Could we talk about respite?

[eggandcress]

I am currently trying to get respite from our social services for my ds. We used to have a 1:1 at the local primary after school club but this came to an end in October as he had out-grown it(consequently I had to give up my part-time work which I am very sad about.)Ds is 13 and has severe autism.
The social services are being so slow and the request is not progressing. We currently get nothing. Ds just goes to school only.

What kind of thing do you have for your children?

How long did it take to sort out your care plan?

Sorry if I am teaching my granny to suck eggs but I have found that if you look for short breaks for carers there is stuff out there for older children. I think respite has been rebranded to put people of the scent (or maybe I am being a cynic).

Hope you manage to find something.

What is on offer tends to vary from one area to another.
DD has severe disabilities and complex health needs so we have to have nursing care for her. There was no LA/Health provision for overnight respite in this area but fortunately there is a childrens hospice which provides respite. There are however 2 respite centres for children who don't have the nursing needs and I know many children from DDs school go to them for overnight breaks. We also had a nurse & carer coming into our house to care for her when we wanted an evening out.
There is often the option of Direct Payments so that you can employ someone to take your DS out or stay in with him whilst you go out.
Some areas use SHared CAre - where you're child goes and stays with another family to give you a break (a bit like short term foster care).
Are there any holiday clubs for children with SN in your area - these now fall into the category of respite too.
Have you had an assessment and have they actually agreed that your DS and your family meet their criteria for respite? Or are you still waiting for an assessment. Once the assessment has been done, they will usually put the case to their panel (a delaying tactic) for a decision to be made on what you have asked for. If you are looking for overnight respite, when you get it will depend on if there are any spaces with whoever provides it.
When your DS is 14, you should start to complete a Transition Plan at his statement review meeting. This is always a good opportunity to say that you want overnight respite to aid DSs independence on his journey into adulthood!

Social Care will always go slowly - the longer they take the less money it costs them. Ask them to tell you what happens when. Pin them down to a timeline and hold them to it. Chase, chase, chase when they don't stick to it - they will fob you off otherwise.

Thank you both for your replies.

bigbluebus - I am definitely going to ask for a timeline that is a great idea.

We have had a core assessment - this was farmed out to an agency - which I think is shocking, the boy we have as our case worker does not really know ds as a consequence. I got dh to phone him and make him come round to at least meet ds which he did do. We are now waiting for this to get taken to panel. The boy keeps saying he has completed the paperwork, he is a nightmare to get hold of as well!

After this there is another process with a financial panel, we have asked for overnights in a centre not far away.

I guess I just have to pester the boy

(Also I will store up your suggestion of asking for overnights at transition if we don't get it now)