EHCP/SEN (UK)

[As sweet as-pie]

Hi all,
I'll try to keep this short!

Today was my first day of college. Well, it was supposed to be. I got there and had a meltdown and couldn't go in. I dropped out of year 11 due to anxiety, went back for my GCSE's and then attempted to go to college but couldn't face it.

I've been trying to go to college for the past 3 years, applying to apprenticeships as well, exploring basically every pathway I can find. Unfortunately, I can't see any way in which I can go into lesson. So far, the college have been really supportive but at the moment, they need to go and talk and then get back to me in regards to whether they're actually allowed to offer me any support. (phased entry and such, other than the basic meeting me and taking me into lesson).

Since I have hit a roadblock with every single educational placement I've tried to go for in the past 3 years, I think that it would be prudent to apply for an EHCP. The college say if I had one, they could offer me any adjustments I needed, but unfortunately a diagnosis is not enough. It's ironic as the last college I applied to said I needed just a diagnosis! (I didn't have one at the time). If I got one, I could go to sixth form any age up to 25 (although it'd be a bit awkward being surrounded by 16 year olds at that age...).

How do I go about getting one?
How long do they take?
Will I get rejected? (my old psychiatrist absolutely loved to make me out as higher functioning than I am on all my reports and said that if I was on meds, my issues would just go away.)

Unfortunately, I'm not anxious as such so treating anxiety won't fix it, it's just that I haven't socialised in so very long that I'm unable to interact with people at all and obviously that's a daily part of college. I'd like to go to a social group, I've been looking on meetup.com and there seems to be some interesting ones but I really don't think I could just turn up to something like that. I tried to go to an organisation run for young autistic people but when I told them I was struggling to go in, they said "well come back when you can"!

Before anyone suggests, yes I am on a waiting list for psychological therapy/support already.

Anyone got any tips?
Has anyone been in a similar situation to me?

Thanks for reading.

 

[Streetwise]

Hi all,
I'll try to keep this short!

Today was my first day of college. Well, it was supposed to be. I got there and had a meltdown and couldn't go in. I dropped out of year 11 due to anxiety, went back for my GCSE's and then attempted to go to college but couldn't face it.

I've been trying to go to college for the past 3 years, applying to apprenticeships as well, exploring basically every pathway I can find. Unfortunately, I can't see any way in which I can go into lesson. So far, the college have been really supportive but at the moment, they need to go and talk and then get back to me in regards to whether they're actually allowed to offer me any support. (phased entry and such, other than the basic meeting me and taking me into lesson).

Since I have hit a roadblock with every single educational placement I've tried to go for in the past 3 years, I think that it would be prudent to apply for an EHCP. The college say if I had one, they could offer me any adjustments I needed, but unfortunately a diagnosis is not enough. It's ironic as the last college I applied to said I needed just a diagnosis! (I didn't have one at the time). If I got one, I could go to sixth form any age up to 25 (although it'd be a bit awkward being surrounded by 16 year olds at that age...).

How do I go about getting one?
How long do they take?
Will I get rejected? (my old psychiatrist absolutely loved to make me out as higher functioning than I am on all my reports and said that if I was on meds, my issues would just go away.)

Unfortunately, I'm not anxious as such so treating anxiety won't fix it, it's just that I haven't socialised in so very long that I'm unable to interact with people at all and obviously that's a daily part of college. I'd like to go to a social group, I've been looking on meetup.com and there seems to be some interesting ones but I really don't think I could just turn up to something like that. I tried to go to an organisation run for young autistic people but when I told them I was struggling to go in, they said "well come back when you can"!

Before anyone suggests, yes I am on a waiting list for psychological therapy/support already.

Anyone got any tips?
Has anyone been in a similar situation to me?

Thanks for reading.

Could you self refer to a psychological well-being service ?the autism team in my area asked if they could help me but I don't know about the rest of the uk !

 

[As sweet as-pie]

Could you self refer to a psychological well-being service ?the autism team in my area asked if they could help me but I don't know about the rest of the uk !

Like I said I already have applied to a psychological therapy service thanks for the reply though

 

[xudo]

SEN is a what people call a 'statement' right? If so, my friend was statemented for severe dyslexia in high school. I would suggest finding an educational psychologist as that's who I had to see at uni to be diagnosed with dyslexia and as far as I know that's who my friend saw (at least to begin with) to get statemented.

 

[Keigan]

Could you become a teachers aide or intern to get familiar with the campus first?

 

[As sweet as-pie]

Could you become a teachers aide or intern to get familiar with the campus first?

I'm already familiar with the campus it's the social aspect of actually meeting students / being around them that's the issue. Thanks for replying.

 

[Suzanne]

I know this is way off the subject, but when you said: they wanted a formal diagnosis and now, that is not enough, just reminded me of the time, I went looking for work and was told that I needed qualifications and so, with a great deal of anguish and stress etc, I came away from college with that qualification and with a confidence stride in my steps, I applied for work and.... sorry, qualifactions is not enough, we require experience, which is plain stupid, because how can you gain experience, if one does not give you a chance?

Anyway, for me, on going to college, I worked very much on the "hope that things will be better". I always thought: I have to be able to make friends at some point in my life. I had no idea of aspergers when in my early 20's.

I just braced the noise of entering the hall way of the college and felt invisible anyway.

What I do realise is that when I have no choice but do things on my own, I do somehow get through it all. I actually fall to pieces when I do not have to be on my own, which is really weird, because I cannot go around on my own ( well where I live now, in France).