excellent special school and also a really good ASD provision attached to a mainstream secondary where children spend 80% of time in mainstream and 20% in the provision. Round here you can't access specialist provision without an EHCP.

Senco here. Yes, I’ve successfully applied for several. However, these have almost always been where the child has been at risk of exclusion, or their progress is very low. You need to think about how an EHCP can support your dc. In my LA, there is a move away from providing 1:1 support in the majority of cases. Plus, the aim of an EHCP is to ensure a child can make progress in a mainstream school independently as much as possible. A 1:1 for a child who is mute wouldn’t necessarily be a great idea, as they would benefit more from the correct support to develop their communication skills independently.
You can, if you so wish, apply yourself. The LA will then ask school for all evidence they hold on how your child manages in school, including academic progress. You will need any reports you may have from CAMHs or a paediatrician (whoever completed the ASD diagnosis) to support your application.

In my opinion, it may well be much better for you to wait until your dc has completed a term in secondary school, as they will then have additional evidence as to how they have coped in their setting.
Just be aware that it can take up to 6 months for an EHCP to be provided.

Mine has an ehcp and is academically able, even ahead in some areas. It’s not necessarily semh thst you need it for though, mine struggleS with behaviour, social skills, sensory etc but his primary need on his ehcp is down as communication and interaction, he can speak perfectly fine but it’s the whole interacting he struggles with.

Things they may have in an ehcp, sensory/movement breaks, ta support to explain situations and intervene before things escalate, social skills groups. There’s loads of things thst can help them access education while not actually being direct teaching if a subject

Absolutely. Both my ds's were given one on the grounds of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. We were told that we were unlikely to get one but actually got one for both with no problem (a difference was though they had their meltdowns at school rather than at home at that stage). I would really recommend applying yourself (we did) not least because you are more likely to invest more time in it than the school is able.

It does seem to be a very daunting process. Thanks so far for all of the advice. I’ve found a template letter on the IPSEA website which I’m going to send at the weekend (thank you to the pp who offered a template).

He does not currently have a 1:1 in school but I feel his needs have been a it overlooked as he doesn’t cause any issues in school. However, he is unable to cope beyond the small group of friends he has which impacts on his ability to contribute to the class or work in groups. He would rather starve than ask the lunch lady for the menu. No exaggeration!

I do have lots of evidence from all the teams he has had interventions with so I’m hoping this will outline his difficulties.

Yes. ASD diagnosed at 14. Major difficulties at 11, became a school refuser.

Now have a basic EOTAS EHCP for home tutor maths and English with therapeutic riding and 1:1 support for social preparation for future.

Getting the EHCP is only the first step, but it's an important legal step to make.

Getting the right support in place going forward and working with suppliers to get the support adapted has been
the most tricky part. It's all down to evidence.