Sons recent autism diagnosis and educational trouble

adelta101

My 14 year old son after 11 years of been in and out of camhs has finally been diagnosed with Autism and is struggling to get educated as he cannot manage school classrooms. He is currently trying to manage 3 hours a day in the inclusion room but has no help with school work and isn’t learning anything. He is on a MSP but it’s not helped to be truthful. We are hoping in January to push for a EHCP so thought I’d join and I may be able to get some help with this process or any advice that you may have. Thank you 

L_Volunteer

Hi @adelta101

I have just responded to your post at "Hi, my name is adelta101!". 

However, on this occasion, I will copy and paste my response here just to give you a higher probability of seeing that we hear you and we care.

Thanks for reaching out to us. I always appreciate how much courage it must take to reach out, especially for the first time. 

First of all, how are you both feeling about your son's diagnosis of autism? 

In terms of my advice for an EHCP, this would depend on the level of support your son's school is currently providing you with. If they are supportive, I would recommend talking with them as they can support you through the process - especially the SENCO.

If they are less supportive, you can push for an EHCP on your own but you would need to apply through your local authority. If you are applying independently through the local authority, I would recommend scanning IPSEA's information about EHCP's which you can find at https://www.ipsea.org.uk/pages/category/education-health-and-care-plans. 

I hope this helps but if you stumble across any questions or need any further clarification, please don't hesitate to let us know!

adelta101

Hi, thank you for your advice, the school have been supportive up to a point. We have a MSP that has been in place for a while but they are not doing what they say they will. They are not making sure he has work to do (he is only there 3 lessons) so he is sat feeling lonely,isolated and bored as nobody speaks to him and this is affecting his mental health quite badly.he is seeing a well-being worker once a week as she is supposed to be trying to get him back into lessons as they think it’s just anxiety but it’s his autism and the surroundings he cannot manage. We have explained he is never going to be able to manage a large classroom but they still want to try- it’s been 4 months now he’s been sat in inclusion without been taught anything and he’s struggling more every day to get into the school environment and getting down as he’s not learning anything and falling behind (he’s academically clever and was in top 2 sets across all subjects) he has so much potential but not the setting in which he can learn.

L_Volunteer

Hi @adelta101

Thanks for your response and for providing more clarity about your circumstances to enable me to support the most effective I can. It is understandable that your son is struggling with this and I am really sorry to hear this is happening.

Unfortunately, when schools create individual learning plans (or many other synonyms - e.g. MSP) they should follow them but they must only follow EHCP's. This is because EHCP's are legally binding whereas other documents are unfortunately merely morally binding.

Again, IPSEA will be able to support you further but if you wish to apply for an EHCP you will need to apply through your local authority. In an EHCP, you can also negotiate with the local authority to have settings named if they are more likely to meet your son's needs.

I hope this helps! However, if you have any questions or need anything to be clarified, please don't hesitate to reach out to us again soon 

adelta101

Thank you,your advice has been much appreciated.I think I will apply for an ehcp after the Xmas break.

L_Volunteer

Hi @adelta101

You are really welcome. I hear your frustrations. If you stumble across any more questions or just need some emotional support whilst navigating the EHCP process, we are here for you and we care