School not telling parents their child has suspected autism.

[Biscuitsaretheworkofthedevil]

The SENCO of our primary school has some very apparently thought that my child has been on the autistic spectrum. I was surprised to find they don’t mention this to parents. Is it reasonable for them not to mention this to families?

Sure, except our GP told me they don't do referrals and made me feel a bit stupid for wasting an appointment.

I think actually that doesn’t work for a lot of parents. Can you provide evidence for this?

Personally I'm glad Sencos can't diagnose. I've found some don't know nearly enough. Rather than the parents being in denial, it can be the case that they clearly know their child best.

At our old school, the Senco insisted DC was autistic. I knew they weren't. It absolutely didn't fit. I thought it was something else and after very thorough assessments by MDT I was proven right and they were given the correct diagnosis. The Senco still wouldn't accept it and thought she knew best. Even after specific support tailored to her actual diagnosis resolved many of the issues she still wouldn't have it. Looking back now her rigidity of thinking was very odd and possibly she was autistic herself. She left under a cloud 2 years later.

No Senco should be proclaiming a child is autistic. They aren't qualified to do so.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/getting-diagnosed/how-to-get-diagnosed/

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/diagnosis/pre-diagnosis/parents-and-carers

Obviously only those qualified should diagnose however I don’t think parents should be allowed to refuse going through the process if professionals think it would be helpful as late diagnosis can be hugely damaging. I also think schools should be held to account if parents think a diagnosis is needed or if they ignore signs due to masking and otherwise “good” behaviour in school.

I knew something wasn’t right with my dd and was ignored and made to feel like shit We have subsequently had to go through several years with a mentally unwell teen, countless hospital admissions and 3x NHS ND diagnosis. The psych treating my dd commented on how big an impact her masking , ND and experiences at school as an undiagnosed ND child lead to her struggles.

I went to the GP first for dyspraxia which got a referral for paeds and her diagnosis. I wish I’d done the same for my suspicions re autism and ADHD. Sadly even though she was given an OT program via paeds and diagnosed as severely dyspraxia her primary school even ignored that berating her during PE lessons for not trying hard enough. When she fell apart and became very unwell in secondary school CAMHS then referred her for an autism diagnosis followed by an ADHD diagnosis and an EHCP.

Autism in girls can present differently in girls.

People in my last place got into huge trouble for suggesting that parents may need to look into assessment for a child, even when it was blatantly obvious.

It all had to go via the SENDCO, who would then collate information before going anywhere near parents. Sadly, it has become a liability issue and too many parents complaining have deprofessionalised teachers to an extent. We're all trained in what to look out for, but heaven forbid we nudge parents into the right direction.

There's one English town I know of where all referrals of school children are done by the school. The GP only does it for home schooled kids (I suspect they'd make an exception if school are dragging their feet, but that's the official policy). Elsewhere GPs do the referral and school are asked to fill in questionnaires. So it seems that knowing the policy in your own area is important.

There are lots of ways of being referred here. You can go via your GP, the school, a family support worker, paediatrician or ed psych. You can’t self refer and CAMHS don’t assess here either.

@Icannoteven. It's beyond shocking isn't it.

As parents we become accustomed to our dc and sometimes, many times we can't see the wood for the trees.

We assume systems are in place to recognise the signs of nd and people get alerted!..

A teacher notices a child can't read as well as their peers or a child can't sit still as long as their peers or one gets upset with broken routines and needs to order... And a sendco gets alerted and they take a look and they contact you.

No.

Teachers get no training on this and it seems there is culture in some circles to actively stop leaning about sen.

I would never expect teachers to diagnose my child but I do expect... "look your dc hasn't clicked with reading yet, they are behind their peers have you considered xyz... Our sendco can help support you.".....

There is no safety net, there is not system...

Op also remember many sendco aren't properly trained.

It's the wild west out there.

I went through my GP. He referred DD to our local Health Centre Clinic and she was assessed by a Paediatrician. The Paediatrician suspected that DD had ASD and referred her to be officially diagnosed by ARD.

You can 100% go through your GP

In some areas though the authorities stipulate you should only go through schools. I know it’s not like that in your area. But there are different processes in different areas

It fucking is. You’re not wrong.

Which “authorities”? There is nothing to stop anybody going to their GP, explaining evidence and requesting a referral. It’s on the NHS guidelines. The NHS guidelines don’t say in some areas only school can refer. It clearly states gps as one of 4 options. What gp is going to refuse to refer a struggling child with evidence of suspected autism?

Also it is well known that many children mask and won’t exhibit symptoms at school.

@Rawfruit
Mine does. GPs do not refer and, when some have tried, the triage unit of the Community Paediatrician has refused to accept it, all referrals come from schools.

Then I would be complaining to PALS as it’s clearly discriminating against children who don’t present in the stereotypical way which is very common with girls. So CAMHS can’t, a parent of a child that is SHing or exhibiting worrying behaviour at home can’t….?

My dd's school initiated the 'we think there may be something going on, have you considered it' convo with me.
Her school are very supportive of sen and quite experienced.
So I think school policy probably varies from school to school.

It wasn’t until I raised it formally, with respect to my now 16yo DS (he was 14/15 at the time) that they acknowledged it was a possibility.

In fact it was a parents evening when an English teacher referenced his autism and the fact that he was managing it well in her classes - and as a mum of 2 autie boys she felt able to manage and support him - that I had to mention… but he doesn’t have an autism diagnosis nor has he had any SEN assessment, does the school consider him to be on the spectrum? There was stunned silence.

I went into the school and asked, why they had never mentioned their suspicions previously given:

1. they knew he had an older sister on the spectrum so we were an ASD friendly and supportive family;
2. it was GCSE year, so any additional support and exam accommodations would obviously be useful;
3. his meltdown during GCSE Year 1 summer mocks and unexpectedly shocking performance; and
4. The issues he’d had with classmates during the post lockdown return to school could more easily be understood through that lens and we could have supported him better/differently had we been advised.

Their answer: well, we thought that maybe it wasn’t the right time!!

It’s a private school, too, with great SEN resources so no impact on their budgets or issues over our seeking a private assessment (and bloody fast, given his exams were a year away).

Long reply - but I think they fear parents being offended, creating conflict and simply can’t face the potential backlash if it is mismanaged. And in state schools there is the financial/budgetary aspect, and the years long wait list for assessment.

As I mentioned above, ours literally did exactly that. Because their blanket policy was that autism referrals are not their job.

I know it's just anecdotal but any examples (and mine is not the only one) refute your argument that this route is open to everyone.

Often they are not allowed to parents need to raise concerns. Also the school then had to find additional support if they need it so there is that. And it changes they way a school should deal with challenging behaviour if it's due to a disability.

Life is set up to be very difficult for autistic people

This thread is alarming! I've always assumed that if the school had noticed anything of concern, they would mention it - certainly at parents evening if not before. I mean what is the point if they are sitting there thinking "Your child probably has X and you don't seem aware of that but let's just talk about handwriting".

Posters are talking about two different things here.

School staff can and will talk about the progress your child is making and any evident barriers to that learning. They will ask for your view too. They can refere for expert advice.

School staff will not/cannot make a formal diagnosis as they do not have the knowledge to make that diagnosis alone. A formal diagnosis involves a range of professionals, a teacher being one of them. A diagnosis is final and can impact on peoples life choices. I have worked with many a parent who do nit wish for the diagnosis to be made.

I had a similar experience. Questions for a long time. ASC friendly family with diagnosed sibling. Child crying and having meltdowns every day.

nada from school.

So you go to PALS , that’s what they’re there for. NHS professionals don’t always refer for all sorts of things when they should.