Autism Assessment

[ColourfulHairbands]

Hey all,

I know that there’s a SN board but I also wanted to post on the Parenting board as this shows up in Active.

My daughter just turned 2 in May. I’ve had quite a few concerns about her for a little while so I spoke with the GP. He spoke with a Consultant about my concerns and the Consultant recommended that my daughter gets assessed by a specialist.

A week and a half ago my daughter had a really in depth assessment carried out by a specialist nurse. At the end of it the nurse said that she isn’t qualified to officially diagnose DD but she does believe that DD may have a form of Autism. The nurse said that she’ll do two things. Refer her to get officially diagnosed (which can take up to 5 years) and will pass on the outcome of the report to SENCO (?)

The nurse had said that because the diagnosis process can take so long, her report is enough evidence to be able to get an EHCP in place for DD if need be. My question is, once this report is sent to the GP and myself, what next?

DD is currently in nursery and goes three half days a week. How does an EHCP help a small toddler in nursery? Does anyone help me put these things in place or do I do everything myself? Do I tell my DD’s nursery tomorrow about the outcome and ask how/if they can accommodate her?

My 14 month old DS has a rare genetic disorder and an amazing care team. If I have any worries I can pick up a phone and call someone/send an email/send a whatsapp. I have no clue who to speak with in regards to DD. I really want to help her get the support she needs. Please help!

No, you don't have to do it yourself. The Nursery will usually put in the request for an EHCNA (EHC Needs Assessment) if that is what she needs. They will have support from the Local Authority services if they haven't done it recently - well, they will have support even if they have done it recently, as evidence from the Nursery and from outside agencies add weight to any request.

Each HA has a different way of doing a diagnosis, and what you describe is quite different from what happens in my LA, but, if the specialist nurse is writing a detailed report, it will not only add weight to the EHCNA, but also hopefully have strategies that the Nursery can use.
Whether it does or not, the Nursery should be able to access support from the LA (Again, arranged differently in each LA, and undoubtedly understaffed, BUT) they should be able to get support with strategies and targets that your dd can work towards.

As to why you would want an EHCP. It is a legal contract that states your dd's needs and then states what the LA must provide to meet those needs.
IF she would benefit from specialist provision, she would need an EHCP to even apply. If she goes to mainstream, then the EHCP provides funding to the school to support those needs. Not enough, but better than not having it.

It takes months, which is why you could do with it starting now. It isn't necessarily something she "needs" whilst in Nursery, but don't delay because of that, as the LA will ask for lots of evidence of what is already being done and what progress is being made. You have to think about how she would cope as one of 30 in a class with one teacher, in the not so near future rather than how she copes in a 1:8 ratio in an environment where much of the day is free choice of activities.

@UsingChangeofName wow, I cannot thank you enough for this really detailed comment. It’s made things so much clearer for me to understand.

Just to clarify, is it that the EHCNA is carried out by the nursery itself and then they pass on the details of the assessment to the relevant party? Or an external person/team comes in and does this? Also, does the EHCP need to be done for when she’s at nursery or essentially this is what the EHCNA is for at her age? Sorry if I’ve misunderstood that bit!

You have to think about how she would cope as one of 30 in a class with one teacher, in the not so near future rather than how she copes in a 1:8 ratio in an environment where much of the day is free choice of activities.

Oh absolutely! This is so very true. I can already see her struggling quite a bit and getting lost in the crowd. I’m going to do a bit of research about EHCP and other things so that I have a clearer understanding of how these things work

In my LA, the Nursery SENCo would fill in the EHCNA, and the people that support them (Area SENCos, or Autism Outreach Team, or Pre-school Forum, or probably a dozen different titles in different authorities) will also add a report.

That person will have observed the child and often advised on strategies prior to this (hence the time scale, in reality, being longer than what you will find if you google...... many LAs like to see that the Nursery has been offering quality provision and that, even with that, the child has struggled to make progress).

The EHCNA then gets sent to the LA, along with supporting evidence - so the specialist Nurse's report for example - and that goes to a Panel who decide to assess her needs or not.
The EHCNA is a request to assess her needs, to see if they will issue an EHCP. (in essence, it is a request for an EHCP, but the first stage towards it).

Again in my LA if the Panel decide to assess her needs, on the evidence submitted, then the LA will send out an EP (Educational Psychologist) to observe and to write a report too. I know all LAs operate differently, so this process might be slightly different elsewhere.

The EHCP doesn't necessarily need to be done at Nursery - it will depend on your child's needs. Some children don't have a request for an EHCP until they are in secondary school. Some LAs try to impose an illegal blanket ban on any EHCPs being issued prior to them starting school. It is supposed to be on the child's individual needs, but LAs are so starved of funds, they unfortunately do anything they can to save money, and to keep within Government targets by pretending fewer children need EHCPs than actually do.

Most of the SEND Charities have information on their websites about EHCPs

Contact
National Autism Society
MENCAP
SCOPE
Down syndrome Association
KIDS.org

etc

Or Local Authority sites (this isn't mine, just came up n a google search) Here

Or google 'Local Offer' and your local Authority for their page

Or, ask the people supporting you with your ds - they will know what goes on in your LA

Thank you! I certainly think I need to get some advice from a charity or something along those lines

The NAS has a specific education helpline, who are fantastic.

Great advice from pp but I would add do not delay. These processes all take a very long time and are horribly underfunded. If you feel she may need additional support start asap with all the processes. If you can afford it (and many cannot) get a respected clinic to privately diagnose as long as it's from a clinic your local council will accept.

The ehcp takes a lot to get in some places but nothing will move without one.