EHCP assessment advice

orangefresh

hi all,

My son has severe ADHD and been accepted for an EHCP assessment. He is medicated effectively for his education only and takes it only for school, and the medication does significantly improve his ADHD symptoms to allow him to be able to sit still in class and he presents with less symptoms. I asked his SENCO if I should medicate him for the assessment as normal as it is on a typical school day, she has advised me to medicate him as normal. I am worried that this could influence their decision in not accepting him for an EHCP due to how he presents when he is on medication.

Has anyone got any experience with this?

Thanks

Xx

Mary_Scope

Hi @orangefresh

I understand, this sounds like a tricky situation!

Have you spoken to the SENCO about potentially arranging some of the observation without medication? Even if its just for part of the assessment? Or possibly having the assessment split on two different days, one medication day and one non medicated day? This will help the assessor see your son in school with medication vs without medication.

Even if your son is medicated during the observation, you can still provide detailed written information about his challenges both on and off medication. This should include how ADHD affects your son at home, how ADHD affects him at school without medication and how ADHD medication affects even with medication.

It may be worthwhile considering a parents perspective report as many local authorities allow parents to submit this as part of the EHCP process. This is where you can give a thorough overview of your sons needs even when he is on medication in all aspects of his life.

It also may be worth contacting your local SENDIASS as they will be education specialists in your local area who may be able to give you more specific advice regarding this and what your local authority prefers to do when it comes to EHCP assessments such as if they are able two split the assessment over 2 days or if they would prefer the child to be medication/unmedicated for it etc.

Hopefully some of our members who are also parents and carers and have been in a similar situation will reach out and offer their experience and some peer support .

Hope this was helpful, please reach out if you would like further support or have more questions.