Hi, I'm christine789! How can I speed up getting support for my son's mental health + education?

christine789

After a long time of asking the school to support my son (8 at the time) I moved schools. Second week after starting the school the first lockdown began. However, the SENCO called and as I hadn’t said anything to them about my concerns they shared there’s with me. Oddly this was a relief I went home saying “I told you so”. My son is 10 and about to start secondary school. He is working at a year two level and waiting a assessment from com peads. I’m worried he will struggle in secondary school as these waiting lists are approximately a 18 months long. My son will hit out if he feels he is being bullied and has a short temper. Which doesn’t help. But what can I do to help either speed up this process or access somewhere to support him. I worry about his mental health more than any potential disability. A disability diagnosis just opens doors. 

Cher_Alumni

Hi @christine789 and a warm welcome to our community.

I'm sorry to hear about the problems your son's faced at school and it's good to know the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) was monitoring the situation and able to confirm your concerns.  I understand your worry about the interim wait to get assessed and think it would be wise to talk to an organisation who specialise in this area to see if they can offer any useful tips.  Some you might want to consider are:

• Independent Provider of Special Education Advice (IPSEA)
• SOS SEN
• SENDIASS

The links above take you through to either contact pages or those displaying helpline numbers.  I hope it helps.

Also, in relation to your son's mental health - is this something you have spoke to your GP about?  If you feel your son's mental health is deteriorating at any point, or even just to speak about your fears, do book an appointment as they might be able to request a more urgent assessment on your behalf.

Good luck and please keep us updated with how your son gets on    I hope his transition to secondary school goes smoothly.

Just to note - I've tweaked the title of your post and moved this to our Education and learning category - this might be a good spot to browse to read about others experiences.

chiarieds

Hi @christine789 - welcome to the community. I hope you find the advice above useful in helping your son.