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Me & my boys circa 2003

My name is Tania Tirraoro. I am an author and former television journalist. I also work as a PR consultant for three heart rhythm charities.

I have two sons who, a few years after this photo was taken, were both diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. I started this blog to help other parents, like us, who are entering the jungle of special needs education. It’s a scary, stressful place. I’m not a lawyer or an education specialist and can’t give legal advice, but you will find on this site links to places where you can get it. If you are such a person and would like your link added, please get in touch.

We have been through the process and come out the other side with a statement of SEN for our ASD son and funding for him to attend an independent special school. It wasn’t easy, it took a lot of research, time and hard work. We didn’t use a lawyer but did have support from the National Autistic Society’s Advocacy Service, which is an excellent port of call.

We were initially told our son wouldn’t get a statement because his needs weren’t severe enough so it wasn’t worth trying. However by the time he was in junior school his progress had stalled and because his learning style was so different to most children it became apparent that he could not be adequately supported in mainstream.

We applied for a Statutory Assessment but were turned down. We appealed to SENDIST and the LEA backed down before the hearing, agreeing to assess our son.

I realised if I wanted my son to get what he needed I had to put in the work myself. For many long hours, I researched all the policies and information available from the LEA on the internet, analysed all my son’s reports, and wrote an extremely long document complete with many appendices about why my son should have a statement. I included Ed Psych reports, Paediatricians reports, OT reports, examples of his work, lists of strategies tried and IEPs generated and quoted any relevant information I could.

I also built up a good relationship with our SENCo who provided me with as much information as I needed, without overstepping the boundaries of what she was “permitted” to do by the LEA.

My son was given a statement without further argument but the Draft Statement said the LEA thought he could be supported in mainstream. I wrote another long document, using the reports in his Draft Statement that I had not previously seen and went through the statement’s recommendations line by line finding it was full of holes. I sent my new document back to the LEA, including a basic cost analysis for the support it said he needed compared with the fees at the independent special school we had found that could meet his needs. I pointed out that having put this much effort in I would be fully prepared to go back to Tribunal if necessary.

Within a week, they had agreed to pay my son’s fees at his new school, much to our relief and that of our bank manager. Having learned so much during the process, I wanted to use the information I had gathered to help others in our situation. The moral of my story is, I believe, never give up on what you believe in, ask for help if you need it and be prepared to put the work in because no one else will.

A year later, we walked the same road getting a statement for our older son. I found the resources on this site useful for myself to refresh my memory! Again we were initially turned down butminds were changed and now he too is funded at the same school. I didn’t have to go to Tribunal myself, largely, I believe because of the case I put together, but I know many who have.

It shouldn’t be like this. I personally do not believe LEAs should be both the decision makers and the holders of the purse-strings. This pulls their staff in two directions and as their jobs depend on budgets, guess which way they are forced? My case officer was very nice and did her best for us but I wouldn’t want her job and if I had it, would probably get fired for being too much on the parents’ side.

I don’t imagine it’s easy for a Special Needs Panel to decide who should have a statement and who could adequately be helped at School Action Plus and it is true that LEAs are actively reducing the numbers of statements issued and increasing the SA+ funding instead. Because it is so stressful I would recommend that you be sure of your case and your facts before you set yourself up for a potentially expensive and fruitless battle. You should be convinced that your child has little chance of success at school without the extra help a statement attracts. Good preparation is the key to a successful application or appeal and there is no doubt that this takes time and energy. Whenever it got too much, I reminded myself that I wasn’t doing it for me, but for my son and his future.

The system shouldn’t be adversarial but when the LEA has both caps to wear, it can scarcely be anything but. I hope parents can use this blog to find useful information and resources and that you will feel able to share your own experiences and resources with you. I now have a book out that expands greatly on this site and includes excerpts from real cases. It’s available on Amazon.co.uk, priced just £6.99.  Good luck and thank you for reading.

Tania