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PLEASE - Son diagnosed autistic 14 now struggling re statement

Happy

My son was diagnosed autistic in May 12 aged 14. I pushed for this after many years of problems. He has never been picked up in school - - - long story and now we have so much ground to make up.

This is a very late diagnosis and his education to date has been nothing less than a torment and frustration to him.... now we know why. My son is below average in all subjects and considerably below in others - though he is intelligent and capable in other settings. Further my son refuses school and sometimes walks out. He is not badly behaved he is simply unable to manage. His experiences of education to date are poor, he recieves repeated negatiuve feedback, is often called lazy, manipulative and stubborn. 

My question is do I push for a statement? 

I have requested the SENCO at school refer my son for statement though I cannot help feeling she is being obstructive. She has written that staementing process is very different these days and school can meet most childrens needs within budget etc. She has questioned my son's diagnosis in both her emails, asking who did it, when etc. It is clear she thinks I have told lies???? I have no idea what the agenda is here...

Why do I want a statement:

Because my son is going into year 10 in Sept and only has 2 years of formal education left.

He has a great deal to make up and it is clear he has a range of difficulties thriving or making progress in his everyday school environment without more help. 

Although school have been helpful nothing seems joined up or focused. My sons low moral, underachievement etc are evidence that they are not aware of his specific needs & nor are there any specific targeted plans to help him. 

Maybe, just maybe, if my son has a thourough assessment and an education plan tailored to his needs + support then he might experience the joy of education that many of his peers enjoy. Maybe his new experiences will influence his future choices about further education and most importantly improve his life chances in the long run. 

I would love to know what other people think... Time is of the eccence and I have nobody objective with knowledge of this area to bounce off.

Any information is better than nothing

Thanks Thanks 

Parents

  • Hi Happy

    I have a 12yr old son who has just been diagnosed with ASD. He's Yr 7 and I haven't managed to get him settled into secondary school - we did Sept - Oct half term at one school and then he wouldn't go again, tried another school Jan - Feb half term and he hasn't been back since. It has been this school crisis that led us down the diagnosis route.

    We are now heading down the statementing route.

    Being new to all this I can't really advise you on what you should do. But I think it's quite possible that the school are not going to be able to meet your son's needs without a statement. 

    My experience of the statementing journey so far is that it's a very bumpy ride. The process takes at least 26 weeks. After 6 weeks they tell you whether they are going to go ahead and assess. We're currently at the stage where they have responded with a refusal to assess .... so then you have to move on to the appeal ....

    Are you aware that if the school won't request a statutory assessment, then you can write to the LEA to request one? Ideally you want the school on side though - and it sounds like they're not acknowledging your son's difficulties at the moment unfortunately. 

    Is your son on School Action or School Action Plus? If he's not on School Action Plus then the LEA may turn you down because the school has not tried everything. Although you shouldn't let this put you off.

    There are websites/helplines out there that can help you with the statementing process. I'll try to reply again later with more details (if someone else doesn't jump in with the info in the mean time)

    Sharon

Reply

  • Hi Happy

    I have a 12yr old son who has just been diagnosed with ASD. He's Yr 7 and I haven't managed to get him settled into secondary school - we did Sept - Oct half term at one school and then he wouldn't go again, tried another school Jan - Feb half term and he hasn't been back since. It has been this school crisis that led us down the diagnosis route.

    We are now heading down the statementing route.

    Being new to all this I can't really advise you on what you should do. But I think it's quite possible that the school are not going to be able to meet your son's needs without a statement. 

    My experience of the statementing journey so far is that it's a very bumpy ride. The process takes at least 26 weeks. After 6 weeks they tell you whether they are going to go ahead and assess. We're currently at the stage where they have responded with a refusal to assess .... so then you have to move on to the appeal ....

    Are you aware that if the school won't request a statutory assessment, then you can write to the LEA to request one? Ideally you want the school on side though - and it sounds like they're not acknowledging your son's difficulties at the moment unfortunately. 

    Is your son on School Action or School Action Plus? If he's not on School Action Plus then the LEA may turn you down because the school has not tried everything. Although you shouldn't let this put you off.

    There are websites/helplines out there that can help you with the statementing process. I'll try to reply again later with more details (if someone else doesn't jump in with the info in the mean time)

    Sharon

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