Is help available without a Statement?

[feckawwf]

Hi, my first post in Special Needs...ds aged 4 was recently diagnosed with autism. He is high functioning, his IQ level was assessed at 130+ so he does not have learning difficulties. We have not yet had an apt with the Ed psych but Scat team seem to think that as he is managing well at nursery (nursery were actually shocked at his diagnosis as have no problems with him there) and is HF we will not be able to get him statemented.

He is due to start primary in Sept... Obviously don't have a place yet as they aren't allocated until next month so I can't discuss with anyone at school what help they can put in place for him so at the moment I'm in limbo and unsure of what will happen.

Without a statement will that mean he will be just left to his own devises and have no support at all in school. Being "clever" is not the be all and end all of school surely? He suffers a lot with anxiety, hates noise, zero concentration span....I could go on there are MANY negatives that I think he'd need help with. Is there any way to get this support?
Tia

In all honesty this is all so new to me that I don't even know what a statement is or whether that's the right way to go but was basically told I'd be refused one anyway as his needs weren't great enough. I'm also reading on here about an SEN register? I'm not sure what that is either and if that would help?

Feeling like I've had very little explanation from the professionals. I'm yet to actually recieve the paperwork with his diagnosis on as there is a backlog on their admin! Very confused

That's great thank you

I don't know much about it but I THINK that if they have a diagnosis of something then they still have to be flagged up and used to get an IEP although I believe the IEPs are changing or being replaced with something else. An IEP is an individual education plan.

Yes we have an iep for him in place at nursery although it is very vague and is mainly about supporting him with his dietary needs. It needs updating.

In school provision is supposed to cover up to 15 hours per week. Unfortunately this is 15 hours per child all from the same amount of funding.

Sorry, should add that he will have access to an ASD advisory teacher. IEPs are supposed to be "educational" - so linked to achievement - so he may not need one. That's not to say that there should not be adjustments to how he us provided for. How did you get a diagnosis? I'd say thats good for a school, as it's a painfully slow process.

He got his diagnosis through the scat team...hv referred him at around 2, years old, he was finally diagnosed last month aged 4.
I guess I'm just worried that when he starts "proper school" in sept he will just be treat as all the other mainstream children am which to some extent is great but he does have additional needs that aren't necessarily educational so IMO will require support in school.

Intelligence is not linked to how likely you are to get a statement - it depends on the level of need your ds requires to access the curriculum. Just because your ds is HF with an IQ of 130+ doesn't automatically rule one out. My neighbours daughter is in mensa but had a statement at school because of her severe dyslexia.

Do you have access to the pre-school advisor/assessment officer at the LA? You could ask them to visit your ds at nursery.

Parts 5 and 6 of the statement are non-educational needs which can include medical things though any provision in that part of the statement is not legally binding and if you got that far in the assessment process it would be wise to try and get it into parts 2 and 3. Dh had food issues which impacted on his ability to access the curriculum so we got it into part 2. That's a long way down the road though so I wouldn't worry about that at the moment.

I would make an appointment with the head and/or senco at the primary school you are hoping he will attend and voice your concerns and ask them how they might help him. Schools like to have as much info as possible about any potential children with additional needs in advance to help them plan provision so they should welcome you contacting them

his IQ level was assessed at 130+ so he does not have learning difficulties

As you have said yourself, of course he has learning difficulties (zero concentration, sensory issues)! That's why you will need an IEP and/or a statement.

Well, suppose such a child was coming into my class, with a diagnosis, I'd have conversations with you and the nursery to arrange transition very carefully. In our LA a pre school teacher counsellor would be allocated to support us and time with S&L and an OT. I think we would be guided very much by nursery about support needed and triggers for stress in an educational setting. We'd try to set up similar systems to those that have been used to date. Then to an extent we would see how we got on, adjusting support as needed. Educational issues tend to reveal themselves as a child with ASD gets older and can depend on their particular abilities - so IEPs may be part of the provision later on, even if they are not at the start.

Most children with ASD do not have a statement, but are catered for differently at school. Once you know where you have a place, make an appointment to see the HT, the SENco and the class teacher.