Asking for an exception to the 'water-only' rule at DD's school?

[Lem0ndrizzl3]

I know there's another discussion about water at school at the moment but it didn't really apply to my DDs situation. DD is starting primary school in September and she will not drink water. At all. She is autistic and has a lot of sensory issues around food and drink.

She currently attends half days at nursery 5 days a week and she is sent with water every day but will not even have a sip. She is always so thirsty when she gets home and I'm really concerned about her going all day without a drink.

I understand the issue with squash in the classroom but I'd even be happy to bring in a drink at lunchtime every day if it meant she wasn't getting dehydrated. Would this be an unreasonable request??

Also she has difficulties around eating at nursery. Most days she hasn't touched her lunch, even with lots of encouragement from the nursery assistants. Any suggestions on making sure she eats at school?

Sorry if these questions seem ridiculous, I'm just scared about the transition to primary school and I've been trying to contact the SENCO but I've had no luck.

You’re right, most adults won’t be aware so why not use it as an opportunity to educate rather than throwing arms up in disgust.

Well done, you're clearly a superior human being.

You’re right, most adults won’t be aware so why not use it as an opportunity to educate rather than throwing arms up in disgust.

It falls on deaf ears. There are multiple examples over both of these juice v water threads. I'm disgusted because it doesn't matter how many times it's said, people just have a simplistic view which places blame on parents.

I'd guess that's a reasonable adjustment as per the Disability Act, presuming she has a diagnosis. Not drinking all day is detrimental to her health.

Because I'm sick of educating others. It's not like the word autism isn't everywhere now. If they won't educate themselves, they can f right off with their ignorance and judgemental sht. It's difficult when DCs are very young and you're just getting used to this whole new world you've been thrust into, but, honestly, the best thing you can do is treat them all with bloody contempt and focus on being the advocate your DC needs. That is where all your energy should be, because that is where all your energy goes.

Update - I met with the SENCo at the nursery who is speaking with the primary school SENCo about DD tomorrow. She feels that reasonable adjustment should be made and will mention it to them. And that they will also discuss what they've tried around food that hasn't been successful yet. She's going to give me an update tomorrow.

There had been some discussion about applying for an EHCP for DD, but nursery doesn't think it'll be necessary as the interventions put in place by SALT and themselves have made a massive difference. I don't know how I feel about this tbh. I know DD's support needs aren't as high as some other children with ASD, but she still needs quite a lot of support (mainly social, emotional and transitional). I'm just worried about not having a more concrete plan for her.

I suppose it'll be up to the SENCo at the primary school.

Equality Act, not Disability Act.

We used volvic sugar free strawberry flavoured water for DD. You will have to have a discussion with the school, some are more strict than others.

No. It is not up to the Senco. YOU as the parent should apply for it. Never allow a school to take the lead as there are deadlines to meet

Why do I, and other autistic people/parents of autistic children need to educate others? Their ignorance isn't my fault and they should know better, at least, than to declare that something could be done to "fix" the issue. Would they tell a depressed person to "just snap out of it"?
The other thread has one particular poster spouting the same uninformed, insulting nonsense. They've been asked numerous times to be constructive in their replies and told they're wrong (saying autism doesn't warrant giving an alternative to water), and they just continued to laugh along and argue with actual autistic people who told them how our of order their posts were.

Just to repeat what iRun2eatCake said, you can apply for assessment for an EHCP. It helps if the school is supportive and they can also apply instead, but it’s not their call, it’s yours. If the school isn’t particularly proactive, then if you apply yourself, you can start the ball rolling.