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.

He really needs support with his social and communication skills ; he can not engage with children or adults he does not know well at all and the concept of ‘’making new friends’ is alien to him.

@LostinMadness

He really needs support with his social and communication skills ; he can not engage with children or adults he does not know well at all and the concept of ‘’making new friends’ is alien to him.

With an autism diagnosis and soc/com skills being the main area of need, you’re looking at Communication and Interaction rather than SEMH as the focus of an LA Needs Assessment for an EHC plan request.

@Letseatgrandma please could you elaborate? I’m really confused about it all

Yes,

My DS has a 32 5 hour funded EHCP. Primarily for SEMH, however he has other complex needs I.e. learning difficulties, is somewhere on the ASD spectrum (very likely PDA) and needs lots of support. Oh, and he's also on his 6th school already and is still in KS1. Out to be in a specialist SEMH placement but isnt.

Because your lad has a dx of ASD, then an ECHP is very likely to go down the ASD pathway instead of the SEMH pathway. The threshold for assessment is low I.e. you need to be able to prove that he MAY have additional needs that require a more precise and targeted response. Reality is most LA's ignore that though.

What support is your DS getting in school over and above what other dc have? That's usually a good starting point to prove to the LA that he needs extra support.

Ds has an ehcp which although he has very complex needs on the whole a big part of it is around his social and emotional needs. His does specify full time 1-1 but it was a massive fight to get that as a clear provision and not just some wooly goal. He is in year 6 now and wouldn’t be able to access school without his 1-1.

[quote LostinMadness]@Letseatgrandma please could you elaborate? I’m really confused about it all [/quote]
The 2015 SEND Code of Practice outlines the 4 Broad areas of need for SEN-cognition and learning, communication and interaction, Physical/sensory and SEMH. Your post was about how you wanted an EHC plan for SEMH, but it actually sounds more like it’s a C+I need.