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Advice sought for ASD boy 11

tempest

Looking for help with my son, some friendly advice! School has always been a minefield for my child, has issues with sensory and change. We have had one whole year that was good, it was blissful few meltdowns and academically he was flying. He was a new child. Now currently in year 6 we are at the worst he has ever been due to stress of previous year with a Teacher that did not meet his needs at all to taking the Kent test and not achieving the results he had hoped for.

He is calling out constantly, his facial and vocal tics are exhausting him, he is constantly pacing the room and he is arguing with anyone that tries to help him, his teacher is not able to control him. Which has resulted in an exclusion from school. His meltdowns at home are longer and he is at an all time low. I know its anxiety causing this, he doesn't feel safe or heard. 

Had meeting with school to discuss next steps and they will be taking him to LIFT and have suggested an EHCP to get extra support. I just feel like I am drowning, I can calm him get him ready for school but once he is there he becomes this child I do not know. I have daily emails of what has happened during the day and I just do not know where to go from here.

Do I look at another school for the last 6 months of Primary or stick with his current school as they know him? I have spoken to son about the possibility of changing schools but he flatly refuses as his friends are there.

any advice would be most welcome. 

Parents

  • You clearly need to get an EHCP, it is surprising the school haven't yet applied for one. Your son is not coping with school because his needs are not being met and are not even properly understood. The fact that he has meltdowns and difficulties at home is evidence that his needs are not met at school. The fact that he under performs in test shows his needs are not met, reasonable adjustment are not in place. 

    You need to request EHC assessment and aim for an EHCP and for a suitable school that could meet his needs.

    Don't waste time as transition to secondary school is critical, it is when many autistic children fail to cope and implode or get school exclusion, so try gettying the assessment this school year. You need to act urgently. 

    You absolutely are better off staying at the current school until the EHCP, otherwise you will just loose the evidence and history at the current school and the precious time.

    I would advise getting a copy of the Code of Practice and getting familiar with the process and the hoops you need to jump in the EHCP process.
    You need to contact education advisory service.

    NAS is one.

    You might also contact IPSEA, the also have telephone helpline https://www.ipsea.org.uk/making-a-request-for-an-ehc-needs-assessment

    or SOSSEN, they have excellent walk in centres where the can look at your paperwork and advise in person 1:1. 

     https://sossen.org.uk/information_sheets.php

    SOSSEN and IPSEA also have model letters for nearly every occasion, you will need to use some of them when requesting the assessment..You need to use the helplines to get your head around how to request the EHC assessment and what evidence to submit. There is urgency, otherwise yoy will loose a year until the secondary school will get their act together, at your son's wellbeing expense.

    Once you have applied for the assessment, you may start looking for suitable schools.

  • in reply to Tinyexplorer

    Thank you for the reply it has helped a great deal, an EHCP previously wasn't needed as before year 5 we managed his anxiety at school as Teacher was amazing and I worked at school as a HLTA so was able to pop over if he was wobbly.

    Year 5 was awful and he had to be moved class as the Teacher was not meeting his needs and needless to say after complaints procedure no longer works there. That was an incredible amount of stress for him which I feel has not been addressed by the school. Now year 6 as we all know is stressful enough, he feels its not a safe space and his behavior is disruptive due to his anxiety.

    I have spent the weekend researching options. I feel a bit better and a little more in control of what options there are for him. But under no illusions its going to be a long road to where we want / need to be.

  • in reply to tempest

    Just want to add that it is a common pattern that bright autistic children cope in early primary school and come to a crisis in year 6 where EHCP are sought. Children who go to secondary without EHCPs often crash there and a personal cost is higher as mental health deteriorates significantly and stakes become higher. Don't assume you can go to the year 4 situation by hanging school.  Your son's needs have changed. You need to think strategically about the future. EHCP is a gateway to get the right support to meet certain needs, so most helpful options would not be open to him without EHCP.

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  • in reply to tempest

    Just want to add that it is a common pattern that bright autistic children cope in early primary school and come to a crisis in year 6 where EHCP are sought. Children who go to secondary without EHCPs often crash there and a personal cost is higher as mental health deteriorates significantly and stakes become higher. Don't assume you can go to the year 4 situation by hanging school.  Your son's needs have changed. You need to think strategically about the future. EHCP is a gateway to get the right support to meet certain needs, so most helpful options would not be open to him without EHCP.

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