Can school force child into a wheelchair?

angelicmary85

andrealm wrote: »

Hope your friend can get this sorted out. How often do they go on walks or trips anyway? If she's a small 4 year old a buggy could be used if they were going on a long trip,I really don't see why they think she needs a wheelchair?
Hopefully her paediatrician will back them up on this?
What will they do if she refuses to pay for half of the wheelchair?

She can't see anyway out of not paying because they are putting so much pressure on her.

I'm going to see the consultant on Tues for a seperate matter...hopefully I can put in a good word for the family, I know they can't discuss things with me but I need to try. It's really none of my business but I feel so compelled to help her, no matter how small my contribution.

They have spent so much money buying all the things that she needs and she's doing well because her older silblings are so protective of her, they are a very close family, mum and dad have tried so hard to bring her on and it's heartbreaking for me to stand back and watch when I know it's against the families wishes.

I honestly don't know how I can help. I've been googling quite a bit tonight and remembered a MSP that my father knew personally so I went looking for his contact info...not spoken to him in a long time though and I don't know if he'll remember me. I just thought that he might be able to contact the Education Authority on mum's behalf or something.

I don't want mum to be offended that I'm 'sticking my nose in' so haven't actually mentioned helping her...I'm not sure if I should and then not come up with anything, or don't and hopefully manage to find something that might assist her.

I was reading about cross political groups who are having a meeting on March 3rd regarding disability issues, I think it's transport so I was going to email the address to bring it to someone's attention but when does helping someone become a step too far?

RileysMummy

I work in a SN school and something is jumping out at me. You say the Centre where the wee girls paediatrician are based is paying for half of the chair? That suggests to me that as well as the HV the paediatrician also agrees with the girl having the chair, because it's often very hard to get them to pay for anything.

Before you back the Mum 100% against the chair you need to find out why the school want the chair and why it's getting the backing from the HV and if the paediatrician's are backing it too.

I do agree that there are sometimes lazy carers in schools and nursery or good carers having lazy days. However there are also a lot parents who find it very, very difficult (understandably) that their child needs more help, needs a wheelchair or is getting weaker/worse due to their condition.

ifits

They can't make her use a Wchair if thats is not what mum/child wants but do they have other reasons for needing it, does she use school transport and can she get on/off and into a seat without lifting for example are they planning to use it all the time or is it being provided to allow her to join in more on walks or outings where she may not manage. And no she does not have to pay for a chair (even more so if she doesnt want it) unless she wants some all singing all dancing snazzy bit of kit then the WCS provide children who have been prescribed a wheelchair with one I have never known anyone be charged for one unless they wanted something very expensive which is your own choice or that the paed has not agreed to prescribe one but the parent wants to use one with there child and the last thing a health visitor should not be measuring a child for a wheelchair, each area has a wheelchair clinic and you would normaly attend with a whealchair specialist, physio and have OT attending or sending info. She needs to stop things for now and ask for a meeting with all involved normaly called a team around the family/child meeting as soon as possible to get to the bottom of things.

alm721

angelicmary85 wrote: »

She can't see anyway out of not paying because they are putting so much pressure on her.

Simple she just doesn't pay. Pressure or not all she needs to say is I don't agree, I'm not paying. End of story. I don't see why this is complicated.?


I'm going to see the consultant on Tues for a seperate matter...hopefully I can put in a good word for the family, I know they can't discuss things with me but I need to try. It's really none of my business but I feel so compelled to help her, no matter how small my contribution.

They have spent so much money buying all the things that she needs and she's doing well because her older silblings are so protective of her, they are a very close family, mum and dad have tried so hard to bring her on and it's heartbreaking for me to stand back and watch when I know it's against the families wishes.

I honestly don't know how I can help. I've been googling quite a bit tonight and remembered a MSP that my father knew personally so I went looking for his contact info...not spoken to him in a long time though and I don't know if he'll remember me. I just thought that he might be able to contact the Education Authority on mum's behalf or something.

I don't want mum to be offended that I'm 'sticking my nose in' so haven't actually mentioned helping her...I'm not sure if I should and then not come up with anything, or don't and hopefully manage to find something that might assist her.

I was reading about cross political groups who are having a meeting on March 3rd regarding disability issues, I think it's transport so I was going to email the address to bring it to someone's attention but when does helping someone become a step too far?

I'm maybe reading this wrong and apologies if so but when you say you haven't actually mentioned helping her, do you mean you've not discussed this with her? If so how do you know all the facts are right?

Are school saying she needs the chair all the time, some of the time or just occasionally. If she doesn't need one at home for just getting around then she shouldn't at school. If school take them out for walks and she is not able to walk that far or keep up with the rest then I can see where they are coming from. If her HV thinks the same and the paediatrician appears to be in agreement then I think thats pretty strong evidence that maybe she does need more support then mum think.

Unfortuatly, the school environment is not like being at home on a one to one with your own child, either way I would think it far more likely that the school think they're helping rather then being lazy! Its hard to judge as it seems that little has been said about the schools reasons for wanting to get her a chair.

If mum wants to sort this all she needs to do is ask the school to put in writing the reasons why they think she needs this chair and she then needs to take it to her paediatrician and ask what they think.

As an aside, we have a 2 girls with cp at our secondary. They both have poor mobility but manage fine with sticks. Both have a support assisstant with them and leave lessons 5 mins early to allow them time to move around the school site, there has never been a problem.

angelicmary85

RileysMummy wrote: »

I work in a SN school and something is jumping out at me. You say the Centre where the wee girls paediatrician are based is paying for half of the chair? That suggests to me that as well as the HV the paediatrician also agrees with the girl having the chair, because it's often very hard to get them to pay for anything.

The centre she attends helps towards the cost of other things so I don't think it's fair for any of us to assume that the consultant has backed HV.

Before you back the Mum 100% against the chair you need to find out why the school want the chair and why it's getting the backing from the HV and if the paediatrician's are backing it too.

As above - there is no evidence (as yet) to to support the theory that the consultant backs this decision.

I do agree that there are sometimes lazy carers in schools and nursery or good carers having lazy days. However there are also a lot parents who find it very, very difficult (understandably) that their child needs more help, needs a wheelchair or is getting weaker/worse due to their condition.

This wee girl is slowly putting on weight, she has a wide circle of friends but I know if she needed a chair, her mum would agree straight-away.

angelicmary85

alm721 wrote: »

I'm maybe reading this wrong and apologies if so but when you say you haven't actually mentioned helping her, do you mean you've not discussed this with her? If so how do you know all the facts are right?

I've not told her that I've posted here or have been looking up the Education Auth online.

Are school saying she needs the chair all the time, some of the time or just occasionally. If she doesn't need one at home for just getting around then she shouldn't at school. If school take them out for walks and she is not able to walk that far or keep up with the rest then I can see where they are coming from. If her HV thinks the same and the paediatrician appears to be in agreement then I think thats pretty strong evidence that maybe she does need more support then mum think.

I've explained this in the post above.

Unfortuatly, the school environment is not like being at home on a one to one with your own child, either way I would think it far more likely that the school think they're helping rather then being lazy! Its hard to judge as it seems that little has been said about the schools reasons for wanting to get her a chair.

They have got a whole team of carers and it's just a tiny school, how can that not be seen as the carers may be takingthe easier option?

If mum wants to sort this all she needs to do is ask the school to put in writing the reasons why they think she needs this chair and she then needs to take it to her paediatrician and ask what they think.

As an aside, we have a 2 girls with cp at our secondary. They both have poor mobility but manage fine with sticks. Both have a support assisstant with them and leave lessons 5 mins early to allow them time to move around the school site, there has never been a problem.

I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm geting annoyed, I just feel so frustrated for mum!

silvercar

This happened to a friend of mine. Her child had a fall and sustained a brain injury. When he was assessed as ready to return to school, the school insisted he used a wheelchair. My friend was livid as by this stage he was walking again, although slowly and with a limp. She even had a letter from his physio saying it was important for him to walk as much as possible. The school refused to take him back unless he went in a wheel chair - they sighted insurance and health and safety. In the end she had to give in as the only other option was to find a different school which would have been more upsetting for the child.

angelicmary85

silvercar wrote: »

This happened to a friend of mine. Her child had a fall and sustained a brain injury. When he was assessed as ready to return to school, the school insisted he used a wheelchair. My friend was livid as by this stage he was walking again, although slowly and with a limp. She even had a letter from his physio saying it was important for him to walk as much as possible. The school refused to take him back unless he went in a wheel chair - they sighted insurance and health and safety. In the end she had to give in as the only other option was to find a different school which would have been more upsetting for the child.

That's an awful story! I'm glad the wee one is o.k though, maybe it's an insurance issue and they're not admitting to it?

Gingham_Ribbon

angelicmary85 wrote: »

Thank you for taking the time to reply but if you're right about it being a h&s issue then the whole world has offically gone mad...anyone could get pushed over or trip on something on the floor.

Mum is determined not to let them do it, she's devastated.

I really sympathise. It did occur to me that this was a way of avoiding potential accidents rather than looking at what was best for the child.

I wonder if Scope could help? Freephone number.

Hopeful1

Hi Angelic, i've just seen the link to here on PaD.

In all the years i've worked with children with SEN i have never known a child be forced to use a wheelchair if not necessary. All physios i've worked with have encouraged children to walk whether it be with a stick, frame or anything else they can think. Like anyone else exercise helps to strengthen muscles.

The school need to consider the feelings of the little girl too. I don't think it would be very good for her self esteem. They should also be encouraging her to be independent, not unnecessarily reliant on someone else.

My 1st thought was the child's rights under the DDA which RAS mentioned in his post. If she has 1:1 support there is even less need for them to worry about the little girl taking her time, as she has someone to walk with her.

If i were mom i would also be asking for a full assessment by both the medics and the physio. It is not up to school to decide they 'think' she needs one.

As for school worrying about accidents, if that's the case they should do a full risk assessment, which mom would be entitled to see. This could then be shared with the medics / physios to see how it fits in with their assessment.

As someone else said, i've had children who could walk independently (even if using a stick or frame) but would sometimes need to use a chair if tired or on a trip if the terraine was difficult.

I feel so cross for this little girl and her mom. I hope mom doesn't pay for the wheelchair either!!

Let us know how she gets on.