My son has been sent to the headteacher 3 times this week

[Cleokenington]

It has been an escalating issue since he started school, and now he is in year 2. The only reason I can see is that he is anxious when in a group with so many other children, as he is ok at home. But he is quite behind at school anyway and now he is missing out on many of his classes because he is too disruptive. The school SENCO teacher was really responsive and referred him to evelina community team for assessment, they thought he might have mild Autism (or whatever it?s called these days!) but the referral was refused suggesting his symptoms aren?t bad enough.

She is trying to refer again, but I wonder if anyone could recommend someone privately for an Autism assessment in a 6yr old. Or if anyone has other suggestions of things that might help him.

[Jones1975]

Hi there, there is something else this could be

Have you heard of SPD? Sensory processing disorder? It?s something

That many autistic children have but it?s not autism. It?s a difficulty processing

external stimuli. If you look it up you might find it could be intersting.

You will need to apply for an ECHP. To start helping him to get assessed and to get

the school to understand better just a thought

[Jellybeanz]

I personally would also have a word with the teacher and possibly move your son, as he will need support and understanding not just to be sent to the head.

[alice]

There are many kinds of ?disruptive? behaviour. I would start by asking the teacher what specifically he does. Talk to him about what went wrong, ask him what would help him make a different choice next time.

[midivydale]

This is heartbreaking to read. I think it does depend on the school and I think different schools deal with behaviour in different ways. Our sons school is really strict. In Y2 he was sent to the head several times for fidgeting and for failing to complete his handwriting in time. (He has dyspraxia). Looking back I wish I had moved him. He was never rude, unkind or disruptive. He was simply a 6yr old boy who struggled to sit down for long periods of time and had a recognised learning disability. He is older now and everything has settled but I should have moved him. I always look back on that time with huge guilt and much regret. PM me if you want to chat OP. Sending a big hug to you and your son.

[Thunderblue600]

Just a thought have you considered having your son assessed by your GP? No idea if this is possible? My thoughts are if the GP declares a condition it will be in writing and the school will be more inclined to take it seriously.

Big virtual hugs so sorry you are having this experience.

[Thunderblue600]

Have shared your post via various local fb community groups hoping that some useful advice might be offered, so far:

Kay

Worth checking out the National Autistic Society website for advice - https://www.autism.org.uk

[hpsaucey]

Can you ask GP or Senco to refer to Sunshine House. You are entitled to a second opinion I'm sure. Interesting that you say referral was refused 'suggesting his symptoms aren't bad enough.' 'Mild autism' IMO more closely describes how the viewer perceives the person as behaving differently ie how obvious to them the person's asd is - inadvertently belittling and undermining an asd person's experiences. Also means asd can remain 'hidden' and harder/ take longer to diagnose and the effect on the individual unrecognised. Schools sometimes overlook it until it obviously causes them a problem in 'disruptive' behaviour. Have they tried to determine what s causing the 'disruptive' behaviour? Usually this is a child trying to communicate something - anxiety, frustration, fear etc. Schools may decide to deal with what they see as disruptive behaviour as a behavioural issue and sanction the child - trips to the head a prime example - without medical ammo/ diagnoses unfortunately. His outward anxiety could have a whole range of causes - sensory, social communication, busyness of the environment, a combination .... or something else altogether. So whether or not you end up with a diagnosis of whatever does need exploring and understanding. Worth keeping a diary to log both good and bad and meh days and see if any patterns emerge.

Did they tell you why the referral was refused? If your gut instinct is telling you something is going on then go with it. How can they really judge without assessing - what information was sent to those deciding whether to assess? And what feedback were you given as to why they won't assess? I'm assuming you won't want to share here but ask those questions if you haven't already. Glad the senco trying again - will she get your input for the application?

You could try contacting Contact a Family or

SIAS - both wonderfully supportive and also as already mentioned the NAS (their website full of info too).

Like others happy to talk if it would he useful. PM me anytime.

HP

[Thunderblue600]

Feedback from FB Nunhead Rocks!

As a child psychologist there would be many other things I would consider before jumping into an ASD assessment. There used to be an nhs early intervention CAMHS service in Southwark - school/Gp can help access with a referral. If there are strong indicators of ASD, we ask parents to be mindful of best practice guidelines around thorough assessment (eg that it is a multidisciplinary team etc) vs a one off assessment by a psychologist in private practice.

[Thunderblue600]

More feedback:

Billy

GP cannot diagnose autism but can refer for assessment. It can be a real fight though. Took 4 years to get my son assessed and 2 years later the council still won?t provide a school place for him. You can get private assessments though. It costs quite a bit. The National autistic society website will have a list of qualified people in your area.

Paula

It took me 11 years to get my daughter diagnosed we found out on her 16 th birthday that she had asd and development delay I have been fighting for to find out what was wrong with her since she was 5 years old ask doctor to refer you to sunshine house rather than hospital as they have Austin clinic at sunshine house

Clare

I have recently finished a training course for work (I work in a state primary school) regarding Autism and sadly they say it is common for the diagnosis to take one to two years as far as I remember. I will look at my notes again as there is a period by law in which they have to assess and provide support for your child. Even whilst you are waiting for the assessment to start the child should be receiving some kind of 1:1 support from the TA.

[Thunderblue600]

Nicola

Dyslexia, maybe get him checked for Dyslexia as this can make children disruptive if they are uncomfortable .

Yael

Dr Stefan Studnik - London Children's Practice" http://www.londonchildrenspractice.co.uk/team/dr-stefan-studnik/

He is amazing! He is also a very highly respected NHS assessor so his assessment will be taken seriously by schools and GPs. He is however, really expensive. As in, a 2-3 thousands of pounds. Having said that, if your son is diagnosed with ASD it will make a big difference, and will help the school know how to help him. It's a good thing :)

The London Children's Practice

[Thunderblue600]

Sonya

The Kent Autistic Trust

[Thunderblue600]

Lin

My son is now an adult but as a child I spent a term of awful nursery collection and then a year of a child who learnt nothing at all and was getting excluded regularly. I joined Education Otherwise and took him out of school for 2 years. He rejoined being a year in advance. Worth checking them out. Best of luck.

www.educationotherwise.org

[Thunderblue600]

Margaret

Micheal contact sunshine house on Peckham Road and ask if they can help i referred a child there and they were very helpful in getting him assessed properly I hope this helps

Demetra

My son is now an Adult I never had to pay privately to get him accessed he was assessed at the age of 3 your GP can help to get a referral to the disability team based at Maudsley Hospital on Denmark hill and also the social services disability team on Queens road They will set up help and maybe get him help with a one to one helper within the school or even home tuition while he is being assessed

Oh I just realised he only got the home tuition after his diagnosis I do apologise. He got home tuition while he was waiting for a place in a special school many schools now integrate with special needs. The new built School called Cherry Gardens on Bellendon road Peckham behind Lidls maybe able to point you in the right direction on what to do

[Thunderblue600]

Raychel

Hi Michael I have a son who is on the autistic spectrum he was diagnosed privately as well as through Southwark I would suggest your best bet is to start at Sunshine house with Dr Sharma the social communications team. I would also check the National autistic Society (NAS) website also children on the autistic spectrum can have traits of dyslexia dyspraxia or ADHD please feel free to contact me should you need any other advice I was also school governor for eight years in primary school.

Raychel

Demetra

I'm wondering if The Dr Sharma you know is the same doctor that use to look after my son when he was a child but that would make him at least in his early 60s now

Folasade

Dr.Sharma is still in sunshine house

Raychel

yes I know; He was so helpful to me and my son with the school

[Sue]

Thunderblue600, I don't think you should be putting these people's names on here without their knowledge? Unlike this forum, they are their real life names

Can't you just post the content of the posts without any identifying features?

In some cases young people are also mentioned who could be identified from their parents' names.

[Thunderblue600]

Dear Sue

Mindful of your concerns I have now made a full edit to only include first name and removed the location.

A genuine oversight on my part.

[Thunderblue600]

Steph

Perhaps get a GP referral to CAMHS regarding anxiety. My son is on the spectrum, but the anxiety was by far the worst part of going to school for him. It's not easy having to be in big crowded school when suffering with anxiety and it can make a child act out in a way that they don't do at home. Anxiety comes in all shapes and forms and the SENCO should push for an urgent referral again. There's always a valid reason why I child is doing something out of character and in order for him to have some support at school, it needs to be inclusive and give help rather than always seemingly punishing by send to the head. I do hope the school sort it out for him so that he gets the education he's entitled to. I must say having been through it 3 times with schools, it is a case of being ready to fight the education authorities at every step of the way. Otherwise he will get left behind. Good luck ☘

Kellie

Hi you can try this link this person is expert in giving advice and resources regarding the matter that you shared please dm her her name is Natasha

https://instagram.com/j_and_i2020?igshid=wyxrmuvpiot1

Rebecca

www.weteachacademy.co.uk. Check out this website for extra lessons and Saturday school lessons.

[Thunderblue600]

Dear Sue

Mindful of your concerns I have now made a full edit to only include first name and removed the location.

[nina_maniana]

Your GP should do a referral to a pediatric team. They can then triangulate all investigations, looking into whether it could be autism, dyslexia, adhd, spd or anything else. It seems bonkers for you to go and pay for assessments privately one by one.

At age 6 I'm not sure whether it would be Evelina or CAMHS, (CAMHS don't deal with very young children but perhaps at 6 they would do) but your GP can sort that.

Evelina aim to see kids within a few months, though delayed because of COVID at the moment, but you shouldn't be waiting years for a referral at all.

[Thunderblue600]

'It seems bonkers for you to go and pay for assessments privately one by one.'

Agree with you 100%

[Thunderblue600]

Cleo shared from Nextdoor - Personally I hope you can avoid the need to make such a financial outlay - however the final choice of course is yours.

As 'Nina' commented: 'It seems bonkers for you to go and pay for assessments privately one by one.'

Nadia

Harley psychiatrists 0203 871 8263. Ask for Dr Rathore. Child may still get treatment from them even if no autism diagnosis. My daughter has similar issues. Price is ?345 for parent assessment and ?745 for child assessment. Your child may be Aspergers or have social anxiety around other children.

We also use an amazing specialist Sen tutor since my daughter was about 5 years old and she has helped my daughter stay in and excel in mainstream education. However with lockdown she can only do online lessons and for a child of 6 years old that is very young for online learning. I can pass on her details for when lockdown is over as may be useful then.

Jaymie ? Lewisham Town Centre

Drumbeat in lewisham may be able to guide you? They are a specialist school for Autism and they help do assessments for schools.