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?

This, but you need to ensure that it is a therapist with qualifications and experience in sensory integration - not all OTs have that experience.

@CabernetSauvignon This is my worry with DS10. He has already had days off of primary school because he’s been “poorly” but it has been anxiety. He has had weeks of feeling very down and I’ve taken him out for a day just to give him some TLC. Even though I have mentioned this to his school, they don’t seem to notice at all.

Given that your son has presumably finished SATs and isn't doing a whole lot in school at the moment, I wonder if it's worth just taking him off the school roll for the rest of the term? Is it feasible to home educate for a few weeks? You can keep it to a pretty relaxed curriculum.

I think you're right to leave applying again for assessment till your son has started at secondary school. Obviously the current school isn't going to provide adequate evidence. You need to talk to the secondary SENCO in advance to try to get as much support as possible in place and give a little time for any initial honeymoon period to be over, and maybe apply after half term.

SOS SEN and IPSEA have some good information on their websites, and I found SOS SEN's booklets on assessment and EHCPs really useful.

@CabernetSauvignon

You seem very angry and have suggested home schooling despite not knowing the OP and ever seeing her son in school or out.

I'm sorry for all that you have been through to have turned out like this.

I was going to ask what you suggest happens to all these young people who suffer with sensory overload but you've done that yourself. Home school. 👏🏻 Let's hope these parents can manage that on top of the current cost of living crisis etc.

It's clear I was replying to your comment

All children 'mask' in school. That's pretty normal conformity right there.

Ergo you shouldn't confuse autistic children masking to "all children".

I'm not angry. You have come up with some really weird interpretations of my posts.

I put forward home schooling as a possibility for OP a few weeks only at a point when her son won't be missing that much in school and in response to her saying that he is showing anxiety and the school is paying no attention. If he wants to go in, fine, but why force him when it is just causing him anxiety and he is in a school that just doesn't seem to recognise or do anything to help with what sound like major sensory problems? Only you know how you manage to interpret that as me suggesting home schooling is the answer for all children with sensory difficulties.

As for what happens for children with sensory overload, in a well-run system they would have competent assessments by appropriately qualified occupational therapists and schools and local authorities would follow their advice. For some children, that may mean being in a smaller school environment, for some it requires variations on developing strategies, wearing headphones etc, having a quiet space to go to, having a sensory diet, having clinic treatment, etc etc; advice needs to be tailored to each child.

I don't think you should let it drop - I think you should ask the school immediately why he is on the SEN register without an individualised education plan and demand a meeting immediately. At the VERY least he is entitled to additional transition support to secondary. Every SEN child should be discussed senco to senco and offered different provision based on SEMH needs.

The benchmark for a parental request for an EHC assessment is low, the child MAY have a disability and MAY require additional help from the school. Plus by getting the assessment the gathering evidence itself is very useful even if it doesn't result in an EHC.
I have a child who masks in school but didn't cope when he got home, after years of fighting we got an EHC and now he has the support in school he is fine when he gets home.

You are more likely to get one when they are about to change schools. The current school won't be as obstructive as it won't mean them having to deal with the paperwork for years afterwards. I got one for my youngest when he was in Nursery and one for my middle child when he was in year 6 (the middle one took three tribunals, refusal to assess, refusal to grant and refusal to assess) before they decided to give him one just after he started year 6.

The fact that the school isn't giving the support that was recommended in your previous report is grounds for having an EHC.