AIBU to think school should allow reduced hours for my son?

[teenagerlegproblems]

Ds (year 9) is having a lot of leg problems, pain, fatigue. We have seen the GP and have a referral to physio. In the meantime we are just having to manage as best we can. DS is not sleeping well due to the pain so until the physio appt at the end of the month (on the Gp recommendation) we let the school know that DS will need a reduced timetable.

They’ve said no. That he has to attend or it won’t be authorised. I paid £60 for a GP letter to explain and they still said no. We had said that he can only manage each day up till 130 (so he will miss the last two lessons), we checked his timetable and these are the ones that are less important (all double lessons) PE, citizenship, French (he is already fluent) and RE (he can do this work at home).

I feel they are being very difficult. They’ve said they won’t ‘release’ him to us as he’s legally required to be there till 330. So far they have done but have said from Monday this will not be the case? Do I just keep him off then ?

I really do think you're being at least somewhat fobbed off by the GP here.
I'm not a medic but:
Firstly you can buy stronger painkillers over the counter that are suitable for under 16s - including cocodamol for short term use and voltarol/ diclofenac gel. (Obviously being careful not to double up on paracetamol if you use cocodamol.)

How are you managing the pain killers day to day? Paracetamol has a longer half life than the 6 hour gap between doses so it's really important to keep the doses up and consistent: so probably first thing on waking, lunch time, sometime between 4-6pm but at least 4 hours after lunch, and then bedtime.

But secondly and more importantly I would really want to be very sure that all the bloods you might need have been done - probably including vitamin D, b12 etc, because a month before they can even refer into paediatrics is a long old time, especially to be getting pain while you're not mobilising as well as while you are. I am also not sure why the GP is saying they can't help with painkillers, certainly I understand not wanting to prescribe them long term but it's not really reasonable to leave a child in serious pain for a month.

Basically I understand why you're pissed off with the school but I can also understand why the school would be pissed off with the GP who has not actually done anything to help manage the kid's pain before the physio appointment.

Sorry if this has already been asked, but have they checked for Osgood-Schlatter disease?

This is such an ableist and shitty comment. Not everyone can push through. For many health conditions pushing through could actually deteriorate permanently

Okay then he misses school, fucks up his gcses, possibly college. Go for it.

So he is forced into a full day, gets worse, ends up bed bound for the rest of his life. Fantastic, those GCSEs will be really handy.
GCSE’s can be taken again, permanently breaking your body isn’t so easy to fix

@teenagerlegproblems

Have you had a look at elhos danlos syndrome?

My 9 year old has had leg pain and fatigue for years, GP is useless and always tries to fob off with ibuprofen 🤦‍♀️. My son has recently been referred to a peadatrician for EDS ( elhos danlos ) as he had an OT assessment and she noticed a lot going on with him. She also said he was hypermobile which plays a part of the pain he's in

Also flat footed, once i got him some good insoles he complained a lot less about leg pain x

I would be going back to the GP and clearly stating that he is not adequately medicated and needs something stronger at night so he can sleep because this is affecting his quality of life and schooling. 4 weeks is too long to wait.

Apologies if this is repeated but is he having good quality multi vitamins and lots of water?

Maybe check with the pharmacy if he can have 2 co codamol on a night.

Where on his leg is the pain? If it’s around the tibial plateau or achilles area then consider Osgood Schlatter or Severs Disease. These are agony (hormones that trigger a growth spurt affect the bone and it feels like fracture pain), but temporary. My son had Severs and I’m also an OT, so happy to be messaged for help managing.

I'd second the paying for a private physio. I've had both NHS and private (carefully researched) physio and the latter is in a different league. The last NHS physio (young, limited time appointment to make diagnosis and she wanted to offer something) clearly got my problem wrong, and made it worse.

Mine too (OS). They got some good relief with kinesiology tape. OP where is his pain?

The physio is likely just to recommended exercises. Don’t expect miracles. Even though you’ll have a PT apt in 4 weeks, it’s not going to resolve his pain straight away. So how long do you want the reduced timetable for? I’d work on maximising the pain meds / pain management regime so to help him sleep better and tolerate the walking he has to do in the daytime. It it is not of the typical conditions related to growth spurts, he’s going to be living with it for some time.

That’s why people homeschool or use private education. Shame it is now 20% more expensive and loads of families who went private exactly to accommodate medical/mental health/SEN/sport/music reasons are priced out. The real price on kids will be seen in 5-10 years.

Contact you local authority.

Tell then you requested reasonable adjustments due to health issues, this was on the advice of your GP and hopefully will be short term, which the school has refused.

Inform the school you are taking this to the local authority.

You can also make an OFSTED report on the bases of denial of reasonable adjustments causing your child difficulty to access education.
Everyday they refuse him to do half day, he doesn't go the next as needs to rest. So 1 day in, 1 day off until it is resolved.

If they try court for lack of attendance, you have a doctor's note for reasonable adjustments which they ignored. They won't have a leg to stand on

I’d google hEDS or Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder and see if he meets the criteria. I have HSD (don’t meet enough criteria for hEDS) and was in constant pain as a child which was put down to growing pains. As an adult this is now causing all kinds of problems.

Does the school have a reasonable adjustments policy on their website? If not, I would ask the school to send you a copy and familiarise yourself with the contents to see if by refusing your son reduced hours even though the GP has recommended this, they are in breach of their own policy.

I'm sorry your son is struggling. It sounds like he needs some painkillers in the first instance. Could you write a letter excusing him from PE until further notice and see if you can get him a private physio appointment so you have a better idea sooner (as in this week) about what's going on. Has the GP given any indication? Private physio costs between £40-60 a session depending on where you are in the country. It could be money well spent

We have a GP appt tomorrow I’m going to ask for a paeds referral as I think I have been fobbed off

It’s horrible for him to be in so much pain. OP are you able to say whereabouts on his leg is the pain?

I presume he’s taking regular painkillers?

Has he had a scan and is he hyper mobile?

After years of leg pain and hypermobility, forcing my dd into school/exercise started to cause dislocations ending up with my dd finally being diagnosed with patella alta.

It was the scan that finally diagnosed it.

Also coming on to ask if he is hypermobile?

google the RCGP Ehlers danlos toolkit and have a read, or the hypermobility association has some good info.