Problems with CAMHS

[hiddenhome]

After trying unsuccessfully several times to get help for ds1 and being told by CAMHS that "He's okay as he's managing at school", ds1 is now having problems. He's in Year 8 and has difficulty managing socially. He says everyone hates him and his life is a misery. He returned home from school in tears this afternoon. He's pretty inept socially and now his peers have identified this and are being nasty to him.

I had him assessed privately and was told he had adhd and mild aspergers. He has had absolutely no professional help whatsoever and nobody has been interested or supportive.

I've known he had problems from the age of 2, but nobody would listen to me

Poor ds has struggled on and now this

So called professionals! They're a bunch of fucking morons

Two weeks after being discharged last time, ds1 was attacked in the playground by a parent helper.......and he doesn't have problems

I posted this in Chat and was redirected over here.

I plan on taking ds1 into school tomorrow to try and get an appointment with his form tutor.

TBH Hiddenhome, you probably know more about ADHD and ASD than the average CAMHS worker. You live with it - they don't.

I wouldn't expect CAMHS to be able to offer anything that you couldn't provide yourself.

I'm more concerned about him being assaulted. What's that all about and I hope the Police have been involved.

If you haven't yet got a Statement you need to apply for one now.

I did make a statement to the police, but they didn't prosecute. He wasn't injured, it was just a brief thing. He was frightened at the time, but he's okay now. It happened in Year 6 and the HT tried to play it down.

I don't know how to apply for a statement.

I go to the GP, he refers me to CAMHS, they twitter on about rubbish and float ideas around (aspergers), then say he's not that bad and send us on our way. It's happened three times now

I honestly don't know what a person has to do to get help. He obviously has a problem - hand flapping, tics, excessive talking, can't see social cues, very loud, argumentative, talks about the same stuff all the time, obsessive about routine and times/dates etc.

I'm going to try and talk to the SENCO at this school.

Can you ask your gp for referral to a developmental paediatrician instead of camhs? You will moat likely have more luck with paed. Camhs are notorious for being a bit wishy washy!

I would definitely go to see the senco hidden, some secondary senco's are really good.

You need to be asking what the school.are going to do to help your ds.

Also, i dont know the system in your area but you could try asking your gp to refer you to a developmental paed.

Children are often referred to camhs for diagnosis and some camhs are really good but autism/aspergers are not mental health issues and unless they have specialists there they could easily miss things.

While you are seeing the senco ask for advice about how to apply for a.statement but dont let them tell you not to apply for one. You can do it yourself. If they wont help ask on here or ring parent partnership.

Good luck.

Lol x posted with chundle

Great minds ineeda!

www.sossen.org.uk/
This site has useful information sheets on how to apply for a statement and each stage of the process.

Other useful organisations offering similar support:
www.ipsea.org.uk/
and
www.parentpartnership.org.uk/ - particularly useful for local support for example coming to meeting with you to advise and to take independent minutes.

Good luck with meeting with senco and form teacher.

thank you so much for all these replies. Someone a while ago advised a developmental paediatrician. I thought that CAMHS were supposed to be able to diagnose these problems. Tbh, I don't think I even know what CAMHS are for

I will talk to the SENCO and go back to the GP. I definitely don't want to return to CAMHS again

Do you need a diagnosis before you apply for a statement?

No -

Statements are issued to support behaviour - not in response to any specific diagnosis so you don't need a dx before you can apply for a Statement.

And don't let school put you off applying because there's no money / no bad enough / you won't get one nonsense. They'll try anything to stop you applying - because it costs money.

As you've been to CAMHS and back 3 times now you could go to your GP and ask for a referral to a tertiary NHS diagnostiv centre such as DISCO - where the real experts live.

In some areas it is CAMHS who lead on the dx. You could say to your GP that as your DS has been seen 3 times without a definite dx it is time to go to a specialist tertiary centre experienced in dx borderline or difficult cases e.g. Great Ormond Street, Lorna Wing Centre, Elizabeth Newsam Centre.

You can also ask the school to treat him as though his has Aspergers e.g. use strategies and put in support. Nothing that would be recommended is harmful or invasive - we are talking about social groups / support, help organising work, closer liaison with you, a key contact in school, zero tolerance on bullying, name calling, teasing etc etc

Social difficulties are within the education remit whatever school tries to tell you - if you look at SEN Code of Practice it is clear that progress in social skills etc is just as important.

I know a lot of children with aspergers who have gone through quite a dark phase at that age so teenage hormones may play a part here too.CAMHS can be advising you on anxiety etc you don't need a dx if there are concerns about his mental welfare.

There are also other school options e.g. an independent school for HFA / Aspergers (def need a statement), home tutors, internet school if things get worse. Its worth finding out what your options / rights are in case things don't work out.

Also look at any out of school activities which might attract similar children and boost his confidence.

If you have a local autism or aspergers group they can be a great source of advice

Thank you for all of this. I honestly have no idea of how it works and thought CAMHS were the experts I wouldn't care, but I've been researching stuff on the internet for a few years now, but not really getting answers.

Take a look at the IPSEA website. It shows you how to apply for an assessment that may lead to a Statement - it even has a sample letter.

As he's in Year 8 you will need to apply very quickly for a Statement. They are not issued after age 16 and some LAs can be reluctant to issue them to young people of your son's age.

It's the Year 8 years that the differneces between your Ds and his peers really starts to be noticeable and with that the bullying starts.
You need to be very vigilant and report any bullying to school immediately.

And please, always lidten to your son when he says everyone is against him. Mine used to say he was being bullied by everyone. I used to think bullying was done by one person on another. I was wrong. A whole class can turn against a young person they perceive as 'different'.

You may need to make the difficult decision to take him to the GPs and get him signed off before he becomes mentally overwhelmed at having to remain in such a hostile environment.

What is it that you want CAMHS to do for your DS? (Genuine question).

If there is bullying going on at school or if there are problems with him mixing or coping in school then the school should be doing more. I'd speak to his head of year.

I don't want them to do anything as such. We just need to know if he has aspergers in order to be taken seriously.

I do take him seriously when he says the whole class is against him. It happened to me in nursing school when one of the mature students turned the class against me - they were too scared to speak out against her because of her overpowering personality They'd confide in me behind her back, but would then ignore me in class for fear of her turning her toxic wrath onto them.

I was bullied all through secondary school and I'm so pissed off and angry that this is happening to ds. I know he has difficulties, but he's been doing so well lately and enjoys learning.

You have a diagnosis of Aspergers though? You want a CAMHS one as well? How come?
Not criticising, just trying to understand.

You don't actually need to have a private dx reiterated by the NHS. If the private assessor was qualified to make such a dx then it's totally valid and can be used on any official documents - such as an application for assessment for a Statement.

In fact the only reason I can see for wasting time with CAMHS is if you consider he needs medication.

I'd still go for a tertiary NHS referral. A GP can do that.

No, we don't have a diagnosis of aspergers. It was mentioned that he was showing aspergers traits.

The CAMHS ignored the private diagnosis - it was done by a more than qualified developmental paediatrician in the SE. She also said he had dyspraxia.

I've been into school this morning and spoken to his head of year. He's going to speak to the form tutor to see what's going on and is also referring to somebody who comes in to school to help with bullying issues. I've got to go for a further meeting in about two weeks. Ds can't see the bullying chap until a week come Monday because that's when he's in. In the meantime, if ds encounters any problems, he has to go and see the head of year straight away.

I will show the school the private assessment we had done and the diagnoses that were made. Ds has largely settled down with his adhd, but still finds it hard to concentrate and focus and remains disorganised and quite chaotic. It's mainly his social functioning that I'm worried about, which would tie in with aspergers. I'm so angry with CAMHS for not doing the ASD assessment.

You have a private diagnosis. Therefore you have "proof" to include in your statement application. Get the letter in pronto. GCSE's start soon and you need support in place for that critical period.

The assessment for a statement should include a visit from an educational pyschologist to assess what support your son needs at school. Make the application yourself no matter what school says as it means:-

a/ You'll be kept in the loop as to how it progresses.
b/You have a right of appeal.

It's standard practice to put you off applying as politics of funding mean LEA's try to keep the number of statemented children to a minimum.

Some things a statement might provide, just to give you an idea as it's not all about provison of a TA as some assume:-
1/ Equipment, from chairs to a laptop
2/ Staff training on ASD/dyspraxia
3/Sensory diet to reduce anxiety
4/ Social skills groups.
5/ Access to regular OT/SALT/Physio.
6/Extra time in public exams.

I didn't realise what having a statement was all about They do put you off seeking help

I was made to feel like an idiot because we'd gone private.

Do stay on the board - I was in a really dark, desperate place last year when I joined and the Mumsnet brigade really did ride to my rescue. I'm forever grateful as without their advice my own child would probably be in care and stuck in a PRU by now instead of positively thriving.

It's very, very wrong, but all too often it's only the children of those parents that can navigate the "system" and are prepared to fight for it, that get the help they so badly need. Noone tells you how the system works to make that first, crucial step.

I went private for DS's dx. We did get a second dx from CAMHS as well, but that's mainly because he was already in the system by that stage - I don't think it was strictly necessary as the private dx was accepted.

It might be in your interests to push for an NHS assessment though as your private dx is for AS traits, rather than a full dx, and that might be used to minimise your son's difficulties.

We had continuing CAMHS input and it definitely contributed to the weight of our evidence for statementing, DS was referred for regular therapy so they were able to write reports on how his MH was affected. DS eventually went to an independent special school for AS, and I think the piles of evidence from CAMHS (and them appearing at our tribunal) was a huge help. He's never received meds from CAMHS, just therapies.

I'd encourage you to apply for statementing yourself, it doesn't sound like the school are that helpful or would push for it themselves unfortunately. The first step is really easy, it is just a standard letter and you don't have to go into too much detail.

Have you looked at other school options in the area? Of course you shouldn't feel your son should have to leave that school, but so much comes down to the school's attitude. Even if you get an excellent Statement with lots of support (which is hard to get in any case), it's down to the school to provide it, and often they don't put the right provision in place even when the LA's provided funding for it or if it's written on the Statement.