Moving to the UK with an autistic child - advice, please....

[BlondieMum01]

My family will (very probably) be moving back to the UK in July next year. We will most likely living in Essex around Chelmsford/Shenfield or in Surrey around Guildford/Woking.

We have not lived in the UK for more than a decade, but my children both have British passports.

We have a 5 year old son who is autistic. He is of normal intelligence, and is very friendly and gentle with other children. He likes to play, but his main difficulties are with social language and communication. He has excellent vocab. He does have meltdowns, but they are not violent, and he comes around within a few minutes most of the time. His current tea, thinks that he has underlying sensory integration issues which are underlying all of his other issues, but they are having trouble identifying triggers and treatment. He can function quite well in a group is he has support - without it, he tends to wander, yell out and be disruptive. He is currently in a specialist playgroup, where most of the other children have ASD diagnosis, as well a children with intellectual disability and speech/communication delays/issues.

Where we live now, there is little to no provision for English speaking SEN children.

I have some basic questions which I hope some of you ladies will be able to help with with:

1. If we live within the zone of a certain government school, do they have the right to refuse him entry?
2. It is my understanding that he is entitled to go to school - if a school denies him entry (ie is there is no 'place' for him) will the LEA find him a place?
3. Is every child with SEN Statemented? Or are there situations where children get the support they need without having to go through that process?
4. If he does need to be Statemented, does this mean he cannot go to school until this process is complete? (I know that this process can take up to a year to get through).
5. It is my understanding - from reading dozens of Ofsted reports - that not every child with SEN is statemented: who makes the decision whether or not a statement is neccssary?
6. We will probably know by Feb/March whether or not the move is happening: is there anything I can do to get the ball rolling before the beginning of the next school year? Contact the LEA? Or do we need to have a street address before they will deal with us?

I understand how complicated the process is when your child is already in the system - it's going to be even more so for us. I am worried about how he will adjust to such a huge change and I want to be as prepared as I can be.

I am very greatful for any replies that come my way.

BlondieMum01

I know two of the towns you describe very well (Chelmsford will cost less property wise than Shenfield which will cost mega money!).

Shenfield's LEA is Basildon who are tight fisted with provision. Essex as a county are not great when it comes to such things; I along with many others have had to fight long and hard against big bad Baz LEA.

Personally I would apply for a Statement if you return to the UK and your DS is on the ASD spectrum. The stages below this are School Action and School Action Plus. Unlike a Statement, neither of these plans are legally binding and thus the support offered is limited in scope. The child would not have to be on either School Action or School Action plus initially in order to get a Statement.

I believe the LEA is obligated to find the child a place at school.

Not every child with SEN is statemented. A Statement usually takes around 6 months to set up if the LEA agree to assess (this can be a difficult process in its own right).
The LEA in question will solely make the decision as to whether or not to Statement.
Do not be put off therefore by a school saying beforehand, "X is too academically able to receive a Statement" (because that is bs).

Parents have far more power than school does in this regard; if you do move back to the UK make the statement application personally rather than let school do it. This is for two reasons; first off you have the right of appeal in the event the LEA say no (school does not), secondly you know the application has actually been made (some schools can sit on such apps for ages).

Surrey may well be different; SOS:SEN are actually based in Surrey and could well help you further with advice re SEN and schools if you move there.

I would look at the websites of the National Autistic Society, IPSEA and SOS;SEN to start with. All these will give information re educational needs and the statementing process.

HTH a bit and good luck!.

oh and to add you can get ds in a school while doing statement but does not guranttes right school for ds or much help .

Ye sif local school is full they will assist in finding another one

You have a right to a mainstream school if there is a place they must take your child and put in the support necessary. You can express a preference for a special school but usually need a statement to get in. However moving can lead to a different presumption in that if your son is in a specialist setting you may be able to argue for that level of support to continue.

your description of your son is similar to mine and we were refused specialist provision and only offered mainstream but if we were moving from a different area where had had specialist support I suspect the local authority would have had to match that.

If you can get professionals there to give a recommendation than that would carry weight.

You might want to look at Jigsaw (ABA) school in Surrey - they might also give you info on local alternatives.

I would be biased more towards Surrey, as there are lots of Autistic spectrum children. There is also a range of special schools for Autistic children in Surrey.

However I would suggest that you contact the National Autistic Society for better advice.

I've heard quite good things about Surrey too.

You might find it helpful to read this booklet - SEN: A guide for parents and carers. It summarises the graduated approach (School Action to Statements) and your rights wrt statementing. Bear in mind that LAs (local authorities) do tend to bend the rules in their own favour, however!

I am from Chelmsford area and am really having to fight to get any help for my ds (suspected AS). Most schools in the area are good and we have a large special school it's just the fight for provision thats the problem.

I've looked at all the documents referenced here. Most of them I was already familiar with.

It is good to know that he cannot be denied the right to school while he is statemented. However, how often does it happen in practice that a child is out of school for months while they 'find' a place.

I am more than happy for him to be mainstreamed - in many ways this is the best thing for him. However, he does need a certain amount of 1-2-1 support: not even all the time, but I would imagine for the greater part of the day.

I know that there is no 'typical' autistic child. However, we have a long papertrail of his diagnosis, done by Western-trained doctors which decades of experience. We have the full ASD diagnosis (twice - once at 3, once at 4) and a series of LAP assessments every six months. We also have reports from speech therapists and OT about his needs and abilities. Under these circumstances, what could I reasonably expect to get/not get, based on your experience with your children?

(I am saying that the diagnosis is not the issue - I am interested in finding out what LEAs will provide from best to worset case scenario.)

I would contact the NAS, as a friend of mine returned from Belgium with her two ASD sons, and managed (with a little trauma along the way) to get her sons the provision she needed, and I know she is one of the NAS counselors.

I know my DCs school has a lot of ASD children, including those who need 1-2-1, and happily takes such children if it has room (it always seems to be over full). So it is possible. I would much more go along the lines of looking at schools and then getting the school you think is best named on the statement.

You may change your mine about mainstream when it comes to secondary level (it depends on your child), as the hormones of teenagerdom can complicate things.

For the area you choose to move to, there is an organisation called Parent partnership which maybe able to help. (Look up parent partnership in google).

Good luck!

Thanks for all the rplies - sorry - what is NAS?

NAS is the National Autistic Society.

Some Parent Partnerships are far better than others (my local PP is particularly bad) and are not independent of the LEA they work for. Would suggest instead you seek advice from some such independent like IPSEA, ACE or SOS;SEN (who are based in Surrey) to name but three.