School refusing to refer to educational psychologist

Where_You_Working

Had problems with my 7 year daughter too and unfortunately have had to start educating her at home as her confidence was knocked greatly by her school, hopefully in the future we can get her in a smaller school with a more sympathetic attitude! CAMHS have been very good with her so far, but early days. We have been seen by paediatrician and dieticians and her aspergers was only picked up by CAMHS. After seeing GP's numerous times, one good one picked up there was a problem and referred her to CAMHS. Good luck and keep pushing for your child!

kidcat

As a parent of two children with ASD including one who had a bout of mutism last year, I now work with parents who are struggling with schools. If you were a parent at my group, I would recommend pretty much all of the other suggestions, firstly contact Parent Partnership ( these can be brilliant or they can be rubbish, I have seen both extremes)then visit the GP and request a CAMHS referral (I too have mostly good experiences with CAMHS) I would then request a meeting with both the SENCO and the Head, taking the paperwork with you.

I would also write to SALT and the Paediatrician explaining that school has refused to help, in my area certainly SALT can refer to Ed Psych although they prefer school to do it, if school refuse they will refer. Strangely in my area the Paediatrician cannot refer to Ed Psych but they can write a strong recommendation to school.

If you try all the avenues one will hit the target. Good luck - we struggled with our eldest son for years and were ignored until he had time off school and Ed welfare fought for help for us.

aeb_2

meritaten wrote: »

Why are you just dealing with the SENCO? have you taken this to the Head? you have two medically qualified persons who recommend that your child see the Ed Psych........sort of Trumps a mere SENCO!
If still no joy then a letter to the governers saying exactly what you have said on here!

In a small primary the head is often the SENCO. In a large primary or secondary school the head (and the goveners) will ask the advice of the the SENCO in a case like this. S/he will easily be able to justify her reasons for referring/not referring

bestpud

Don't sit around and wait for the school to sort themselves out because they won't, or of they do it will be after your son has struggled a lot more and lost even more of his education.

You've been patient. Your son needs help and he needs it ASAP.

Don't worry about contacting anyone who will help - the school is failing him and he needs you to kick them into touch.

When you have a child with special needs you have to put all thought of being a nucience to the back of your mind and be prepared fight for him.

Good luck.

concerned43

kara7758 wrote: »

I would advise you to see your GP and ask for a referral to CAMHS to have your sons behaviours assessed. CAMHS can do specific ADOS assessments which will help identify if your son in on the Autism Spectrum.

CAMHS staffing consists of psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health trained nurses, social workers etc, all more than qualified and experienced enough to enable your son to receive support for his needs. My last place of employment was in a CAMHS Unit.

Sorry but your statement on CAMHS is simply not true - they are not all qualified! and although they claim to have a multi-disciplinary teams as outlined in your response the truth is they are using social workers (who have no medical/mental health backgrounds/qualifications) to assess, diagnose and treat children with mental health problems/autism/ADHD etc. they also provide cognitive behavioural therapy - again without having any qualifications in CBT.

http://jobs.dorsetforyou.com/JobDetails.aspx/8503/CAMHS_Social_Worker__Children_s_Services___INTERNAL_AND_EXTERNAL_APPLICANTS_MAY_APPLY_/?ssimple=CAMHS%20social%20worker&slocations=&ssalary=&ssectors=

My advice to the OP is - if being referred to CAMHS makes sure it is through your GP, make sure GP asks for him to be seen by a psychiatrist/psychologist. Once you have the appointment check the person/s you will be seeing are registered/licensed to practise by checking:

http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/

http://www.bps.org.uk/

CBT can also be checked

http://www.babcp.com/Default.aspx

If they say they are a "Mental Health Clinician" is just means they are a social worker/nurse that has been with CAMHS for 3 years or more - it does not mean they have a mental health qualifications or any qualifications to assess/diagnose/treat children with ASD!

There are many peoples experiences of CAMHS on the internet and I have found very few who have had a good experience with CAMHS. I have three social workers in my family so I am not being anti-social workers here, all three agree that CAMHS is not fit for purpose and is in fact are a hinder to children's mental health and those with learning difficulties, those with learning difficulties/autism etc are being mis-diagnosed and their behavioural problems are being blamed on the parents - so expect a call from social services!

http://mckenzie.blog.co.uk/2012/03/25/camhs-virgins-and-psychobabble-13304049/

kjmtidea

Thanks for all the advice, I have made a doctors appointment and an appointment with the head teacher. I have also found out that the senco woman is retiring at Christmas so there will be a new person in the new year and hopefully she will be a little more helpful!

concerned43

Another thing you may like to look at is the Advocacy Service - this is a free service and you should be able to find one in your area. It will come in handy when dealing with the school etc. as they will attend meetings with you and take minutes.
the schools/CAMHS etc hate these people and it can get their backs up - but you will be taken more seriously if you have one with you!

aeb_2

kjmtidea wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice, I have made a doctors appointment and an appointment with the head teacher. I have also found out that the senco woman is retiring at Christmas so there will be a new person in the new year and hopefully she will be a little more helpful!

Twice now you have referred to the SENCO as the 'senco woman' This may be where the problem lies

Another thing you may like to look at is the Advocacy Service - this is a free service and you should be able to find one in your area. It will come in handy when dealing with the school etc. as they will attend meetings with you and take minutes.
the schools/CAMHS etc hate these people and it can get their backs up - but you will be taken more seriously if you have one with you!

School SENCOs certainly do not 'hate these people' If they do their job properly they are most helpful and welcome. Although they work for the parent they often offer a balanced view of the situation for the parent to understand

daska

aeb wrote: »

Twice now you have referred to the SENCO as the 'senco woman' This may be where the problem lies



School SENCOs certainly do not 'hate these people' If they do their job properly they are most helpful and welcome. Although they work for the parent they often offer a balanced view of the situation for the parent to understand

I refer to 'that SENCO woman' when talking about the obstructive, ignorant woman at DS2's last school. I refer to his current one, and DS1's various SENCO's by name, and with respect, because they actually consider the needs of the children and bother to know what their role involves. So "That woman" may well be the title the SENCO has demonstrated she deserves.

concerned43

aeb wrote: »

Twice now you have referred to the SENCO as the 'senco woman' This may be where the problem lies



School SENCOs certainly do not 'hate these people' If they do their job properly they are most helpful and welcome. Although they work for the parent they often offer a balanced view of the situation for the parent to understand

Correct, "If they do their job properly they are most helpful and welcome." but I was not talking about the ones that do their job properly" - if the poster's SENCO was doing her job properly then the poster would not be posting her problem!