Any point retrospectively complaining?

[Basseting]

All last year we were promised referral for dd by hopeless SENco.
3 Heads came and went. nothing happened. New Head arrived. Better.
So this term the SENco passed it over to an ASD specialist.
Senco emailed y'day to say ASD specialist is referring tomorrow.
Then it will be an 18-25 wk wait 'prob 25 for ASD' which conveniently takes dd over the end of her time at this School (its closing Aug 2018)
It also means we cannot look at High Schools with a dx in place and make the best choice. ASD person said this could be an issue with local School provision.
I am gutted. Is there any point complaining (or even pointing it out)?
I don't esp want to go head to head with SENco but there is no useful relationship to lose there either. But I suppose it wont speed up the Caamhs process will it?

bump

Sorry to hear of the delays you've faced. Complaining won't do much good although I appreciate you and the rest of us stuck in the system feel like it a lot.

The paper trail system always recommended here would have stood you in good stead.
If you have any emails or anything which back up how long you've already been fobbed off kept waiting, then by all means contact SENCO and the ASD specialist, point out how long it's taken until now and ask if you can be given priority as per the reasons in your first post.

Also ring the appointments number every week to see if there have been any cancellations. I did that and got one with 3 days notice. We had been waiting 18 months and would not have been seen under 2 years if I'd not made that call.

Never rely on 'them' to do anything, always keep on top of it yourself.

Thank you.

Senco literally didn't reply so spoke with each Head who said they'd put it all I writing and it then didn't and 2.x Head left last year.

I now only email current Head (who doesn't reply).
It was only when OFSTED was due that anything got going!
School have now 'passed it over so have no more involvement'.
though it was the SENco who sent the info today re waiting lists

Good idea to keep ringing for cancellations.

Do you think this sounds ok as reply to get in on record???

"Thank you for the information above.
The processing of the referral by the ASD support service has been speedy but of course the real delay was all of last year.
Now we know there is such a long waiting list x will likely leave St Y's before the process is complete which is disappointing.

Miss Z called early in the term to say that she had concerns about X's personal hygiene. We explained about the sensory issues and we understood that some work was to be done with X in School about this. Can you confirm if this ever happened please? We have seen an OT via NAS and she has also highlighted X sensory difficulties with washing. It can affect X Schooling in terms of punctuality and also it is a bullying concern."

"

That's fine, having a written record is your top priority. I'm usually a bit more blunt with official correspondence but that's because I've had to do a lot Mine are along the lines of
State the problem
State what they have already done, say thanks if appropriate.
State what still needs to be done
State what they need to do to make that happen, often couched as a request for their help as opposed to a demand.
Always be polite and factual, never emotional, even when you are incandescent with rage.

[Heading] Referral to ASD Support Service [use their correct official name]
Thank-you for the information re current waiting lists for [ dd name] to be seen by [name of person/people who will do her diagnosis]
I am concerned that due the school's inaction last year, there's now not enough time left for [ dd name] to have any necessary reports, diagnoses and interventions in place for her transition to secondary school and that this lack of information could well adversely impact her choice of school and any new school's acceptance of her as a pupil.
In order to facilitate this transaction as swiftly and effectively as possible, I'd appreciate support from you in asking the ASD Support Service for her case to be treated as urgent.

I always send a different email for each topic, they are easier to correlate when you're looking for a particular subject.

You're starting a long process, stick with it, you can do it!

Obscured

THANK YOU so much!!!

I'd almost lost hope. Saw the SENco today (she also teaches full time so barely has time to be a SENco, and it is her first year in that post) and she was really narky in her manner with me.

BUt I asked her about the intervention that was supposed to be done about dd's personal hygiene - the PE teacher had phoned to say it was a big issue. I knew this and explained about dd's sensory issues and was told the SENco would do some work with her. Nothing has happened. I asked today and she said: 'oh, I'll get a support teacher to have a wee chat with her sometime next term' So she really isnt taking any effort with dd at all.

Thank you again, you have given me a shot in the arm to keep at them!

oh, I'll get a support teacher to have a wee chat with her sometime next term'

That's so inadequate I don't know where to start.

Do you have any way of getting your dd seen by a Sensory Occupational Therapist, can you self-refer, because so many schools will not actually do anything until they have a professional's report and recommendations under their noses. "Pandering to parents' requests" becomes a whole other thing to them when a professional is involved.
Parents always assume SENCOs have lots of training for dealing with a variety of SN, but the reality is far from that.

Here's a suggested email for your paper trail

Dear [name of the clueless one]

Further to our chat at [time] on [day] at [name of school] when we discussed [name of dd's] personal hygiene issues, I'm afraid your suggestion of "' I'll get a support teacher to have a wee chat with her sometime next term' " will not address this issue in a satisfactory way.
Currently this is a cause of bullying [examples if you haven't already noted them] and needs to be tackled immediately.

My daughter has sensory issues and you don't appear to understand the impact of those on her daily life. Have you read Jean Ayers' 'Sensory Integration and the Child' and/or 'The Out of Sync Child' by Carol Kranowitz. They are often recommended to parents and anyone involved in the child's education and care as they describe the condition so well.

Her issues with personal hygiene are not a choice for her, she is not being lazy, she has neurological differences which cause this condition. She therefore needs help from a Professional to show her how she can cope with her own perceptions of the process of keeping clean [add some true ones here if you know what they are or omit if you think dd will be quizzed and deny. It's difficult for a kid with SPD to describe say a shower feeling like needles because they don't have any other sensation to compare it to. Do not give them any ammunition they could shoot you down with. ]

I would appreciate your help as SENCO to ensure that the correct interventions for my daughter are put into place and look forward to hearing from you to discuss those interventions as soon as possible.
Signoff.

Iv found schools are pretty useless getting diagnosis unless basically non functioning asd. Literally everyone we know had to go down nhs route to get a diagnosis. Here it's a battle between education board and the nhs