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?

The link you provided was for adults, it says so right there in the link. I didn’t say a psychologist alone could diagnose, I was pointing out your link was for adults and a psychiatrist wasn’t essential to a diagnosis.

I have sox autistic children one private 5 nhs not one saw a psychiatrist.

*six

Then yes the school cannot simply refuse.

If the MDT gave a diagnosis despite the school not supporting it it would suggest that the medical evidence/observations were compelling.

Request another EHCNA and appeal if refused. The majority of appeals are successful. LAs rely on parents giving up.

Do they usually overturn a decision not to give an EHCP at appeal? I thought that had a very low success rate in comparison to assessments?

Sorry. I misunderstood what you were saying. I only wanted to clarify that Psychologists cannot give the diagnosis by themselves.

If you have an MDT assessment from within the NHS, I would be making a formal complaint if they are continuing to dispute the diagnosis and not making appropriate adaptations. Contact SENDIASS to support you.

Also, the NHS contracts out some of its autism diagnoses to the private sector. Various different types of professional can give ASD diagnoses, if they have completed the right training, such as OTs, speech therapists and social workers. There are various different assessments and it is hard to be allowed to do the training and certification for them - the most prestigious ones require professional referees to vouch for you and a considerable amount of relevant experience.

The majority of all appeals are upheld, the success rate for refusal to assess is slightly higher than refusal to issue but it is still the majority. This article (and the statistics linked if you’re interested) is worth a read.

DD was diagnosed with ADHD and it wasn't a psychiatrist that diagnosed her it was a pediatrician at our local hospital.

I had no idea about the success rates for appeals thank you. I do not want his current school involved in the process so this is something I will consider for high school.

Hes not doing that at school though OP? So unless they are reporting concerns and he is coping at school, meeting attainment levels, there’s not much else you can do as regards to an EHCP at the moment.

They do have to make reasonable adjustments though as you know, so make sure you put what you feel he needs in writing and ensure it is carried out. Complain, complain, complain if not.

With regards to the school not accepting an NHS diagnosis of Autism, I’d put in a formal complaint to Head including who said this and when. I assume you’ve shared the diagnostic report with them?

I have to say, my DS was very similar to yours at that age in terms of spinning around, running all over the place, and was totally fearless climbing trees, jumping off high walls, parkour etc. We had to take him out for runs as you would a dog! He also did this at school though and was very behind in attainment as he wasn’t interested in anything academic and lived in his head full of superheroes and monsters. He was very popular and sociable as well as he was hilarious. His primary thought he was just badly behaved. He wasn’t actually properly NHS diagnosed with ASD and a mild learning disability until he was 17. He had an NHS diagnosis of learning difficulties at 11 but didn’t meet the criteria for ASD.

Things got very hard for DS in secondary school who were horrendous with him.

You’ll have to see how he copes at secondary and apply again for EHCP assessment if there are problems. If the school refuse to engage, like my DSs did, make sure you complain very loudly up to Governors.

We had to apply 3 times for assessment from Yr 7 to Yr10 as LA kept saying school weren’t showing what support he was getting (because he got none). Had to complain to Governors in Yr10 for successful assessment and he finally got an EHCP at the end of Yr10.

I’d make an appointment with the secondary school and discuss with them before he starts, following up by email with what’s been said. I did that with DSs secondary school, fat lot of good that did, but hopefully yours won’t be as bad!

I’ve just spotted you can tag posters!

@SpringViolet he is doing it at school but on a lesser level but it is happening. The psychologist told the school that DS10 is trying to stifle his sensory needs; this would explain why he is the way he is at home. He has been seen stimming in class.

Has school actually said ‘we don’t agree with the diagnosis’ or have they said ‘we can meet his needs in school without an EHCP”?
When he got his diagnosis, did you not have a meeting in school with someone from CAMHs / paediatrics autism team to look at how to support him? That’s what happens in my LA even if they don’t have an EHCP.

His school told me during the NHS assessment that they don’t believe he is autistic because he is sociable. He’s not;, outside of the classroom he can not make friends. He goes to a boy’s youth group and whilst he loves it, he is always on his own. The group leaders try hard to include him but he is an outsider. It bothers him (and me).

Is he on the school SEN register? Does he have an IEP/Assess, plan, do, review or whatever your school calls it? This should be a termly plan that issues targets based on reports provided by external agencies where relevant, or decided by the teacher/SENDco if no outside agency involvement. They should be allow both pupil and parental voice and be reviewed termly at a meeting outside of the usual parents meetings.

I did arrange a post diagnosis meeting with the school and they agreed to some adjustments but the line was he is fine. He mostly is fine but if they did more to help him, he could be more regulated throughout the day instead of coming home desperate for sensory feedback .

Who did the referral for the sensory needs assessment? Not familiar with this as DS didn’t have one probably due to age when finally diagnosed and that behaviour stopped during teen years. Can you go back them and say he needs to be observed in school?

As recent ASD diagnosis, can you contact community paediatrician or whoever did it if different from the sensory referral and ask for advice as well?

He is on the register but no termly meetings because his school feel he does not need it and he is making progress.

He was referred for a sensory assessment by the team who diagnosed him; possibly to another team called occupational health?

If he is on the register, he is entitled to an individualised plan and termly meetings by law.

Targets do not have to be educational, they can be based around SEMH

We had this with the primary school, denied need for 3-4 years despite an NHS diagnosis for both kids.

Applied for EHCPs and the school fought us the whole way. Eldest got their EHCP in the summer term of year 6. Lasted 5 months of year 7 before having a complete breakdown and no more attending mainstream secondary. Started a specialist setting at the beginning of year 8. Academically able but really struggles socially (something that I saw happening throughout primary which the school denied).

Second child stopped coping with school half way through year 6 and never went back. Got their EHCP in the first term of year 7. By the February of year 7 couldn't cope despite the secondary really trying to help. Hasn't been back since and it's been over a year. By the time they start their specialist setting, they will have been out of school for two years. Again, academically able but just cannot cope from a sensory perspective.

Incidentally, the secondary school spotted the needs immediately and backed us regarding the EHCPs.

If I'd known then what I know now, I would have removed them from that Primary School.

However, it did feel good bumping into the head and making them aware of the expensive education my kids are now getting, despite them resorting to underhand methods to try to stop my kids getting the support they needed. An education they probably wouldn't have needed, had they been properly supported when they were younger.

Apply for that EHCP, the school won't back you but make sure you get your own private ed psych and perhaps private autism advisory teacher reports for evidence.The LA and NHS ones won't be worth the paper they're written on!

There are organisations that can help:
SOS SEN
IPSEA

Just be aware that many children like our can really struggle when they transfer to secondary. Start talking to the secondary SENCO now.

This isn't true.

Ds was diagnosed by a developmental paediatrician and DD by a SaLT in the neurodevelopmental team.

Maybe it's true for your area as all are different.