ADVICE PLEASE

[Joseph1ne]

Hello, I have a son who is in the process of being officially diagnosed with autism, been waiting 2 and a half years for official diagnosis and due to the pandemic my child will have to wait until December next year for an official diagnosis. My child is going to be going to primary school in September and honestly I have no clue where he will be going in September. He does have a statement that does state that he needs to go to an ASD unit for support for his social and communication difficulties and that he also has moderate learning difficulties. So far 2 ASD units have rejected my son saying "No Diagnosis, No Placement".

Four mainstream schools have also rejected saying that they cannot support my child's needs. I've been told I just need to keep trying other schools.

I am so upset with this and really believe he deserves so much better than this. I really didn't think it would be this difficult to get my child into a primary school.

Can anyone give me advice?

Are you in Wales or NI?

Is this a new Statement of SEN or an existing one? If it was already in place it should have been amended by 15th Feb.

Is the type of placement named?

The LA can only refuse to name your school preference if it is unsuitable for your child's needs or it is incompatible with the interests of existing pupils or the efficient use of resources. Most ASD units won't admit without a diagnosis.

Have the LA finalised the statement or is it still in draft form? When the statement was finalised you should have got the right of appeal. If they haven't finalised push them to and then appeal.