Do I need a EHCP for my son?

[swingsandroundaboutsss]

Trying to cut a long story short..
My son is diagnosed with autism and is struggling at school. There are some things in place to help him but I'm beginning to wonder how much help they actually are.
He struggles with his emotional regulation and can get stressed quite easily. He's very impulsive. He's also very clever, in the top 10% of the class in maths and reading.
We've recently been doing some occupational therapy sessions outside of school and whilst speaking to the therapist she suggested an EHCP. We were discussing my son getting frustrated in class and one of the reasons being he always has his hand up and the teacher not being able to answer his questions. When I spoke to the teacher she said he always has his hand up and can't answer his questions otherwise she'd be stopping the class every 5 seconds. The therapist suggested the EHCP could provide 1 to 1 support and that person could answer these questions. He gets frustrated in maths because he has to listen to all of the things he already knows and the teacher needs him to be present for the last 10% of input for the more challenging activity.
I suggested the EHCP and she said she'd get back to me.
She asked me to come in for a chat after school about an overnight trip they're going on and she'd talk about the EHCP and feedback from O.T.
When I went in to the classroom my son asked her to remember about the form, she sternly replied to him "it's my turn to talk, not yours, I'm talking to parents, go and sit in the reading corner". We spoke about the trip and she tried to finish it there and said she had a meeting. I mentioned the EHCP and she said "in a nut shell, it's only provided when the school isn't meeting the child's needs and we have things such as brain breaks in place for when it gets too much for him. There are other children out in the SEN hub who have more serious, severe, visible needs that get an EHCP. He doesn't get one because he gets frustrated because I can't answer his questions. If you want to speak more then email the head of senco". She then got up, said she had a meeting so had to go. I felt frustrated, never mind my child. When I've spoke to other parents or teachers they've just said she's strict. When my son is doing everything he's supposed to she's the happiest person ever but when he's had a challenging day, she can't cope. He's basically told me he feels as though she picks on him, singles him out and entices him to get upset. That's a lot coming from a 7 year old. I understand schools are under pressure and I'm thinking of this as a way to get him extra support and take some of the pressure off them. I've spoken to the deputy head about his issues with the teacher and she said "She really likes you, in fact, she chose you to be in her class this year because she had you last year and knows you quite well already".
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't gutted he had her again. I remember one incident where he ran across the playground to me at home time and she chased him and grabbed his arm and told him off for going without telling a teacher. I said I understood but could she take her hand off him as she had no right to grab him. She apologised and then back tracked and said she never grabbed him 🤦‍♀️.
Do I request a change of class, wait until next year and hope things improve, go down the EHCP route on my own or just stick it out?

Ds is autistic, has significant MH difficulties, communication difficulties and an eating disorder. He has always struggled in a mainstream environment and had pretty much been let down by the education system, since the day he walked into reception at 4 years old. He has never had any behaviour difficulties at school though and only needs minimal 1-1 support in an educational environment.

At 18 he needs support with daily living, can't leave our home independently and his more complex needs means that he needs a special school.
Our LA pay over £74k a year for his placement and also provide taxi transport there and back every day ( it's 20 miles away).
The need for an EHCP and this particular placement was supported by a multitude of professionals including NHS but also the LA Educational Psychologist and their Head of Send. We did not need to go to tribunal to secure this placement.

Ds's GCSEs are from 2020, so he didn't actually take them but they are very much an indication of what he is capable of. In fact when I first applied for an EHCP he was at a state selective grammar school.

Many on here think that a child being academic, not needing 1-1 or having no behaviour difficulties means that an getting an EHCP or a specialist placement will be impossible and that is absolutely not the case.

Apply for an assessment now. That will have input from OT SALT EP and Camhs. That's every childs legal right who might have SEND.
Look at IPSEA for template letters.
Read the SEND code of practice.

Just be aware, if your child is able but gets a 1-2-1 TA they may not be sat on your child’s shoulder the whole lesson. It would be distracting for the teacher and the child sat next to your son or his table if they are constantly answering questions. The TA would also be used for some group interventions and general TA activities. That’s not what your child’s funding would be for but I guarantee the school would utilise that TA.

However, as others have said, now it the time to start the process to ensure their eventual move into secondary school is supported.

Just be aware, if your child is able but gets a 1-2-1 TA they may not be sat on your child’s shoulder the whole lesson.

This would depend on what is written in F. For some DC they very much are.

The TA would also be used for some group interventions and general TA activities. That’s not what your child’s funding would be for but I guarantee the school would utilise that TA.

If 1:1 is specified and quantified in F then it must be provided. If the school are not providing it they leave themselves and the LA open to legal proceedings. The parent can enforce the provision.

We are looking at applying for the EHCP ourselves and was just wondering about the assessments. What assessments will we need to get and I'm assuming we get these privately? What kind of cost are we looking at?
Also, my son is on the pathway for ASD assessment and obviously the waiting list is a long time. He's already year 4. Can we apply without the diagnosis in place?

@ofwarren You don’t need a diagnosis or assessments to apply.

If the LA agree to assess during the EHCNA they must seek advice from:
a) the child’s parent or the young person;
b) educational advice (usually from the head teacher or principal);
c) medical advice and information from a health care professional;
d) psychological advice and information from an educational psychologist;
e) advice and information in relation to social care;
f) advice and information from any other person the local authority thinks appropriate;
g) where the child or young person is in or beyond year 9, advice and information in relation to provision to assist the child or young person in preparation for adulthood and independent living; and
h) advice and information from any person the child’s parent or young person reasonably requests that the local authority seek advice from.

H can include things like SALT, OT, psychiatrist, clinical psychologist.

Unless money is no object I wouldn’t seek independent assessments before applying for an EHCNA. That just delays the process. Also, they are expensive and if you get them now but e.g. the LA agree to assess but not issue and you appeal you may find they are out of date before you get to a hearing. They used to be considered up to date for around 2 years, but over the last few years SENDIST have considered reports much younger out of date. You don’t know whether e.g. the LA EP assessment will be sufficient but you desperately need to prioritise funding an independent SALT either.

This.

Except that’s not correct. The legal threshold for an EHCNA is a) has or may have SEN, and b) may need SEN provision to be made via an EHCP. So, “might have SEND” is just one half of the test.

True. I was excited about the IPSEA recommmendation and had a whold heap of ideas of things that could support this child if a ehcp was in place so had already met both criteria in my head. Oops.

I agree, I think the OP’s DC meets both parts of the test, but if they are going to apply they should do so knowing the legal threshold.

Phone sossen or ipsea for advice.
Its a bit like getting a GPs appointment so start to phone the minute their helplines open!
You can get EHCPs for academically able pupils.
This is about his autism.
It might be worth hooking up with any local autism support groups for advice.
You can apply yourself for a EHCNA and there is a statutory 20 week time frame, first 6 weeks are a needs assessment where they decide if to do a EHCP ( although this if often exceeded).
It helps to have school on side and to demonstrate what interventions have been tried and what issues your DS is still having despite of these.
I.e running off, turn taking ,frustration, anxiety etc.
I would recommend paying for your OT to write a report with recommendations that can be incorporated into his EHCP, I would also recommend getting a Speech and Language therapist assessment with recommendations as well.

You can apply yourself for a EHCNA and there is a statutory 20 week time frame, first 6 weeks are a needs assessment where they decide if to do a EHCP ( although this if often exceeded).

The first 6 weeks aren’t the needs assessment itself. The first 6 weeks are when the LA decide whether to agree to undertake a needs assessment or not.

Apply for the ehcp. The threshold for an assessment is very low and from your first post it can be argued that he meets the assessment threshold and therefore any needs and the provision to meet them cannot be fully known without a full assessment.

Have a look at ipsea and sossen websites. They have telephone consultations for support. Ipsea you normally have to book but they used to have one on a Friday morning that you could just call in on. Sossen have times for call ins listed on their website they also have in person drop ins depending where you are in the UK. Stay clear of sendiass, they aren't always independent of the LA and therefore any advice is subject to this bias.

The fact that you are seeing an OT who has suggested an EHCP is good evidence.

Being academic is not a legal reason for an ehcp to be put in place or an assessment to be made.

Emotional support/ regulation is listed in the areas of need in the sen code of practice. OT intervention is detailed as being a health need do vital to education that it is a sen and should be detailed in an ehcp as such (wrote in section B with provision in section f specific and quantified) there is case law around this too. Safety is clearly an issue too and likely understanding social concepts.

Apply as soon as you can, he is seven years old and it may take a while to get things in place.

As part of the application state that you would like:-

speech and language assessment (social needs? Understanding language, inference, not taking things literally, theory of mind, setting up ways he can communicate things, training the teacher and possible/ highly likely ta). Have a look at the report from when he was diagnosed as this will give an indication of areas that will likely need further exploration.

OT I'm guessing you'll need a sensory assessment. Speak to your current OT and see what she recommends. Ask for her to put anything he 'needs' as setting he needs rather than recommendations including how often, by who, if any physical adjustments or equipment are required, how often he needs to be seen for how long, who will need training, who will review anything put into place. An ehcp would fund this if you are currently paying out of pocket. Does he have dyspraxia or hypermobility? What provision do these require? Do they need formally diagnosing?

Educational Psychologist, he's getting frustrated that some work isn't suitable and working at a higher level in maths. You could do with him being assessed to see what his understanding is if the work isn't straight forward or if it starts to be presented differently.

Make sure any assessments are based on recognised assessments and not just observations. All needs documented, provision to meet the detailed, quantified and specified.

Any provision shouldn't be wrote in a way that allows it to be changed without going through annual review or by saying things like x will be assessed in the future. If the nhs or other organisations the LA commission have long waiting lists they should be paying for an independent to do the assessment.

Have a think if you want a social care assessment for things like short breaks. You can ask for one at assessment as well.

You have the right to request any assessment that he reasonably needs. Are there any other areas?

You may have to go to tribunal either to get the assessment or to get the plan wrote in a legally conforming way. Don't let this stop you. Most tribunals (I think around 90/95% are won by parents znd carers). Many times you won't even get to a hearing. It's just the LA wasting time, as the longer provision isn't in place the cheaper it is for them.

Don't be afraid to make the LA keep to deadlines or to enforce any of your rights.

There are many myths around ehcps. teachers, sendco's and the LA can be guilty of perpetuating them. Many parents don't know their rights either, sometimes parent carer forums aren't the best place for info especially In regards to this.

Join Educational equality on Facebook. There is lots of great advice there.

Apply yourself, as soon as possible.

Ds plan clearly states 25 hours a week 1-1 in all lessons. He gets 1-1 in all lessons. He is year 8 now.

she may sometimes pull back when he is settled but she is always on hand

@Sirzy I appreciate I do not know your son but I think that's somewhat naive. It may state it but that's rarely the case.

It isn’t naive at all. I am all too aware that many plans aren’t worth the paper they are written on but that is why I fought to get a water tight plan and why I know school follow it to the letter.

there is a reason he has been given that level of support and school know that and why it is needed for everyone’s sake!

I think that's somewhat naive. It may state it but that's rarely the case.

It’s not naive at all. Schools and LAs only get away with what parents allow them to. It shouldn’t be that way, but it is unfortunately. If it is specified and quantified it must be provided.

DS3 has full time 1:1 including breaks and lunch specified and quantified in his EHCP. And that is exactly what he receives. If he didn’t receive it both the school (although they are supportive and wouldn’t not provide it) and LA know we would enforce it.

Just to add to the previous two posters. My ds ehcp details that he needs 2:1 at all times and 2:1 when off school premises. Fully specified and quantified. He goes to a school where all children have 1:1 at least, some are 2:1 at all times.

We have at a previous school enforced provision by issuing a pre action letter for JR (for speech therapy).

Ehcp's are useless of not written well and without parents that enforce them.

Should sat 1:1 at all times, 2:1 off site

Sadly because most local authorities do all they can to get out of providing things properly it takes a parent who is able to fight the system to get anywhere. It’s wrong and it’s by no far a comment on the parents because it shouldn’t be the case.

we shouldn’t have parents having to fight through courts simply to get what their child is entitled to. We shouldn’t have schools not being funded to provide what is needed. We shouldn’t have schools being fed lies to make them think children aren’t entitled to an EHCP. The whole system is broken and it’s children who are being left behind and every child disabled or not is being negatively impacted by the lack of funding and support for children with SEN.

No it really shouldn't. It's absolutely disgusting. Unfortunately though I believe it will get worse especially if some of the proposed reforms get brought in.

Ideally, all children should have a suitable education, they should just get what they need. However at the moment for most it does take parents who know the system (fully agree a very broken and inadequate system) to fight for their child and for those not able to for any reason, it's likely that their child won't get what they need or are entitled to.

Yes you are completely right sirzy.
Ds was let down for years and years and sadly I don't think we will ever undo some of the damage done, even with an EHCP and specialist support.

Except that’s not correct. The legal threshold for an EHCNA is a) has or may have SEN, and b) may need SEN provision to be made via an EHCP. So, “might have SEND” is just one half of the test.

Arguably the second part is only answered after an assessment from qualified professionals...I didnt feel the need to patronise her . It is quite clear the ops child meets this.
Even if you aren't successful with an EHCP this can be useful for all of you including your child.

Get your letter in to the LA and start gathering your evidence. The LA commissions the professionals just ensure recommendations are specified and measured.

They will turn you down so you appeal immediately. It will be a fight. Good luck

Posting the correct legal threshold isn’t patronising! Parents need to know the law otherwise the whole process becomes much harder. OP’s DC clearly does meet both parts of the test, but that doesn’t change the fact there are 2 parts to the test and “might have SEND” is not enough on its own.

Yes, sometimes parents can argue and prove a full assessment is the only way to find out what the difficulties are and what help is needed, but again that doesn’t change the fact there are 2 parts to the legal test and “might have SEND” is not enough on its own.

I never expected to get such support and good advice after a couple of ignorant replies, so thank you!

He only had OT for 4 sessions on the NHS. The therapist was quite shocked at some of the things his teacher was saying/doing.

He was diagnosed with hypermobility by the paediatrician many years ago. He still holds a lot of things with a palmer grasp rather than a tripod grip. When his teacher tried to get him to use the tripod grip he made it really messy. She accused him of doing it for attention when in reality, its painful for him to write in that way so he simply doesn't want to do it any longer than he has to.

He gets overwhelmed by lots of noise. Struggles with classroom discussions. He finds discos/parties at school overwhelming. I was heartbroken when he was so excited to go to the disco but afterwards he was distant and didn't want to talk about it. Shortly after he confided in me and said it was too much and the teachers were worrying because they couldn't find him and he'd locked himself in the toilet. He struggles at play times and follows his teacher around, tries to sneak inside and read a book. The other day he told me he spent the whole play time laying on the floor playing dead, he also used to tell me he hibernated somewhere.

I know there are other children in the school with more complex needs that need more support but I can't ignore the fact my son doesn't get the support he needs. His teacher basically treats him like an inconvenience and it's so sad to watch. Multiple times a day he gets sent out the class or asks to go out for a 'brain break'. He misses out and her life is easier. The other week he was sent out of P.E to the classroom where there was no supervision. When I questioned the teacher she said she didn't know he was alone and told him that next time he should go back and tell her there's nobody there. I know he can be hard work, I'm not disputing that but I also don't want him to struggle and as others have said, the transition to secondary school is going to be completely different and it terrifies me.