Homeschooling with AS - is there help available?

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I'm posting this for a friend, who is pretty much buckling under the strain of dealing with her almost 7 year old DS. So apologies if this is a bit vague and I can't answer all the questions

He has recently been diagnosed with ASD, and they've taken him out of school to HE him as school was sending his anxiety through the roof. But she's now struggling to find any kind of support for him, and indeed for herself. Is there anything available if you HE?

I've offered to do a bit of basic research for her to see what support is available and who she needs to ask, so if anyone has any pointers or experience at all, I'd really appreciate it.

She's in the North Midlands, if that makes any difference. And I am also cross posting on the SN board, just in case there is specific experience there.

When you HE you have to accept that funding is even harder to obtain and that very likely you will get minimal or no help. No help exists for the purpose of HE. However...if the AS has been recognized and statemented there is more chance for some help for her. Each area calls its departments by different names so I can't say call XYZ because up there it will be called ABC. Additionally the organizations will differ in what each is responsible for. Sometimes you have to go to 3 different depts and other times it's all in one place. So you can see it's a complicated topic. The council website should give information about the group which oversees all the provision of disability care in her area, but these will deal with help for the disability not help for HE. Contacting that group is the place to start as they will point you to all the other groups.

Your friend might qualify for respite hours each month which will give her a break whilst someone else looks after her ds. But this may be as little as 4hrs a month. If she was desperate for help every day it would raise the question of whether HE was right for her situation. She will have to shout and shout to be recognized above the masses of other children who have the power of a school behind them who are all desperately waiting for help too.

There are sen pages which may produce more specific advice for her area of the country.

One last thing, how long has she been HE. The early days particularly with sen can either be heaven or hell (usually HE is heaven but sen children can be so all consuming of your life). After 6 months or so things will settle into the pattern they will then generally follow.

Does her ds have a paediatrician? My DD is only 2 and not yet dx, but we are expecting to HE her. Her paediatrician has said that she can help us to access most of the same help she would receive in a school.

A lot will depend on how sympathetic the doctor is to HE, and also what prov9ision there is for help in your area anyway.

Thanks, both of those are very helpful. I'm not sure she's expecting to go back to the paediatrician, so I will send her off that way.

And no, I don't think she's after help every day. I think she'd like to find some resources to help with his behaviour, and also a group for him to attend so that she got just a couple of hours a week - as you say, I think it is the all-consumingness of the SEN which is the problem right now.

Is your friend in contact with many parents locally who are bringing up children with special needs? I have found that in my area there are a few fantastic opportunities but it can take a lot of networking to find out about them. In fact there are a few parents of young adults who have said to me, "Wow, that activity your daughter goes to sounds great, and you say it has been available for 20 years. Too bad I never heard of it when I needed it!!"

For example, in my town there is a scheme which offers weekly sporting opportunities, social groups and various outings to children with any sort of special need. The kids get 1:1 attention (or an even higher ratio if they need it) from enthusiastic patient volunteers. They almost never turn anyone away. Parents don't have to stay. And it's all free. This organisation was never mentioned to me by any of the professionals with whom I have been in contact, only other parents.

So if your friend can get to any parents' support groups in the area or at least find some local online forums and keep asking every person she meets, she might start to unearth some useful stuff like that.

There is also a yahoo group HE-SP for people who home educate children with special needs.