help needed for statement for school

[trace2]

where can i get advice for ds whos got AS please?

Here .... stay close! But you need to be more specific as to the kind of advice needed.

We've got a statement for my DS with HFA?. What do you need to know?

Have you applied to the LEA yet?

We have a statement for DS with HFA as well. I will help if I can.
Trying to help rather than just lurk

been told today dont need one for ds

Who told you that trace? was it the ep?

yes and the teacher every thing i mentioned the teacher put objects in ourway or made excuses i feel like they not going to help at all hes trying so much to be good in school heas masvie meltdowns at home

never ever believe them

seriously

they always say that (been there done that, got the t shirt, did so well God sent me a mmore severe one!)

apply yourself, speak to ipsea, sos!sen etc first

but never ever listen to a person linked to lea

trace2

You have been told a falsehood/downright lie to stop you applying for such a document!. EP is employed by the LEA and is thus under pressure not to issue statements; this is a common tactic employed by such people. Have heard it many a time.

Your son has AS - long and short of it is that he needs a Statement in order to manage particularly in secondary school. Your son is likely having massive meltdowns primarily because he is bottling up his frustrations of the school day.

As Peachy says never believe them. Apply yourself!. Put in a personal request for a Statement to your LEA asap. You will need to give them six weeks to reply, you will need to write to the Chief Education Officer at the LEA.

www.ipsea.org.uk are very good and there are model letters you can use.

BTW if his school are obstructive I'd start looking for another hopefully more understanding establishment.

Hi Trace... so sorry to hear you're having problems getting the support you feel you need for your DS. I am the SEN co-ordinator at a primary school and can only tell you how things should run. Attila is right you can make a parental application for statementing however it is a long and complex process. It can also be costly as they will require assessments that you may have to pay for privately if the school is not supporting your application. For a child to be statemented there is a printed list of criteria he or she must meet acording to the different conditions and needs a child may have. If school is saying he would not meet the criteria why don't you ask them to go through it with you and show you exactly why. If the school has involved the Ed Psych their advice will be crucial to whether a statement is issued or not. If the Ed Psych feels additional support through a statement is not necessary the school's hands will be tied. Don't want to be nosey but how old is your DS?

re previous comments made:-

"It can also be costly as they will require assessments that you may have to pay for privately if the school is not supporting your application".

Please do not let that put you off applying anyway. School did not really back me either fully but I did not have to pay for private based reports. The LEA when they made the decision to assess (and thatis the first tricky bit) asked the various professionals for their reports. Many LEA's will also not take much note of private based reports anyway.

"For a child to be statemented there is a printed list of criteria he or she must meet acording to the different conditions and needs a child may have".

Blanket policies and such criteria (e.g must be in the bottom 2% or at least 3 years behind) are practiced by some LEAs but this practice is ILLEGAL. LEA's know the law; it has been spelt out to them by the bods in Whitehall more than enough times.

A boy with AS in our school was told by the EP he would never get a statement. Parents pushed anyway, school requested a statutory assessment, and he now has 25 hours 1:1 per week.

I agree with Attila - do it yourself if necessary. You will not have to pay for assessments. If the LEA decide he needs a statutory assessment they will get the assessments done, and your paediatrician and yourself, will also contribute. Let the LEA decide if he does/doesn't need a statement, and no-one else. That is what the assessment process is for!

Your reports of the meltdowns at home will be very important. Alot of weight was given to my views when we finally got our statement.

my son has ASD and has a statement of 32.5 hours, we got this after fighting very hard for over a year. The school kept telling me DS did not need any support and at that time we did not have a DX but i applied for a statment myself and was refused. We then took LEA to appeal and won and they assessed DS, we then spent 6 months appealing against the hours they had proposed and eventually got 32.5 hours!!!! Dont give up. My sons statement is purely based on his behavioural issues and was finalised before his DX of ASD so im sure with you DX it should be easier for you. We did not have to pay a penny for private assessments, the Ed Psych did not support our case at all ALthough we did move DS to another school who were helpful and did tell the LEA the truth about how DS was coping in school which really helped. Would you consider moving schools?

hes 6 years old and yes hes bottleing it all up all day we now that. but his class teacher is the senco teacher for the school so thought she would know? they say cos hes so bright he dont need help but cahms told me thats why hes coping cos hes so bright hes coping that way and they sayhe dont need help with his work

trace2,

You're really being messed around here by people who will use any excuse for you not to apply.

Class teacher/SENCO in your case does not have a clue!. These people are not trained at any great length in ASDs.

Statements are also for social/communication needs as well as academic ones. Your son's needs are currently not being at all met by school; what they have done to date is next to nothing to help him.

Its not down to CAMHS (and they can be about as much help as a chocolate teapot on occasion; also ASD is not their main area of expertise) or the school to decide whether he needs assessment or not.

BTW I was also told by an EP that a statement would be refused for my son but we managed to obtain a statement for him anyway.

Yep, J had no dx, was told by EP that he'd never get a Statement, applied myself (he was 3) and got turned down, filled in appeal form, they backed down, gave him 24 hours which have now been upped to 33. The ADHD and autism dxs helped up the hours to 33 but he already got a substantial amount before dxs.

I never had to pay for any private reports, and the ONLY ONLY ONLY criteria for a Statement is that the school cannot meet the child's needs from their own resources. Schools are resourced in different ways in different areas of course but that is the basic criteria and only legal criteria, though LEAs try to make up their own illegal ones.

e.g. if a school is expected to fund 20 hours of 1:1 from their own resources, a child will probably only be eligible for statementing if they need 22 hours. I'm simplifying a bit. The important thing is to make sure that the school is doing anything possible and everything that they're supposed to be doing otherwise a Statement is very unlikely as the LEA (or appeal panel) will simply say that the school should be doing more from their own resources.

Worth asking the LEA how many hours the school are expected to provide from their own resources, then you know what the school SHOULD be doing.

BTW, J is v bright too. He is statemented under 1) social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and 2) communication and interaction difficulties. Those are two of the official categories of SEN. The one for 'academically struggling' is called 'cognition and learning difficulties' and is only one of the 4 categories, so they should not be referring to academic ability as the basis for a Statement.

'For a child to be statemented there is a printed list of criteria he or she must meet acording to the different conditions and needs a child may have.

the criteria is simple: if he is failing to achieve because of a disabilty you can apply for a statement.

I never paid for any assessments- help is out thre, look at (for eg) BIBIC whose assessments were accepted by my usually useless LEA and have funds to help those who cannot afford their therapy