Do we really have to wait until things go wrong before we can get an EHCP?

[DodgySpot]

I need some advice on this.

Dd is 3 and was finally officially diagnosed with ASD at the end of August. She is very bright but also VERY sensory.

She is coping 'OK' in nursery but for a number of reasons I do not believe she will at school.

She is in a lovely nursery who are so positive about her but almost to a fault. I say this because sometimes they have sent home misleading reports (I.e dd is eating a wide variety of food and playing with other children when she obviously isn't and which conflicted with reports from other staff members) that I have had to contact the manager to have corrected.

The nursery doors are always open and dd will always go outside as she says it is too noisy. On the two occasions where dd couldn't go outside due to maintenance or a rearrangement of rooms we have had to take her home because she was just having constant meltdowns.

Dd can't concentrate or even seem to hear a person speak in a relatively quiet room if there are more that a few people present.

This is as well as all the social communication problems that go hand in hand with ASD.

I've been in contact with my local authority and they've given me information that seems to say that we need evidence of her struggling in nursery before we can have an ehcp assessment.

Is this right? Of course she won't struggle in nursery. It's open plan so she can get away from all the other children (she really only likes a particular member of staff and will tolerate them doing activities with her).

She can't do that in a classroom.

The reason I'm pushing for an Ehcp is that there is a specialist school not far from us that follows the national curriculum but is specifically for children like dd who have sensory and communication difficulties.

In contrast the one primary in our catchment area admitted to having very poor sn provision (a particularly candid staff member pointed out that dd would just be sat at the back of the class).

I'm not sure I have the most up to date advice re EHCPs etc. but didn't want this to go unanswered.

My son has a similar profile and used to used to run out of class when things got too much (amongst other 'challenging behaviour') - this presented a big problem in mainstream. However as he was deemed too bright for a statement we had to push hard to get one (he did in the end, and actually ended up with the highest level of support possible!).

I would start gathering as much evidence as possible towards the EHCP. Is there a local ASD outreach? The nursery should be getting professionals in to observe and write reports. It is good you are asking the nursery to correct their own reports. I remember one line about my DS: "X seems to be coping with school", which the local authority pulled out of an old report to justify turning down our request for an EHCP assessment. He really wasn't coping! Document the times you have had to go in because your DD has needed extra support, and why.

You can apply for an EHCP yourself, rather than waiting for the nursery to do so (have a look at the IPSEA website for advice and template letters). I'm not clear on how much evidence you would need to submit as a parent in order to get the process started. Sadly, you would need to be prepared to appeal the decision (many applications are turned down the first time) - but you would then have time to gather and present new evidence. You are right to be thinking about it now, if your daughter is due to start school next year.

My DD had a referral to audiology department of local children's centre. She was given white noise generators (they look like super light weight hearing aids) which help block out background noise. They haven't worked for us - she hates anything in her ears and takes them out and hides them BUT I do know several children that they have helped. Would be handy for you to get a report from them as well to highlight her sensory issues.
I applied for my DD's EHCP and got it but I spent a long time accumulating reports as evidence and got in touch withKIDS which provide help when applying.

Have a look at sendcop. There is a part in section 9 that states assessment should be carried out where the same level of support will not be available in a different setting.

So I'd gather evidence from nursery that DD chooses outdoor play due to sensory issues. Evidence that she has to leave setting when unavailable.
Reports of what she chooses to do and her elg.

Then use IPSea to send of a request for assessment. State clearly that assessment is needed because there's evidence ds is only managing due to the free flow choice of activities and when it's not available she cannot manage. That you are seeking assessment to look at how it will work in school when they have to be in a classroom and what support or setting she may need.

Of course she won't struggle in nursery.

But she is struggling in nursery. She can't cope with a lot of people round her. She can't concentrate if there are more than a few people in the same room. She removes herself from the situation ie goes outside and if this is not possible she has recurring meltdowns.
She can only do activities 1:1. She is unable to socialise with other children.

I would apply for an EHC Needs assessment yourself. Details of how to do this should be somewhere on your LA's website.

Have you been to see the new school you'd like her to go to. They might help you with the ehcp application to make sure she has the help she needs when she starts.

Who diagnosed ASD, do you get any ongoing support from them, might they help.

Your local authority will likely have a threshold for how much support school should provide before the LA tops up via EHCP. Might be worth a chat with the assessment team to check out how much that is and you talk to potential schools to figure out how much she might need.

Can't recommend ipsea highly enough!!