What kind of formal assessment shows emotional tolerance?

[OnceMoreFromTheTop]

Hi,

I wondered if I could ask a question about getting assessments done and reports written for school?

My son is struggling terribly in year 9 lessons because he can't cope with what he calls "horror". I figured out today that that includes things like crime lessons in RS which include over-15 certificated videos with trigger warnings.

He also is very upset by sentimenal things like disney films and can't cope with them at all.

We think he has cPTSD and he is already diagnosed with ASD.

He's off school just now and I worry about him going back, knowing that he is going to be exposed to all sorts of things that he just can't cope with.

I wondered if you might know if there is any formal assessment that would gauge what level of emotional content / trauma / horror he can't cope with, so the school could find out quickly from an authoritative source (not me)?

Currently the school say they have to do two terms of Assess-plan-do-review to try to work it out, but I worry that that process might split him entirely in half. He's never going to tell them that he can't cope with things and will just freeze and suffer silently, while getting ever more traumatised internally. He can't possibly tell them that his actual tolerance level is CBeebies.

We have an appointment booked with a regular therapist, but the paediatric clinical psychologists are booked solid for months. The local ASD paediatric psychiatrist isn't even putting new kids on her waiting list.

Thanks!

In the short term can you let the SENCO that some media content is triggering, ask for a list in advance, review, and tell them what he needs to be withdrawn from as a reasonable adjustment to avoid emotional distress?

Thanks for replying.

That would be great, but I suspect that it would be too much work for the teachers to have me checking all their lessons in advance.

They do everything on powerpoint slides and a lot of them have embedded short videos. There are also bought-in lessons on websites that have a ton of little videos included. There is one website where the thicket of rapidly changing videos is enough to trigger a seizure.

I'm seriously starting to wonder if we're in the wrong school, but my poor DS hasn't got it in him to change school right now, I don't think.

I worry that he will end up dropping out to homeschool, which would not be good.

Do you think this test would be helpful?

https://www.hogrefe.com/uk/shop/social-emotional-developmental-age-level.html

Can he just step outside for the videos (on a pretext?). There must be an adjustment possible?

Knowing the content prior to the lessons would be a reasonable adjustment. It might take a lot of chasing, but the school can do it.

You don’t need 2 cycles of APDR first. Request an EHCNA yourself now. IPSEA has a model letter you can use. If the LA agrees to assess the needs assessment can include ed psych, clinical psych, psychiatrist, SALT and OT assessments, all of which sound like they will help. This process is governed by timescales.

Don’t deregister. If DS can’t attend school the LA has a duty to ensure DS receives a suitable, full-time education. This should begin once it becomes clear 15 days will be missed. The days don’t need to have already been missed or consecutive. But, if you EHE the LA will say you are making suitable alternative arrangements thereby relieving them of their duty. Crudely, you are someone’s ‘problem’ now, but if you deregister it is easier for others to brush DC’s needs under the carpet.

Then, if you get an EHCP and school isn’t appropriate you could look at EOTAS.

Thank you very much @YellowRosesWithRedTips , that is extremely helpful advice.

I found the template letter. It's quite fierce isn't it?

I have already filled a form in and it says I can't send it until they have two terms of Assess-plan-do-review.

I really don't want them to do that to him because it would be yet more time of teachers doing ghastly things that he can't cope with. I know they will assume he is fine unless he actually cries, which is not really a cool thing to have to do at age 13.

I have discussed with DS what he needs and we are going to ask the therapist to write a letter to the school to see if that helps.

Basically he just needs to be able to say calmly in words when something is not okay for him, and to be offered a textbook instead. He's happy to work independently from a book.

It's all a bit alarming really, as he is really a nervous wreck, and being trapped with horrifying videos that he can't cope with is not good at all.

Don’t be put off by IPSEA’s letter.

I have already filled a form in and it says I can't send it until they have two terms of Assess-plan-do-review.

That is an unlawful policy. The only lawful threshold for an EHCNA is a) has or may have SEN, and b) may need SEN provision to be made via an EHCP. Anything else such as 2 cycles of APDR, spent £6k, 2+ years behind… is a myth.

Hi @YellowRosesWithRedTips

Thank you very much for your help. I have just bashed the letter together in half an hour, along with all the test results and sent is off.

I'm so grateful for your advice, because the senco is currently too busy to reply to me and I had got bogged down in all the required paperwork.

That's me done my bit now. Just got to count the 6 weeks I suppose and try to do the right things for DS in the meantime.

Fingers crossed this winter is kind to us (all).

If the SENCO is ignoring you/fobbing you offer, email the member of SLT responsible for SEN or the HT.

It would be worth considering submitting SARs to the school and the GP to help you gather evidence.

The SENCO is brilliant actually, but I think she's just busy as it's been a few days since she wrote. I think she'll be back in a bit.

You may not have to wait 6 weeks.
We got an agreement to assess within 3 days of my LA receiving my letter. (Though this was helped by all the clear statements the college had been making about how they couldn't do x y or z without an EHCP and the fact DD had had to bump down a level of her chosen course.)