Legally accepted criteria for ASD/ADD diagnosis

[hopeidontforgetthisusername]

My 15 yr old has recently been diagnosed ASD and inattentive type ADHD by private assessment.

The company carrying out the diagnosis are from a different area to us - we went private due to the long waits.

The school says they cannot accept the diagnosis unless they can be sure it is fair and thorough.

The comprehensive report is 20 pages long and includes details of the professionals who carried out the report - both HCPC registered (I have checked the registers and they are on there), one being a clinical pscyhologist and one a SALT who reviewed her in clinic and all of the assessment being carried out in accordance with NICE guidelines.

I think the school do not want to accept the diagnosis as instead they want it to be that DD is just naughty.

A separate pscyhotherapist who suggested the assessment was carried out following weekly sessions with my DD for several months thinks that the school are not looking at events leading up to the things that get her in trouble and that this is a legal document that they cannot choose to ignore.

I intend to challenge the school but just wanted to see if anyone had any advice or had gone through similar.

From what I can see the clinic where the assessment were done can legitimately carry out private assesments (they also carry out NHS assessments for another authority) and from my understanding their credentials qualify them to do these reports but maybe i'm missing something?

What is it that you want the school to do, as a result of the diagnosis? Are there recommendations in the report for support/adjustments that would alleviate the difficulties?

If your daughter is regarded as being naughty, what is the school doing to minimise the triggers that are a precursor to the behaviour?

You say that you want to challenge the school. Maybe you could ask for a meeting with the SENCo or year head or form tutor, to explain how you would like her to be better supported and the school should be able to tell you what is in place now.

Support isn’t dependent on a diagnosis, but recommendations for strategies will be helpful. You could use it as evidence should you wish to apply for an EHCP. The support should be there, irrespective of a diagnosis though.

Sorry I didn't put enough info. in the OP. I met with the SENCO.

I would like the school to let all of her teachers know the diagnosis so that they can be aware that the additional needs that she has are down to her ND rather than being difficult. When she meets a challenge I want that to be supported. At the moment that isn't happening enough, it depends on the teacher with some being better than others.

I would like it to be recognised that she has genuine needs and may not just be being difficult.

The school seems poor and ignorant. Is it a private school? There are official complaints procedures you could and might need to follow, as they are by law required to accept a diagnosis according to NICE guidelines and provide support according to need. But ideally you don't want school to be a battlefield. If they don't get it, are there any other schools in your area with places who would be more supportive? You could apply for an EHCP yourself if there are no alternative school options, and the EHCP could help find a more suitable school and specify the support you think she needs. Does the report/the therapist give any examples of support your daughter needs? Does she e.g. need to know what happens next? We found that's essential, but a visual timetable we found is a gimmick. Schools that worked for my daughter were schools with thoughtful and kind teachers who would come up to her before a lesson and say: today we talk about x. Or who would email her in advance about a change in timetables. Who didn't care about school uniform rules. It's really more an attitude as anything else, based on understanding how autistic children tick and general kindness.

Thank you for replying. No not private. Schools oversubscribed in area so not really any other options - one alternative would be to do online home schooling, am seriously considering this.

The report gives a list of recommendations for support but the school will not refer to the report and when we went to the meeting only wanted us to say what adjustments she needed. I couldn't think off the top of my head and so listed a couple (when I tried to get the list out I had printed she said I'm not interested in what the report says, what do you think she needs).

I will look up the complaints procedure but I do feel as though it's just a battle we could do without.

That sounds like an awful SENDco.If you'd like to investigate online schools, I can recommend MVA. It requires a relatively high commitment to independent study/motivation and can be lonely (although local clubs and meeting with other online students can prevent this), so might not suit everyone, but their awareness of neurodiversity and intention to support I can't fault. With ADHD, realistically online schooling might require some prompting and involvement from you or suitable adult, though, especially with regard to the 'homework' (daily independent study/learning tasks). MVA can be named in EHCPs. I'd aply for DLA first on the basis that she can't go to school and needs daily support for online learning due to ASD and ADHD, and DLA then would cover about 2/3 of the fees. It would probably be quicker than an EHCP. You then can still try for an EHCP if online works, but at least you know that your daughter is getting a good education and is not suffering in an hostile school environment. You'll also hopefully then have positive evidence to support the EHCP (if your daughter's behaviour and possibly attendance and grades improve, you can argue it's because of online school meeting needs and that prooves mainstream hasn't been suitable). You'll have to expressively state that you are not EHE, don't deregister from school, just state that your daughter is too ill to attend due to refusal of school to meet needs.

The school must make reasonable adjustments as per the Equality Act. This isn’t based on diagnosis. The school must also make their best endeavours to meet DD’s SEN as per section 66 of the Children and Families Act 2014. This isn’t based on diagnosis either. Support in schools is based on needs. To not do so leaves them open to a disability discrimination case.

The school and LA must not have a blanket policy of refusing to accept independent assessments just because they are independent.

Request another meeting with the SENCO. Follow up all verbal conversations with emails. That way, you have a paper trail in case you require it in the future.

Think about requesting an EHCNA. On their website, IPSEA has a model letter you can use. It is worth reading IPSEA and SOSSEN’s websites and the SENCOP.

Do you have DD’s class teachers’ email addresses? If so, email them directly.

Thank you, that’s really helpful and I’ll certainly look up MVA. Yes I must admit I would have some concerns about the online learning in terms of motivation and the lack of social contact t is also a concern, although she does attend cadets twice a week and often does weekend workshops so there is some socialising.

Thank you I will look up the websites recommended. I have emailed the Sendco since the meeting as I have her email addresses and whilst I have some of the teachers email addresses we don’t have them all as they aren’t generally given out, - you have to email admin@ and then they forward the email on and if you get a response from the individual teacher then you will have their email address.