Reasonable adjustments for ASD child

[AnneOfAvonlea]

Hi there
My y8 HFASD daughter is struggling with anxiety at school and has been unable to attend some lessons. She didn't make it in on monday. The school have made some adjustments :
Time out card to go to student support (she can be scared to use it sometimes)
Lunch pass (she doesnt eat at school though)
Changing seating arrangements so she is always at front of class.
121 PE lesson at lunch time as she doesnt do PE.
But she is still struggling, doesnt feel safe, finds social communication hard and is exhausted from people and masking when she gets home. They dont have funds to give her any 121 support but have said they will make more reasonable adjustments if I can suggest any.
Can you let me know of any you can think of that might help dd? She loves learning bit finds the people and hustle bustle of school overwhelming. Home schooling is not an option for us.
Thanks

Hi,

Does she have an ehcp or has it been discussed with the school?

Has she been seen by an educational psychologist?

It sounds like she needs some proper support at school not just reasonable adjustments which is just trying to paper over the cracks.

She has seen a private psychologist for cbt butbafter 3 sessions got scared of her si we havent been able to return. We are now looking at finding an OT

I asked about an EHCP and school said it would be unlikely to get accepted. She is academically bright and many fail. I said I still want a meeting with senco to discuss it.

I asked school if I could get an Ed psych now, asap, in to evaluate her - I would pay, and they said the LA liked to use their own, and if we went for an Ehcp a private one wouldnt be valid, but I dont think they plan to request an edspych for her

You can apply for an ehc plan yourself. Many schools throw out the you won't get one line as they have to fund the first £6000 of any support given.

This article should help. Ipsea also have model letters to request an ehcp needs assessment. You can certainly request an educational psychologist assessment as part of a needs assessment. Have you spoken to your local sendiass? They would be able to advise you and help you through this process.

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

Thank you. I will arrange the senco meeting and discuss this then make a decision about the ehcp.

In the meantime I still need to let them know about what adjustments we need so need to keep thinking. I am hoping the OT can help us a bit.

Waves Anne.

If you request an EHCNA and the LA agree to assess then an EP assessment will be carried out.

If there has been a recent assessment the LA do not have to seek a new assessment if everyone (you, LA, report writer) agrees the report is sufficient and still accurate. And if you submit a private assessment report as part of your evidence the LA must consider it.

I think I posted on the other thread that your DD meets the legal threshold for an assessment, so I'd ignore school trying to put you off, Big is right, it's probably about funding. LAs like to say pupils need to be academically behind to qualify, but that isn't true. If it is a local LA policy then it is an illegal blanket policy.

Just be careful with SENDIAS, they can be brilliant, but they are not completely independent. They get LA funding therefore with ultimately toe the party line.

What about ear defenders/noise cancelling headphones.
Moving between lessons 5 mins early.
Meeting with a mentor.
Quiet room for break time and lunchtime.
Prior warning of any changes &/or what they will be covering within the lessons.
Copies of notes before lessons &/or laptop.
Do they have a TA trained to deliver social skills, emotional literacy &/or SALT interventions?
Help with organisational skills.
A notebook to write things down to show staff if she can not speak up.

Hi 1step

What about ear defenders/noise cancelling headphones - I discussed this and dd is scared of what the other children will say, and the hoy wasnt sure how the teachers would feel about her wearing them so wanted to trial it. Dd took 'trial' to mean precursor to no, so not sure it will work.
Moving between lessons 5 mins early. - the school suggested dd leaving the class last but this might work better.
Meeting with a mentor. - she did this in year 7 but it has dropped off. I will ask for it again.
Quiet room for break time and lunchtime. - she already goes to LRC on her own.
Prior warning of any changes &/or what they will be covering within the lessons. - they do this when I ask for it for partic challenging subjects but not all.
Copies of notes before lessons &/or laptop. - I think this would really help. I asked for written notes on the board in class last term and it wasnt actioned. (All teachers work differently)!!
Do they have a TA trained to deliver social skills, emotional literacy &/or SALT interventions? - I will ask.
Help with organisational skills. - she is super organised so this isnt an issue.
A notebook to write things down to show staff if she can not speak up - I suggested this before but dd wasnt keen. I can try again.

Looking at this it shows that we have actually tried quite a bit already, but there are a few more things which is really helpful.thank you.

Oh god. Sorry about lack of paragraphs. The stupid phone app takes the spaces away

Umm. "Teachers not liking it" isn't acceptable. It is an adequate reasonable adjustment. I can't imagine there aren't other pupils within the school that wear ear defenders, noise cancelling headphones would be a reasonable extension to that.

Moving 5 mins early rather than late tends to work better, because pupils often worry more about missing the beginning of lessons and walking into class late than they do about the last few mins of lessons and being able to quietly leave early.

Can staff engineer a small group in the LRC?

Prior warnings of changes, the lesson content, notes and laptop again are reasonable adjustments, regardless of how teachers normally work. They have a duty to differentiate. And none of those are out of the ordinary suggestions.

If a notebook won't work, what about email? Either her or you emailing a round up each evening with any positives and issues.

Yes definitely apply for an EHC Needs assessment yourself. Don't let the school put you off. And don't be put off if the LA turn it down either. A lot of LAs do this as a matter of course and then back down once parents appeal.

I think it's a bit the school putting the onus on you to come up with suggestions when it is the school that has the legal duty to make reasonable adjustments. Clearly they all need some training.

I would suggest all the staff having training on ASD and strategies in the classroom, and training on the Equality Act and the school's duty to make reasonable adjustments, so they understand their responsibilities.

And then teachers should realise that if they are asked to make reasonable adjustments, like notifying changes, writing notes on the board or giving copies of notes beforehand, it isn't bloody optional!

It smacks of disability discrimination doesn't it Ellie. The school are leaving themselves open to a tribunal by not making reasonable adjustments.

1stepforward2back makes a good point. Failure to make reasonable adjustments is disability discrimination. Lots of info here:

www.autism.org.uk/about/in-education/resolving-disagreements/discrimination-gb.aspx

That link is very helpful. Thank you.
I spoke with Scope Navigate mentoring service yesterday and they talked to me about how to approach the school and told me dd should be on a graduated plan with an IEP. They said I should ask to see it so I know what the targets are and make sure I agree with them. They gave me a form from the autism education trust that I can fill out and go through with the senco to go through to highlight all of Dds difficulties and agree priorities. She said that an ehcna will look to see the school has done certain things so I need to make sure they have done those before I submit my application.

I agree that I should not have to be coming up with the adjustments as this is all new to me and how I dont know what an education setting can do.

The NAS education rights service and IPSEA look helpful so I know i can use those. It's more about what i cam do in the short term to get dd the help she needs right now.

I didn't realise Dd didn't have an IEP. Have school not implemented one from your previous meetings with them?

While evidence of support school have already tried is helpful, given DD has ASD and is able to access very few lessons she meets the legal threshold of has or may have SEN and it may be necessary for SEN provision via a EHCP. You do not have to prove school have spent £6K supporting DD or any other criteria your LA wish you to prove as that would be illegal - tough your LA may need reminding of that.

If the school could, but won't, provide more support it is still possible to get an EHCNA. See case law MC v Somerset County Council (SEN) [2015] UKUT 0461 (AAC).

Thanks 1step. If she has an IEP then it hasnt been discussed with me?
They have had 2 or 3 meetings with me and regular emails to discuss her issues and what adjustments we need to make but it has always been reacting to situations