Where do I stand

[MinnieMalone]

Have requested a statutory assessment of my son (just last week) so it is early days in the whole 'fighting for a statement' thing.

In the meantime, DS (who is in reception) has been internally excluded eight times and externally excluded twice since starting in reception. We don't have a diagnosis yet, but we believe (me, his dad, the school) that he has Asperger's. So far, the professionals involved haven't committed to this, but have said it is a possibility.

Attempting to be brief: the school initially wanted DS to go to a partner school on the days he was externally excluded, as part of a behavioral improvement partnership they are involved with. We turned this down - not appropriate for a young child with SEN etc etc. So, the situation currently is that the school cannot support him through his Asperger meltdowns (which is pretty clearly what they are) and cannot rule out further external exclusions, which would mean him spending the day at home.

I cannot accept this as an indefinite situation while the statementing process unfolds.

IPSEA and SOS:SEN both suggested contacting the LEA and putting pressure on them. I have been having phone and email exchanges for the past week or so with the Exclusions Officer atthe LEA who basically says they can't do anything, the school are doing everything they can, the borough has no say in this and that if I'm not happy I should write to the School Governors.

Is this correct? Is she just passing the buck?

I want interim support for my DS above and beyond what he is getting now. I want to know that he will not just be sent home when they cant cope. Am I expecting too much? Am I fighting a losing battle? I should say that the school are broadly supportive, and he is already getting 17 hours a week 1:1 on paper (this only kicked in last week after a series of major meltdown; previously it was more like 6 hours; i say 'on paper' because some of this support comes from a teaching assistant who is not actually dedicated to supporting my DS and I am unsure as to how intensive that 1:1 time really is).

Any advice on what my next steps should be would be gratefully received. I have already had some amazing advice and support from many on this board, so thank you in advance - MN is a lifeline right now!

Is he Statutory School age? I guess he must be or they probably would have said they are not obliged to keep him in school full time.
You can write to the Governors, but they will probably say they are doing all they can if he has 17 hours support. They have also offered you the sessions at the partner school, so I wouldn't expect the Governors to come up with anything else. They are mostly lay people and even the SEN Governor might not be very clued up.
Unless he is in meltdown the whole time the fact that the TA isn't always with him 1:1 might not be a bad thing, as long as she will come to his aid when he needs it.
Having a diagnosis is not essential for Statementing, but having tried a number of interventions without success is.
Talk to the school about what they have put in place to help him, especially anything they do to help avoid the triggers for his meltdowns, special arrangements such as allowing him to go to a cool down room and anything they are doing to help him cope in the classroom.
Have they got the LA Behaviour Management team involved? There could be quite a lot of work which they can do to help him.
It does seem to vary from LA to LA but in circumstances where a child is being excluded on a regular basis our LA has a team of experts who will offer training to the staff as well as working 1:1 with the child.

Thanks for your reply, iamahappycamper.

Yes, he is 5 yrs old. Ad yes, all interventions and strategies short of a statement (and the increase in 1:1 support we hope to get with that) have been exhausted as far as we can see.

He has been on School Action Plus since nursery, is being seen by CAMHS, a SALT, a Paed, outreach staff from a local school for kids with autism and an OT. He has cooling off time with a learning mentor whenever he needs it and they have put in place a range of other strategies. Lunch and break times are structured and supervised because he cannot cope with them. However, it's not enough . He needs full-time 1:1, or as close as we can get. The school are in agreement on this.

The borough's High Incident Support Team (same as the Behavioural Management Team?) are advising the school, and we have a Team Around the Child meeting coming up shortly to get all the professionals together in one place for the first time.

I guess I was hoping that if I put enough pressure on the borough, they might stump up the cash to fund more 1:1 hours until we can get a statement. They allocated a measly amount from a SEN contingency fund a few weeks ago, but it is like pissing in the wind, really...

I just cannot believe that it is acceptable to routinely exclude a five yr old with obvious SN

Hi

If the Ed Pysch is not already involved then ring them and demand they come to observe your child and suggest ways of assisting.

You're quit right to refuse to send him to the behaviourial unit - that is not the right type of placement for a child with long-term SEns and the LA know that - hence the fact that they are unable to pressurise you into doing so.

I would keep 3 thigs uppermost in my mind:

1. It's not a case of 'bad behaviour' - it's behaviour that is happenng because he's not adequately supported

2. The cause of the behaviour is related to his diabilities - so he's not able to control it adequately and needs to be proactively taught how to won the occasions it arises

3. He has a statutory right to an eductaion 'suitable to his age and ability' - if he's being excluded because of behaviour resulting from his diasabilities then he's being denied eductaion because of his unsupported disabilities.

The Statement process will drag on at the speed the LA choose - within the statutory timelines - you may not get sufficient support for him to return to school for some time.

The most effective approach is actually via a formal complaint to your Local Councillor. They can pressure the LA on your behalf (and the threat of publicity is also a good lever).

Best wishes

Thanks WA.

In my email exchanges with the Exclusions Officer at the LA, I pointed out all of the above and she had such lame responses and basically changed her tack with each new email. Very disappointing, and just as you describe - they know that the BIP idea is totally inappropriate, but are using this as a 'well, we did offer you the option and you turned it down' tack.

Thanks for the advice re: contacting my local councillor. I hadn't considered this. I intend to make the three points you've outlined above very strongly at the TAC meeting, and if the outcome isn't that they reconsider this whole exclusion thing, I will certainly consider this.

Many thanks.

MinnieMalone, obviously there is background that you may not have shared on this site, but my first question would be "What has changed for a little boy of 5 to need a statement, after having left nursery on EYA+, with no statement applied for?"

In other words, did you all feel that he needed a statement to start school with, but just not get it done, or did you think he would be OK with the internal support of the school?

Did you have transition meetings between school and nursery? Was there a plan put in place?

If so, what do you think has gone wrong/not happened/happened to move your DS from coping to not coping?

If you can answer that, you might be a step closer to working out what would support him in the interim. It might not necessarily be 1:1 at all times. It might be strategies that help everyone to recognise when he is overloaded, and intervention before crisis strikes, for example.

Hi lou031205 - thanks for your reply.

To answer 'what has changed?' - I'd say the main thing is the 'wait and see' approach that we all had - parents, teachers etc - has run out of steam. My son could have been 'just' a boisterous little boy who found it hard to settle in to nursery. But now that he is in reception, he is barely coping with it all and it is really apparent to all involved that there is much more to his problems than 'just' behavioural problems.

If I go right back to when DS was 18 mths old my instincts were always that there was something different about him. I just didn't want to label him with a 'special need' too early on in life, I suppose, and all the professionals seemed to agree. He was my first child, too, so I was never sure what was 'normal' or not - and because he has always been very bright and extrovert, it ws only quite far down the line that Asperger's wa smentioned and that it all fell into place.We never even considered a statement until the end of nursery (last summer) but it's only been since he joined reception that we (parents) have been convinced he needs one.

Nothing had changed in terms of my son's behaviour. It hasn't improved, certainly. The expectations placed on him as a five yr old in reception are greater than they were as a 3/4 yr old doing half days at nursery, and so it has become even more apparent that he is struggling.

What I know from our home life is that in any situation other than 1:1, DS struggles. He has sensory issues (yet to be diagnosed but we're nearly there) and finds group situations extremely stressful. It's almost as if things are the wrong way round at school - he is in a big, busy environment of 30 other kids most of the time, with some 1:1 - but I feel that what he needs is a reverse of that.

The difficulty with trying to suss out when he is stressed and about to eltdown/lash out is that it is very tricky, even for me and his dad, to predict this. He does not register his stress with facial expressions or say anything. He will just very suddenly kick off. What I think he needs is 'chill out' time regularly built in to his day, and the school are trying to do this. They need more funded hours to do it all, though!

Minnie, do you feel in your heart of hearts that MS with 1:1 is what your DS needs, or do you think that he might be better served in a MS with an ASD unit?

If I were you I'd be starting to look at all the options - it is unlikely that anyone will volunteer them, especially if your DS is academically able. Search your LA's website for the different schools available. Remember that if your DS went to a school that was some distance away, the LA would provide transport (as long as it is the nearest suitable school).

I cannot see any of the five special schools in the borough being suitable for DS. They all cater for children who are much more profoundly disabled than my son.

Do schools that cater for Asperger's exist? Where would I find out about them? It would mean looking outside of the borough, as definitely none here.

Thanks for your advice, btw.

Minnie - can you push your paed to give a dx? If you had one, it would really help move things forward. Even if they can just say it is ASD at this stage (our DS is likely to end up with an Asperger's dx, but currently just says ASD on his report.) I think if you can get that in writing, it will give you more power with the school.

Have you got a copy of the SEN code of practice? It['s really useful as it talks you through all the legal responsibilities.

Good luck and keep pushing - it is clear that teh school are failing your child.

hi minnie you sound like you are in the position i was in 2 years ago.
My Ds was excluded constantly and we applied for a statement. in the mean time i was told by school and ed welfare that they were doing all they could for ds. I eventually moved schools as i could not have ds home all the time. The new school placed DS at a Pupil referral unit which wasnt ideal as it didnt recognise any of DSs ASD traits as we did not have a formal diagnosis BUT what the PRU did do was highlight the level of support that ds needed was not available in MS. Normally pupils go to PRU for a few months but my DS was there for a year.....in this time he was managed not taught but it was better than him being at home.
Within that year we got a formal diagnosis although that in itself was a battle and then after writing to 152 mainstream schools asking them if they would take DS, 51 schools replied saying definately not, i also visited 2 special schools for disabled pupils which were not suitable for asd so he was refused places there too.
Eventually i looked into PRIORY AUTSITIC schools which are specifically for children on the autistic specrum and with aspergers. Luckily we have one in our county and i applied to LEA for a place and it was awarded in oct 2008. Ds has been there since then and is doing brilliantly!
this may not be an option for you as most of the schools start from age 8 but have a look anyway.
www.priorygroup.com/pg.asp?p=pubSpecialEducationOverview

Are there any local ASD support groups? May be worth a call, there is 1 school I know if our LEA that does cater for ASD & Asperger's but it is an independent school so doesn't show up on OFSTED under Special Schools. All the pupils at that school have statements btw but the school was originally founded by a couple of pissed off parents and has grown to offering residential placements as well as day and takes children from age 3-19.

also worth a look on the NAS Directory day schools in England