Kinton: Getting the Right Care at the Right Time
Kinton is lively, bubbly, and affectionate. He loves swimming and eating chicken. He now has a diagnosis of ADHD, Autism, Epilepsy and Severe Learning Difficulties. He uses some verbal communication, particularly for the things he loves. For example, he can say ‘chicken’ more clearly than other words. His behaviour can sometimes challenge
In the early days he would kick, hit and throw things. We received very little support, despite going back and forth to our clinicians and Social Services. Kinton was eventually assessed by an Educational Psychologist. From the age of 6 years old he attended a local SEND school. Although this school specialised in Learning Disabilities and Autism, it was not equipped to manage Kinton’s behaviour. This resulted in the school excluding him from going swimming as they could not manage his behaviour at the end of the session when he would refuse to get out of the pool. There were occasions when he would be allowed to go out on trips without his coat in very cold winter because he refused to wear his coat. He was excluded from various local play centres because of his behaviour.
We reported all these difficulties that Kinton was facing in school as a result of his behaviour and requested that he be moved to a school that has a better understanding of behaviour that challenges.
We had to work very hard over about 18 months to get Kinton moved to a more appropriate school, through documenting evidence and an independent Education Psychology assessment, and immeasurable support from charities.
Since Kinton started at his new residential school, about 30 minutes away from home, he is a lot calmer and he comes home on most weekends. His behaviour has improved and he is a pleasure to be with. His relationship with his sister is better, they now play together nicely and his sister looks forward to him coming home. She is now able to invite her friends to our home and she is a happier girl. We have been on two foreign holidays since he started the new school last year, these holidays were the best ones ever. We were able to do more fun things together as a family.
We feel that we are lucky to be in a position to understand the system and we believe that some of the following could have made our journey so far easier and might also help other families on similar journeys:
- Early Diagnosis
- Information about Behaviour
- Multidisciplinary Input and Joined-up Services
- Reducing Barriers for families
- Better Informed Professionals