"high functioning" autistic children in special schools?

[OhForDuckSake]

Do any of you have "high functioning" autistic children in special schools?

My dd is under CAHMS at the moment and waiting to be assessed for autism under Cahms. She is academically able enough and works at her age level and can behave "normally" for periods of time. However since moving to secondary she has had an absolute breakdown.

She violently assaults me and my husband.

She threatens to set the house on fire if we leave her alone in the house but won't let us leave the house without her. Refuses to go to school. Speaks in a baby voice, throws things, smears food/toothpaste around the house on clothing. Screams and swears at us. Runs away from the house and wanders around for hours. Will leave without shoes. Not going to anyone, just wandering. Police called multiple times

I have had three professionals say she behaves as though you would expect a 6,7,8 year old to behave in speech/gait.

I think the pressure of a regular school is killing her. She is unable to make friends like she did in primary as there are no younger children on her level. She's miserable.

I have considered paying for lessons online so she could home school but she will not engage. So my only option is the very good local special school. However you do need an EHCp and that can take months and technically we're at the beginning of a two year wait for a diagnosis. Though everyone who has dealt with her says it's clear that she is autistic. I am not even sure if the school would consider someone like her. I don't know.

Any thoughts?

I don’t have a DC at SS. Although I do have 2 DC with EHCPs - 1 with ASD in MS, 1 with other complex needs with EOTAS.

You don’t need a diagnosis to get an EHCP. You should apply for an EHCNA now, on their website IPSEA have a model letter you can use. The benefits of an EHCP go beyond being able to access special school. It can include therapies DD wouldn’t otherwise get, and the assessments as part of the needs assessment will help.

If you don’t have to appeal the EHCP process takes 20 weeks.

There are special schools that cater for ‘high functioning’ autistic DC. Look at all schools within travelling distance (normally considered 1hr15 for secondary), including non-maintained and independent SS. Although with an EHCP the options aren’t just mainstream or special school. If there isn’t a suitable school EOTAS can be provided. Even if DD could engage online you wouldn’t need to pay for it, it can be provided via the LA.

Whilst waiting for an EHCP if DD can’t attend school full time the LA have a statutory duty to provide alternative education. This could be home tuition, hospital school, at a small centre... whatever meets her needs.

I am not even sure if the school would consider someone like her.

Unless the school is wholly independent, with an EHCP there are limited reasons the LA can refuse to name your preference.

Thank you!

That was really informative. I had never heard of EOTAS, and I am a bit shocked as I had specifically asked the school if it was a possibility. They told me it was was not an option since lockdown ended. I had no idea that it was sometimes offered by the LA.
I will get on to the EHCp Ehcn today.

The school I am interested in is literally around the corner so I am hoping it would be an option as she does need socialisation and I'm not able to meet those needs and work.

Under s.19 of the Education Act 1996 the LA must provide provision if DD is unable to attend school full time. This provision should have begun once it became clear DD would miss 15 days, the days didn’t need to have already been missed or consecutive. It’s not the school’s responsibility to provide this provision, but the LA’s.

Email the Director of Children’s Services informing them of the situation and requesting provision. If that doesn’t work email again reminding them of their statutory duty and informing them you will be forced to begin judicial review proceedings unless they comply. Then if that doesn’t work contact SOSSEN for help with a pre-action letter.

s.19 provision is separate to the EHCP process. With an EHCP an EOTAS package can include much more than what is available via s.19 provision. The LA cannot compel you to facilitate DD’s education.

EOTAS packages can include tuition, therapies, care farm, forest school, outdoor activity centres, sport, cooking lessons, music lessons, equipment, a budget for outings/resources… the possibilities are endless.

Is the school wholly independent? As the rules are slightly different for wholly independent special schools. It would be a good idea to investigate any other special schools within travelling distance so you have a comparison of what will work and what won’t. And there may be a more suitable option.

Whatever you do, don’t deregister DD for her mainstream school and EHE.

Have you had social care assessments? And have you applied for DLA?

If you haven’t already look at Yvonne Newbold’s resources.

The school is a special school but it's a state school. I know some of the children have quite profound SEN, but I have heard that they sometimes have children who are similar to dd. I can't say if what I have heard is accurate or just other people's interpretation of the child's needs. I haven't spoken to parents of anyone there for example.

DD's not been diagnosed with anything yet, so no DLA. She's only at the beginning of the waiting list for an assessment.

Social services are involved but not been helpful unfortunately. As long as you aren't beating your children they don't seem to care that police are at the house multiple times a week.

It would be worth speaking to the school and parents of DC at the school. Looking at any non-maintained special schools or independent special schools within travelling distance would be a good idea as often they are more likely to be able to cater for academically able DC.


You don’t need a diagnosis for DLA, it’s based on needs. Do apply and use the Cerebra guide to help you complete the form.

It sounds like the wrong social care team is involved. DD needs the disabled children’s team not the safeguarding team.

Unfortunately we couldn't afford to send her to an independent school, so at the mercy of the LA. Thank you much for all your help and tomorrow when I have sometime I'll look everything up properly. I didn't even know most of the acronyms you used and had to Google them. A referral to the social worker was made by the police after one of her melt downs. We have to ring to get someone to stop her. @ We have other children in the house who she has hit and I made it clear she's a risk to them when she's like that. I didn't know anything about a disabled children's team.

💐💐

With an EHCP you can get an independent school named and the LA fund it. The non-maintained and independent special schools are typically the ones more likely to cater to academically able pupils.

The police won’t have referred to the disabled children’s team, so it’s worth asking for an assessment by them, and for a carer’s assessment for you.

Apologies for the acronyms, if there’s any you don’t understand just ask.

Thank you again, we've honestly not been given any of that information and I'm a bit out if my depth trying to figure it all out while dealing with a kid who is imploding on herself and my other children. CAHMS crisis team had dropped her from their books because a charity locally have offered her one hour a week therapy for 6 weeks🤔

Apparently means we're no longer a family in crisis. 🤔🤔

We are back on their books now at least I believe after me calling and refusing to get off the phone while dd was losing it.

It is possible to get funded independent schools and EOTAS packages, but it’s certainly not easy. The LA are likely to refuse and you will need to prove that no other school within range meets her needs - needs which are not yet clarified.

No it isn’t easy and you may have to appeal, but it is possible.

For wholly independent schools you have to prove the LA’s proposed school(s) can’t meet needs &/or it isn’t unreasonable public expenditure.

But section 41 independents and non-maintained special schools are treated exactly the same as maintained, academy and free schools. So you don’t have to prove no other school can meet needs. If it is parental preference it must be named unless the LA can prove:
-The setting is unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs (“SEN”) of the child or young person; or
-The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for others; or
-The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources.

Which is a high bar.

EOTAS, as I said, is possible if there isn’t a suitable school. The fact DD is unable to attend school currently is the start of collecting that evidence.

Lots of CAMHS teams don’t allow you to mix care, so it doesn’t surprise me.

There are some special schools for high functioning children. We have a state special school near to us that will only take high functioning asd children. Independents specialist schools are also more willing to have children of varying levels of functioning.

Hi , my daughter is at state special school, obviously it varies by school , but my daughters one only takes children with autism and significant learning delays .

Mine is in an autism unit attached to a mainstream state secondary. Mainstream lessons with specialist levels of support. It's amazing, the difference in her is night and day. It took 9.5 very hard months from requesting the EHCNA to her starting there. The longest 9.5 months of my life, but with hindsight it didn't take forever. It involved several official complaints, endless chasing them, and an appeal to tribunal (they awarded the place well before the tribunal date, so don't let appeals backlogs put you off either). It may feel impossible, but someone has to get lucky. Something like 95% of appeals are successful so just get in the system and crack on. Don't wait for a diagnosis.

Cast the net wide, look at MS state, MS private, special state and specialist independent. If you decide this particular school is still the best at the end of that, or that EOTAS is more appropriate, then great, but you will need to defend why she needs that rather than MS so you need to know about other schools in the area. In particular the LA will probably want to keep her in MS so you need a robust case against that. We started visiting schools when our decision to assess came through, and they did take us seriously at this point.

For DD, visiting schools made it clear to us that autism specialist knowledge was the most important thing, so we did not pursue independent MSs despite seeing a couple of lovely ones. But until you visit it'll just bubble round in your head, not resolving anything.

It may also be worth considering whether another MS school could meet need. Schools like DD's which have a specialist unit, for example, or those with a great rep for SEN tend to attract a lot of other autistic kids into their MS part too, both with and without EHCPs. Similarly independent schools tend to develop experience with anxious kids who can find MS overwhelming, and that can work for some children.

I am so thankful to everyone who has posted it's really given me some good information. I really can't believe how stretched services are and how completely unfit for purpose they are. My neighbors are lovely and keel watching the police show up all the time and wondering when we will get some actual help.

I don't actually know if I can take 9.5 months, @Climbie you might be a stronger person than I am (though I suppose you never get a choice!)

Unfortunately if you haven’t even applied for an EHCNA yet you might have no option but to wait longer than 9.5 months. The EHCP process takes 20 weeks from start to finish if you don’t have to appeal. But many do have to, some more than once, and the wait for Tribunal is around a year at the moment.

Nope not stronger @OhForDuckSake, just desperate and propped up with antidepressants! They helped.

I think having to fight wars on multiple fronts makes it particularly hard. All the daily fire fighting is a job in itself, and then you layer in EHCP stuff, normal household stuff and running the kids, work. Treat yourself with compassion and drop what you have to. Fix your eyes on the light at the end of the tunnel. Once the application is in, every day is one day closer to hopefully getting her needs met.

My DS age six has a diagnosis of ASC. At the age of three he was borderline or mildly delayed in his milestones, he was pre verbal and moderately/ severely behind in social skills and self care skills. His pediatrician suggested GDD would this be a diagnosis? He now has language but it is quite delayed, he is still quire behind with self care and social skills. Other skills I would say slightly behind.

Academically he is probably at EYFS but he is in Year 2.