EHCP - residential placement

[Crumplesock]

I'd be grateful for any knowledge on how we would we secure a residential setting in our son's EHCP (assuming LA will decide to Issue, currently undergoing the needs assessment).

Evidence, evidence and more evidence. And, a lot of the time, an appeal and seeking independent assessments as part of that.

Make sure the LA seeks all the necessary advice and information (including from professionals such as OT, SALT and clinical psychologist &/or a psychiatrist) as part of the EHCNA. Make sure they seek proper advice and information from social care. If any of the reports are vague and woolly, go back to the LA because they need to cover all needs, provision and outcomes and the provision needs to be detailed, specified and quantified. If the evidence is poor, the EHCP will be too and is more likely not to name a residential placement.

Thank you, I suppose I need to understand what do I need to ensure the reports say?

Our son already receives the highest rate DLA and his OT assessment states he needs 2:1 care. We are havung a social care assessment too but she appears to disagree a 2:1 is needed and that we can cope with his behaviour at home (despite me and my other children all having been in A&E multiple times this past month due to injuries)

Thank you, I suppose I need to understand what do I need to ensure the reports say?

Our son already receives the highest rate DLA and his OT assessment states he needs 2:1 care. We are havung a social care assessment too but she appears to disagree a 2:1 is needed and that we can cope with his behaviour at home (despite me and my other children all having been in A&E multiple times this past month due to injuries)

The placement named in section I is the logical conclusion of sections B&F. For a residential placement, sections D&H can be important too. The information in those sections is taken from the reports. So, the information collected needs to cover all needs DS has. All the needs must have provision to meet those needs. This needs to be worded in a way that is detailed, specified and quantified rather than woolly or vague. Using the 2:1 as an example, who will provide it, what training/qualifications/experience will they have, when will they provide 2:1 (including where provision needs to be provided outside of normal school hours - you might still see this called a ‘waking day curriculum’ but that term isn’t used so much these days due to changes in judiciary thinking and case law), how long for, where will they provide it, what support will they provide… make sure it doesn’t say things like ‘access to 2:1’, ‘opportunities for 2:1’, ‘will benefit from 2:1’… The reports will need to show residential is needed.

A good social care assessment can really help with securing a residential placement. With that in mind, I would go back to the social worker with your concerns about her report. If you have to appeal, an independent social worker assessment is often helpful.

Thank you so much. It's hard to know how to get this across, we have an EP coming to the home tomorrow to assess. The EP originally was under the impression our son was at school as the information the LA had given him was that our son was attending mornings at the school (he hasn't ever attended the school, his attendance is 0%).

We believe residential could help and be the best thing as he becomes so unregulated and overwhelmed by transitions and cannot manage with his siblings coming/going from the house. He doesn't do any learning, he just attempts to regulate his emotions all day.

Get him on adhd meds and re asses he may be fine then.

He hasn't got ADHD so I can't just "get him meds"

Had he been assessed for adhd has he done the qb test. I only ask as if its adhd and autism the adhd may drive the behaviour and worsen his asd and meds can and do help. But that's if he has not already been assessed for adhd. My dd has both and is fab now no issues.

We took my ds off adhd meds when he was 7 as we didn’t know if it was the autism, ADHD and LD driving behaviours , in hindsight I wish we had kept the camhs open, but they took us off as he wasn’t on medication.

Fast forward 7 years and we’ve struggled with rage , aggression, transitions and I often wonder now at 16 if ADHd meds would’ve made this part of his difficulties easier.

i took him off the medikinet as I felt he zoned out , and surely this wasn’t the desired outcome at 9 years old.

But now, I wonder if it would make these years before residential college easier for him, better for him with learning, instead of struggling with every transition in school and home and not being able to leave with the carers outside the house.

Now, whilst a referral is in the pipeline for psychiatry, in reality it will be too late and I hope the residential college has psychiatry involved to aid in this area when he’s 18.
we would never get back with camhs for any further medication also.