Support without Statementing

[mrsforgetful]

Can anyone let me know whether I have to Statement in order to get a small ammount of 1:1 support for my Aspergers son- he is at school action plus and wondered whether i can push for some 'lunchtime' help- another pair of glasses got broken today after he was involved in another 'misunderstanding'-also appears that he's not finishing his work so is being kept in at lunchtime inorder to complete it- meaning he's not eating lunch till after 12.45- and he is a slow eater ...they like them out of the dining area by 1pm- wondering if he had a bit of 'keeping on task' help in class that he'd be able to complete an acceptable ammount of work.....also am i wrong to be dissapointed in the school yet again that none of this is mentioned by the school...luckily because DS1 is SOOOOOO honest (he always tells the truth....yes! really!!!)- we get to hear exactly whats happened- historically this has been proven by the school agreeing with his summary of events!

i am about to write to the Head ref all this... and ask for her support in my wishing to request a statement- i keep saying i will do this- but i have had enough now- as i've said already- my ds2 is showing Aspergic tendancies and the school have so many specialneeds that they aren't co-operating with my need for his diagnosis (so that i can get the help he needs- and the support i need at home)- so feel certain that the reason the Head thinks statementing is not needed is that this request would again be another statistic she could well do without!!(yep! I'm biased and fed up too!)

Others will help you with the Statementing procedure, as they have gone through it with their children.

But I'll put in some quick infomation. Contact your son's form teacher (if in secondary school) and tell them about the glasses incident. Our SEN department and pastoral departments are used as 'sanctuary' for children who might otherwise get into difficult situations. If he is finding it hard to keep on task push for the 1 on 1. I have an ASD lad in one of my classes and he has 1-1 and it makes all the difference in the world.

HTH

mrsforgetful, firstly to say sorry your boy is having a hard time it must be horrible for him and awful for you to witness too Secondly yes I would push for a statement especially if he is so vulnerable at dinnertimes. I am not sure but I think you do need a refferal to an educational pyscholigist who will assess your son either at home or at school (she may even be able to give a diagnosis but the others will probably know more about this then me) Then the EP usually decides whether to statement or not but in my experience they do if you push for it. We got a refferal to the EP through the development paed. HTH as I havent got much knowledge on AS but I know others have on here and will be able to give you better advice

You don't need a referral, you can write direct to your LEA to request a statement. Just a simple, short letter to "Head of SEN" saying "I am writing to request a Statement of Special Education Needs for my son, X dob..... (who has a diagnosis of ....)" The clock then starts ticking on how long they have to respond and from then on they have to stick to the "rules" (ha ha) and you have a right to appeal. So just writing the letter does get you some rights in itself. Now I'm not sure if you said he has a diagnosis, it would greatly help if he has. If he hasn't, then you would need a referral from your GP, school, HV or someone to the local Developmental Paediatrician. It might be worth speking to IPSEA first though or the NAS advocacy helpline.

thanks to you all for replying- i really am struggling here.

DAVROS- he was diagnosed with ADHD (at age 7) and Asperger's (age 9)- both by the community paed who is linked to the school so suppose that should help.When I send that letter to the LEA- is it enough to say literally what you suggest do i have to go into detail on that 1st letter? He was going to the 'lunchtime club' but this proved boring to him- all they did in his words was 'just play with toys'- because he is high functioning and has the ADHD he needs more to keep him amused! He therefor announced that he has stopped going- hence he's in the playground- i asked him would he rather be in the library or playground- and he was sure he WANTS to be outside (this is a big improvement for him- he's even joining in with football) - however it seems the school were happy to put him in a room with toys and the 'lollypop lady' as superviser! (no disrespect to lollypop ladies)....but maybe if he had someone there trained to develop his social skills etc rather than someone 'just attending' then he'd be happier.

FIO2- would he automatically be seen by an educational psych if i start the statement process (is it part of the assessment)??
I definitely feel this is needed as on one hand he has the aspergers 'bit'- ie social skills and on the other i believe he's an 'undiagnosed dyspraxic'- so i feel there are loads of things he could be helped with to improve both his 'playground' and academic skills

mrforgetful I would have thought he would have to be seen by and EP but Im not sure because I wasnt aware you could self refer either I found it useful to see an EP and Im sure most schools have an EP asigned to them.....Davros is the expert I'm sure she will know

hmb- he's in year 5 so really i'm suprised that all this is allowed to go on at junior school- it's the kind of thing i dreaded happening- but didn't think we'd have to face it yet!
But jumping ahead.... at your school for example are there aspergers kids who are not statemented but get this 1:1 help- or is it likely that we could get him placed in a class which has a teaching assistant there to support several kids (trained to 'stear him' etc so he gets work done and from class to class-i am 'scared' to leave statementing till secondary- however the Head at his junior school isn't 'keen' to go ahead

I have thought about letting him come home for lunch- it's a 5 minute walk- but feel that i shouldn't have to do that- though i know he'd be happier- and though selfish, having just got the youngest at school too- i was looking forward to some 'ME' time!!!

The ASD boy that has one to one has been statemented. There is classroom support for a girl with Autism but not all the lessons. Other boys with ASD have classroom support but not one to one. The boy I mentioned was getting a lot of hassle with other children and the one to one has helped to stop this. In actual fact his full diagnosis has not come through. But if he isn't ASD I'll eat this key board. But he is statemented.

It's awful that your ds has to put up with this, I hope things improve. Big hugs to you both.

mrs forgetful - look at the IPSEA website- they give a template for the letter you need to write.

It's here: www.ipsea.org.uk/

To get a mealtime assistant (MTA) you will need a statement (or at least the request to go to the statementing resources panel).

You could try talking to the school, but I think the resources are more reliable if they have come from a statement (as the school then have the money to seperately employ someone iyswim).

I put in the request for ds1's statement and there were certain advantages to do with time limits. Might be worth talking to parent partnership as well

mrs forgetful- you put in the request for the statement. The LEA then assess to decide whether or not to assess. If they decide to go ahead and assess to see whether he needs a statement then you get to see the ed psych and paed etc.

You can appeal if they decide not to do an assessment and you can appeal if they do the assessment and decide not to statement.

Echo what Jimjams has said. Look for the template on IPSEA website but you really only need to say what I posted earlier. Keep your powder dry! Don't let them know about your points until you get further into the process. Try not to be naive about the nice individuals involved, they usually are nice but the overall system makes them sometimes behave quite badly Send your letter Recorded Delivery too and everything else from then on. I can't believe they will refuse to assess. I would also politely ignore any resistance from the school, just act normal and don't let anyone "official" know what you are thinking unless you really trust them.

Have you seen a copy of his Individual Education Plan (IEP), Mrs Forgetful, and does it address his needs at lunch time? If he's on school action plus he should have one and it should be reviewed at least twice per year and good practice would be at least once per term. The SEN code of practice is clear that parents should be consulted and informed about their child's IEP and regarded as a prime source of information. Do you know when the next review of his IEP is and can you contribute your thoughts at that review?

If you do decide to go for a statutory assessment request be aware that it will almost certainly be rejected if the school really doesn't think he needs a statement and you have contributed no other evidence. The school's opinion will hold a lot of weight and if they think he is coping with his current level of support you MUST collect other evidence that he needs the extra help a statement would provide. If you think the school are unlikely to support your request then work on gathering lots of other strong evidence- from paeds, SALTs, OTs, Physios, (especially NHS ones), counsellors, after-school club leaders, etc, as well as your own insights as his mum. Try and get any professionals who have a clear idea of his needs, if there are any, to write a letter or short report on him that will support your request for assessment. If you have any reports already- eg his diagnosis report- include them in your evidence. If there have been no professionals involved recently consider asking your GP to re-refer your son to a child development centre so that you can get an up to date picture of his needs from a development perspective- be aware that the doc may not think his needs warrant lots of help either though.

Anyway, good luck. I hope that your son will get the help he needs, whether through school action plus or a statement.

Just read Scummymummy's post and think she's right that you may need more evidence to get them to assess if the school is not going to support it. This is outside my personal experience and she seems to know more about this situation for an "older" child who is attending school. You could see if they'll assess and use your evidence in case you need to appeal OR is there any chance of talking the school round? Maybe they don't think you're serious? Agree with trying to get to see someone at CDC if you haven't got any recent reports or maybe fork out for some private, e.g. EP?

Ooh, seems like I've had a big change of mind, don't want to confuse you mrsforgetful. I think both approaches have their place and maybe you can decide on what suits you best by speaking to other parents. Is there anyone you can talk to, local support group etc? It might be best to find someone whose child is not at the same school. You can always speak to IPSEA or NAS Advocacy line but there's nothing like the input of a local parent...........