How to argue the point on ASD with Appeal panel

[Kalimero]

We filled the Appeal for our school of interest, but in the meantime we sent Social medical form to the Council.
Today we got the answer which is quite shocking.
They say that autism is NOT considered as exceptional need.

Exact quote from the refusal letter:
'The Panel were also in agreement that the prevalence of autism is also on the rise nationally as well as in (Council name) and unfortunately it is not considered as exceptional need, as it is fairly common condition affecting 1% of children and adolescents.'

I am shocked by this blanket statement. Is it even appropriate statement to make?
How do we argue back this kind of statement if we face it from the Appeal panel?

I can sort of see their point?

ASD is getting diagnosed more, so it is no longer 'exceptional' to have it, and they may feel that it doesn't require a particular school. If not impacting enough to need an EHCP, then any mainstream should cope iyswim?

So you will need to just argue the disadvantage to your child in the appeal without trying to get them up into a higher admissions category.

Agreed, all schools should be able to support adequately under universal SEN provision since your child doesn’t have an EHCP

As pp said, there are so many children with a diagnosis of ASC now - 15% of my school for example. Why does your child need the place over anyone else appealing? That's what you need to focus on - autism is the umbrella but you need to be specific about anything that school provides which would be beneficial that no other school can, eg they are exceptionally gifted in whatever and no other school in the area offers that etc.

In that case, what condition is considered as exceptional medical need?
Why are they not listing them prior to filling out the ESM application so parents don't waste energy filling it out. If autism is not exceptional medical need shouldn't they point it out. Sounds like waste of time and councils resources sending applications for conditions they don't accept.

You need to focus on how the condition affects your child and the needs that they have.

autism as a diagnosis covers a very broad spectrum.

be specific.

You'd have to argue much more specifically to differentiate him from the 100s (or even 1000s) of ASD applications and make it very clear why that school addresses those specifics in a way that the allocated school/other schools can't. If the ASD presents as extreme, non-verbal etc. then it would be more exceptional and you'd be seeking a specialist unit or SEN school, which you'd still sometimes have to fight for a place in given the limited suitable settings. But if it's less extreme and he's in mainstream then there'll be others like him in most schools and even if its not the ideal setting, it's what there is and what you'll get unless you're lucky and find a specific angle that swings the appeal your way.

Autism in itself is not an exceptional need. The prevalence is so high now. At least 1-3 kids in every classroom will be neurodivergent, so in a large secondary this could be 50. I’d focus more on his needs not his diagnosis.

They aren’t saying he doesn’t have needs.

They are saying that most schools have students with ASD so they can deal with students with ASD successfully. Schools with no pupils with ASD will be practically non existent these date and limited to tiny village schoolS or similar extreme circumstances

I suspect it would be very difficult to make a blanket list as to what is/isn’t exceptional.

Imagine if they said that about diabetes? It’s becoming more common so no insulin for you.

You may end up having to go to a tribunal on this, but I would reply robustly setting out the reasons why mainstream school is inaccessible and saying there is no basis in law for refusing protected reasonable adjustments allowing a child to access education because her condition is less rarely diagnosed than it used to be. One per cent is still rare (in fact sounds a bit on the low side to me)

Exceptional medical need - child is in a wheelchair and this is the only flat school.
Exceptional social need - parents work for police/social services and know professionally too many parents in local schools so child needs to go to school out of area.
Exceptional medical need - child needs frequent unexpected urgent hospital admission and this school is next door to hospital A&E

I think the key to appeals is that you have to show that the school you are appealing to is the only school in the area that can offer what your child needs. I think this is incredibly tough to do. Good luck.

It’s not about the diagnosis.

it’s about, for example:

child X is diagnosed with autism. He is doubly incontinent and requires intimate care at points throughout the day by a trained TA. Child X has been supported in toilet training by a programme delivered by his 1:1 TA in his primary school setting and is beginning to gain awareness of “needing to go” and continuing this programme will enable him to continue his journey towards independent toileting,

etc etc etc.

god it’s been three years since I did this and I still have the jargon

Imagine if they said that about diabetes? It’s becoming more common so no insulin for you.

They aren’t saying “no insulin for you”

They are saying “access to insulin is available in various places, you do not need to specifically go to surgery X for it”

Surely you can understand why it's not possible to make such a list covering every medical condition that a child could have and at what degree it becomes exceptional. It's not hard to imagine that an exceptional medical need might be someone in a wheelchair needing a school that's fully accessible as opposed to an old school with no adaptations. Or a hundred other specific examples. But they can't generalise upfront saying don't bother us about your DCs asthma or ND because we're not interested. You fill the form in or you don't, and they take your case forward or they don't, it's not that much energy wasted.

I'm surprised it isn't a larger percentage.

That is completely different and a very crass comparison to make. Shame on you.

Except the insulin isn’t available at the mainstream surgeries (to torture the metaphor). You are just told that it is and when you repeatedly have a hypo it is treated as a disciplinary matter

I think for people to help it might be useful to provide some more information.
*What additional support does your child need? How is that need evidenced? What support do they receive in their current setting?
*Why do you believe the allocated school can't meet their needs? What does your preferred school offer that makes it better placed to meet your child's needs?
*Did you apply and hope to be placed in a specific ESM category of applications for your preferred school? Is this what the rejected form relates to? If not how does it fit within the admissions system?

In some cases it will be an exceptional need. You should set out what exactly your child needs and why that particular school is able to meet his needs while the other one can't.
Just saying he has autism doesn't explain what specific need he has that can only be met at the chosen school because there will be many children with autism at every school.

Autism affects everyone differently. Both of my DC have autism, one manages fine in mainstream without an EHCP (and struggles after leaving), the other hangs on by a thread with lots of support in place.

Thank you all for your views.
I think I'll leave this to go to the Appeal and get ready for all kinds of questions and answers.
The council person who called me was not very interested in what I had to say, every reason I gave to their question was dismissed even before I finished the sentence...
Literally everything I said they called 'circumstantional evidence ' and 'subjective feeling '.
Even though they received professional evidence to my claims..

In itself asd will not be sufficient to qualify, all schools have SEND provision. If some of its presentations created a specific need which would be catered for by a specific school that might be more relevant and useful at an appeal. However being without an EHCP suggests it is mild.

But what is 'the insulin' in this tortured metaphor? Because that's why everyone is saying to be specific. If this school is the only with whatever this magic insulin equivalent for this particular ASD student is, then OP needs to specify that. But the current system is that ASD kids aren't having hypos in the offered school so this DC will be okay there.

What professional evidence? It needs to state that in the opinion of the writer only x school, or a school with y provision only available at x, can meet their needs. Saying dc has asd and in his parents’ opinion needs a place at x school is not enough.