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PLEASE - Son diagnosed autistic 14 now struggling re statement

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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

  • Wow KaloJaro, thank you. What a brave, articulate and intelligent young lady you are.

    Hearing from another person who suffered like my son is now has been so informative. He rarely talks to me about these things and if he does he cannot keep on track for too long... Autism hey? And exactly like you, my son is depressed, frustrated and tormented at school. He literally hates attending but does with great heaps of encouragement. He is totally out of his depth, is continually underachieving and is repeatedly given negative feedback for being lazy and unwilling to try. I don't believe he is these things and I am now certain he actually has sensory overload and cannot function in the environment. Too many noises, people, smells, unbelievable amounts of information to process and ultimately never moving any steps forward... What a nightmare.

    Like your head, a Deputy Head at my sons school said "we have many children here with Aspergers and they do just fine and their attendence is high, so there is no reason why your son should be any different to them"

    The SENCO has emailed me saying that statementing is for very complex needs and school should be able to meet most SEN childrens needs within main budget. That they wouldn't support a referral unless the child had complex needs. I found this very indirect! 

    Clearly they are unable to meet my sons needs, he is 14 now and has continually underachieved due to innappropriate/none provision. I am not even confident they have the capability to conduct an appropriate assessment of my son's special educational needs, otherwise wouldn't they have done that already? He joined the school with an IEP from primary as he is dyspraxic, he doesn't even have an IEP now, there are no plans in palce etc and when I asked to meet and discuss this, and after 3 weeks of waiting for a reply I eventually got a phone call telling me he didn't need an IEP, he was lazy, manipulative and stubborn. That there was no way he showed any signs of aspergers or autism, asking who on earth has told you that? (this was prior to diagnosis).  

    Sooooooo KaloJaro I will not stop pushing, I assure you... thanks 

Reply

  • Wow KaloJaro, thank you. What a brave, articulate and intelligent young lady you are.

    Hearing from another person who suffered like my son is now has been so informative. He rarely talks to me about these things and if he does he cannot keep on track for too long... Autism hey? And exactly like you, my son is depressed, frustrated and tormented at school. He literally hates attending but does with great heaps of encouragement. He is totally out of his depth, is continually underachieving and is repeatedly given negative feedback for being lazy and unwilling to try. I don't believe he is these things and I am now certain he actually has sensory overload and cannot function in the environment. Too many noises, people, smells, unbelievable amounts of information to process and ultimately never moving any steps forward... What a nightmare.

    Like your head, a Deputy Head at my sons school said "we have many children here with Aspergers and they do just fine and their attendence is high, so there is no reason why your son should be any different to them"

    The SENCO has emailed me saying that statementing is for very complex needs and school should be able to meet most SEN childrens needs within main budget. That they wouldn't support a referral unless the child had complex needs. I found this very indirect! 

    Clearly they are unable to meet my sons needs, he is 14 now and has continually underachieved due to innappropriate/none provision. I am not even confident they have the capability to conduct an appropriate assessment of my son's special educational needs, otherwise wouldn't they have done that already? He joined the school with an IEP from primary as he is dyspraxic, he doesn't even have an IEP now, there are no plans in palce etc and when I asked to meet and discuss this, and after 3 weeks of waiting for a reply I eventually got a phone call telling me he didn't need an IEP, he was lazy, manipulative and stubborn. That there was no way he showed any signs of aspergers or autism, asking who on earth has told you that? (this was prior to diagnosis).  

    Sooooooo KaloJaro I will not stop pushing, I assure you... thanks 

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