Newbie - lost and confused

[OrdinaryJo]

Hi
I'm new to Mumsnet and looking for some advice and support. My DS(4) has been going through a diagnois process for 18 months now for suspected ASD. We've just heard back from his ADOS that he isn't on the spectrum but does have a significant social communication disorder. Our current battle is over schooling. Because it's taken so long to get to where we are, it's only now that support (SALT and the Spectrum team) have kicked in. He's really progressing with the SALT and the private nursery he's at are finally able to move forward with specific support.

However, he's due to start school in August (he is 5 on 31 July). We, nursery, the pead and the OT we've seen believe he should defer a year as socially / verbal reasoning he's just not up to it. We waited 6 months to see the EdPsych, and I've just heard back verbally from her that there's no way the Early Years team will support a deferred year, as DS will be 5 and therefore legally should be in school.

My questions:
Can I challenge this decision?
Should I challenge this decision, or am I just being over protective and he would actually thrive under the structure of school?
I feel that since he didn't get the ASD diagnosis the urgency / level of support has dropped - would this be typical?
Is there somewhere I can find out my rights? (We live in Edinburgh, I know we need to keep the forums annonymous but each authority in Scotland seems to be different).

Thanks for any replies and sorry this is so long!

Jx

Have you tried SNIP (the Special Needs Information Point)..they have an office at the Sick Kids.

This is their website:

www.snipinfo.org/

Also contactafamily offer advice on education:

www.cafamily.org.uk/pdfs/scotland/SCleaflet07.pdf

Dd2 is due to start school in September (she will be 4.5), we have decided to try for a place at a SN school, our plan is to put her in SN school for a year to give her an extra year to catch up before going to MS, could this be an option for you?

You could also choose to home educate?

Also, my DD does not have an ASD diagnosis (she is a very complicated case and is still undergoing tests). She started council-run nursery in January and was given some support, but the nursery struggled with this amount, so were able to apply for more support and got it eventually, despite a lack of diagnosis - they seem to just go by the individual child and the amount of support the staff feel they need. It just took slightly longer to get enough support in place for DD than it would have done with an ASD diagnosis I suppose (she probably needs more support than if she had ASD, in fact.

I suppose what i am trying to say is, if you are forced into him starting school, I wouldn't worry that he will automatically get less support without the ASD diagnosis, if he is struggling I hope he would get more support like my DD did.

talk to these people
www.mindroom.org/

and these people
www.enquire.org.uk/

Hope this helps.

Thanks all for your responses

i also live in scotland and also have a ds with social communication difficulties. we are in a slightly different position as ds has a december birthday, but we've been told that there is no problem for him to defer, so that he will start school at age 5.8. it makes absolute sense to everyone involved.

i think that education authorities are very wary about deferring pupils who will effectively turn 16, and thus be able to leave school, before they are due to sit any formal exams. but it is not unheard of these days. i wonder if a meeting could be called with everyone involved with your ds and they could put a strong case forward to your ed psych? if not, there should at least be a meeting to discuss setting up a co-ordinated support plan where you can ensure that the various agencies involved in your ds's support record their educational objectives for him and outline how they will ensure that his needs are met when he starts school.

Hey Robin

If his birthday was a mere 18 days later then we would have a right to request deferral even if he didn't have any SN and they would legally have to consider it. The EdPsych actually said on the phone 'you will have the police at your door if you don't start him in school' which I think is frankly ridiculous. The Pead and OT have all said that another year would make sense for him, but they don't seem to have any input into the decision.

I'm waiting for the report to come in the post then I'm going to push for a meeting. It's all taking too long and August is coming too quickly! What is even more frustrating is that we've been in the diagnosis process for 18 months and if the support had started then (given how well he's responding to it now) he probably would be ready!

(is there a limit to how many rants you're allowed on here, btw?)

rant away... that situation sucks. your ed psych seems a bit heavy handed given that "Local authorities should remember that home education is a key aspect of parental choice, and that consent to withdraw a child from school should not be unreasonably withheld." this website

This is also an interesting point in the legislation:

Education (Scotland) Act 1980 - Section 28(1)

"In the exercise and performance of their powers and duties under this Act, the Secretary of State and education authorities shall have regard to the general principle that, so far as is compatible with the provision of suitable instruction and training and the avoidance of unreasonable public expenditure, pupils are to be educated in accordance with the wishes of their parents."

Perhaps your local authority would cite unreasonable public expenditure?

If they do insist on your ds starting school against your wishes then i'd make it clear to them that you are expecting very clear support mechanisms are put in place to make sure that the experience is a positive one for your ds.

good luck.