5 years boy -reception school

[anginerv]

Hello,

I hope so much that someone here can help me, I have cried so much and still crying.

Dose anyone know of a private Educational Phycologist that my son can be tested for learning difficulties : ADHD , autism etc . The Consultant report must be accepted by County Council as we have found some do not guarantee would be accepted when I have asked, so would not help on applying for an EHCP if the reports are not recognised. My GP had suggested to go via a private, as it is much quicker, but could not recommend one in particular.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my message and I look forward for your help.

Angelica

An Ed psych can not assess for these conditions. It needs to be a multidisciplinary assessment to be valid.

You can request an EHCP without a diagnosis too.

Hello Bingbong21,
Thank you so much for message, I am new to all this.

If Ed psych can not assess for these conditions like autism, adhd etc you mentioned It needs to be a multidisciplinary assessment to be valid, so can you kindly recommend any private consultant that can asses in West Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire that are valid , preferably near Gatwick, but I will go elsewhere for the right one.
Thank you so much

I take it your Ds is struggling at school? What have the school said? Have you spoken to the Senco at his school? The Senco can put in a request for an EP to come and see him. They can also put in a request for an Ehcp and in some areas put in requests for ASD/Adhd assessments.

You are right in that there is a long wait on the NHS for these assessments though. In my area it is around 2-3 years. When we were waiting for an ASD diagnosis, we looked at going private. The Lorna Wing Centre quoted us around £2,000-£3,000 to give you an idea of costs.

As Bingbong21 says, you can request an EHCP assessment yourself. That is what I did. A child doesn't need a diagnosis, it should based on need. You will need to start gathering evidence though about how your Ds struggles at school.

There is some useful information here:

www.ipsea.org.uk/Pages/Category/get-support

Thank you so much for all the info. So much appreciated.
The sen at school has made all the requests, but they said that would be much quicker for private, but again couldn't advise any providers, do not want to waist my time, money and ending up that is not accepted the test results, same with the GP, I struggled to understand why advise private if there is not a list with providers that do the these tests and are accredited and accepted. I will have to wait for the school for now is too risky to have £2000 paid for just a diagnosis that is not accepted as a test by anyone in system to get the support.
Thank you so much again for everyone's advice.

The NHS - and schools - aren't allowed to give private recommendations. If you do speak to any private consultants, ask if they also do NHS work - many do both. If so, there is no reason why their diagnosis shouldn't be accepted.

If your Ds needs support at school now though, he should get it - even if he doesn't have a diagnosis. My Ds had 1 to 2 support at primary before he got his diagnosis.

It sounds like your Ds's school Senco is supportive, which is great. Is the school saying they can't meet his needs? What are they doing to support him now?

As Toomanyminifigs posted, the GP cannot give you private recommendations. Why don't you ask around locally who undertakes assessments locally for the NHS and then ask if they do private work.

The LA is required to consider all reports, including private assessments. In practice the LA are more likely to do so if the person assessing also undertakes NHS work. Should you apply for an EHCP and have to appeal SENDIST definitely accept independent reports.

You don't need an EP assessment or a diagnosis to apply for an EHCP. An EP assessment is part of the needs assessment.

I second IPSEA. SOSSEN is also useful.

The school at the moment has put in place what they can, but they have suggested he deserves to have 1 to 1, so I guess the quicker I get him tested would help the teachers understand him better on how to deal with him, at home is not crossing the boundaries, he knows exactly what he supposed to be doing, he is doing exactly what we ask him doing, but we give him choices between 2 options, so no problem, however at school is different, apparently struggles with tradition and social interactions, tells the teacher you are annoying, pinching her this has happened on two occasions, sometimes could be loud just to attract attention, he makes friends but struggles to keep friendships for long periods of time. He gets frustrated when is asking a question and he is ignored, wants that 1to 1 attention engagement to explain and chat with him about the subject in question. gets so excited and becomes impulsive. He knows all the alphabet and phonics, so he struggles to stay at the carpet time , he keeps saying that he already knows all why does he needs to stay on the carpet, he loves book, likes to listen to story lots , I could read to him for hours he would be happy to listen and discuss about the stuff he is seeing in the books, he is very articulate, excited to be at school, prefers older children and adult company, likes cuddles etc
I have no idea why everyone is suggesting private, other than the quicker I get him a diagnosis would help everyone to ascertain how to work with him at school.

You do not need a diagnosis for support in school. School must make their best endeavours to support DS's SEN. Support should be needs led, not diagnosis based. You can apply for an EHCP yourself. If the school require additional funding, e.g. for 1:1, in the meantime they can apply for high needs top up funding.

Thank you so much for reading my messages and for the advice really helpful.

Has the school Senco put your DS on their list to see an EP? Every school 'buys in' a certain number of EP hours per term. If they are saying he needs 1 to 1 support, it sounds like he needs to see one as a matter of urgency.

If you apply for an EHCP and they agree to assess, your Ds will be seen by an EP. The local authority will have to arrange this - even if they have to book in a private one.

The legal bar for an EHCP assessment is pretty low, (note it doesn't mention a diagnosis at all) it's something like: 'has or may have SEN'.

There is nothing to stop you - or the school applying for one now.

A diagnosis for autism / adhd can only be give by a medical practitioner not an educational one.

Our son was referred to a paediatrician who referred him to a speech and language therapist and occupational therapist and then a specialist Dr who assessed him for autism. All those reports were then used for the final diagnosis.

School referred him to an Educational Psychologist and an Advisory Teacher from the Communication and Interaction Team.

We paid for a private dyslexia assessment.

With DS2 we paid for a private EP report and the GP referred to paediatrician and occupational therapist. We are currently waiting for CAMHS as he is older.

In some areas there are centres that have all the different professionals to do a holistic assessment.

As pp have said though - you do not need a diagnosis for additional support.

Your gp can refer to a Developmental Paediatrician for assessment. An Ed Psych might be better used later on to identify strengths, challenges and strategies to use.

Whilst the threshold for an EHCNA doesn’t mention a diagnosis it is more than just “has or may have SEN”. You also have to meet the test of “may need SEN provision to be made via an EHCP.”