Confused about where to start in terms of SEN assessments

[SpaceInvader321]

DS is 10, y5 and we've noticed him struggling for a while with memory (especially maths), focus, sensory issues and social interactions. He's getting a My Plan at school (still waiting for this, so I'm not sure what it will cover) and he's on the list to see an EP through the school but we've already been told the list is so long he won't be seen this academic year. He's also been referred for an ASD assessment, but that could also take until sometime in y6.

We really don't want to be waiting that long for assessments and we might be able to afford going private. We're just not sure exactly where to start.

We strongly suspect ADHD and maybe mild ASD, but don't know if the issues with working memory/executive function might point to other things.

Should we get him assessed by an EP first? What is the advantage of doing this?

Or should we see a psychiatrist who would be able to diagnose for ADHD or ASD (or something else)? (Frustratingly, it seems like most psychiatrists I've researched online specialise in one or the other condition, so if we go for an ADHD diagnosis and they say he doesn't have it, we'd have to go to someone else for ASD, etc, which would quickly get far to expensive for us.)

If we go private, would we need to have any reports or diagnoses "transferred" into the NHS? How difficult is that?

I'm so afraid he'll get completely lost and left behind if he goes into our local massive state secondary without any support and it feels like time is quickly ticking away and I'm starting to really worry.

Thanks for any advice on how best to proceed.

There are 2 different issues here, diagnosis and SEN support in school.

For diagnosis, you can ask the GP for a referral for an ADHD &/or an ASD assessment. If you go private you want someone who will assess following the NICE guidelines as then the validity of any potential diagnosis is less likely to be questioned. Even if you found a psychiatrist to assess for both you are likely to have to pay twice as they are 2 completely different assessment pathways and the gold standard for ASD is an MDT assessment. The NHS (and school and LA) can’t refuse to accept the diagnosis just because it is private. If DS is diagnosed with ADHD and you go down the medication route you need to check your GP will take on shared care once stable on a medication, otherwise the costs will add up.

For SEN support in school a diagnosis isn’t required, it is based on needs. And a diagnosis itself doesn’t automatically result in additional support.

My Plans aren’t statutory. If you think DS needs more support, and being on the waiting lists for an EP assessment suggests he does, you can apply for an EHCNA which if the LA agree to assess will include an EP assessment within the statutory timescales - which would be sooner than waiting. The only way to guarantee specific support, especially in secondary, is via an EHCP.

Executive function and memory difficulties can be part of the ADHD &/or ASD profile. There’s no such thing as mild autism. In order to get a diagnosis one must have “persistent difficulties with social communication and social interaction” and “restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviours, activities or interests” that “limit and impair everyday functioning”. If someone’s difficulties were ‘mild’ they would not be diagnosed. People usually use ‘mild autism’ to mean the person’s autism doesn’t affect others so much but that doesn’t mean the person themselves experiences their autism mildly.