Published on 12, July, 2020
I am mother of 6 year old who is waiting ASD assessment. We've been on the list since April. She shows alot of anxiety surrounding school and has started to refuse to go. At school she appears to mask symptoms and therefore SENCo and teacher assume she is fine at school. I've now applied for an EHCP as it seems her needs are not being adequately met or that her anxiety and school refusal is being supported. For the most part she does attend but is often late and struggles massively with phonics which is her first lesson, therefore I believe this contributes alot to her refusal/ some of her behavioursin the morning, like refusing to get dressed.The school SENCo said he'd offered a 10am start for a fixed period, (although he didn't inform me of this) however I've explained it would still be impossible to guarantee a start time given the nature of her difficulties, there may be days when its easier to persuade her and days when its more of a challenge. Nevertheless,, after school it is common for her to have meltdowns etc and I believe it is because she bottles up so much whilst at school that it all manifests once she is with me / at home in her safe space. Is there any support I can get whilst waiting a diagnosis and is there any advice anyone can offer on school refusal. Id much appreciate it.
Hi NAS77, I would suggest you have a look at the education advice pages here on the NAS site, which you can find here - https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/education - and has sections on school refusal, getting extra help and resolving differences with your child's school. I would also suggest to try looking in the Autism Services Directory - https://www.autism.org.uk/directory - for support services or parents groups in your local area, where you might be able to get some support while you're waiting for a diagnosis. Our advice section on diagnosis itself can be found here as well - https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/diagnosis Hope this is of some help,Ross - mod
Thank you