When is a disability not a disability?

[asdx2]

When it is autism apparently
Had a letter saying that ds had been identified as a child who would qualify for Aiming High funding.
Assumed it was because he has specialist provision or maybe identified by paed.
Started thinking of ways to use 100 hours of support when I read the criteria and apparently autism isn't a qualifying condition unless there are learning difficulties and challenging behaviour.
Technically ds has both learning difficulties and extreme challenging behaviour as in his diagnosis letter but we have sorted the behaviour and I never believed the learning difficulties.
Again if a family has two children with disabilities then they would be considered a priority but yet again autism isn't considered a qualifying condition.
So why isn't autism a disability then?

and to a bad case of greedy deluded parentitis

It's because we don't need money or help. We all just need to be a little more strict with our children and insist that they learn how to talk, learn about social skills, and stop using those pesky motor skills difficulties as an excuse.

It is a disability as defined in law.

You should challange that letter as it's discrimanatory.

trouble is that Aspergers for instance falls between 2 stools: child is too high-functioning to have general learning disabilities and yet still has social and communication difficulties that an NT child would not have.

We meet this repeatedly. Even CAMHS would not get involved in longterm support purely for Aspergers but only if there was a comormid such as OCD, anxiety etc etc.

Well ds has moderate autism and dd is moderate to severe autism but because they don't display challenging behaviour (anymore that is ) and have seemingly normal IQ then they won't qualify.
Neither do we qualify on the basis of more than one child with a disability because two with autism don't count either.
With that sort of criteria they are able to cut out huge numbers of children.

oh, don't feel special. dd2 doesn't qualify for the children with disabilities team, despite her cp dx, dla, and the fact that she (probably) won't be allowed to emigrate as she's such a burden lol.

but you've got a letter saying you qualify, right? i wouldn't worry about the small print.

From Directgov - the Govt's own website:

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

The definition
For the purposes of the Act:

substantial means neither minor nor trivial
long term means that the effect of the impairment has lasted or is likely to last for at least 12 months (there are special rules covering recurring or fluctuating conditions)
normal day-to-day activities include everyday things like eating, washing, walking and going shopping
a normal day-to-day activity must affect one of the 'capacities' listed in the Act which include mobility, manual dexterity, speech, hearing, seeing and memory

My favourite quote from my SEN officer "well of course if he has autism we would expect his language and social skills to be far behind, thats not a disability for specialist provision, he would need to have a feeding tube or something"

No my letter says ds has been identified as possibly meeting the criteria but when I enquired as to what was available the autism doesn't meet the criteria.
I have no idea who or what alerted them in the first place tbh but obviously they felt he did.
No doubt when I get a letter about dd they'll be able to tell me she doesn't qualify either.

I googled "Aiming High" + "initiative"

It brought up the policy paper.

It's for all disabled children (i.e. there is nothing that states criteria or excludes specific disabilities such as ASD).

Condensing the 57 pages it's basically to get the parents of diabled children 'involved' and to give them control over their child's own care package. It also mentions Parent Partnerships.

If you reda it and think your child would benefit asdx2 then you should challenge their misconception that your child's particular disability excludes them.

Ironic really - an initiative targetted at inclusion from which your child is apparently excluded. You couldn't make it up!
Best wishes

In our borough (which administers the Aiming High money) they are prioritising 'complex and multiple' disabilities first and will add others in coming years. But if autism itself resulted in communication difficulties - non-verbal, say- then that would count as a learning disability i adition to autism per se and the child would be eligible. The blurb we have had (I am part of an organisation bidding to provide out-of-school activities for children with complex / multiple disabilities) says they are prioritising those children who are most excluded fom any existing services. So prioritising within disabled children, rather than saying some children are not disabled.

But the result is the same for you, OP - sympathies, very frustrating.

What is really worrying me is that ds is currently excluded from any services from SS because he doesn't fit the criteria and yet he will need supported living as an adult because he won't be independent as an adult. But if he doesn't fit the criteria now what hope have I got of getting him an adult placement?

asdx2 Ah yes, the sit we are in exactly

2kidswith asd,one in a snu, one with severe challenging behaviour as assessed by DLA but not SSD...result nothing in the way of services at all.

AS,regardless of accompanying symptomatolgy (like my new word? ) doesn't get you SSD support ehre at all, neither it seems does SSD if the SW can look at the child and say @oh I know about autism, he doesn't have it' (child dx'd and the same one in an SNU)

fuckwittery at the highest level.

I am getting a repfor being the local AutieFreedomFigher but don't feel able to take on SSD,they'reallowed to set their criteria and as longa s theyc an then .... it's 2 hour sleeps and being punched again.

But hey ho,its just attention seeking, right?

ASDx2 a friend is trying to get her son an adult palcement as he eaves school this year, here is a chance of a unit for which he has been assessed as suitable,LEa willing to stump up their bit.... SSD refusing to submit apperowrk,currently up for debate a few days before he finsihes school.

She'sbeen told that as she'snot in crisior abusing him.....

I pretty much accept it'sdh and I with ds3 forever, SSd don't give adamn

My problem is I think that when ds was diagnosed and paed informed SS that he had high care needs and wouldn't be independent I didn't want their input I was coping and wanted (and still do to some extent) my privacy
Twelve years down the line ds has made huge progress although not in any of the skills that make him independent but he can talk and read and is a whizz at maths and so now SS don't agree that he has needs above the autism. Seem to think he is HF because of the academics but he is diagnosed moderate and is at least moderate.
I am older have another with autism and I am knackered tbh Ds hasn't slept a full night in 15 years (birthday this week) not in bed before 3am and up at 6am. Dd often gets up when ds has settled.
Nowadays I can't manage both of them out of the house by myself safely which makes life difficult and how do you entertain a ds15 and dd7 simultaneously?
Dh is on chemo and so knackered as well and looking to the future is scary because how will I manage the basics out of the house if I am on my own? They have 3 NT siblings but they are older working and off to uni I won't rely on them because it shouldn't be their responsibility.