Please help. Options for a y11 'too unwell for school'

[TeenPlusTwenties]

Suppose my finishing y10 DD is still too mentally unwell for fulltime school next academic year. What options are there and how do we go about exploring them? I'm feeling too overwhelmed right now to think clearly.

Please?

A supportive school makes a huge difference.

You can attend some CAMHS units as a day patient, DS1 attended one for a while, but it is very unlikely DD would be given a place from what you have posted here. Have a look at local alternative provisions. Some have integrated therapy, including animal therapies. (This is the route the poster Koala mentions has gone down). Failing that have you got a local rescue centre that you could walk a dog from? Not the same but it could be better than nothing.

I second posting on the SN section - SN chat and SN children are the busiest.

I think its places like this:

www.caspianassistedtherapy.org.uk/

Is she medicated? If not i would get on to your GP for a prescription ASAP.

Koala That place looks great (and not ridiculously far away either), though the website seems very out of date so it might have closed...I'll ring on Monday.

Something Yes she is on some beta-blockers.

I will post on SN Chat when I have the energy.

@TeenPlusTwenties is she taking them adhoc or regularly? I'd recommend a prescription of SSRIs taken every day. Before counselling or anything else starts working, she needs the edge taking off in a meaningful way.

SSRI? She is taking her beta blockers regularly.

I've lost all perspective of 'normal' now.

My 'new normal' is a child who sleeps in with me nightly, and is at times too anxious to pick up a biscuit to eat it.

In most (? all but can't be 100%) CCGs GPs can't prescribe antidepressants to under 16s without them seeing a psychiatrist.

NICE guidelines suggest antidepressants should only be used alongside therapy, but they can really help when DC are struggling to engage with therapy.

X- posted.

SSRIs are Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, a type of antidepressant.

Your DD sounds likes she needs to see a psychiatrist.

@10brokengreenbottles ah i did not know that! I was prescribed ADs at 15, but yes actually i was under the care of a psychiatrist.

@TeenPlusTwenties from the sounds of it, your DD needs a lot more help than she's getting. I would get an EHCP in place with the school ASAP, and then contact your GP for a private referral to a psychiatrist and therapist. Waiting for CAMHS will take too long - i speak from experience, if her education gets fucked up now it's likely to ruin her life for at least the next decade.

This site seems to link to some equine therapy places - never used it ourselves and don't have personal experience of any of these:

www.leapequine.com/find-a-therapist/

There are a couple of posters on the Goose and Carrot Summer Pub thread in SN chat who have used them and have had great experiences. My autistic child loves animals and is great with them - during lockdown he's barely left the house, he hasn't communicated with any other children but he talks to our animals everyday - we have a cat, an indoor rabbit and 3 silkie chickens and it keeps him happy and calm most of the time. So I can see how therapy could work with horses. Another thing I have found useful is the school have just started Teams meetings and watching a few of those and seeing how the children interact with him is interesting but he is oblivious to who is being nice, who is making fun, who is interested etc. That's been his only social interaction since March as he can't go into school, won't use a phone or e-mail. If you feel up to it come and join us on that thread, there's two lovely Mums on there with very similar girls. It's often more about saying how hard that day has been rather than solutions but its nice to have people in similar situations to chat to.