Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi All
First foray into forums! My son has aspergers, anxiety issues and low self esteem. He wont take tests, or use pen or paper so his ability level is not clear. Trying for an EHCP. Seem to need to prove he is 2 or 3 years behind where he should be. But how do I know since he wont do tests? confused and concerned
Hi NAS38055
This sounds frustrating - it may help to have the link to our Helpline and also the Education Rights Service, who might be able to offer some advice?
The following article contains a lot of helpful information about education for a child with autism - http://www.autism.org.uk/about/in-education.aspx - This includes information regarding getting extra support for your child in their education setting.
You may want to contact our Education Rights Service who provides information, support and advice on educational provision and entitlements. Please see the following link for further information - http://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/education-rights.aspx
You can search for schools that cater for children with an autism spectrum disorder on our Autism Services Directory - www.autism.org.uk/directory.aspx
It can help to pass on information specifically for education professionals about autism spectrum disorders. The following link contains information written for education professionals - http://www.autism.org.uk/professionals/teachers.aspx
Lastly, you may like to contact our Autism Helpline team who can provide you with information and advice. You can contact the team via telephone on 0808 800 4104 (Monday to Thursday 10am to 4pm, Friday 9am to 3pm). Please note that the Helpline is experiencing a high volume of calls and it may take a couple of attempts before you get through to speak to an advisor. Alternatively, should you prefer to send a message, you can do so via their webform - https://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/main/questions.aspx
Hoping this is useful.
Nicky-Mod
Hi. When you say tests, do you mean school tests? My son been through exactly the same with refusing to take tests and eventually all written work. Not sure if you have yet had an assessment by an educational psychologist as a good ed Psych should still find a way round to assess where he is at versus his actual age on listening comprehension, word reading etc, just may take a few attempts to get some of this (first attempt in our case was point blank refusal to do it).
Are you applying yourself for the EHCP? The proof that the local authority will want to look for is that he is failing to progress despite intervention/support, you don't have to prove a certain gap in time. As much info that you can chuck at this is helpful so if he is at school, ask them for documentation of what has been tried and outcomes. Finally if you haven't already speak to the independent SEND Support organisation in your area...this should be listed on the Local Offer on your local authority. I found this really helpful but wish I had called them earlier in the process as it's great to get sound advice and reassurance on how this process is supposed to work. Great for when you are confused. Hang on in there.