School denying diagnosed SEN. Where to turn?

[CanYouSeeWhatISee]

DS10 (11 in August and moving to high school in September) has recently been diagnosed with Autism. His 3 year old sibling also has an autism diagnosis but his is much more pronounced.

DS10’s school have repeatedly told me they don’t believe he is autistic and they would never support the diagnosis because he is sociable; their responses throughout the assessment support their view that he is not autistic.

DS is a lovely boy and he is very well behaved but his sensory needs are impacting our whole family and this was the reason for the referral for assessment.

He is constantly on the move whether it’s running , jumping, spinning , shrieking, hitting, crashing in to things etc . It makes doing any very small task exhausting. The whole experience every day is exhausting. He can sometimes be calm if he has a sensory toy in hand but he still shrieks and is unpredictable. He also does dangerous things in order to get some sensory feedback.

The constant movement and noise also upsets his little brother who can not stand it so it adds to the battles.

DS10 was assessed by an educational psychologist who could see how anxious he is in school and explained to his teachers that he is trying hard to mask his need to seek feedback.

DS10 was then referred for a sensory assessment and both myself and his school were sent forms. I’ve received a copy of the forms in the post yesterday and unsurprisingly the school’s responses are opposite to mine and DH’s. DS10 has now been discharged with no further action needed.

We are frustrated to say the least. I understand school can only write what they see in the classroom but I feel they think I’m lying or exaggerating.

WIBU to ask for DS10 to be seen again?

DS10 school do mention to me frequently that DS is often easily distracted and messing around . They have made some adjustments for him so they are not completely oblivious but insist he’s fine.

You can. It might be best to give specific examples of situations where you observe the behaviours outside of school.

Well firstly I would complain about been told he doesn’t have autism.
Schools don’t diagnose for a reason .

Did the Educational psychologist give any recommendations ? Ask them to implement them if so .

Who diagnosed him? If it was a private psychologist the school won’t accept the report - it have to be NHS or school psychologist.

New school or old school? Talk directly to SENCo at the new school. That's the person you need on board.

Who diagnosed him as autistic?

Is it possible he had adhd as well as autism? I have a sensory seeking son with both adhd and autism and he's a model student - meds for adhd really help the bouncing around. (And if he is masking - he longer needs to mask the hyperactivity when at school, and can concentrate on learning)

I'm actually so cross reading your post. Can you contact thr service that sent the ed psych??

If the assessment was carried out according to NICE guidelines with a MDT the school have to accept the diagnosis. How can they know better?

Who diagnosed him? The nhs or someone you paid? Schools generally discount anything other than nhs because if you pay there's a conflict of interest

This is awful OP but sadly not surprising. I’m not hugely knowledgeable in this area as we’re currently at the start of seeking a diagnosis for DD but isn’t this where an EHCP comes in? Forgive me if this is wrong.

Was it autism or ADHD?

Apply for an EHC needs assement as school are clearly not meeting his needs by denying that he even has a need. It's easy to apply for yourself, just send a letter and evidence from appointments to the sen department at the local council. Also apply for a Subject Access Request (SAR) from the school, that way you get any documentation relating to him and you can use that as evidence for the EHC, you can send it in after you've applied.
The high school senco may be happy to help as it means more funding for them.
As part of the EHC needs assesment you can ask for him to be referred to an OT again. The O.T. is supposed to go into school to assess the child, not just go by what the school has written on a form.

@Ilovealido unlikely to require an EHCP as he is masking / coping with school. Not all children with diagnoses require an EHCP but are instead on the SEND register with an agreed plan of support, interventions and adjustments in place but this is not an EHCP.

I agree they you need to get the secondary school on both are, I assumed you were talking about current school.

Schools are generally bad at supporting autism and other neurodiverse pupils. I'd challenge them about why they feel they can dismiss the diagnosis of a trained medical professional, what experience gives them the authority to do so?

OP’s DS isn’t coping in school otherwise he wouldn’t be so anxious. It is possible to get an EHCP for DC who mask in school.

Schools are generally bad at supporting autism and other neurodiverse pupils

I disagree.

But I very much think that main stream schools aren’t the right environment for ASS children - the chaos, noise, constant changes, etc just doesn’t suit their needs.

What people should be pushing for is quiet schools for children who struggle with the madness -

There shouldn't be though.

What if someone has private health insurance and their child is diagnosed with diabetes or asthma via it?

Can and should a school refuse insulin or ventolin because it's a conflict of interest?

That would be very unprofessional! If a highly qualified doctor in the field of autism gives a private diagnosis it would be no different to a NHS diagnosis they give (just quicker and avoids several years of waiting list limbo).

Local Authorities often spread the myth that private diagnoses aren't as reliable as those on the NHS, but they are laughed out of court by tribunal judges who know that legally a diagnosis from a qualified professional is valid regardless of whether you paid for it or not.

Not all are.

My ds first secondary - small and claimed they had expertise in asd were dreadful. They thought asd meant a particular presentation. They destroyed him.

I got an ehcp and his next secondary school were amazing. They worked with me and communicated well. And when we disagreed over approaches we discussed it as adults.

Schools and LAs are not allowed to have blanket policies of refusing to accept independent assessments and diagnoses just because they are independent, and if a parent appeals to SENDIST they certainly do consider independent assessments.

Thanks for the feedback about EHCP’s. My DD also masks a lot at school & the school have so far been very dismissive about the possibility that she is autistic. It’s so disheartening to know that even with a diagnosis there can still be difficulty getting a school to accept it! I’ve heard the same from others.

I am bit confused about who diagnosed him as both myself and my children are neuro diverse and I know an educational psychologist can not diagnose a child with autism only a psychiatrist can. Which is why maybe the school is not accepting the autism?
please google infant reflexes not going dormant as this can also be a reason for sensory overload.

I actually have experience of a similar situation. A child in my class of similar age a few years ago went through the assessment process (a few times I believe) - though the difference in this case is that there was no diagnosis in place. They had the sensory assessment and the psych wanted my input about any sensory needs they were displaying at school. I said I had observed them running in circles on one occasion on the yard, but other than that, they weren’t displaying any sensory seeking behaviour at all. I even went as far as to make some sensory breaks/items available in the classroom so as to encourage not to mask - but they did not take me up on this.
The parent was most annoyed with me but I couldn’t lie!

Its not though.

Lots of people saw the recent Panorama programme. Some private diagnoses aren't worth the paper they are written on.

That's why some schools and GPs don't accept them.

I agree, we were told by CAMHS only a psychistrist can give the diagnosis.