16 – Child’s age: 11 years

2013/16 – Child’s age: 11 years

Diagnosis: Tourette’s, Asperger’s Syndrome and ADHD

Report of oral hearing: The appellant said that her daughter, [Q], has poor communication skills, and she finds it difficult to understand and follow instructions. She is in fifth class in her local national school, and has access to three resource teachers. The appellant advised that she had recently attended a case conference to discuss the possibility of [Q] going to a special needs school but that it had been decided to defer a decision on this for another few months.

The appellant said that [Q] is able feed herself but has to be supervised constantly. If left unsupervised, she will grab food from the table and run away from the kitchen to eat it. She then has to follow her and bring her back to the table. She also has to ensure that [Q] eats her meals as she has a poor appetite due to the side effects of her medication, which suppresses her appetite. The appellant has to check that she takes her medication, and to ensure that she takes it and does not hide it or spit it out. She said that she also has to supervise [Q] in the bathroom as she tends to mess with the taps and toilet bowl.

The appellant spoke about how she has to follow [Q] around the house in order to wash and dress her, as she will not stand still for any length of time. She said that she has to be continuously supervised during the day as she is has poor balance/co-ordination and is prone to falling. In addition, she is constantly trying to climb kitchen furniture, getting out through the windows or trying to scale the garden fence. The appellant recalled an incident where she climbed to the top of a kitchen press and started a fire in the house.

The appellant reported that [Q] is a very poor sleeper. She said that there have been occasions where she got out of the house at night and she gave examples of finding her in the family car on one occasion and in the dog’s kennel on another. She said that her daughter now sleeps in her bed so that she can keep an eye on her during the night.

In conclusion, the appellant spoke about the outbursts which her daughter has on a daily basis, consisting of screaming, throwing and breaking household items.

Comments/Conclusions: The Appeals Officer noted the range of problems that the appellant’s daughter experiences and her outline of the consequences of some of them, particularly the fact that the child appears to need very little sleep. He noted that the difficulties she is experiencing are constant, almost 24 hours per day. Coupled with this, he noted the evidence that [Q] has no concept of danger and has to be supervised closely at all times both indoors and out, leading him to conclude that the qualifying criteria for DCA were met.

Decision of the Appeals Officer: The appeal is allowed.