My son has asd and eduacation refuse to go ahead with statement process i understand i can pay for a private s

Question

My son has asd and eduacation refuse to go ahead with statement process i understand i can pay for a private s

Answer 1

A diagnosis of ASD or anything else does not automatically mean that a child needs to be statemented.  

When they turned down your request for a Statutory Assessment of your Special Educational Needs they should have given you a reason in the letter why they did so.  

Ring the Special Needs Officer who sent you the letter & ask for a more indepth

explanation as to why they turned you down.  Did the Authority say that he could be accommodated at School Action or School Action Plus?  Did they make any recommendations, for instance, did they request that he should be referred to the Educational Psychology Service or tell the school that they should make a referral to the Autism Team or Behaviour Support team within the Authority?  

In the covering letter they sent to you telling you they had turned the request for assessment they should have made the following suggestions:

1.  You can talk to the school (SENCO or headteacher) or the Special Needs Officer (title may be different) about the decision

2.  They should have given you the option of meeting with a representative of the Panel who made the decision

3.  They should have informed you can appeal their decision to the Special Educational Needs & Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) - there is a deadline on this appeal, I think it's sixty days from the date of the letter turning it down

http://www.sendist.gov.uk/

You should also talk to the Parent Partnership in your area to get independent advice & support

http://www.parentpartnership.org.uk/

Because you haven't completed your question or given further information, I can't give you any specific information.  If there's any information that wasn't put forward with the request, since I don't know if it was you or the school put forward the request I can't comment there either but everything should have been put forward, the report with his initial diagnosis of asd, any speech & language (any medical) reports, everything relating to his academic performance & behaviour in and out of the class room - if anything was left out, speak to the Special Needs Officer about it.

Answer 2

oh god, I remember my primary school doing that for my adha and was so unfair, and i had to suffer with teachers pissing me off, by saying I'm 'naughty' when i couldn't help what i did.

but now I'm cool cause my school now helps me since being diagnosed with aspergers syndrome (a long p**s taking, tiring, stressful process).

oh god i can never forget that thing and never forgiven seven fields primary for that (r.i.p to the old building).

Answer 3

Are you in England?

If so:

the school must have adequate reason to deny applying for a statement...however if they have reasons such as they feel he doesnt need it, then do not have the funds etc then I'm afraid you do have to accept it or pay for it.

however, speak to the head and ask exactly why they have denied it. Then you can ask to speak to the SENCO advisor from the LEA, or ring your council and ask if you have a parent partnership service you can speak to.

If you have no luck there then go to local children's centre or citizens advice bureau.

Answer 4

You cannot pay for a private statement, there is no such thing. However as Froggequeen says in her answer, you CAN and should appeal the decision not to assess your son. You will need a full explanation as to why they have not agreed to go ahead.

If it is the school who are refusing to initiate statutory assessment, then you can do this yourself by writing to the Special needs dept at your Local education authority. they will then send out forms for you to fill in and also to the school which they must do.

If it is a decision by the LEA not to assess and you are going to go to appeal, you have 2 months from the date of the letter you receive giving you the decision, to lodge the appeal with SENDisT so make sure you dont miss the deadline. I strongly advise you to get specialist independent assessments done for your son to support your appeal eg 1 from an educational psychologist specialising in ASD, 1 from a Speech and language therapist with this speciality, 1 from an occupational therapist and also reports from your sons paediatrician or whoever diagnosed his ASD. The assessments carried out by the education authority are rubbish. They simply fit the results to wherever they want your child to go to school and look to provide the bare minimum of help. You will need your own reports to understand exactly what help your son really needs and to support your case. They dont come cheap but are worth their weight in gold. Sometimes you can get assistance with paying for them in extreme hardship.

Contact iPSEA for advice or in the south east SOS!SEN. Parent partnership services are a good first stop and ok for procedural issues but they are funded by the LEA so cannot be as open or unbiased as the others (altho they are meant to be).

good luck..I have no doubt that your son does require assessment. School action plus equates to nothing in real terms for the child because the school can dream up all the wonderful IEPs they like but are not obliged in law to carry them out as they are if a child has a statement. It is dependent on the goodwill of individual teachers and if they cannot be bothered then the child will not get the help. (speaking from experience here,). we have had statutory assessment but the LEA refuse to accept the reports (all) which say my son needs a special school and are trying to force him back into mainstream. It is an uphill struggle to get help for your child so stay strong, get all the support you can and keep going. You will win in the end if you hang in there.

Finally, make sure you get yourself a copy of the Special Needs code of Practice. become familiar with it because you will often find that schools etc are not so you have an advantage over them ifyou can back up your argument with quotes from this document. They MUST have regard to it in everything to do with special needs. It is free so ring DfES and ask for one.

Answer 5

Hi there, my son who has been diagnosed A.D.H.D. and is also statemented could not get specialist schooling until we got a diagnoses for A.S.D which was carried out by the Autism services.

But even all through primary school with just his a.d.h.d he always had a teaching assistant by his side one of the reasons why this could have been is because my son is quite complex and accedemicly way behind.

I do feel you are being fobbed off and its worth trying to get a referal from your GP to see a consultant paeditrician and tell them everything, because our consultant paeditrician have been fantastic.

(Dont Give Up)

Hope this helps, Kind Regards, Martin. (UK)

Answer 6

Has the school given reasons why they won't give your son a statement? Does he have a diagnosis of ASD, if he does he should at least have an Individual Education Plan in place. At the moment all schools in the UK are trying to cut down on the amount of children being statemented and they are cutting down on the different bands within statements. Look in your local telephone book for your nearest parent partnership service as they are the people who will be able to help you through the whole process. They will approach the school and local education authority on your behalf and will attend meetings with you. Good luck.

Answer 7

I am not sure what you are asking but your son has a right to free and public education under the IDEA and the NCLB if you are living in the USA.  He will have to go through an IEP process. I would check with your local school board and find out which schools offer special education.

Answer 8

If you are in the US... you should demand an IEP (Individualized Education Program).  they will do this at his school. It's the law that he be evaluated. They may not want to, but they have to.

You should talk to your local school board or social service office to see what type of services are provided by the public school system in your area.