Statementing question

[ChopsTheDuck]

Can anyone give me more of an idea of how this works, please? Didn't want to hijkack the other thread.

At the last Physio appointment (joint with the OT) I was told I need to think about applying for statementing. They work very closely with the school, they know the senco, and this was based on their view of ds and what I've told them about school.

I was planning to wait for the paed appointment and see what advice she has, thinking if I can get her onside, I will have a much better chance at getting somewhere (she helped us get dla). We're also waiting for a cahms referral, but I think that will be a while yet.

Am I right in thinking that these professionals would have a say or be consulted in the application?

I think the school can cope with ds in a way, but he isn't really progressing as well as he should. His work indicates he often doesnt have a clue abotu what is going on. They aren't supporting his physical needs at all (he needs observing for exhaustion or he collapses, he needs stuff for writing, etc.) He is getting more hyper as he gets older, which they have noticed, and he flaps a lot, and goes all uncoordinated with arms and legs everywhere which normally indicates he is stressed and tired.

He comes home from school absolutely shattered most of the time, and so behaviour is completely unmanageable. Sometiems he is angry and violent, othertimes miserable and bursts into tears at the slightest thing. He will literally be bouncing off the walls, try to run off, throwing things, get stuck on two word phrases which get repeated over and over again, cling to lamposts, won't make eye contact. He really isn't with us at all, and jsut has to go off and zone out.

I told the school about this, and their attitude was that they aren't interested in how he is behaving AFTER school. But my feeling is that he is jsut holding it together at school and it's nto really fair on him. Can I insist that they consider this?

If the LEA agree to assess (and the first obstacle here is getting them to agree to assessment in the first place) then the LEA will write to the various professionals who have seen your son to date (you mention the physio/OT, paed; they will all be consulted) and ask for reports.

It would do no harm at all to write to the LEA now requesting statutory assessment. These things can take around six months to set up so you don't want to hang around really. If you're wondering what to write IPSEA's website have model letters you can use:-

www.ipsea.org.uk

I think you're right actually - your son can just about hold it together internally during the school day for the frustrations to appear later on. That's not fair on him or you.

Hi, Statementing is a mine field. First piece of advice is get hold of the Special Needs Code of practice it is free.Also search for the TOOLKIT. This is a condensed version. Right, now the thing with Statementing it can be requested by school, health/care professionals or even by yourself. I am in the process of requesting my child be assessed, he has Aspergers and Dyspraxia. If your child is doing the above then you need to bombard CAMHS daily if necessary and the Pediatrician they need to know that things are getting out of control.
About school you are entitled to request to see all reports written about your child as long as you give them notice.They have 15 days to reply.You can also have copies (they may charge).Keep a record of all incidents at home. it is your evidence to back you up.
Also make sure that you have copies of all correspondences regarding your child, evidence!
OASIS also has a booklet and on the WEB to take you through the process. Now here is the important stuff. Once a request has been made to LEA, they have 6 weeks to make a decision to do an assessment. From there they have a further 10 weeks to seek advice from professionals. Then they decide whether to make a statement. A proposed statement is done in 2 weeks. At this point you are notified, you do not have to agree with it and you have the 2 weeks to inform them of this. Then they have a further 8 weeks to finalise it. In total 26 weeks.
Unfortunately you are not alone in experiencing this attitude from schools. I have lost count of the amount of times I have been made to feel a complete nut case by schools, who are not concerned with children once they go home.
I hope this helps and remember you are not alone. You know your kids needs better than anyone, don't let anyone try to bamboozle you
and at the end of the day all you want is what is best.

I've decided, I def can't wait any longer.

I'm sick of this. Ds came home today, off his head again. Wanted to fly OVER the road and ran out. (He thinks convinced he can fly, no idea why. Prob something he has seen on tv)

Then he told me he had forgotten his socks. I asked if he told the teacher, and he said yes, and he had to wear them tomorrow or he was going to get detention. I've TOLD them he can't organise himself, it's my fault for not noticing. They are threatening him with punishment for somethign he simply can't do. Why don't they bloody understand that a dyspraxic child can't necessarily dress themselves! He comes home looking like his uniform has been thrown at him with his uniform inside out, upside down, back to front, etc.

Sorry, rant over!

Look at IPSEA they have a pack if you have to appeal against a refusal to assess but its actually really useful to know this stuff when you apply. They will try and say the school should put the support in via resources they have delegated to schools under Action / Action Plus. So you need to say not only that the school aren't doing enough but that even once intervention is in place this is still unlikely to be enough and need support eg fulltime 1:1 only available via statement. You can ask your LEA to send you their info on what their funding policy is eg how much money does your school have and how many hours are school expected to put in without a statement - you can ask school for this too. Talk to the parent partnership officer (some more useful than others as are employed by LEA). You can also argue you need statutory assessment to determine what needs are. They might try and say its all too premature need to wait for evidence etc etc. And yes after school is relevant - he's not coping at school and exploding when he gets home. But also ask school are they putting in as much as they can now? Could they give more 1:1 hours out of their budget whilst this is all going on?