I want to cry or scream. They are bastards.

[daisy5678]

I'm finally finishing my huge complaint against the council. It spans 5 years of incompetence so it's kinda long.

I thought it might be kind of cathartic to write, but it's just making me so miserable and angry. When you put all the incompetence together, it is truly breathtaking. Three refusals for Statutory Assessment, when every person involved with ds said he needed 100% 1:1 due to his extreme level of violence. 4 years of inappropriate provision, ignoring me and all the other professionals actually involved. 3 givings-in before Tribunal. Decisions that make no sense. Blatant disregard for SEN Code of Practice in every area.

Ex keeps saying yes, but move on; ds has what he needs now. Yes, he does - he has a great Statement and lots of appropriate therapy, but only because of me. The bastards who are supposed to make this process work actively make it not work for the child unless the parent pushes and pushes until they get close to breaking point .

Also, what really upsets me is having the write the impact of each little piece of the incompetence jigsaw. You know, because X and Y happened, ds didn't get Z and this means that he missed out etc. etc.

I also feel so at all the missed opportunities to offer him appropriate assessment and therapies. I shouldn't be, but I am. I am also that I didn't push more for dx and therapy at the start; I just wanted the Statement sorted.

And they've never ever apologised for anything . Even when backing down. That's what angers me the most. That, and the fact that they've done it and are still doing it to so many other poor buggers.

I thought that this would make me feel better. One huge complaint after the hundreds of hours that I've put in over the years. But it's not, and I'm starting to realise that nothing will because they can't give me back my lost hours or ds back his lost opportunities .

No, just say, that since some time has passed since our complaint you now have some additions, and then stick them on the end......

I have my response. It says they won't even look at any of my complaints that go back further than a year.

It says I can complain to Ombudsman if I like. But looking at LGO website, it also says that you must complain within 12 months unless you have a good reason for not doing so. Is being stressed up to the max dealing with the day-to-day crap and the annual battles raging with LA during those 4 years 'that don't count' a good reason and will Ombudsman think so?

If I can't get at least an apology for this, I am going to feel like I have lost a big reason for keeping on going.

Oh giveme, there must be a way round that.

Perhaps you need advice. I mean the 'outcome' that you are complaining about happened in the last year, in that your ds has suffered. Don't lose heart. It is probably some 'technicality' that they are throwing at you to try to wiggle out of it.

I know our LA's solicitor tried to say that we couldn't have ABA because our Consultant wasn't a registered Early Years provider which was nuts.

Could you suggest that your 'good reason' for not complaining sooner was because you have a wealth of evidence showing how you were attempting to address each individual issue as it ocurred and always wanting and hoping that you were giving them the opportunities to fix things themselves?

I'm so sorry but I just can't believe it can end like that.

They have discretion to look at more than a year if good reason ditto LGO. Does their complaint leaflet say this and their website if not argue how could you know. also Lgo can't look at anything where right of appeal so if you had to go to sendist they could not look at anything until after sendist decided so are you within a year of sendist? We will have same issue but I will argue preoccupied with sendist and did not want complaint to interfere with stat ass process eg the LA making us out to be trouble makers i deliberately did not complain at time as knew they would use it against us but they still said we were difficult and obstructive even tho we did not complain! I would write back and say you are disappointed they will not exercise discretion and that you will take the issues over 12 months direct to Lgo. If Lgo think unreasonable not to go back more than a year then will ask council to look at it again. But check their literature our LA complaint leaflet does not mention time limits so do not see they can enforce them.

LA thingy mentions 12 months as a 'we may not...' but I've got all the evidence and most of the buggers still work in exactly the same positions that they worked in then. I bet they loved writing that they'd look at nothing old see, the recent stuff is bad but not as bad as the much older stuff, especially the refusing of the Statutory Assessment and it will gut me if LGO doesn't look at the older stuff.

I will ring LGO tomorrow and ask.

I have been within a year of SENDIST probably all the way through. Certainly 2005 and then 2007-8 and then 2009-10. That's a good point.

Thanks guys. Any more ideas welcomed.

giveme honestly, if you were in their position you'd try this too. The whole POINT of that response is to tip you over the edge.

Take a few days off, let your brain do some reconciling and then get back onto your strategic high horse.

I have learnt early enough that there is no such thing as justice, but there are other ways to get your revenge. Don't let them put a ceiling on what damage you can do. Even a LGO with what you have already will tie them up in paperwork forever, and you could probably 'start' there and then as you go along, prove why they will need to delve further into the past.

Don't lose heart. They want you to be cross.

We have banged our heads against the Brick Wall of the council complaints "timewasters"

My advice would be to make Individual "simple" complaints against those people and those incidents which you can identify of breaching the Council policy.

Complex complaints, particularly in SEN, can just allow them to blame another agency or Health. They will tell lies to protect themselves.

LGO advice line man says they might consider older evidence if I can explain why they should. So I guess that's hopeful. TBH, the fight's kinda gone out of me if they'll only consider the most recent stuff. Still worth doing, but I want an apology for the early stuff, the time when they should have identified the autism and put in the support and didn't. The latter stuff is still shite but hasn't had consequences, so an apology for that will seem pretty meaningless, TBH.

Giveme

I found that getting my Local Councillor involved brought some 'sense' to the situation.

They can consider things older than 12 months. They are trying it on.

Actually, I'd ask them to put the fact that they can't deal with older than 12 month things in writing as you could then legitimately go straight to LGO as having exhausted the Council;s complaints procedure.

I feel for you - they are SHITE.

But LGO have the same basic 12-month rule!

Sorry, and they did put it in writing - in my 'response' letter. 'Unfortunately, we are not required to consider anything from longer than 12 months ago'. Bet the 'unfortunately' was written with a grin.

giveme There are still ways or raising the old issues.

I mean, if you phrase your complaint in such a way as 'ds was failed, which is serious enough, but even worse given the previous 4 years of failure' etc.

I am 'sure' you can persist. Can you get your Councillor to insist?

Have picked myself up and got back on this - applied for Stage 2 of council procedure and also to LGO, with a letter explaining why I haven't applied before. Fingers crossed...

Oh good Giveme. Even if you don't get what you want, don't for a minute think that your letters aren't causing a stir. It's a shame if you don't see the benefits directly, but it will all make a difference.

People will be shouted out, have ruined weekends, have extra paperwork and hopefully, just hopefully they will tighten their accountablility if just a little.

Giveme good for you. Keeping my fingers crossed that you get a good outcome and make their lives difficult. Any chance you can request something that would spoil Christmas break for them?

Can tell I am timing my requests?

Starlight keep is good.

Hope I get to the stage where I know as much as you do. However, unlike you, I trusted them for too long and wasted years of my ds's life. Well, it is not too late - I just have to work harder and I have learnt, when I reach a barrier, I have to try to find a way around it - because my ds can't.

You and a few others on this site show what can be done.

I get knocked down, but I get up again; they're never gonna bring me down... lalalala...anyone remember that Chumbawumba song? My son has discovered it on iTunes and is now obsessed with it so it has become my battle song this week.

Stage 2 complaint done, with rebuttal of bullshit in LA's reponse letter - tick

LGO complaint done, complete with reasons for late complaint - tick

Letter received from LA, asking for independent mediator meeting - tick

I bloody bet they want one

Does that count as 2-1 yet? I think we were 1-1 with the shitty response letter I got, but can I be 2-1 now?

Ooooh ooooh ooooh just got a letter from LGO senior investigator saying complaint will be allocated to an investigator! That means they've accepted the complaint, right?

Thank

& s

star, do we get actual badges for this, like in the Brownies?

Here are some suggestions:

Dx badge
Apply for SA badge
Order copy of SEN COP badge
Appeal to get SA badge
1st Tribunal badge
Fobbed off badge
Quote SEN COP at LA badge
Tribunal badge
Complain to LA badge
Complain to Ombudsman badge

We could get a bottle of wine for every badge earned.