Point me in the right direction please

[maparole]

Hi All

I have a 10 year old son. We have lived all his life in France. I have just separated from his dad and am returning to the UK.

He has always struggled with the school environment and has received a lot of extra support at his French school: personal classroom assistant, educational psychologist, physical therapist, etc. However, they do not diagnose, preferring to deal with specific issues. We have also been incredibly lucky to have an astonishingly skillful and dedicated teacher for the current and previous school year, who has brought him on a huge amount. He certainly has attention deficit, possibly dyspraxia and I suspect possibly Aspergers.

In the UK, he should be going to secondary school in September 2014 but he is not ready!! He is an August birthday anyway and emotionally very immature. If he stayed in France, he'd have had an extra year at primary school, which might just be enough, but certainly next September is far too early.

I'll be home edding until Summer, if nothing else to get his reading and writing in English up to scratch. If I cannot carry on after that and he has to go to school, where do I start to get him the support he needs? Do I need a diagnosis first? Should I ask his current support team if they can do a report, or would this be disregarded in the UK?

Also, are there any benefits I should be investigating?

Sorry to be so dim; have tried some initial research online but got information overload. Any links to get me started would be much appreciated.

In the UK there is the official system and then there is reality.

Officially, support is based on need.

In reality people only acknowledge need if the child has a diagnosis unless the child is disruptive, then support comes in the form of exclusion to corridor with a babysitter who may or may not be able to deliver an education.

Where in the country are you thinking of moving? I have seen a truly excellent and inclusive state secondary school recently though it was seemingly unlikely before I visited.

I would advise, if you can afford it, a private dx. Not because they are better but because they are faster. Also, get as much evidence from his previous school and professionals as you can before you leave.

Thanks for the replies.

We'll be in Kent; staying at my mum's in the short term until I can get a bit sorted out.