Private austim assessments - how are they viewed by schools ?

[ontheedgeofwhatever]

Sorry this is my second thread today but with 2 different questions I wanted to keep them separate.

We are meeting with school on Friday to discuss referral for an autism assessment. We could potentially afford to have this done privately which would I assume speed things up. However, I've heard that schools don't like this and insist on NHS involvement and also some won't co-operate with the private assessors or take findings into account.

Also if ongoing support is required will we be able to access this via NHS or will we have to get that privately too?

Are they actually worth the paper they're written on or should we wait.

I'm thinking that we might suggest doing it privately at the meeting but I'm hearing mixed stories.

Has anyone had any experience of doing this and how did it work out please?

Schools and LAs can’t have a blanket policy of refusing to accept the results of independent ASD assessments purely because they are independent. The validity of assessments is less likely to be questioned if the assessment follows NICE guidelines &/or the HCPs also work/worked for the NHS.

In many areas, there is not any post diagnosis support on the NHS. Many are assessed, diagnosed or not, and discharged. If you live in an area who does have support post diagnosis for autistic children and it isn’t linked to the assessment (e.g. one area has a couple of appointments following the assessment which you wouldn’t get unless you were assessed by them too) you could ask to be referred but you would still have to sit on the normal waiting lists. You could also request a referral to e.g. CAMHS or OT just like you could if you had an NHS diagnosis.

Thank you.

He's had such a bad day - I'm beginning to think about home education but would need to give up work.. dont know what to do

Personally, I wouldn’t deregister and EHE. Instead I would pursue further support whilst remaining in the system. Does DS have an EHCP? What support is the school providing? What is DS’s attendance like? Parents often find it easier, although not easy, to get support whilst they remain in the system. Crudely, at the minute, you and DS are someone’s ’problem’. The LA is responsible for DS, including providing alternative provision if he is unable to attend school. If you EHE, the LA will say you are making suitable alternative arrangements and you relieve them of some of their duties.

Don't take him out of school and don't think that a diagnosis either private or NHS will/should make much difference. School should be putting in support based on need, not on diagnosis. What are school doing? Does he have an EHCP? What is happening when he has a bad day?

Thank you.

School have given him a time out pass and he has a safe place he can go and a dedicated person he can go to if he needs to - she does not teach she only does pastoral care for SEN children. They also allow him to leave lessons 2 minutes earlier as he finds the corridors too busy so that has helped a bit.

Some staff have been really supportive but lots haven't. One asked him why he bothered going to school at all I complained about that - thankfully he seems not to be teaching DS at all this year.

I'm a bit at sea about ECHPs - I've a vague understanding of them and realise they'd be helpful but just not really sure what I'm asking for. I'm going to raise it again tomorrow when I see the SENCO about the autism assessment referral.

I love him so much my heart's breaking seeing him so unhappy and I hate sendig him to school every day. He says I'm sending him for another day of suffering and misery..

We had a private/ independent diagnosis and cognitive assessment for my dc earlier this year. The assessment was a multidisciplinary approach, NICE guidelines and the SALT and psychologist are/ were both in the NHS. It's been it's worth it's weight in gold - the psychologist who conducted my dc assessment went into the school and spoke to the SLT & senco about my child's assessment and what the results meant in layman's terms. The school have since applied for an ehcp (mid way through!) and the cognitive test results have been vital for a few incidents that happened in school (my dc is around two years behind cognitively and their behaviour is in line with their development). Have the school got any support plans in place currently?

EHCP support thread no. 4 - www.mumsnet.com/talk/special_educational_needs/5197351-ehcp-support-thread-no-4

Sorry things are difficult OP.

We had a private ADOS (autism assessment) and QB check (ADHD) and both have been accepted, no problem, including by the NHS paediatrician we eventually saw.

Check private providers meet the NICE guidelines and ask for recommendations from other parents in the local area.

You may also be able to access assessments via Choose and Book. Ask your GP about it.

We met with the senco in Friday and completed an nhs referral. Her view is to set everything at school as if he has a diagnosis but the reason she wants one is so that she can get him extra time in GCSEs later on.

I didn't bring up private option at this stage I should talk to dp first as it's a good chunk of our cash but may well be worth it

The school are worried about lots of things and I they were hinting at alternative provision which I thinkbmay be better for him but dp hates the idea and ds keeps telling us he wants to stay where he is. The school sue was talking aboutnbhas such a good reputation for dealing with academixally able but very anxious children and I really feel he'd be happier there.. frustrating

Little chance of getting alternative provision unless everyone's on the same page and an EHCP's in place.

What is school worried about?

Supporting 'as if' is exactly what they should be doing, however.

Little chance of getting alternative provision unless everyone's on the same page and an EHCP's in place.

This is not the case. AP does not require an EHCP. Neither does it require the school to agree. If the LA refuses and the child is unable to attend school, the parents can force the LA's hand via JR if necessary. The law is clear. As is the LGO. Under section 19 of the Education Act 1996, the LA has a duty to ensure CSA DC unable to attend school full time receive a suitable full-time education.

The OP was unclear but I thought the school was suggesting a different school? So do you think it's a managed move being suggested @EndlessLight?

@Phineyj, OP switches between AP and school, so it is unclear what she/the school meant. There are some AP settings that are also registered schools, e.g. AP free schools. They may mean one of them. A managed move would not be appropriate in this situation. My point was AP doesn’t need an EHCP. If DS can’t attend school full time, OP doesn’t need the school to agree either. Some schools use AP or directing pupils off-site even when DC can attend school full time. That would be different a different situation.

BTW OP, a diagnosis isn’t required for extra time. You can see the rules here.

Thwnk you i am a bit confused to be honest. It is a school but only takes children with severe anxiety which ds certainly suffers from

I'm not sure if it's AP or just a school so sorry for me any confusion

The y said if he went there he'd say in the register where he is now as well.. is that a managed move?

You can search for the school here. It will tell you what type of school it is. For example, under ‘School type’ this (chosen at random) setting says ‘Academy alternative provision sponsor led’. If you can’t find it, feel free to PM me if you want.

Some AP registered schools take dual registered pupils. Like the example I linked to above.

Managed moves are initially dual registered too. Then if the managed more is successful they move. If not, they return to the home school. But they wouldn’t remain dual registered forever.

Whatever it is, and whatever you do, you should request an EHCNA, too. An EHCP can provide far more support, including therapies, than AP can. It also protects DS longer term when he is no longer CSA.

Oh OK, I think my school sometimes does this. So they're proposing that your son stays on roll at the original school while spending some time at the other one.

Are you and DH able to take a look so you can get a better idea of what's being suggested?

My experience, in the last 18 months, has been entirely positive. School did refer DD but we discussed waiting times (2+ years in my area) and they accepted it made sense to go privately if we could afford it. I did ensure I used a private provider who had worked with NHS and met the NICE guidelines as a minimum. School accepted the diagnosis, although they were already treating her as if diagnosed anyway. Also presented assessment to GP who have also accepted.
I think, for the most part, if you have a school who are supportive of your child, they will also be acutely aware of the difficulties in getting NHS diagnosis and it's the less supportive schools who might not accept it. I suspect these are the schools who wouldn't be much use either way.

Best of luck with it all.