Does my child need an ehcp?

[Autismamaoftwo]

Hi

My daughter is in year 5 she is 9 years old and was diagnosed with autism at age 4

I'm wanting to speak to the senco about getting her an ehcp
I spoke to her last year and she said to come back when she's in year 5, which she now is

I want to get all my information together as to why I think she needs one before I speak to her, for the most part my daughter gets along OK and the school is lovely but there is definitely more she needs help with, she is mute at school so doesn't communicate her needs and never has, so if she needs help she won't ask, she will get stressed and cry, she won't use the toilet at school and struggles with friend ships, she has 2 nice friends but if they're busy or not in school she walks around the play ground upset. She struggles with the noise of the lunch hall etc, the school think she's OK because she looks it on the outside and with not communicating they don't know how much she struggles on the inside, she masks alot to fit in so I'm worried they'll tell me she doesn't need one.

My main concern is that she won't cope in secondary school and with her being year 5 now it's coming round very fast so I'd like to get her an ehcp before she leaves primary

Can any one guide me on what the process is, how long it takes and if it sounds like she'd benefit from an ehcp?

Thank you so much for listening and any advice is greatly appreciated, thank you

hello, this sounds challenging and well done for advocating for your daughter.

you can apply as a parent for assessment for an EHCP and sounds like it could have been done maybe earlier. If school do not want to apply, you can initiate it by yourself.

there will be local people who can help in the form of SENDIASS. You can find your local service here https://councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/about-us-0/networks/information-advice-and-support-services-network/find-your-local-ias-service . You will probably also have a local parent support group, SENDIASS can signpost.

Also if your daughter is on the SEN register she should have an individual education plan and support. I have half termly reviews for my son with autism and no EHCP but can be variable. So more can be done even without an EHCP.

good luck.

Yes it sounds like she would benefit from an EHCP.

You can apply for her to be assessed for one by yourself but it if you can get school onside and do it through them it is helpful,

It's common for primary schools to get one for children at this stage due to worries about secondary transfer.

From a primary point of view, it sounds like the school is managing her needs within their current resources. This is likely to mean that you wouldn’t get an EHCP as the school would need to prove that they are not managing a child, despite spending additional funds (around £6k), and they need more funding.

In our local authority, EHCPs aren’t given on the basis of what might be needed in the future. They’re based on the here and now. If she transfers to secondary, and struggles to cope, the secondary would then apply for an EHCP.

I think the difficulty is the difference between managing her needs and her not being a challenge? I would argue being mute at school needs quite a bit of support to encourage, develop, ensure learning needs are being met and just because she is fairly quiet perhaps doesn’t mean her needs are being met?

Thank you for your replies everyone I really appreciate them, I will speak to the senco and see what happens

That's my worry that they won't see the help she needs because she doesn't kick up a fuss and is silent and battles it all in her mind, like today (because she was off sick yesterday) they were carrying on work from yesterday, she didn't know what they were doing so sat in her chair upset doing nothing, usually it's another child who notices and speaks up for her, she's been with these children for 5 years now so they understand her but obviously it isnt their job, I'll see what happens but I'll always fight for what's best for her x

Ipsea have the templates to apply as a parental request. Please do try. My son struggled in primary but was incorrectly informed he wouldn't qualify for ehcp. Many LAs use local policy to try and refuse assessment and that's not legal grounds for refusal. Many parents end up going to tribunal so it can take a long time, start process asap. My son lasted just days in the seniors environment. If he'd had his ehcp then we could have saved years of problems.

https://www.ipsea.org.uk/asking-for-an-ehc-needs-assessment

You can use the template letter on this page. When she goes to secondary school it will be bigger, the kids who were in her class will be spread throughout the school. She will be expected to show a degree of independence.

I would say that it's pretty clear that she will need an EHCP, and that she needs one now, too.

Is she always mute in school? Does she have any friends? I would be urgently applying for an EHCP and getting her into a setting where she is comfortable to speak as this must be hugely affecting her development.

Does she have speech and language therapy for the selective mutism/speaking anxiety? (speaking anxiety is the preferred term now, because that's what is always behind it, and it doesn't suggest that children are "selecting" not to speak)

Don’t wait for the school to make the EHCNA request. Do it yourself now. Don’t let the school put you off or delay you.

Don’t wait, do it now.

Children generally cope better in primary school due to the size but she is going to get swamped at secondary. Doesn’t matter what secondary school say, reality is, when she is in a class that teacher is going to expect more from her.

In primary she’ll have one teacher who knows all about her. In secondary, she’s meeting multiple teachers a day who will know nothing about her.

However, it is likely to be very difficult if she is meeting educational expectations and doesn’t have challenging behaviour.

Where I am, speech therapists do not deal with mutism. It comes under CAMHs due to the psychological aspect but we all know seeing CAMHs is about as likely as catching a unicorn fart.
You can apply for an EHCNA. Easy for parents to so with the model letter from IPSEA and not so easy for schools. In reality the request will then go
out to the school to complete all the same paperwork that they would if they had applied. The rejection will come from the appeals panel and it is up to parents to appeal.
Schools know what will get through and with limited resources of course they apply for the ones they know will get through, despite the full knowledge of what the legal standpoint is.
schools are told by the local authority to apply for the ones that meet criteria (yes, not always the legal threshold) and have to make choices about where they focus their resources. EHCNAs are hard for schools to apply for. They take time and expertise. Schools can only battle the local authority in X amount of fronts.

So the school receive £6k for a child with a diagnosis of ASD but no EHCP? I didn't know that.

OP I could've written this! My DD is 9, in year 5 and was also diagnosed at 4. I too don't think she will cope with secondary and am considering home school for year 7 onwards. The school say she doesn't need an EHCP as she isn't struggling with the work....

School don't get 6k for the child.

When schools apply for an EHCP one of the things they are asked to justify is what has been tried outside of normal classroom teaching.

If the stuff that has been tried costs less than 6k the local authority will often say that the need isn't great enough.

The school do not actually get 6k. It's 6k out of the main budget that they are expected to spend first. It's one reason ehcps are discouraged by schools - the other being the sheer bloody volume of the paperwork in submitting one.

No, they don't. Schools have some funding for general SEN. It is called a "notional" budget for SEN. It is not based on thr number of children with a diagnosis or on the send register, but actually calculated from other factors related to the intake the school, such as poverty levels.

The budget is theoretically enough for Schools to spend up to 6k on a child with SEND. But it isn't enough to spend 6k on every child with SEND. It is often used up on a small number of children with very high needs, who might need 1:1 support at all times but who don't yet have an EHCP, or whose EHCP top up funding is woefully inadequate. And it's not even ring fenced for SEN, so some schools use it to supplement the main school budget.

Where the 6k comes in is that some local authorities tell schools that they must pay the first 6k of any pupil's SEN support, and will reject EHCP applications that do not evidence a spend of >6k. But that's not a legal test and can be overcome if parents appeal.

How is she educationally? Is she at expected levels or liver. If she is at expected it would also be harder for the school to apply.

Have you actually met with the SENDCO? It might be worthwhile, so they could explain your LAs criteria and where your DD is in relation to that.

I agree that your DD is going to need more support at secondary, but I know in my LA they won't consider anything that points to 'future' only to the 'now'.

Feel free to message me at any point, sounds like we're in very similar situations, I'm also considering home school from year 7, ideally I'd like her in a specialised school who understand autism but this feels so far out of reach at the moment, her dad and grandma also have autism and struggled so much in secondary school, it still effects their mental health now, I don't want that for her

I'll speak with the senco and see where we stand, she had said she's very good at getting ehcps for children who mask but our last meeting she explained there's so many kids in specialised schools who would cope in mainstream, my issue is I don't want her to just "cope" I've seen the effects it takes into adult hood, I want her to thrive, ill fight it all the way but home schooling is definitely an option at this point, there's some lovely autism groups around us so she would still get to socialise, she also had 2 friends diagnosed asd who she will always keep in contact with too

My 7 year old son is currently waiting for an asd assment too (38 month wait!) So I can see myself going through to same process again with him, he's struggling alot with his emotions at school

Wish it wasn't this hard to get our babies what they deserve x

For an EHCNA, you do not need to prove the school has spent £6k (or whatever their notional budget figure). The only lawful test is a) has or may have SEN, and b) may need SEN provision to be made via an EHCP.

@Autismamaoftwo you're being given a mixed bag of advice here. @EndlessLight is right. You are under no obligation to show that the school have spent money on her, or that she needs a particular type of education, or that she's behind in her work, etc.

When I was a primary SENDCo, I absolutely managed to get EHCPs for pupils based on their move to secondary. Primary and secondary are very different and children often need more support at secondary.

If the SENDCo won’t help, apply yourself.

Year 5/ early year 6 are prime times for EHCP applications simply because many children, who can manage well in primary, simply won't cope with a large secondary without additional support. As long as you have clear evidence of need, it's not impossible. It just needs wording correctly and carefully!

Hello,

Hope you are ok. Interested to know how about the ehcp? Did you apply or school? I am going through the same situation my son is on year 5 and 9 years old. Please, help ..

Thanks