statementing, here we come, any advice

[JustCutAndPaste]

As I posted on a recent epilepsy thread, ds2's school have finally decided he needs to go for a statement. It's probably the right thing but I'm feling very apprehensive about the whole thing. I'm definitely going to call SOS-SEN in the next couple of days but just wondered if you brilliant people who have been through it could answer a few quick questions:

(1) how long does it generally take, and does it depend on what type of help they need? Ds2 doesn't have a diagnosis of anything except his epilepsy, and that has been controlled for two years now with his AEDs, but has lots of 'sensory perception disorder' type behaviours and can be aggressive with his peers and some of this is (understandably) impacting on his behaviour in the classroom and his ability to learn at school. In a lot of ways, his sensory-seeking behaviour is very similar to that of a friend's son with Aspergers, but there are other boxes he definitely doesn't tick in the AS/ASD categories.

(2) what (in your experiences) is the likelihood that we will have it rejected and have to appeal?

(3) what are the pros and cons of the school submitting the application or us as parents?

(4) will it count against us that we have had a private paediatrician assessment already (albeit one that seemed to miss loads of stuff)?

that's it for now. I have to go out and do after school stuff and then out again in the evening so apologies if I don't acknowledge any replies until tomorrow sometime, but any help would be great.

1. Generally a minimum of 6 months, with not challenging and no tribunals. Each tribunal will add between 4-6 months. There are potentially 3 if all are sucessful.

(2) Fairly likely. It is often a strategy to sort the parents into groups of 'fob off' and 'can't fob off'.

(3) If you have a good relationship with the school and know they will copy you into all correspondence and do things in a timely way, then it is probably better if they do it. Otherwise you should do it to retain control and know exactly what has been sent and to whom. You can still appeal as parents if the school are refused.

(4) It shouldn't do, no.

hth

1)The framework of Statutory Assessment process is 26 weeks (6 weeks for decision to assess; 10 weeks to gather info; 2 weeks to draft statement; 8 weeks for consultation and finalisation).

However, there are exceptions (such as you being out of area for 4+ weeks during the assessment phase, or documents not being submitted on time by professionals). Also, you may find that if you receive a draft statement in week 18, and agree with it totally (possible, but not often the case), then the LA could finalise very quickly, and the whole thing could be finished in 19-20 weeks.

Ours was requested by me on September 1st (2009) and I received the final statement on January 20th (2010), so 20 weeks and 1 day from start to finish.

2. I'll answer your q's from 1 here

a) Statements are based on needs, not diagnoses. Having said that, there needs to be sufficient evidence that your child 'probably' has an SEN, and that a school is 'unlikely' to be able to make provision by themselves for those Special Educational Needs. The reason I stress the Educational is that on its own, Epilepsy is not a SEN. It is a medical condition. Having said that, if the medical condition gives rise to educational issues, then it is the responsibility of the school/LEA to deal with it.

So two children could have epilepsy, and take the same drugs for it. But if one is seizure free and side-effect free, and the other either has seizures or side-effects that affect their ability to learn, that second child may get a statement and the first child not.

It is so important that you phrase everything in terms of your DS's ability to learn. Remembering, of course, that social skills are an educational aspect of the school day too.

b) My experience is that if I had left it to the 'powers that be', DD1 would not be statemented, and she would not have her Special school place. I phoned the person responsible for flagging SN (inclusion co-ordinator) today, and she said "has the Ed Psych seen your DD yet?" I had to say "Yes, she is statemented now, remember?". Doesn't instill confidence that DD has significant SNs and yet the Inco was obviously quite unconcerned whether the Ed Psych had even seen her, with only 5 months till she starts school, knowing that statementing takes 6 months

Having said that, the whole process was very painless for me. We had been in the 'system' for 1 year at the point of requesting Stat Assessment, and DD1 had input at that point from Paed, SALT, OT, Portage Outreach, was in receipt of DLA and has a Blue badge. So it was very easy to give evidence right from the start.

I think that you are far more likely to succeed in getting an assessment if you make the request, and if you can gather all the evidence you have of his additional needs.

3. Personally, I like to be in control so I would always opt for applying yourself. That way, you know exactly when the request went in. You know where in the process you are. You can phone and ask for updates.

4. No, not a problem, unless the report is unfavourable, ie. doesn't reflect your DS's difficulties adequately.

Thanks v much, both of you. I shall certainly be showing this to dp. I had a feeling it might all take a while... We're also considering home-edding ds2, in which case it seems a statement would count against us - and of course we wouldn't get any help with ds2 but then he might not behave quite as badly as he does in school anyway. And we're also considering moving overseas (for different reasons)! Seems like a lot of information finding and serious thought is required here.