Special needs help

[Sunyum1]

I have special guardianship of my grandson he has ADHD and ODD things can be very difficult, I have done the courses 1 was even 18 months long. But my problem is on account of his diagnoses I cannot get him into any after school groups. I work full time but I have come to realise that X Council would rather have the woman quit work and look after the child than find provision for him. We are on our 10th or 12th social worker and again she is looking. This new one has said apparently they found you things for him but you won't take them or won't get back to them. They are sorely mistaken if they think they have contacted me with solutions and I have ignored them. Truth is I have heard nothing. I am so grateful for my job being so accommodating otherwise I would be on income support living below the breadline. I have been to my local MP theybare slow and don't keep up. After school he is bored and I can't keep up with gis level of hyperactivity which then spills into aggression, he doesn't sleep, doesn't eat well. We have a psychiatrist who I have emailed twice with no answer. How can I make these people do something for him his mental health suffers when he gets like this because he knows what he's doing but can't stop himself he's only 8.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Sunyum1

Welcome to the parents’ discussion board. Thank you for your post. My name is Suzie. I am Family Rights Group’s online adviser. I will reply to you post here today. However, we have a dedicated Kinship Carers’ discussion board which would be more appropriate for you as you may be offered support and advice from other experienced kinship carers, as well as me. So if you have any follow up queries please post there. Thank you.

I am very sorry to hear of the difficulties that you and your grandson are experiencing. It sounds as if you are doing an amazing job caring for him under challenging circumstances and with limited support. And you are working full-time as well. You raise some interesting points about the dilemmas kinship carers face in relation to work . You may be interested in our Same Love Same Leave campaign.

You have described very clearly your grandson’s needs in relation to his disability. It is very difficult for you to access after-school support for him, which he would benefit from, due to his level of need. You have let all the professionals involved know about the identified support that you and your grandson need. You have also set out very clearly how lack of after-school support impacts on your grandsons’ behaviour and causes frustrations which you have to manage.

I am sorry that the different social workers have been unresponsive or suggested that you have been offered the help you need when you have not. As well as being a child living in kinship care, with a right to Special Guardianship support, your grandson is also a child in need with a disability.

You have already been in touch with your MP which I think is appropriate. MPs should be much more aware now of the needs of children living in kinship care and their carers. I hope they get in touch soon to follow up on your query.

There are a number of options you can consider:

1) Ask children’s services to complete a new child in need assessment to ensure there is an up to date ssessment of his needs and a child in need plan in place.

2) If this has already been done, you can consider making a formal complaint. Please see here for how to do this.

3) Write in to the Special Guardianship Support Team to formally ask for a review of your special guardianship support. We have a template letter (7 ) to assist you to do this which you can find here.

4) If your request for a review is refused or you are dissatisfied with the outcome your next step would be to make a complain (as above).

5) If you have exhausted children’s services’ complaints process you can then ask the Local Government Ombudsman to become involved. Please see how to do this here.

Do you know about the Adoption Support Fund (for Special Guardians) ? Please have a look at this information to consider if there is any therapeutic support that you may be eligible to apply for, for your grandson.

There may be a kinship carers’ support group that can offer you some emotional support. Please see here for local groups.

You may also find this information about children with disabilities and special educational needs helpful.

There are a number of charities who provide advice and support to families with disabled children here , including Contact. I would recommend that you have a look at their website and see if there is any help they can provide to you, too.

I hope this has helped.

I hope that you and your grandson are able to get the help and support you need.

If you would like any further advice please contact the advice service again. You can:

• Call our freephone helpline on 0808 8010366, Mon to Fri, 9.30 am to 3.00 pm (except bank holidays), to speak to an adviser.
• Send an advice enquiry.
• Post a query on our kinship carers’ forum.
• Use our webchat facility


Best wishes

Suzie