EBSA and ASD Assessment

[ShineBrightSunshine]

Hi all,

My DC has been triaged for and is now awaiting an ASD assessment. Main concerns are:
Food aversion due to shape
Desire for routine and meltdowns when things change
Cannot tolerate crowds/noisy places
Hyper emotive
Emotional responses to music from very young age
EBSA - high anxiety
Picks up on tiny details in environment but also in tone of voice/facial expressions
Have I done right thing going for an assessment?
They are on an SEN plan for EBSA but despite going in daily it’s getting increasingly harder to get them in. I’m maintaining consistency and nurture but also making it clear that the plan is always to get in to class every day so that they can see friends and learn. Sometimes they need multiple resets before being able to enter school comfortably. It is utterly exhausting and I am doing everything I physically can to support them, yet feel so helpless as a mum. Any advice would be so gratefully received.

It sounds like an assessment is a good idea. In the meantime, what support is DC receiving? What is the school doing to help? Has an EHCNA been requested?

Do you think DC is well enough to attend school? If they are unable to attend school full-time, the LA has a duty to ensure they still receive a suitable full-time education.

Thanks so much for your help. He is managing to make it in every day after break (lunch on tricky days) and I home school for the first lesson. He is on a support plan for EBSA. The school have said he wouldn’t get an EHCP due to being academically able, is this the case or could I apply for SEMH needs alone? Should I hold off until his assessment in the summer? My gut feeling is that he would benefit from having one in place as Year 7 is on the horizon and as his very nurturing primary school environment causes high anxiety, I am pretty certain a very busy senior school will almost certainly be overwhelming to the point of refusal. He struggles with communication, crowds and the uncertainty of not knowing what will happen next. He has a visual timetable to support this but it’s that need for sameness that he really craves and although a school environment is predictable, only to a certain degree. Any advice is greatly appreciated, thank you.

The school has given you incorrect information. EHCPs are about more than academics. You can get EHCPs for academically able DC. Request an EHCNA yourself now. On their website, IPSEA has a model letter you can use.

What support does the support plan include? If your area has a specialist teaching service who will see DC awaiting an ASD assessment, has the school requested advice from them? If DS is not attending school full time, you can request alternative provision. IPSEA also has a model letter for this.

yes apply for ehc plan,they can help,iv just got my sons draft copy,if you feel as a parent he needs one go for it, ehc plans tell a story of child's likes and dislikes and how the school can help the child,I can't believe the school said no,its not upto the school to apply hun,you can do it yourself,if you contact your la and ask for advice tell them everything you've said on here and they will tell you the next steps,I know each la is different but we're iam you can also self refere for one,we was lucky nursery was so supportive of our son but the mainstream school where my son could be forced to go in September due to lack of spaces in special school there not so supportive,I think mainstream school try to avoid kids with additional needs and just dismiss it,but if he already has some sort of plan in place and has been diagnosed with something he needs a ehc plan,push for it don't let school tell you he doesn't need one,la will tell you if he needs it or not x

I wouldn’t take advice from the LA. LAs tell parents what they want them to know and their (often unlawful) version of the law. IPSEA and SOSSEN are better sources of accurate information. Despite what some LAs think, the law is the same in every LA.

I'm also looking for information for my situation aswel so please don't think I'm been bitchy its good to know at times I'm not on my own that's all,its a tuff road all us send parents go down and every aspect is a struggle so to at least be nice to each other isn't something hard to ask for

how is pointing out LAs lie so I wouldn’t take advice from them not ‘nice’.

Thanks so much for your replies. The current plan is very informal and really only details the plan for the morning, time to aim to come back in etc as well as visual timetable and two strategies to support the anxiety. I have been advised by an ASD charity that the trajectory for EBSA is most likely full refusal due to overwhelm and needs not being met at school causing the high anxiety. That’s a tough pill to swallow. So EHCP is first step and then ask school for options regarding support with home learning? Should I raise emotional literacy interventions? I’m pretty certain they are not receiving any targeted support with this.

Yes, request an EHCNA using IPSEA’s model letter.

Alongside this, request alternative provision using another one of IPSEA’s model letters. This is the responsibility of the LA rather than the school. Provision should begin as soon as it becomes clear 15 days will be missed. The days (which can be made up of part days, e.g. the half days) don’t need to be consecutive or already missed and provision should start by the sixth day of absence. Do you think DS is able to attend at all? Sometimes forcing DC to attend is counterproductive and can lead to further trauma.

Also, request a meeting with the SENCO. The school should be making their best endeavours to meet DS’s SEN. So things like emotional literacy support including Zones of Regulation work, nurture group, Lego therapy, drawing and talking therapy, key worker to meet DS each day, looking at support at lunchtime/does DS need somewhere quieter to eat, placement within the classroom, ear defenders/noise cancelling headphones, proper movement breaks… not all these will be possible in all schools without an EHCP bit the school should certainly be providing support.

If DS struggles with crowds and needs routine/doesn’t cope with change, would it be easier for DS to attend just the mornings rather than afternoons? In most schools, the morning is more structured. If he could go in slightly later than normal via a quieter entrance and leave before lunch.

Firstly just wanted to say a Happy Mothers Day to my fellow mums 💐

So I met with a friend yesterday who is on an EHCP journey with her little one and she advised me that my child needs to be on a one plan and have completed three cycles of interventions before having enough evidence to show their needs are not being met before applying for an EHCP. Currently my child is not receiving any interventions on the EBSA plan, it just includes his steps for attendance and use of a visual timetable. My plan was going to be to ask for an emotional literacy intervention, Lego/drawing therapy etc. Should I push for a more formal One Plan (IEP of yesteryear) also? I would love your thoughts on this for my meeting this week. Thank you.

child needs to be on a one plan and have completed three cycles of interventions before having enough evidence to show their needs are not being met before applying for an EHCP.

This is another myth.

The school should be going through APDR process to provide DD with more support, but that doesn’t mean it is part of the test for an EHCNA.

Really helpful, I’ll be brave and get on to starting the EHCP process. Thanks for sharing 😊

DD3 has an EHCP. She's on track for English and two/three years ahead for maths and science. So yes, they can have one while being strong academically.

Hi, sorry I know this is an old thread but wondered how you got on with applying for the EHCP? In a very similar situation with my daughter currently.