School will only support in NHS diagnosis

[Fluffycloudsfloatinginthesky]

Anyone been in this situation.

I have raised concerns for over a year that I believe my DD may need a referral for ASD/ADHD. School said no. I arranged for a private MH assessment in September to see if it was worth pursuing, school refused to complete forms so I parked it for a while.

As a note this has not come out of nowhere - Dad has ADHD, Anxiety & Depression. Aunt on other side has a list of MH diagnosis as long as your arm.

Fast forward 4 months - she's been suspended, school finally agree to support a referral saying they should have taken family history into account.

I kick off the private initial assessment again but no - they will only work with Cahms / local NHS to maintain the integrity of the diagnosis.

Surely if CAHMS are happy to accept a diagnosis as long as it meets NICE guidelines they should? One of the providers I am looking at is even the bloody lead for the NHS trust in our area who does 1 day a week privately!

She's Y9 so I really cannot wait 2 years for NHS.

Schools can’t lawfully have a blanket policy of refusing to accept independent assessments. However, they may try to avoid responding to requests for any questionnaires. I would speak to the independent provider. It is possible to continue with an assessment without the school co-operating. And sometimes schools back down if the HCP contacts them.

You could also look at RTC, which would be an NHS assessment.
Support in schools is based on needs, so the school should be providing support now.

Thanks @BrightYellowTrain

It's ridiculous - one of the providers I am looking at is the lead for our local nhs trust who works privately 1 day a week. I have asked if they would refuse his request if it came on a private day. They take some stuff into account and make provisions but the rest they say is behaviour and she should do as told.

Absolutely ridiculous.

Surely this isn't allowed as long as the company adheres to NICE guidelines!?

I really would challenge this

It's so frustrating. There is an organisation in our area that support parents in this stuff / can come to meetings with the school.

School have agreed to send a letter instead of completing the form and I'm hoping this is enough to at least get an indication from the person I am seeing tomorrow as to whether diagnosis is a possibility. If it is I'm escalating to the head.

@BrightYellowTrain @fedup1212

So school provided a report to the therapist. It was enough in conjunction with my forms for her to make the initial assessment.

She says she believes she has social anxiety, she also scored very highly for adhd and some symptoms of asd. She recommends proceeding with full assessment.

School have explained why they currently won't fill out the forms and were speaking to the lead sen person in the trust but I need to establish whether they will now do them given the outcome of the initial assessment.

While I am obviously not happy it looks as if she has adhd I am glad that I haven't been imagining things for the last 5 years and that I have been justified in asking the school for the last 12 months for an assessment. I'm not trying to make excuses for her behaviour which is what I think they think!

I would ask the HCP if they would complete the assessment even without the school providing specific forms completed.

If the school refuses, I would also complain.

Yes she has confirmed she is happy to directly refer to camhs herself but I will give school a chance.

I’m confused. I thought you wanted to pursue an independent assessment rather than wait for CAMHS?

I do but for some reason the therapist was saying also to submit to CAMHS - I have asked why. Is it so it's on their records I have no idea!

It may be with the hope that after any assessment and titration (if diagnosed and appropriate), CAMHS would take over care along with shared care with the GP, but that wouldn’t be guaranteed and is obviously after a private assessment.