Can someone help me find quote from SEN Code of Practice please? Refusal to assess

[smugtandemfeeder]

Trying to complete my appeal form for statutory assessment. DS is 3 and is being assessed at a nursery assessment in a few months time.

Can someone help me find a quote from the code of practice?

Agnes said a while ago "you need to find the bit in COP which says young children with severe and complex needs can get SA without having to exhaust the graduated approach"

Ive tried using the search but im muddled.

Thanks for any help.

Speech problems are minor in terms of development.

Constant repetitive questioning to avoid demands.
Doesnt seem to understand my response so he repeats question.
Odd echolalia - eg "Its been a marvellous day" "Get over it" "FFS" Does a lot of this, comes out with very advances sentances despite other normal speech being slightly behind other peers.

Seeing SALT in morning but expect to be laughed out of town

Flexible in play: DS sets up routines when he is playing and cannot deviate from them. Eg when riding bike if DD is sitting in the circuit he has been riding along he just rides straight over her. At church I use this to my advantage to control his behavior during service so I try to encourage an acceptible circuit for him to walk or push a toy car. if that makes sense.

He gets stuck on things such as washing his hands and cant stop.

I dont know. PDA just seems to fit exactly with what we experience at home.

Initially I just told them the traits and let them tell me what they would diagnose.

He has no clear speech delay and good eye contact unless he is anxious. Because autism tends to respond well to routine put in place by parents and the harder we try to put in place ways to correct the behaviour the worse it gets. Nothing has ever worked for us. Except variety and removing demands and PDA strategies.

We initially thought some kind of autism but the private pead said he couldnt see autistic traits.

DS doesnt really do any of this in front of the doctors. The most he does is look terrified/cross and hits the air.

I have told the paeds all these behaviors and they just keep writing that they didnt see them and that they cant see enough to give me a diagnosis.

It might be wise to hold back on SA till after assessment, I know you need and want help, but one thing at a time. TBH with what you have said even with dx a statement will be difficult to obtain without evidence that he will not be able to access the curriculum. A dx on the spectrum does not guarantee a statement. It is hard and it may still get worse before it gets better, but you need to stay strong bang on doors for a dx. And if that is not coming at least get a true description of your son in black and White from paed.

Also, you need to be able to clearly define in your own mind, what it is that you think he will need help with in an educational sense.

For example, my DD1 has a lot of different 'bits and bobs'. But together, they add up to quite a picture (Justa has met DD1).

I KNEW that she wouldn't be able to learn anything in a MS classroom without someone constantly by her side. The Pre-school knew it. The Paed knew it.

However, when the LA Ed Psych came, she tried to tell me that DD1 didn't require 1:1 for MS. So I, being clear in my mind what she struggled with, was able to say 'ok, when do you think she can be independent?' and was able to show that she was wrong on every count.

Sorry haven't read all the thread, and actually our LA argued autism wasn't a severe and complex need - their exact words were that means you need a feeding tube to be severe and complex - but we pressed on and appealed. We got turned down for SA initially but as soon as we appealed they backed down. As you can see from the other thread it took us a long time to get through the process, but at least you are collecting evidence as you go.
If you get turned down - which you probably will - most children with autism are turned down here first time - then you will have the dx by the time of any appeal. My experience is that almost all children get turned down at 3 - here the LA plan is always to stretch out the process until they are in school so they can dump the responsibility on school.
I think the fact they are giving you a place at an assessment nursery indicates they think there are significant needs. Also the assessment nursery will (hopefully) back you dx or no dx.

SALT meeting went well. DS mostly refused to talk. SALT is going to refer him on for social and emotional speach issues and reccommend an IPP for nursery. Will also send me a report for evidence.

That's encouraging, Smug

I was reading this thread and a few of your others and couldn't find good words for what I wanted to say.. and now justa and lougle have phrased what I was thinking.

As a pretty long term breastfeeder, I would add that it might be worth you seeing a breastfeeding counsellor, lead health visitor for breastfeeding or a la leche league support group or similar...

so that they can confirm that a)extended breastfeeding is normal and you aren't a weird mother b) his behaviour is very unusual for an 'attachment parented-type' child and c) these issues are NOT due to the fact that you've breastfed past the UK average duration.

don't know your location, but if you PM me I may have som contacts

Hi Maria. Yes a lot of the professionals have raised the breastfeeding issue as a problem. Amazingly DS proved all the experts wrong and self weaned about 3 months ago. Just like that! Perfect child led weaning! Exactly what I hoped would happen. It does make me laugh (in a slightly hysterical way....) when experts suggest that DS has attachment issues. But they do see extended bf as weird. Even my DH used to say perhaps it was causing his problems.

I haven't mentioned bfing to either of the paeds. Hopefully they won't cotton on and in any case I have stopped and things haven't changed.

SN play centre are happy to write evidence for me. And childminder. So I'll now have at least three letters to take to shrink. Also going to ask HV for something.

Thanks Justa. I got really nervous asking everyone for evidence but thats terrible isnt it when Im not scared to fight the professionals and it will help DS so much. Thick skinned I am not. I appreciate the supportive people so much that if they had said no to writing the letters then I would have felt really hurt. Stupid. Must not let that affect me so much. Its a rejection thing

smug: does the perfect childled weaning mean that mean you'lll have to change your name?

so glad people are giving you the evidence you need, this happened to me, I got so little (well none) help until my son was over 3 and the paed decided that this was more than a small speech delay and then strangely all I got was why my son had not had any early intervention a nasty circle.

Shall I start a new thread asking for suggestions for a new MN name for me now that I am no longer tandem feeding?

Have realised that the paed we saw a few weeks ago is not a specialist and perhaps I should ask to see someone else. Pointless being subject to his judgments and being sent on parenting courses by him if he isnt qualified to make a diagnosis.

Have asked someone in church if they can send a letter too. They have agreed . Thanks for the encouragement to ask them.

Im trying to help draft something for church person. DS had meltdowns all day on the final day and we couldnt calm him down. The only thing that calmed him down was when one of the people from church whisked him off into the forest and took him for a walk. Apparently he said "I want to be happy" to her when she talked about why he had been crying all day. Do you think this is something I should include in the letter? I suppose it could be taken badly or it might be a helpful insight into his world?