The autism thread
Discussion
Mods: I hope this is ok but please delete if not.
As the OP of this thread I have found it useful to get my thoughts down and garner opinion from others and offer my stories so those in the same position as me don't feel they are alone.
I've been pretty quiet on this thread lately because I have created a blog to achieve the same aims.
If anyone is interested please feel free to take a look at autismDAD.co.uk
Comments, likes and shares on social media would be very much appreciated. There is no commercial angle to this site/blog.
Thanks
Wiggy aka autismDAD
As the OP of this thread I have found it useful to get my thoughts down and garner opinion from others and offer my stories so those in the same position as me don't feel they are alone.
I've been pretty quiet on this thread lately because I have created a blog to achieve the same aims.
If anyone is interested please feel free to take a look at autismDAD.co.uk
Comments, likes and shares on social media would be very much appreciated. There is no commercial angle to this site/blog.
Thanks
Wiggy aka autismDAD
Thanks for posting - I'll take a read. (please don't delete it @mods, as there are several of us out here that are interested)
In my case, I have a 9yo boy who has had many struggles at school resulting in meltdowns and countless 1 day or 2 day exclusions. Academically able, but mega-anxiety affects everything he does.
He is a loving,caring, beautiful boy, but when things get too much for him, he fails to be able to cope and 'fight or flight' kicks in.
And we are now at the point of knowing that mainstream school is not going to be the long term solution and are visiting a specialist ASD setting with him today having been offered a place a few weeks' ago. Your post on "speacial schools" is particularly poignant for me at this moment!
It's been pretty horrendous from a parental perspective and as a dad with responsibility to get him to school, to be available to collect him whenever the school rings, to have to have him at home on a part time table etc, to help with his self-esteem issues etc, it is pretty mentally tiring and dipping in to this thread on occasion has been quite helpful for me.
In my case, I have a 9yo boy who has had many struggles at school resulting in meltdowns and countless 1 day or 2 day exclusions. Academically able, but mega-anxiety affects everything he does.
He is a loving,caring, beautiful boy, but when things get too much for him, he fails to be able to cope and 'fight or flight' kicks in.
And we are now at the point of knowing that mainstream school is not going to be the long term solution and are visiting a specialist ASD setting with him today having been offered a place a few weeks' ago. Your post on "speacial schools" is particularly poignant for me at this moment!
It's been pretty horrendous from a parental perspective and as a dad with responsibility to get him to school, to be available to collect him whenever the school rings, to have to have him at home on a part time table etc, to help with his self-esteem issues etc, it is pretty mentally tiring and dipping in to this thread on occasion has been quite helpful for me.
Edited by fat80b on Friday 20th May 09:33
Please feel free to delete Mods if not permitted, but this new book is just out and may be useful to parents of teenage kids with autism looking for advice on schools.
The authors are both noted experts, one advising parents the other on the education side. Getting great reviews and had big pre-launch sales (I know one of the authors, hence being aware).
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Championing-Your-Autistic...
The authors are both noted experts, one advising parents the other on the education side. Getting great reviews and had big pre-launch sales (I know one of the authors, hence being aware).
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Championing-Your-Autistic...
I only just found this thread. First suspected a year or two ago (I'm 47). ASC confirmed in a Bupa-funded private assessment at the end of August. I'm getting used to the idea, though there's still a sense of "so... What now?"
We're pretty certain my wife is autistic too - the consequence of which is that we've spent the last 22 years reassuring each other that we're both normal and it's everyone else who's weird...
We're pretty certain my wife is autistic too - the consequence of which is that we've spent the last 22 years reassuring each other that we're both normal and it's everyone else who's weird...
I'm 48 and strongly suspect that I'm on the spectrum. I'm pretty sure I have ADHD too. I'm very intelligent but find academic work very difficult. I can't concentrate on things I have little interest in. I leave everything to the very last minute.
Doctor says no, he doesn't think so and sees no point in referring me for an assessment. "What do you hope to achieve then? If you're on the spectrum, you seem to be coping very well. You've obviously figured out how to be a success."
Which is very annoying. Perhaps there's nothing anyone could do for me, but at the very least an assessment confirming my suspicions would allow me to feel that it isn't my fault. And anyway I'm not the success he may think I am. I have to work so hard in social situations, my entire career has been a long, never-ending struggle, and I still have to battle the ADHD side of things. I never got married or even close, and not having a family is my greatest regret in life.
What did you do to get an assessment? Did your GP support an assessment or did you self-refer somehow? I do have AXA health insurance.
Doctor says no, he doesn't think so and sees no point in referring me for an assessment. "What do you hope to achieve then? If you're on the spectrum, you seem to be coping very well. You've obviously figured out how to be a success."
Which is very annoying. Perhaps there's nothing anyone could do for me, but at the very least an assessment confirming my suspicions would allow me to feel that it isn't my fault. And anyway I'm not the success he may think I am. I have to work so hard in social situations, my entire career has been a long, never-ending struggle, and I still have to battle the ADHD side of things. I never got married or even close, and not having a family is my greatest regret in life.
What did you do to get an assessment? Did your GP support an assessment or did you self-refer somehow? I do have AXA health insurance.
I got a referral by my GP, she had me do the AQ10 and the result was enough to back a private referral. I had had some anxiety issues (which I now know were rooted in having to do things that my autism didn't like), and a chum suggested that the anxiety might be a symptom rather than just a thing itself. I did Raads-r and some other online tests, got convincing scores, and decided to go for it.
I'd found a very clear and friendly assessment place - Questa Psychology - who were on Bupa's books. Took a lot of wrangling but they funded the initial assessment (about 90 minutes of friendly but intense interview, plus half a dozen questionnaires), Questa recommended the full malarkey. That took a lot of arguing with Bupa but they eventually agreed that it was covered by my policy.
A formal result does put you under the protection of the Equality Act, which may have benefit. I found that work were very accommodating anyway, but it did mean I could formalise some working arrangements rather than feel I was going to get caught (not that I was doing anything wrong).
I do, I think, understand the person earlier in the thread who felt they shouldn't have bothered, but for me I think it was worthwhile. I can adjust my self-expectations in particular, so if I want and don't want to do something I can plan it better - picking a quiet time, wearing earplugs, that sort of thing.
I'd found a very clear and friendly assessment place - Questa Psychology - who were on Bupa's books. Took a lot of wrangling but they funded the initial assessment (about 90 minutes of friendly but intense interview, plus half a dozen questionnaires), Questa recommended the full malarkey. That took a lot of arguing with Bupa but they eventually agreed that it was covered by my policy.
A formal result does put you under the protection of the Equality Act, which may have benefit. I found that work were very accommodating anyway, but it did mean I could formalise some working arrangements rather than feel I was going to get caught (not that I was doing anything wrong).
I do, I think, understand the person earlier in the thread who felt they shouldn't have bothered, but for me I think it was worthwhile. I can adjust my self-expectations in particular, so if I want and don't want to do something I can plan it better - picking a quiet time, wearing earplugs, that sort of thing.
LunarOne said:
"What do you hope to achieve then? If you're on the spectrum, you seem to be coping very well. You've obviously figured out how to be a success."
Sorry - missed this bit. All this with the caveat that I am no expert."Coping very well" is an external assessment that takes no account of the effort it may be taking you to appear to be coping very well. Part of the point of assessment (I just don't like using the word "diagnosis") is that if you get confirmation that you are autistic, you can take more definite steps to adjust your environment so that you can be at your best.
For example, my category of hybrid working should have a day a week in one or other of our offices. I actually went in once a month. I didn't like the discrepancy between the written rule and reality - not that work cared. I now have an email from HR saying I have no required office time. That might sound trivial, but it removes a source of worry. I also no longer schedule jobs to my team, because if they all said they were busy I'd take all the new jobs on (in my head, nothing could be turned away). Our sales director does that mow, and its improved all sorts of things.
I may be unusually fortunate, but the people I've told at work have all been totally supportive.
It's been suggested to me by a few health professionals that I'm likely on the high-functioning / Asperger's end of the spectrum but I've never had a formal diagnosis. I gave up on trying to get one.
I had an Occupational Health Nurse, a Mental Health Nurse, and finally an Occupational Medicine Doctor over a period of about two and a half years to recommend that I should get a referral, before I then got placed on an 18month to 2 year waiting list. If I had been referred at the first request it could have happened already. This referral happened after I'd already planned on moving house.
I then moved to a different area. My new GP said I had to refer myself, then I tried to and was told it needs to be the GP. The GP then said he had referred me when he had not. After living with a difficult housemate I moved again but back to the old county.
I found the whole process of attempting to get referred quite stressful so I gave up trying. I decided to move forward on the basis that it most likely is a thing and it's helped massively in my decision making, which makes life so much easier than before.
I live on my own now in a quiet location, changed career where I work mostly on my own with little distraction, and can pursue my own hobbies. It's great having nobody complain about my sim racing rig, boxes with car parts, weight benches and weights being stored in the house. I'm not a slob, quite the opposite, but I've had flatmates and housemates in the past complain that having my stuff in the house is inconsiderate. Apparently weights should be kept in the shed
Ignorance is bliss. Sometimes.
I had an Occupational Health Nurse, a Mental Health Nurse, and finally an Occupational Medicine Doctor over a period of about two and a half years to recommend that I should get a referral, before I then got placed on an 18month to 2 year waiting list. If I had been referred at the first request it could have happened already. This referral happened after I'd already planned on moving house.
I then moved to a different area. My new GP said I had to refer myself, then I tried to and was told it needs to be the GP. The GP then said he had referred me when he had not. After living with a difficult housemate I moved again but back to the old county.
I found the whole process of attempting to get referred quite stressful so I gave up trying. I decided to move forward on the basis that it most likely is a thing and it's helped massively in my decision making, which makes life so much easier than before.
I live on my own now in a quiet location, changed career where I work mostly on my own with little distraction, and can pursue my own hobbies. It's great having nobody complain about my sim racing rig, boxes with car parts, weight benches and weights being stored in the house. I'm not a slob, quite the opposite, but I've had flatmates and housemates in the past complain that having my stuff in the house is inconsiderate. Apparently weights should be kept in the shed
Ignorance is bliss. Sometimes.
LunarOne said:
I'm 48 and strongly suspect that I'm on the spectrum. I'm pretty sure I have ADHD too. I'm very intelligent but find academic work very difficult. I can't concentrate on things I have little interest in. I leave everything to the very last minute.
Sounds very familiar. LunarOne said:
Doctor says no, he doesn't think so and sees no point in referring me for an assessment. "What do you hope to achieve then? If you're on the spectrum, you seem to be coping very well. You've obviously figured out how to be a success."
Which is very annoying. Perhaps there's nothing anyone could do for me, but at the very least an assessment confirming my suspicions would allow me to feel that it isn't my fault. And anyway I'm not the success he may think I am. I have to work so hard in social situations, my entire career has been a long, never-ending struggle, and I still have to battle the ADHD side of things. I never got married or even close, and not having a family is my greatest regret in life.
What did you do to get an assessment? Did your GP support an assessment or did you self-refer somehow? I do have AXA health insurance.
I agree, broadly, that just because you are 'coping' (at what personal cost?) doesn't mean assessment and or greater understanding cannot help.Which is very annoying. Perhaps there's nothing anyone could do for me, but at the very least an assessment confirming my suspicions would allow me to feel that it isn't my fault. And anyway I'm not the success he may think I am. I have to work so hard in social situations, my entire career has been a long, never-ending struggle, and I still have to battle the ADHD side of things. I never got married or even close, and not having a family is my greatest regret in life.
What did you do to get an assessment? Did your GP support an assessment or did you self-refer somehow? I do have AXA health insurance.
That said, as someone who has an diagnosis, and as gown up with a reasonable understanding of at least some of what I find hard and why, I still find it hard!
Edited by dhutch on Friday 17th March 15:50
My step son and step daughter are both autistic. They are 15 &17 and I find their behaviour very hard to deal with at times. They act very babyish which can be hard to deal with when I have 2 young children of my own and the 2 older children are acting on the same level.
Within the past three years they seem to have become more irritating in their personality. They will go out their way to cause trouble or to annoy my children to get them upset or angry etc.
No matter how much me and my wife talk to them or Reason with them or tell them off it's like groundhog Day.
Has anyone on here found that autistic children mellow in their moods/personality/ irritating ways etc as they come out of teen years?
Within the past three years they seem to have become more irritating in their personality. They will go out their way to cause trouble or to annoy my children to get them upset or angry etc.
No matter how much me and my wife talk to them or Reason with them or tell them off it's like groundhog Day.
Has anyone on here found that autistic children mellow in their moods/personality/ irritating ways etc as they come out of teen years?
wjwren said:
My step son and step daughter are both autistic. They are 15 &17 and I find their behaviour very hard to deal with at times. They act very babyish which can be hard to deal with when I have 2 young children of my own and the 2 older children are acting on the same level.
Within the past three years they seem to have become more irritating in their personality. They will go out their way to cause trouble or to annoy my children to get them upset or angry etc.
No matter how much me and my wife talk to them or Reason with them or tell them off it's like groundhog Day.
Has anyone on here found that autistic children mellow in their moods/personality/ irritating ways etc as they come out of teen years?
Is there any reason to assume their behaviour is a result of their autism? Within the past three years they seem to have become more irritating in their personality. They will go out their way to cause trouble or to annoy my children to get them upset or angry etc.
No matter how much me and my wife talk to them or Reason with them or tell them off it's like groundhog Day.
Has anyone on here found that autistic children mellow in their moods/personality/ irritating ways etc as they come out of teen years?
Could be a teenage thing, resentment towards the other kids, or any number of reasons. Or they might just be assholes.
I've posted a couple of times on this thread over the past couple of years, but am wondering if anyone has advice on a couple of matters?
My son is 8 (year 3), has had a high functioning ASD diagnosis since he was 5. His school have, on the whole, been great and his SENCO is very supportive and helpful, so we are very lucky in that respect. For the past two years the school has been receiving supplementary funding for him which has enabled him to have 1-1 support pretty much full-time throughout years 1 and 2 (in excess of 25hrs/week). That funding ended last month and the LA won't provide any further without an EHCP. He, when focussed and supported, performs well academically. However he needs support to engage (he was unsupported in a recent reading assessment and did not engage at all resulting in a reading score two years lower than his chronological age when previous assessments where he'd been supported to keep focussed saw him read significantly above his age). He also requires a lot of support in terms of his emotional, social and relationship development, confirmed by recent reports from the LA's Communication and Interaction team which concluded he will require ongoing, long term support in these areas.
His SENCO and I completed an application for a EHC Needs Assessment, which the LA has now said they won't undertake as he isn't underperforming academically. His SENCO and I agree this seems illogical as his progress is only due to having received support over and above the local offer (I have found the reference in the DoH/DoE guidance that LAs should take this into account when deciding if a needs assessment is required). There was no mention of his emotional or social developmental needs, just academic, despite the LA's own reports being resubmitted to them as part of the application. We are trying to meet with the SENO at the LA to discuss and also will apply for mediation ahead of a possible appeal to the SENDIST. I will also make contact with SENDIASS for their advice.
We are fortunate enough to be able to afford to get legal representation should we proceed to tribunal - has anyone had this experience? Was 'lawyering-up' worth it? Are there any particularly well-regarded firms?
Also, we feel it is time to talk to our lad about his diagnosis. With possible stuff now ongoing to try and get an EHCP for him and other things I notice when dropping him off and picking him up each day at school (how some kids react to him), I think it's the right time. His SENCO has provided what I think it is a helpful video as an introduction and I hope I can help to talk to him about my own experiences (I am going through my own diagnosis process after having had years of mental health struggles and show a large number of traits which would indicate I am on the spectrum - I scored 185 on the RAADS-R and 42 on the AQ test for example). Any other advice on how you addressed a diagnosis with a child would be really helpful. Many thanks.
My son is 8 (year 3), has had a high functioning ASD diagnosis since he was 5. His school have, on the whole, been great and his SENCO is very supportive and helpful, so we are very lucky in that respect. For the past two years the school has been receiving supplementary funding for him which has enabled him to have 1-1 support pretty much full-time throughout years 1 and 2 (in excess of 25hrs/week). That funding ended last month and the LA won't provide any further without an EHCP. He, when focussed and supported, performs well academically. However he needs support to engage (he was unsupported in a recent reading assessment and did not engage at all resulting in a reading score two years lower than his chronological age when previous assessments where he'd been supported to keep focussed saw him read significantly above his age). He also requires a lot of support in terms of his emotional, social and relationship development, confirmed by recent reports from the LA's Communication and Interaction team which concluded he will require ongoing, long term support in these areas.
His SENCO and I completed an application for a EHC Needs Assessment, which the LA has now said they won't undertake as he isn't underperforming academically. His SENCO and I agree this seems illogical as his progress is only due to having received support over and above the local offer (I have found the reference in the DoH/DoE guidance that LAs should take this into account when deciding if a needs assessment is required). There was no mention of his emotional or social developmental needs, just academic, despite the LA's own reports being resubmitted to them as part of the application. We are trying to meet with the SENO at the LA to discuss and also will apply for mediation ahead of a possible appeal to the SENDIST. I will also make contact with SENDIASS for their advice.
We are fortunate enough to be able to afford to get legal representation should we proceed to tribunal - has anyone had this experience? Was 'lawyering-up' worth it? Are there any particularly well-regarded firms?
Also, we feel it is time to talk to our lad about his diagnosis. With possible stuff now ongoing to try and get an EHCP for him and other things I notice when dropping him off and picking him up each day at school (how some kids react to him), I think it's the right time. His SENCO has provided what I think it is a helpful video as an introduction and I hope I can help to talk to him about my own experiences (I am going through my own diagnosis process after having had years of mental health struggles and show a large number of traits which would indicate I am on the spectrum - I scored 185 on the RAADS-R and 42 on the AQ test for example). Any other advice on how you addressed a diagnosis with a child would be really helpful. Many thanks.
Highway Star said:
I've posted a couple of times on this thread over the past couple of years, but am wondering if anyone has advice on a couple of matters?
My son is 8 (year 3), has had a high functioning ASD diagnosis since he was 5. His school have, on the whole, been great and his SENCO is very supportive and helpful, so we are very lucky in that respect. For the past two years the school has been receiving supplementary funding for him which has enabled him to have 1-1 support pretty much full-time throughout years 1 and 2 (in excess of 25hrs/week). That funding ended last month and the LA won't provide any further without an EHCP. He, when focussed and supported, performs well academically. However he needs support to engage (he was unsupported in a recent reading assessment and did not engage at all resulting in a reading score two years lower than his chronological age when previous assessments where he'd been supported to keep focussed saw him read significantly above his age). He also requires a lot of support in terms of his emotional, social and relationship development, confirmed by recent reports from the LA's Communication and Interaction team which concluded he will require ongoing, long term support in these areas.
His SENCO and I completed an application for a EHC Needs Assessment, which the LA has now said they won't undertake as he isn't underperforming academically. His SENCO and I agree this seems illogical as his progress is only due to having received support over and above the local offer (I have found the reference in the DoH/DoE guidance that LAs should take this into account when deciding if a needs assessment is required). There was no mention of his emotional or social developmental needs, just academic, despite the LA's own reports being resubmitted to them as part of the application. We are trying to meet with the SENO at the LA to discuss and also will apply for mediation ahead of a possible appeal to the SENDIST. I will also make contact with SENDIASS for their advice.
We are fortunate enough to be able to afford to get legal representation should we proceed to tribunal - has anyone had this experience? Was 'lawyering-up' worth it? Are there any particularly well-regarded firms?
Also, we feel it is time to talk to our lad about his diagnosis. With possible stuff now ongoing to try and get an EHCP for him and other things I notice when dropping him off and picking him up each day at school (how some kids react to him), I think it's the right time. His SENCO has provided what I think it is a helpful video as an introduction and I hope I can help to talk to him about my own experiences (I am going through my own diagnosis process after having had years of mental health struggles and show a large number of traits which would indicate I am on the spectrum - I scored 185 on the RAADS-R and 42 on the AQ test for example). Any other advice on how you addressed a diagnosis with a child would be really helpful. Many thanks.
I’m not sure if it will help or not but since starting this thread I have begun randomly blogging about my journey with my daughter’s autism so here’s my post describing the day we told her about her autism: autismdadMy son is 8 (year 3), has had a high functioning ASD diagnosis since he was 5. His school have, on the whole, been great and his SENCO is very supportive and helpful, so we are very lucky in that respect. For the past two years the school has been receiving supplementary funding for him which has enabled him to have 1-1 support pretty much full-time throughout years 1 and 2 (in excess of 25hrs/week). That funding ended last month and the LA won't provide any further without an EHCP. He, when focussed and supported, performs well academically. However he needs support to engage (he was unsupported in a recent reading assessment and did not engage at all resulting in a reading score two years lower than his chronological age when previous assessments where he'd been supported to keep focussed saw him read significantly above his age). He also requires a lot of support in terms of his emotional, social and relationship development, confirmed by recent reports from the LA's Communication and Interaction team which concluded he will require ongoing, long term support in these areas.
His SENCO and I completed an application for a EHC Needs Assessment, which the LA has now said they won't undertake as he isn't underperforming academically. His SENCO and I agree this seems illogical as his progress is only due to having received support over and above the local offer (I have found the reference in the DoH/DoE guidance that LAs should take this into account when deciding if a needs assessment is required). There was no mention of his emotional or social developmental needs, just academic, despite the LA's own reports being resubmitted to them as part of the application. We are trying to meet with the SENO at the LA to discuss and also will apply for mediation ahead of a possible appeal to the SENDIST. I will also make contact with SENDIASS for their advice.
We are fortunate enough to be able to afford to get legal representation should we proceed to tribunal - has anyone had this experience? Was 'lawyering-up' worth it? Are there any particularly well-regarded firms?
Also, we feel it is time to talk to our lad about his diagnosis. With possible stuff now ongoing to try and get an EHCP for him and other things I notice when dropping him off and picking him up each day at school (how some kids react to him), I think it's the right time. His SENCO has provided what I think it is a helpful video as an introduction and I hope I can help to talk to him about my own experiences (I am going through my own diagnosis process after having had years of mental health struggles and show a large number of traits which would indicate I am on the spectrum - I scored 185 on the RAADS-R and 42 on the AQ test for example). Any other advice on how you addressed a diagnosis with a child would be really helpful. Many thanks.
MrJuice said:
Yes, our EHCP application was declined first time. We appealed to tribunal with sendias help and tribunal agreed that son should be assessed
He was duly assessed and got quite a high band EHCP
Distressingly common experience, it seems to be the default response to decline first time.He was duly assessed and got quite a high band EHCP
Question for you all struggling with EHCP’s who completes them? School, you, both? Are you adding supplementary supporting documents to the EHCP or just the form itself?
We’ve never had a EHCP declined it seems we could put anything in it and the LA says yes. However we always add supplementary evidence - private speech and language professional writes a yearly report, private tutor writes a report, LA speech and language report (often different to the private one).
I get the feeling they decline the light ones because that’s easy. The ones that would take a long time to read get rubber stamped.
I’m sure it’s a more rigorous process than that but for a few hundred a year to get the external professionals on board it’s a price worth paying IMO.
We’ve never had a EHCP declined it seems we could put anything in it and the LA says yes. However we always add supplementary evidence - private speech and language professional writes a yearly report, private tutor writes a report, LA speech and language report (often different to the private one).
I get the feeling they decline the light ones because that’s easy. The ones that would take a long time to read get rubber stamped.
I’m sure it’s a more rigorous process than that but for a few hundred a year to get the external professionals on board it’s a price worth paying IMO.
sparkyhx said:
Distressingly common experience, it seems to be the default response to decline first time.
Nah. We applied in Sutton originally who are known 
s. They decline 85% of applicationsSearch BBC panorama about this. The education dept is sub contracted to a company called cognus who are the biggest
s ever. fk them. This is all fact. Thankfully the tribunal, which was delayed twice because of late submissions by cognus, saw straight through them and ordered the assessment. We'd moved by then and the local authority where we ended up (which the tribunal decision applies to) were fine.
BoRED S2upid said:
Question for you all struggling with EHCP’s who completes them? School, you, both? Are you adding supplementary supporting documents to the EHCP or just the form itself?
We’ve never had a EHCP declined it seems we could put anything in it and the LA says yes. However we always add supplementary evidence - private speech and language professional writes a yearly report, private tutor writes a report, LA speech and language report (often different to the private one).
I get the feeling they decline the light ones because that’s easy. The ones that would take a long time to read get rubber stamped.
I’m sure it’s a more rigorous process than that but for a few hundred a year to get the external professionals on board it’s a price worth paying IMO.
Our original application to Sutton didn't change much when we went to tribunal. We just appealed to the tribunal's common senseWe’ve never had a EHCP declined it seems we could put anything in it and the LA says yes. However we always add supplementary evidence - private speech and language professional writes a yearly report, private tutor writes a report, LA speech and language report (often different to the private one).
I get the feeling they decline the light ones because that’s easy. The ones that would take a long time to read get rubber stamped.
I’m sure it’s a more rigorous process than that but for a few hundred a year to get the external professionals on board it’s a price worth paying IMO.
Son went on to get a band D EHCP which I think it the max funding. Sutton are just the absolute worst. The BBC panorama was so sad because it's full of kids who need a lot of help and are getting SFA
MrJuice said:
sparkyhx said:
Distressingly common experience, it seems to be the default response to decline first time.
Nah. We applied in Sutton originally who are known s. They decline 85% of applicationsSearch BBC panorama about this. The education dept is sub contracted to a company called cognus who are the biggest
s ever. fk them. This is all fact. Thankfully the tribunal, which was delayed twice because of late submissions by cognus, saw straight through them and ordered the assessment. We'd moved by then and the local authority where we ended up (which the tribunal decision applies to) were fine.
I haven't managed to read all the way through all the bits and pieces of this, but I have a bit of experience working with autistic children - some time ago now. I know nothing is easy, and I didn't know about much of the admin nightmares associated with accessing help. A friend has two autistic sons they sadly are in care - one in secure accommodation and another in a home. All very sad and difficult.
On a marginally lighter note, in one of the small groups that I worked with, I ended up talking about orcs with a pupil until one of the others reminded me that it was maybe time to do some work! I think we're all on the spectrum somewhere, on a teeny tiny bit of a Mandelbrot spectrum is where we, as an individual, live.
On a marginally lighter note, in one of the small groups that I worked with, I ended up talking about orcs with a pupil until one of the others reminded me that it was maybe time to do some work! I think we're all on the spectrum somewhere, on a teeny tiny bit of a Mandelbrot spectrum is where we, as an individual, live.
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