6 year old girl with 'anxiety and attatchment issues'

Hi

I I have mentioned this before in another thread (probably numerous times). We are 2 months away from an assessment for our 9yr old son. Equine therapy with his therapist who specialises in neurodivergent children has been really helpful and positive for him. 
The school have played hardball along the way as in their mind he is functioning and meeting expectations regarding his education. We found face to face meetings worked well and followed it up with an email so we had records of what was said / agreed. I was told by my son’s therapist that as a concerned parent you need to be like a “squeaky wheel” in order to not be brushed under the carpet. That method worked for us and we now have the school wellbeing officer having phone conversations with my sons therapist (I did have to get quite cross and demanding to get this to happen). 
As Iain said  document everything, every meeting, dates and times. I have also kept a daily diary for the past 9 months, I have recorded his behaviour, how school has dealt with situations and any coping strategies we have used and if they were helpful. I also let his therapist have the diary entries once a week before we visit, just so she knows what’s been going on. 
By documenting everything you can look back for comparison and you have some backup for the school if you need it. 

It's just that there's not much information on this table, and I suppose if the school doesn't mirror the same kinds of the concerns that's coming from home, then maybe that's why they didn't move it forward.

NAS94144 said:

There was a table in the letter which seemed very nonspecific

Thank you Iain. 

Iain said:

They may also be able to recommend ways to get the help you need from schools SENCO.

In the meantime it would be worth documenting what you can from your experience

We have a meeting set up with the ALENCO and her class teacher this week. We also have her closing feedback meeting with her play therapist that she had about 20 sessions with, so hopefully between them they'll help direct our energies. 

I have started keeping a more specific diary of daily happenings as I learnt the hard way that retrospectively trying to describe her behaviours to someone is really hard! A kind of 'where do I start' feeling!

Iain said:

Did they give any detail on their reasons for the rejection?

There was a table in the letter which seemed very nonspecific. 

Iain said:

It is quite possible she is just not autistic "enough" to meet their criteria

I definitely think that the fact she is accessing education and is generally getting on with life means she is low on the very long priority list. I know they are so so overloaded with cases, and I guess they just have to direct their resources to those who need it most. I just wish that the letter was honest and upfront if that's the case!! As otherwise it has you burying your head in all sorts of mind games of self doubt and worry.  

Thanks so much for the words of support and advice. 

Katie

NAS94144 said:

What do I do now?

It may be worth considering a therapist with a specialisation in neurodivergent children and ask if they can help identify the characteristics to see if they are from neurodivergence.

They may also be able to recommend ways to get the help you need from schools SENCO.

In the meantime it would be worth documenting what you can from your experience - this link is useful in identifying the early years signs:

https://www.autismspeaks.org/signs-autism

NAS94144 said:

We have just had a letter rejecting our daughter's referral at the triage level.

Did they give any detail on their reasons for the rejection? I would ask them to supply you with the criteria used to evaluate the case and where they believed your child did not meet them.

It is quite possible she is just not autistic "enough" to meet their criteria in which case you will need to either deal with it yourself or use other assistance to help her cope with the traits she exhibits.

There is support here for questions and just talking about stuff if you want to use it but with the info above I think you have enough to start with manageable steps to take on the challenge.

Good luck and let us know how we can help.