Fighting The System For Sen Support by Lisa Lloyd

Preventing The System For SEN Help by Lisa Lloyd

Lisa Lloyd is a mum of two neurodivergent kids, and is the co-founder of SEND Reform England. She raises consciousness on the fact of hidden disabilities and the realties of elevating neurodivergent kids, providing help and neighborhood to these on an identical journey.

Her debut guide ‘Raising the SEN-Betweeners’ revealed by Ebury at Penguin Random Home, is out now.

It charts the highs, the lows and the delightfully neurospicy – this guide is for each dad or mum elevating the ‘in-between’ kids in a neurotypical world. You possibly can be part of Lisa Lloyd on the rollercoaster journey of elevating neurodivergent kids who don’t match the mainstream however aren’t thought of ‘extreme’ both. Lisa has been there and is able to inform all – from the confusion of the early years and discovering your little one is neurodivergent, to navigating a faculty system that doesn’t appear to suit, and the every day frustrations of selecting your battles (and dropping most of them).

Ever questioned what would occur if you happen to took your autistic three-year-old on a haunted ghost journey? Or what your response could be in case your seven-year-old grabbed a stranger’s backfat within the altering rooms? Surprise no extra! Elevating the SEN-Betweeners is a really sincere information for all these mother and father in comparable sneakers, navigating the challenges, joys and hilariously unpredictable moments on daily basis. If that’s you, this guide will make one factor very clear: you aren’t alone.

It’s a brilliantly frank, informative and importantly, supportive guide, and it’s an honour to have Lisa share extra of her experiences on my weblog in her visitor put up beneath. Over to Lisa!

For individuals who don’t know me, I’m Lisa, referred to as ASD with a G and T on social media and the creator of Elevating the SEN-Betweeners. I’ve two autistic kids and have not too long ago been identified with autism myself.

Elevating my kids has proven me what a battle it’s to get any help when you will have a baby with further wants. It will probably typically really feel like us mother and father are being ignored and just like the world is towards us, which is without doubt one of the causes I created my pages online- I needed a secure house for folks to return with out feeling judged. 

After my son’s analysis, I assumed we might get a lot of help however, sadly, I used to be improper. We had one other battle on our fingers: to show that he wanted extra help at college. 

Many people SEN mother and father are already working on no sleep, following strict routine schedules and battling to maintain our children’ garments on. Once I let you know we have now little or no time left to – basically -train ourselves as attorneys and battle the system for help, I imply it. 

The issue is that your little one normally has to fail in an effort to get the correct help. We would have liked an EHCP (Schooling Well being Care Plan), however we had been refused the primary time because the native authority wouldn’t even come out to evaluate him. 

So, we needed to collect extra proof and present them that he wasn’t progressing with out the EHCP. Though he was verbal and had low care wants, he nonetheless was unable to handle in his mainstream college. The noise was an excessive amount of, and he wanted fixed motion breaks in addition to help with the work being set. 

However, too many occasions, the choice on whether or not to grant an EHCP or not comes right down to how the kid is performing academically. It not often issues in regards to the little one’s psychological well being and wellbeing, so long as they’re attaining of their work. 

The irritating factor is, our kids might presumably obtain a lot extra and accomplish that nicely academically, in the event that they got the proper help within the right atmosphere for them to study. Discovering the correct atmosphere for the SEN-Betweeners is extremely exhausting. 

I name them the SEN-Betweeners as a result of they’re those who wrestle to slot in wherever. They’ll’t deal with mainstream education however usually are not thought of extreme sufficient for a SEN college. These kids discover themselves left within the center someplace, normally caught in mainstream, however left within the corridors – excluded from class. 

Do I blame the lecturers for this? Completely not. I feel that almost all lecturers are simply as annoyed as us mother and father are and need that extra might be completed for our kids. However with so little funding, it’s not possible for colleges to satisfy the wants of all their particular person kids. 

So, what will be completed? Whereas ready for an EHCP to be determined, we have to be asking the colleges to make cheap changes. Cheap changes don’t price the varsity any cash and even the smallest of modifications may help our kids to handle higher. College uniform for instance, can create loads of upset for kids who’ve sensory points. Permitting kids to have a extra relaxed uniform – in an effort to make them extra comfy – will imply that the kid just isn’t so distracted by their discomfort all day and is ready to study higher. 

The federal government have not too long ago been speaking about how necessary college attendance is, and college avoidance could be very excessive with SEN pupils. We have to begin making college a extra neurodivergent-friendly setting for our kids and these cheap changes are one of many first steps in making this occur. 

I additionally consider each mainstream college ought to have a SEN provision inside it- a spot the place the kid can go to take a while away from the mainstream atmosphere. A spot the place they’ll be happy to stim (arm, hand flapping and so on.) and transfer. A spot that’s outfitted with sensory tools to assist them regulate once more. How do I do know that these provisions assist? As a result of I’ve seen this with my very own little one, Finley. Earlier than he was allowed to attend this SEN provision at his college, he was having meltdowns on daily basis and was more and more falling behind together with his schoolwork. As soon as he was in a position to attend the specialist provision, he was a lot happier and commenced progressing once more. 

So, my message to any mother and father on the market who could be studying this, is please maintain preventing. I do know it’s exhausting, however our kids need to have an schooling appropriate to their wants and so they actually need to be blissful. There have been many occasions that I felt like giving up and felt utterly remoted on this journey, however I promise you, you’re not alone. There are some mother and father simply originally of their journey, parenting neurodivergent kids, some on the finish and many people proper within the thick of it… And I’m a type of within the center heading face first into the ‘horrible teenage years’. Please ship assist! 

Keep sturdy guys and maintain preventing.

You should purchase Lisa’s guide here.

Images credit score: Andrew Hayes-Watkins.