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9 year old autistic daughter and school... next steps no idea!

maaya

Hi

I am wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation to us and found the way forward.  My 9 year old has struggled going to school for over a year, she has been having horrible violent meltdowns every night for a long time.  The atmosphere at home is so tense just waiting for the next explosion.  She is at mainstream school has ELSA when staff are available and the teacher helps her (when she asks) with her maths.  She says everyone at school hates her so it's not surprised she hates going but she will then talk about who she played with at lunch time so it's a bit confusing.  She also now has separation anxiety from me at night and more recently isn't sleeping. We got help from the primary mental health worker who said we had a case for an EHCP but when I look at the existing school paperwork, I don't think she has even made it onto the special needs register!  We get targets and what the teacher child and parent will do to help ensure the targets are met..... does that mean she is on the register!?

When i spoke with the mental health worker and Senco last, it was agreed that the teacher will start check ins daily with her too.  I don't think this is enough but equally don't know what else can be done apart from try for an EHCP but she is just about meeting academic targets except in maths.  Can you get an EHCP for mental health reasons (anxiety) and if so what would this look like in terms of support? She is in year 5 and we have to think about next schools too, where she is too able for a Unit or special provision but her anxiety is super high and I can't imagine her coping at secondary school.  Has anyone managed to get their child into a small independent mainstream school through an EHCP?.....   I would be really grateful for any advice as we can't continue as we are at home. 

Thanks you so much for any advice

  • in reply to maaya

    No. And to be honest I'm no expert in this area. The way things work in practice might be quite different to the way they work in theory in the legislation. But in theory the EHCP is for and triggered by issues with academic performance. However because they recognise that issues with education can be caused by wide issues of health and wellbeing the EHCP includes provision for support of a non educational type (eg help at home or special activities outside of school) including provision under the children act.

    Now if you look at the corresponding parts of the children act (1989) "It shall be the general duty of every local authority (in addition to the other duties imposed on them by this Part) to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need; and so far as is consistent with that duty, to promote the upbringing of such children by their families, by providing a range and level of services appropriate to those children’s needs." So if our child is having troubles at home (because of school) that don't relate to educational attainment, they could still be covered by section 17.

    Even if the council turns around and says you don't qualify for an EHCP plan you could still say you think your child qualifies for help under section 17 of the children act (1989). The difference is you have a lot of formal appeals if they refuse your daughter an EHCP but if you want to appeal a decision under section 17 its probably only posable by taking the local council to court.

    However if you take legal advice and they say your daughter just doesn't have a chance of qualifying under the rules for an EHCP you might look into the children act instead.

    In my opinion you've nothin to loose by asking for an EHCP but if you are refused and want to appeal that you might want to take advice. #notlegaladvice

  • in reply to Peter

    Interesting idea but would that get her an Ehcp? 

    Thank you so much for the help. 

  • in reply to Peter

    Hi  thanks for that I have not seen this before.  It does sound as though the anxiety would need to stop her going to school.  It would if didn't fight so hard to get her to school!! 

  • in reply to Homebird

    Hi. Interesting, thank you I will keep a diary and have started to email the school about the behaviour to link it to specific events.   

  • in reply to Peter

    If a child masks in school the behavior out of school can be as a result of not coping in school but you would need to give examples of where this is linked.

  • One thing you could try is trying to get your local council to classify your daughter as a ‘child in need’ under section 17 of the children act. The criteria here aren’t limited to educational attainment but wider health and development.

  • the definition used for EHCPs is as follows


    When a child or young person has special educational needs

    (1)A child or young person has special educational needs if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.

    (2)A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she—

    (a)has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or

    (b)has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.

    so the question would probably be what counts as a facility. If anxiety stops her doing certain things at school you could make a case there. With autism is more usually ‘bad’ behaviour that kicks off this process. The autistic child suffers mental health issue because of the school environment which leads to exclusions etc which of course stops them using the schools facilities.

    sadly the way the act is written makes me think you may have difficulty getting an EHCP before your child’s behaviour starts manifesting in her school day.

  • My son has separation anxiety and rarely manages a whole week in school. Where possible he will go in for a later lesson but some days it is too much and he doesn't always know why. He is now year 9.

    Re SEN register we asked his primary school as were not aware and were told he was on it.

    Re EHCP we started preparing for an EHCP when he was in year 5 as school were not recognizing his problems. During this time he was diagnosed with ADHD but did not get ASD diagnosis until year 7. We finally got EHCP mainly due to anxiety. We kept a diary and included some of this in the EHCP appeal as there was behavior that linked to things in school. I would say it is worth trying and start soon. It does take a lot of time and you may need to appeal.

    We got the school we requested at the last minute, but not a special school mainly because the EHCP was only agreed late in year 6.