Assitance with funding for a child with additional educational needs

daska

OP - What your child needs most is for any medical problems to be diagnosed, their needs to be recognised and to be supported in achieving as much as is possible given whatever constraints are imposed by those problems.

If you actively turn down avenues of help because of a fear of this mythical problem of 'labelling' then you will potentially be doing your child a disservice. A diagnosis, a DLA award, being known to SS etc all these can open doors to support and funding - which is after all what you started by asking for.

N.B. The benefits can be as overt as a monthly payment to help with the additional costs that having a disability can incur or reduced entry prices for carers attending events with people they are caring for, or as obscure as reduced fees at the local leisure centre - often not advertised.

LunaLady

Going back to your original post, I would recommend getting help from IPSEA with regards to support through the statement process. They were really helpful to me.

kezlou

Jamie Carter - please stop having a go at kingfisher - her posts are very informative while yours are coming across as aggressive and nasty. I simply came on to ask if was funding available as and my partner do not wish to claim dla for our child.

We all have different opinions regarding DLA etc
For me and my partner as i have stated previously is our own personal choice. I fully respect what kingfisher is saying regarding not over exaggerating on a form and i for one agree. Its fraud otherwise, she isn't putting me off the form she is actually showing it in a positive light.

shegirl - i know what you mean, i must admit i was struggling with getting my child to socialise, hence a social worker telling about a session for asd children. Very helpful and informative.

daska - unfortunately "mystical labels" are well and truly in froce where i live sadly . My son was called a freak today by one of the parents because he was telling me about the textures of leaves and the how the sun reflected off them. My son is very sensory orientated.
My son is currently being assessed by camhs for asd, so we going doing that route, reluctantly but its happening. It also another way for us to gain a statement for my son for extra help at school in case our first application fails.

thanks luna lady for the link!

haycorns

Hi there. Your local autistic society may be able to help you with the form. We did the form , sent off with lots of letters relating to diagnosis and recent problems and were awarded middle care low mobility.

i put off applying 6 months as I knew the form was tough. I'm not afraid of hard work but I knew if I was goign to do it , it had to capture my sons condition in the full.

I wish i had done it earlier. The money helps to keep the family budget form breaking . You don't realise how much more you spend doing things in certain ways to make it easier for your autistic child.

Once you have the award you can use it how you feel is most approriate to support his care and mobility.

I say go for it. Don't wait for the statement - its all about what support he currently needs.

kingfisherblue

kezlou wrote: »

Jamie Carter - please stop having a go at kingfisher - her posts are very informative while yours are coming across as aggressive and nasty. I simply came on to ask if was funding available as and my partner do not wish to claim dla for our child.

We all have different opinions regarding DLA etc
For me and my partner as i have stated previously is our own personal choice. I fully respect what kingfisher is saying regarding not over exaggerating on a form and i for one agree. Its fraud otherwise, she isn't putting me off the form she is actually showing it in a positive light.

Thanks kezlou - I have no idea why Jamie Carter seems to be taking issue with everything that I say.

If your son has care and/or mobility needs (including additional supervision outdoors), then claiming DLA is your right - as is choosing not to claim. Yes, it can open doors, but it can also be difficult for some parents to accept, possibly because of the word 'disability'. If your OH needs more time to accept that your son is on the autistic spectrum, then forcing the issue of claiming DLA isn't going to help. I respect the fact that you have chosen not to go ahead, but don't be afraid to claim in the future if you change your mind (obviously bearing in mind the needs that your son has - and as he is on the autistic sprectrum, I'm sure he will have more needs than other children of his age).

Others have given excellent advice regarding SS, groups, etc.

One other thing to consider is how to find funding. I know that was your original question, but it seemed to get lost along the way. What do you want funding for? Is it something that has been recommended by a professional? Are they willing to write a short report on why they think it will make a difference to your son? (It isn't necessary in many cases, but can help).

Many grants depend on family income, others depend on what it is you actually want to apply for. Different funders have different criteria, and many people make the mistake of not reading the criteria properly. It sounds really obvious, but it is true.

Many funders do not give to individuals, so this is the first thing to check.

Some trades have their own charities that will help family members. Many people know that there are charities that help those who have been in the armed forces, but there are many others. I know of one charity that is currently advertising to help families who have a close family member who works in banking - I can't remember the name, and I don't know if it specific to my area, but if this is likely to help, let me know.

Some grants are specific to an area, so you could google 'grants for disabled children in Middlesborough' or something along those lines.

Many main libraries have a section on funding. there is a book about funding for individuals, but it is rather expensive at £75. All our local libraries have a copy, but you cannot take it out on loan in my area:

http://www.dsc.org.uk/Publications/Fundraisingsources/@102537

You might also find the following websites helpful. Some are lists of links to other websites:

www.turn2us.org.uk

http://www.disability-grants.org/grants-for-children.html

http://www.mumsnet.com/special-needs/benefits/loans-and-grants

http://www.livingmadeeasy.org.uk/scenario.php?csid=172

http://special-needs-kids.co.uk/financial.htm

If you want any help in applying for a grant, your local carer's centre might offer this service, or a local ASD group might know of someone local to you. You can also PM me and I'll help if I can. I've applied for grants a few times, not just for my son, but also for Brownies, Rainbows and a local children's disability group, and i've been successful on quite a number of occasions.

Good luck x

daska

kezlou wrote: »

daska - unfortunately "mystical labels" are well and truly in froce where i live sadly . My son was called a freak today by one of the parents because he was telling me about the textures of leaves and the how the sun reflected off them. My son is very sensory orientated.

And that person is just as likely to call your son a freak regardless of whether or not he has a diagnosis or is in receipt of DLA - because that person is obviously ignorant and rude and most probably stupid.

Every bit of formal acknowlegement of his problems is evidence that you can use to prevent him being written off as useless, difficult, naughty - those are the labels you really need to be scared of, not DLA, SS and SEN. Without them you may well struggle to get everything for him that he needs or could benefit from. Believe me, if I'd known 13 years ago just how limiting my fear of labeling DS1 was I would have fought tooth and nail for a formal diagnosis.

With DS2, though admittedly his problems are far more severe, it's a completely different story. Without a formal diagnosis all the problems he was having were being put down to poor parenting by all the agencies involved at that point, despite us having four other well-adjusted, intelligent and articulate children ranging from 4 to 25 as evidence to the contrary. They actively blocked his access to the medical professionals he desperately needed to see. In fact we've now established that DS2's learning problems are due to his sensory problems and treating these has resulted in a near miraculous turnaround, but I had to go private to get the diagnosis in order to get permission, not to jump the queues, but for him to be put on the NHS and local authority waiting lists for the appropriate help. Come September he'll be attending a specialist ASD/S&L unit because yes, he has needs that exceed Early Years insistence that he just needed more story books at bedtime.

BTW I haven't yet applied for DLA for DS2 though he would almost certainly get low rate mobility and care - simply because I've just bounced from doing my own DLA forms to doing DS2's statement submission and I wanted a few weeks of not being bogged down in paperwork before starting another load. I'll have to fit it in during July though because I need to get the submission to the tribunal for DS2's statement underway.

DLA would pay for the private tuition you were speaking about...



Re the application for a statutory assessment, please do use the resources available. Parent Partnership will come with you to meetings if necessary and help fight your corner (and tell you when the LA are being carp). IPSEA are really useful at detailing specific problems from a legal viewpoint and coming up with alternative tactics. Your local NAS group will have other parents who have been and are still going through the mill. But I would still recommend that book by Tania Tirraoro I mentioned earlier, I found that invaluable. The only reason we're going to the tribunal is to fight for private occupational therapy provision and support for the 5 non-teaching hours - he got 25 hours/week as soon as it went to panel so I must have been doing something right LOL

Jamie_Carter

daska wrote: »

And that person is just as likely to call your son a freak regardless of whether or not he has a diagnosis or is in receipt of DLA - because that person is obviously ignorant and rude and most probably stupid.

Every bit of formal acknowlegement of his problems is evidence that you can use to prevent him being written off as useless, difficult, naughty - those are the labels you really need to be scared of, not DLA, SS and SEN. Without them you may well struggle to get everything for him that he needs or could benefit from. Believe me, if I'd known 13 years ago just how limiting my fear of labeling DS1 was I would have fought tooth and nail for a formal diagnosis.

With DS2, though admittedly his problems are far more severe, it's a completely different story. Without a formal diagnosis all the problems he was having were being put down to poor parenting by all the agencies involved at that point, despite us having four other well-adjusted, intelligent and articulate children ranging from 4 to 25 as evidence to the contrary. They actively blocked his access to the medical professionals he desperately needed to see. In fact we've now established that DS2's learning problems are due to his sensory problems and treating these has resulted in a near miraculous turnaround, but I had to go private to get the diagnosis in order to get permission, not to jump the queues, but for him to be put on the NHS and local authority waiting lists for the appropriate help. Come September he'll be attending a specialist ASD/S&L unit because yes, he has needs that exceed Early Years insistence that he just needed more story books at bedtime.

BTW I haven't yet applied for DLA for DS2 though he would almost certainly get low rate mobility and care - simply because I've just bounced from doing my own DLA forms to doing DS2's statement submission and I wanted a few weeks of not being bogged down in paperwork before starting another load. I'll have to fit it in during July though because I need to get the submission to the tribunal for DS2's statement underway.

DLA would pay for the private tuition you were speaking about...



Re the application for a statutory assessment, please do use the resources available. Parent Partnership will come with you to meetings if necessary and help fight your corner (and tell you when the LA are being carp). IPSEA are really useful at detailing specific problems from a legal viewpoint and coming up with alternative tactics. Your local NAS group will have other parents who have been and are still going through the mill. But I would still recommend that book by Tania Tirraoro I mentioned earlier, I found that invaluable. The only reason we're going to the tribunal is to fight for private occupational therapy provision and support for the 5 non-teaching hours - he got 25 hours/week as soon as it went to panel so I must have been doing something right LOL

An excellent post :T:T:T. Unlike the negative posts from some others.

Jamie_Carter

kezlou wrote: »

Jamie Carter - please stop having a go at kingfisher - her posts are very informative while yours are coming across as aggressive and nasty. I simply came on to ask if was funding available as and my partner do not wish to claim dla for our child.

We all have different opinions regarding DLA etc
For me and my partner as i have stated previously is our own personal choice. I fully respect what kingfisher is saying regarding not over exaggerating on a form and i for one agree. Its fraud otherwise, she isn't putting me off the form she is actually showing it in a positive light.

shegirl - i know what you mean, i must admit i was struggling with getting my child to socialise, hence a social worker telling about a session for asd children. Very helpful and informative.

daska - unfortunately "mystical labels" are well and truly in froce where i live sadly . My son was called a freak today by one of the parents because he was telling me about the textures of leaves and the how the sun reflected off them. My son is very sensory orientated.
My son is currently being assessed by camhs for asd, so we going doing that route, reluctantly but its happening. It also another way for us to gain a statement for my son for extra help at school in case our first application fails.

thanks luna lady for the link!

You were obviously very wary about applying for DLA, and probably for the wrong reasons. Kingfisherblue's posts did nothing to help the issue, with scare stories about prosecutions. After all, we all know that if we lie on government forms (especially to obtain money), then this would be fraud. So the simple advice to give is just be honest.

As far as the 'mystical labels' are concerned. As daska said, your son might be labeled far worse if people don't understand that he has learning difficulties. Do you think the ignorant parent who called him a freak would have done so if they had known?

As I said previously, you might find it difficult going for any other assistance if you don't go for DLA and a statement first. But when you have both of these, it can open up so many doors.

There should be no stigma attached to claiming DLA for someone who is entitled to it.

kezlou

Thanks Jamie, unfortunately the partner who said those things if they knew about my son it would spread like wild fire around the school. Sadly it would mean a lot of parents wouldn't my son to play with them. that's how awful it is.

Over the past week myself and the SENco have been working our socks off getting the statement. We've obtained medical evidence, reports off pediatritions, occupational therapy etc . So signed for the statement to be sent off yesterday. fingers crossed he'll be granted the statement.

I managed to speak to Parent Partner Support worker yesterday and she was really friendly and great. So that's good.

thanks again everyone x

Jamie_Carter

kezlou wrote: »

Thanks Jamie, unfortunately the partner who said those things if they knew about my son it would spread like wild fire around the school. Sadly it would mean a lot of parents wouldn't my son to play with them. that's how awful it is.

Over the past week myself and the SENco have been working our socks off getting the statement. We've obtained medical evidence, reports off pediatritions, occupational therapy etc . So signed for the statement to be sent off yesterday. fingers crossed he'll be granted the statement.

I managed to speak to Parent Partner Support worker yesterday and she was really friendly and great. So that's good.

thanks again everyone x

You would probably find that in reality things would be completely different from what you expect at school. My son went to a main stream school until he got a place at a special needs school. And to be honest none of the parents or children treated him in a negative way at all.