Hi, I hope there may be someone here who has had a similar problem (Ialtough I would not wish any of these problems on anyone really)
My daughter is 17 and has diagnoses of Autism, ADHD, and PTSD related to her previous school experiences, which began in Year 7. We were on the CAMHS waiting list for four years before she received support, nd had to get our MP involved to get anything sorted.
She is currently taking between 100–150mg of sertraline and has recently started ADHD medication. She is also on a waiting list for talking therapy. Due to her mental health and anxiety (rather than academic ability), she has an EHCP in place for her A Levels.
Because of her level of need, no mainstream college was able to offer her a place. She was eventually placed in a specialist provision, which has been fantastic. However, significant delays from the local authority meant her EHCP took 10 months to finalise, and she only found out about her placement the day before starting. This meant she had no transition period, and the anxiety and overwhelm made it very difficult for her to settle.
In addition, transport was not arranged on time due to these delays. Thankfully, the school stepped in, and a staff member transported her, but the timings meant she missed an hour at the beginning and end of each day.
All of this has had a significant impact on her attendance. She has only recently been able to attend her full timetable. As a result, she has missed a substantial amount of coursework, and the pressure to catch up is now becoming detrimental to her mental health.
We feel strongly that she needs an additional year to complete her courses properly and achieve the grades she is capable of. Without this, progressing to university will be very difficult.
Does anyone have experience of getting a local authority to extend an EHCP for an extra year in this situation? I’m really unsure what to do next. The school are also unsure, and the LA have said they only work year to year, so they could not discuss with the school.
