Autism and Special Educational needs, My son who is autistic and also has dyspraxia has been awarded a SENs?

Question

My so is now 10 years old and for the last 6 years I have been fighting my LEA for him to be issued with a statement of SENs, Ive now been informed that he will now be issued with a statement giving him funding for 50% of the week, I cant find out how much funding the school will get for him or even if this funding will be used to help my child, After my long battle how can I find out how much extra cash the school will receive for him and that they will use these resources to help him?

Answer 1

My mum had the same problem with my little brother seb, she spent 5-6 years doing the exact same thing (His school just kept saying he had 'behavioural issues')

Anyway, the best advice i can give you is to call the national autistic society. (their number's on the website http://www.nas.org.uk/) They'll put you in touch with your local team who'll answer any questions you have regarding funding. The money will probably go towards a care worker for him, but you should be getting 100% funding so ask about that too.

Seb's full time at a care unit now (as he's 18) It's still school hours though 8-4 so his routine isn't disturbed.

If you need any help my e-mail is [e-mail]

Answer 2

It seems we are in the same boat here! My Autistic son has a Statement which gives him 1:1 LSA support for 32 hours per week.  However, the school say he is more suited to part time education for the time being, which means that for half of the hours granted in the statement his LSA is used elsewhere in the school.  I took this up with Parent Partnership who said this was not unusual and advised that I cooperate with the school and not to inform the LEA as it may "rock the boat" and my son might be given less hours LSA after our next review.  I have asked everyone involved in my son's care how much his Statement is worth to the school, only his Consultant was forthcoming enough to say that it was worth quite a few thousands but he couldn't be exact as the LEA's are notoriously vague about figures.  I hope you have more luck finding out than I have!

Answer 3

Are you folks asking/answering this question on the UK Yahoo! Answers boards? Just wondering, because it shows up on the regular (US) boards with no indication of it not being from someone in the US.

I was quite confused reading your posts, because I have enough familiarity with the US special education system (though it does vary from state to state, but not *that* much!) to be surprised at such unfamiliar terms and practices, until I did a Google search on your acronyms and found they all make sense if one is in the UK! hehe ;)

It sounds like your system makes it quite difficult to get special education services! Of course things can be difficult here too, just depending on the situation, but here the school is obligated to test a child for special ed, upon parent request, basically, and if the child qualifies, the school is obligated to provide special services. Now they might not want to offer all the services (or as much of the services) as the parents think their child needs, but if you're willing to play "hard ball", particularly if you're willing to hire a lawyer and threaten to sue, you can get just about anything you think your child needs. Now, if you don't fight, if you don't push, if you aren't educated, your child might get very little, so that's the issue: does the parent take a proactive (and indeed very proactive) stance, or not. But your child should get something, assuming it's at all obvious they have special needs, but then again, as to whether the "something" will actually help, that's another matter, but it seems like it's more automatic here to get put into special ed. (For instance, a kid who's deaf or autistic will pretty much automatically end up in special ed--there wouldn't be a fight over it.)

Anyway, interesting, and I'll have to keep in mind that some questions may not be from the US (and there might be no indication of it).

Cheers! ;)

Answer 4

My son is deaf with associated speech & language disorder. He's 15 now but has been statemented since he was 5. Before the initial statement he was assessed by various professionals including a psychologist, teacher, speech therapist etc. All of the reports from these people were collected together along with my thoughts & opinions to determine what help my son would need. Everything from his need to be escorted to & from school to educational support needs to communicational need was documented. It was all there in black & white for everyone to see. The point of the statement is to ensure everyone is clear about the help needed & to make sure it happens.  You will have your say as well so don't worry that you won't be heard. And the statement won't be made final until everyone is happy with it. You have to sign it so if at any time you're not happy then don't sign until you are. Once the statement is in place there is an annual review to which you will be invited. You get sent a form with questions on a few weeks before so you can put your view across. That way if anything isn't working it can be changed or if you're really pleased with something it's nice to let the staff know that too.

Schools cannot use money for statemented children on other things so I don't think you need to worry about that. The statement binds them legally to giving your son the support he needs.

Answer 5

You can't, schools are given money in the budget for the number of statemented children they have on roll. This money is ringfenced which means it has to be spent on those children who have a statement. As long as he is given the help he needs this is all you should worry about. Get in touch with the school and ask for a meeting with the teacher who has responsibility for Special Needs, you can then ask what help your son will be given and discuss his ILP.

Answer 6

The simple answer is that you can't find out how much cash the school has been allocated.  What you can do is to participate in what goes into the statement and to make sure that the school provide the support which is outlined in the statement.

If you are unhappy with what any particular professional has written in the report, you are able to challenge it and have your own views included.  If you disagree with the statement and the professionals are unwilling to amend it, then you have the right of appeal to the Secretary of State for Education.

Firstly, to all parents currently dealing with this situation, allow me to explain exactly what a ‘statement of special educational needs’ actually is.  When used correctly, it is a method of recognising that a child who is currently attending a school has needs, which cannot be met by that school without additional resources, including provision for funding of those resources.  I have nothing against this; it is a way of guaranteeing that schools have the ability to deal with the needs of all their pupils.  It is also a method by which the exact needs of the pupil are laid out clearly for all to see.  This is good and I have fought on behalf of many children to obtain such a statement!

There are however, circumstances where I would disagree that to educationally statement a child is in the best interests of that child and the family.  Firstly, it is a mechanism, which can be used as a means of coercion by professionals, who wish their views to prevail over the wishes of the family.  This ‘coercive persuasion’ may range from a professional desire to see a particular course of action taken in the classroom, to attempting to convince parents to send their child to school, when they do not wish to.  It is important for parents to know that they do not have to send their children to school! (This is true for any child, not just brain-injured children).  The 1944 Education Act gives every parent the right not to send their child to school, as long as parents do provide an 'appropriate' education for the child.  

The key word here is 'appropriate.'  Obviously what is appropriate for seven year old Jimmy, who has no developmental problems, is not appropriate for a child with profound brain-injuries.  As long as parents are able to demonstrate to the local education authority that they are working to improve their child’s developmental problems, (such as carrying out a developmental programme), they cannot lift a finger to force you to do anything.  They may wish to send along a plethora of ‘professionals’ to give you advice; - that’s fine! – You are under no obligation to take that advice.  They may try to persuade you to set up ‘links’ with your local special school, or to just go in there for a few hours a week to ‘receive advice;’ – Be aware of your rights. You do not have to do this if you do not want to!  

There is one thing of which I would advise you to be very careful!  Once the name of a child who has ‘special educational needs’ is placed on the register of a school, it can be a legal nightmare to try to ‘de-register’ him. – It takes the personal involvement of the secretary of state for education to do so!  Therefore, if you do not wish to have anything to do with the school system, as many parents do not, be careful about any involvement, no matter how minor, with school.

Hope this helps.

http://www.snowdrop.cc

Answer 7

This applies to USA -

As far as I know there is nothing legal stating a parent can know how much a school is spending on their child for special ed services.

Even if you do know how much the school will spend on your child, it doesnt' matter because  If you are in USA, schools are not suppose to give services based on funds. It does not matter how much the services cost- if the child needs it, the school is suppose to provide it.

You need to learn the special ed laws and use them, the best site is

www.wrightslaw.com

The parent and school is suppose to follow a detailed step by step process in helping a child in special ed.

Following this process will ensure the child is getting everything he needs.

If you are in USA and need help email me   [e-mail]

Answer 8

Well done on getting your son the help he deserves. You should get a copy of the statement of special educational needs and on it it should state how the funding going into school should be used to help him. You might have difficulty finding out exactly how much money has been awarded to school but you should ask for a copy of the school budget in which there should be a breakdown of funds that are awarded for SEN. Any one can ask for a copy of the school budget. Be aware schools do not always use the money in the way it was intended. Very often the help is spread around the class and you should insist that your son gets the help just for him that has been allocated. A home school diary is a good idea so that the teacher can record the help he receives during the day at school. Good luck to you and your son.