To think this guidance on the safeguarding network is awful ?

[Nurserypractitioner]

Perplexing presentation and FII :

It states in the guidance for schools to basically be suspicious of parents -specifically mothers seeking a diagnosis of ASD or ADHD and then goes on to say about parents who think their child may need an ehcp??!!

A lot of children with ASD mask at school - so if an educational setting see a different presentation that’s probably due to masking yet they are saying it’s potentially a safeguarding issue and could be indicative of FII??? AIBU to think this is dangerous advice ?

Can you leave feedback on the training material highlighting the case in this news story?

Pointing out a social services department was eventually involved in the case, and that for most people ASD and ADHD don't lead to years of vastly different blood tests and different medication.

Yes @Reugny me too.

Yet, you’ve opened a discussion and incited fear based on piggy backing. It was an example, albeit a misguided one IMO. It was part of consideration for the bigger picture.

There are some naive people on here too. There are many gains for some parents/patients in obtaining a diagnosis for their children or themselves. Financial gain is one of them, there are numerous psychological factors. Just because it doesn’t have a gain for you (because you’re hopefully !! a psychologically well adjusted person ) does not mean other people don’t utilise the process for secondary gain. It’s rare but not vanishingly rare.

Parents should be supported in seeking diagnosis and support for their child. Unusual patterns of behaviour outside of the norm should not be shut down.

I started a thread because I think parents need to know about this. It’s outrageous as far as I’m concerned and at best it’s not going to improve outcomes for SEN children at worst it’s going to cause them harm either through lack of support or family trauma when their parents are accused of FII abuse.

Such an odd example to choose to illustrate MSBP. Why choose conditions where the reality is that thousands of parents are forced to fight and fight for a diagnosis and are routinely disbelieved by schools and health professionals?

Yes exactly I think most people are aware of the need to really push for help with these conditions so parents are already exhibiting‘FII red flags’ as soon as they start asking for support 😞

I would urge SEN parents to regularly do Subject access requests to see if they are under suspicion of this - you can find SAR template letters online and submit to school / hospital etc and get a full picture of what is being said about you behind the scenes

Unusual patterns of behaviour outside of the norm should not be shut down.

Unfortunately for parents of autistic children, being autistic ourselves (as many of us are) often comes under the umbrella of unusual patterns of behaviour.
Is this fair?
Would any other disability be treated routinely with the contempt autism is?

It shouldn’t be the opposite advice really - to push assessments through asap - as only a multidisciplinary assessment by this qualified to do so would rule out ASD/ADHD. Otherowse families could be under suspicion for ages and the focus is on them and other genuine cases of abuse will be missed if there’s a focus on all the families with these kind of difficulties!

*should

I’ve found a website today called ‘Not fine in school’ and shockingly it states that 18-% of families they support have been accused of FII for exactly these kind of difficulties and/or low school attendance. It’s clearly a problem as this guidance filters down more and more will be wrongly accused ?

This is awful. Truly shockingly What provider is saying this?

Undisguised SENs and conditions can lead to carnage in the teenage years which is far more of a safeguarding risk. Given that kids can often mask neurodiversity in school and diagnosis relies heavily on developmental history from parents said provider is hugely misinformed and the materials could do a lot of damage.

My daughter was able on the surface and I battled continuously during primary. She fell apart once she started secondary and has been in and out of hospital since. Earlier diagnosis would have helped prevent this. She has 3x NHS diagnosis for dyspraxia, autism and adhd alongside an EHCP. The battle was bad enough without professionals being trained to think I was a safeguarding risk. 😡

The safeguarding network - they had a website and provide training resources to schools etc 😞

*have

So it’s not government policy?Has anybody complained about it. Surely it needs to be reported. It’s ludicrous.

Policy seems to vary between local authorities but this is the worst guidance I’ve seen. I’m going to complain about it .

Once this sort of thing filters down it will cause so much harm to children

You are soooo right. It’s ableist too. It’s ludicrous. Girls often get overlooked with neurodiversity because they mask and present completely differently at home. This policy shows such ignorance.

iI know it’s not about you personally but it might be worth contacting the NAS, they often give good advice. Also your local EHCP support service may help. Our one is very up on legalities, language, disability etc .

I'm still curious what financial gain there is from having a dc with ASD? Usually it's the opposite

God that makes me furious... as the parent of 2 children with allergies I am so glad they carry epi pens because for this who don't people in "authority" (eg nursery or school workers) just think you're making it up, even when you're under the hospital consultants.

TheHateIsNotGood
There is no gain.

From what I’ve read the problem seems to be almost the ‘conversion’ of MSBP a diagnosable condition to FII which seems to be more of a ‘situation’ so not set diagnostic criteria for an individual but various non standardised guidance and information for professionals from different sources basically trying to squash ‘alerting signs’ together to make some kind of case? The RCPCH also has guidance titled ‘ perplexing presentations / FII’ so almost adding another ‘situation’ to safeguarding where a child may have some unusual symptoms and that can be a red flag (which yes in some cases it may be) but something seems off about the obsession over FII recently

So what is the gov guidelines on it and do they not check what local authorities are doing?😱

I can only find different things , nhs, this safeguarding network , local authorities and the RCPCH guidance. It’s not very clear and they aren’t all exactly the same

That is really bad. Do you have a local authority SEND independent advice and support network? They might be able to advise.

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) is the statutory document for safeguarding. It's updated each year and you can read the 2023 version now, although it comes into force on 1st September.

Safeguarding isn't the same as inclusion or provision for SEND, so covers lots more.