When to tell local authority we're doing ABA

[schobe]

Ok just wondering if I can canvas views or experience on this. DS was 4 in May, has ASD, due to start reception in Sept, pre-verbal, could not think about mainstream at the moment. We're in Warwickshire.

We've had draft statement for a while - it's vague, not quantified etc etc. It's clearly been written as a generic 'this child will go to the nearest special school'. He was attending this SS in the nursery bit for 17 months but little progress (in our view).

We met with LA person, pointed out lack of quantification etc. Gave hints of our grave concern but did not let on that our ABA programme was just starting at home.

They have come back with some quantification - the usual '5 minutes a day' for various things, or 5 hours a year for the SALT to consider DS (woohoo).

Sooooooo, we're debating whether to hit them with everything now (we have big document laying everything out) or just to say ok finalise that statement, we don't agree and will appeal.

What's to be gained by keeping ABA cards close to chest at this stage? Presumably we'll have to give them all our info in the lead up to any tribunal anyway. If we say we're doing a home programme now, is there any chance we could sneak some of it into the statement at this stage ?

Background issue is that we're playing for time as we've only just started ABA so need to build up evidence.

Sorry for all the info, if you have ANY views, I'd be really grateful.

we told them from the start.

couldn't see why keeping quiet was better - as you say, they have to know eventually.

we stated from the beginning of SA that we were ultimately after ABA, whether a home programme (dd1 was then 3), or delivered in a specialist setting (nursery, and then school). we told the LA, her pre-school, all her 'team' (SALT, POrtage, ASD clinic), and got her pre-school involved in observing her ABA programme when we had the consultant down, in the hope that some of it 'rubbed off' (it did).

whether this was the right thing to do, I have no idea.

it took us (beginning to end) 3 years to get dd1's statement, and involved multiple house/county/LA moves. BUT dd1 is now in the right place (ABA school), and has been for 3 years nearly (she has just turned 8). we won this without Tribunal (had to threaten it, and get the private SLT/OT/EP reports, but LA settled before tribunal), and it has, so far, never been contested. dd1 is attending her second ABA school, and the LA transferred her statement within 3 weeks with no argument. so a long initial fight (but there always is, especially for one so young), but since dd1 was 5, we have had no hassle at all - long may it continue!

Thanks Silverfrog, I remember a lot of your experiences with your DD1, having asked other questions before. Great to hear that you've had no bother after the initial fight, gives me something to hope for!

I think you're right, I can't see anything to be gained by keeping quiet for longer. But worrying that I've missed something.

Hmm I might try and sneak some ABA type objectives into the statement before telling them actually. And would wait until they finalise otherwise they may up their offer and its easier to appeal a wishy washy obviously hopeless statement than a better one.
Having 5 hours SALT for a pre verbal child is clearly gold at tribunal.

Be warned they can always issue another final statement once they find out, but having a very vague and obviously inadequate one will make it look like you had no choice but to appeal and make them look opportunistic.

So I would sit tight but tell them pretty soon after you have the final.

If you get stuff in there which can only be achieved via behavioural approach and they agree to put it in - then you have more arguments to say why it has to be ABA and not SS
However as you have tried SS for 17 months you will already have evidence that one does not work and the other hopefully will.
If you want i can pm you my ABA statement to give you some idea about wording.
Our LA are violently anti-ABA and once we told them they started a really nasty campaign against us so that can be another reason to at least wait until your summer holiday is over!

Agnes, I already have it! You PMed me and emailed me the statement after my last thread about this

You are already one of my favourite people thanks to that!

I really appreciate your perspective on this. There has been something in my gut holding me back from the big reveal, but I've not known what it is.

I had been hopeful about sneaking some ABA type statements in there initially. But the LA person seems very set on a party line whereby her hands are tied and she can ONLY put stuff in that's come from their ed psych or the S&LT (works at the SS).

In fact does anyone know where they stand on this? I'm guessing they're not obliged to put in anything from our parental contribution! Obviously we're getting a private Ed Psych report in the lead up to tribunal. How helpful are private S&LT and OT reports?

So I doubt we'll get anything ABA-like in there. But I do worry a little that they'll improve what they have put in to make it harder at tribunal. However, they could do this at any stage up to tribunal I guess as part of negotiating, so we still end up fighting a better statement in the end.