Dear Mr Lamb

This is to confirm receipt of your email and letter. We will be in touch with you again shortly regarding your CPD and in the meantime will post a certificate to you for the 2016 registration year.

Regards

Jamie

Jamie Button

Registrations Manager

General Chiropractic Council

Tel: +(0)20 7713 5155 x5501

http://www.gcc-uk.org/

Lamb Chiropractic Clinic Ltd
Howard Lamb D.C.

The Surgery, 48 Marsh Road, Pinner, Middlesex, HA5 5NQ

020-8866-3230/020-8866-8018

_______________________________________________________________________

 22^nd January, 2016

Dear Tracey,

As a primary care practitioner of consultant status with over 20 years experience of treating autism, and involved with his case study for the Royal College of Chiropractors, I have the right to diagnose and refer.

Page 1 of the Code of Practice states that Chiropractic is “a health profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on the function of the nervous system.” Autism in Lewis’ case is due to brain stem dysfunction (nervous system) effected by cranial nerves and the atlas and axis where the brain stem protrudes through the foramen magnum (mechanical dysfunction of the musculoskeletal system with primary and secondary effects on the CNS and autonomic nervous systems).

My diagnosis was backed by a top educational psychologist, Arc, Lewis’ social worker and in recent times a clinical psychologist. (If his report hasn’t been doctored like the Social Services report at the tribunal).  It was accepted by the tribunal as seen by autism being added to his list of conditions by the judge, who not being a clinician could not do anything else. This at no time was contested by the Council.

Please read through the attachments which clearly show abuse of Lewis. This was firstly by a head-teacher, then at the next school when he returned to Hemel and he was put at risk by their not following on from the previous good practice in Northamptonshire. He was very badly bullied, and I believe that on one occasion he was kicked so hard it tore his scrotum. His MP Mike Penning was involved at that stage.

His next placement frequently restrained him which did him more psychological damage particularly as he had not recovered from his original post-traumatic stress from his head-teacher and the Hemel school where nothing was put in place for him. I believe that at age 5 he scored high on the autism scale when tested by his paediatrician, so even then there was good evidence of his autism, which was ignored by Herts County Council and its departments.

After his tribunal I had hoped to continue his treatment which had been very successful but was blocked by 3D and later by Battlefields as they followed Social Services brief that he that

he was a poorly-parented child and a naughty boy, not autistic with post-traumatic stress syndrome. This has had a huge impact on his life. Just copping out by saying that Lewis will not engage is not good enough as they have been working on the wrong diagnosis. I believe that this was a conscious decision to save money and reputation.

In the recommended action section of the Ombudsman’s report No. 58 – “consider if appropriate to put complaints through statutory complaints process.” I would add that the right authority should look into systematic child abuse over a 13 year period by Herts County Council and its departments, from his first diagnosis of autism until he was thrown out on the street.

Please share this letter and attachments with the Ombudsman.

Kind regards,

Howard Lamb
DC

 

Lamb Chiropractic Clinic Ltd

Howard Lamb D.C.

The Surgery, 48 Marsh Road, Pinner, Middlesex, HA5 5NQ

020-8866-3230/020-8866-8018

GCC 00024

_______________________________________________________________________

1^st May 2012

To David Howell, CB, OBE, MBE.

Dear Sir,

I have been running a research project and full case study for the past 20 months with one family, due to patient confidentiality, I am unable to offer names or documentation at this stage.  I have examined thousands of documents and talked to several experts in each aspect of this case and multiple agencies on behalf of my patient, as mentor and Doctor of Chiropractic and finally guardian.

I diagnosed this young man ten months before being able to have it confirmed by an independent specialist in September 2011.  He is now in safe hands and hopefully starting a long road to recovery.

Through this whole process I have not convinced one professional that a Chiropractor has the ability to diagnose.  Please read the documentation for his educational tribunal.

My clinic is funding his school whilst a corrupted system continues.  Once settled, I will be able to switch attention to the tribunal and subsequent litigations and compile, with a lot of help, my case study showing with good documentation, step-by-step, how the system failed due to wrong diagnosis.  My research has lead to the absolute conclusion, the earlier a diagnosis, the less stress to the Autistic child and therefore less complex side effects.

I, as a Chiropractor and hence my profession, have not been listened to by those professions outside who should have the best interests of the child at heart.  So we have no voice to speak up for our patient.  Our full potential has not been recognised by the government and its departments so we have no credibility and this is affecting our ability to help our patients.

What can the profession, particularly the GCC whose role is to protect patients, do to improve our credibility so we can make a difference?

“If you do the same thing in the same way, you will get the same results.”

Unless this system is changed many more children will be put at risk.  This family have been very traumatised and I expect that my patient’s confidentiality is not to be breached.

I have sent copies to my associations and College of Chiropractors and would appreciate your response for the record.

If you do not diagnose children they are invisible.

Should you require further information please do not hesitate to contact me via my research assistant, Jamie Devereux at our clinic.

Yours faithfully,

Howard Lamb

DC

Proud of our record of 1 million patient treatments, both animal and human, without insurance or professional claim since 1936 and 30 years as a training and research facility.

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Lamb Chiropractic Clinic Ltd

Howard Lamb D.C.

GCC 00024

The Surgery, 48 Marsh Road, Pinner, Middlesex, HA5 5NQ

020-8866-3230/020-8866-8018

_______________________________________________________________________

28^th March 2012

To whom it may concern.

My first involvement with the X family was in September 2010.  The mother (M) started a research trial at my clinic, as a wellness coach.  She worked originally with all 12 staff members.   My reception team lost nearly 6 stone between them in 3 months.  She changed their diets to better nutritional balance, advised on exercise and changed their mindset.  By October 2010, I started to introduce her to appropriate patients.

M at this time, even though on a part-time basis, with totally flexible hours with much of her work done at home on the phone, was unable to continue effectively due to home circumstances.

After several long conversations I had been told an unbelievable story.  I asked if she had any evidence to back up her statements and she produced several large boxes of well-organised notes.  In fact, she had kept virtually every document on the child (C) since he was born.

I had my first experiences with C and he was undoubtedly everything I had been told and had read about; obviously, a very traumatised and complex young man who was depressed, suicidal, isolated and spiralling out of control.  He had just left his 4^th Hemel school within a year of starting and in a more traumatised state.  Over the next period I realised that the whole family had been severely traumatised by the previous four years in Hemel.  I had already offered respite care on an occasional basis but as trust and a bond with C had been formed, I offered Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night and often all day Sunday, on a permanent basis.

Structure and routine in a controlled environment is vital to this type of Autistic child.  I had set ground rules and boundaries for C, at a level he understood, at my 3 bedroom cottage with a large garden, detached garage and other buildings in an isolated area of Sarratt.  Here I could offer him a calm and active environment which was stress-free and above all, safe.

My relationship with C is based on patient confidentiality and only on that basis he has opened up to me.  I am on Oath with him not to discuss him or any of our conversations without his permission and then not all the information, only that which had been agreed.

Around this time, M had a meeting at her home with A and B, a social services manager and C’s new social worker.  The meeting did not go well.  The social workers only seemed interested in M, closing the case on the grounds that M would not work with them.  I told them of an incident where C had not coped well with a social and emotional situation and had gone into a complete meltdown which culminated in him cycling head-on into traffic moving at 30mph to kill himself.  I was stunned when B suggested that M should just increase his medication.  I asked if she had a qualification which allowed her to increase his dosage and I asked about C’s diagnosis and she gave me no confidence that she knew much about his case.

By this stage, C had 7 different social workers.  Only one spent any time with him.  She wrote a report that went missing for 6 months and then was not acted on.  Three social workers never actually got around to meeting him or the family.  B seemed to feel that the Social Services had no responsibility for respite care or any other form of help as it was Educational and Dr W’s problem.  I had explained to them that C was destructive in the home, self harming, out of emotional control with suicidal tendencies and was at risk.  I also explained I had 20 years experience in working with other children like C and he was clearly far more extreme than his diagnosis and that he was clearly on the spectrum and over medicated.

At the end of the meeting, it was very clear that C’s case is a 1^st page syndrome, i.e., due to the vast amount of paperwork involved, you have to rely on other people’s synopsis.  Often if this is wrong, nothing will ever change because nobody has the time or the authority to change it.  It was clear from the meeting’s minutes which M contested for lack of text and accuracy and most certainly did not portray the meeting that I attended.  Social Services had no help for C and offered Arc.  We explained that Arc was far too little, far too late and that C needed to go away to a specialised school in Autism that could look after him 24/7 and 365 days of the year and that Arc would not have the expertise to deal with C but to no avail.

I have had a busy few months from September 2010 to January 2011.  Much progress had been made.  I had mentored for C with solicitors, the Police, Council officials and Social Services.  I was in daily and often lengthy contact by phone or in person with M and C.

M and I slowly put a structure in place which worked so well previously when she had left Hemel and gone to Kettering.  I had gradually scanned through thousands of pages and with M’s help, started to put a case history together.  C, up until he went to Rossgate, could not speak, was not potty-trained, was over active and could not join in at play group.  Physically and verbally dyspraxic, he needed one-on-one which could not be given.  Often frustrated because he could not communicate, did not know cause and consequence and had no fear.  He was a danger to himself and others.  At Rossgate, he would not sit with other children, he would strip to go to the toilet and he would lose his pants and socks (he didn’t like the feel of the clothes texture on his skin).  He did not take part in any of the normal school structure, taunted as ‘Loopy C’, he spent much time alone or one-on-one when the teachers could or at times with the dinner ladies. He wore a coat with a hood and would zip it up to his face and would not take it off and carried a hand sized bean bag toy which he squeezed constantly to give him something to do. After his experience with this school, he was a complex Autistic child in traumatic shock.

Mr Finch and his team did a magnificent job, the main weight of dealing with C fell on M’s shoulders and over a long four years, she made large strides in stabilising C, improving his confidence and emotional control, speaking and starting to put sentences together and safe interaction with other children.  Medication needed constant revision, as he grew his body chemistry seemed to change and the medication would have to be adapted.  C understood this well as he has had paranoia, depression and self harming as side effects.  He’d also been so over medicated that he constantly fell asleep in and outside the classroom.

When C came back to Hemel, his medication was changed, he was put into normal school and he ended up having a nervous breakdown.

At Pixie’s Hill School, he was left in a corner of the library because he could not interact with other children or work in the classroom.  Not statemented, so no funding again.  Please refer to my letter to C’s MP regarding C’s Autism and his problems at Rossgate School (Appendix 1).  The head teachers at both schools were very supportive but were not listened to, so no extra funding was made available.  Police were involved at Pixie’s because C was bullied again and the MP was involved in getting C to an EBD school.

Unfortunately they used restraining techniques which most certainly aggravated C much further, to the point where C constantly did not want to go to school and when he was at school, he was looking for every chance to run away.  He would come home from school very unsettled and have to bash and break things to get it out of his system.  By May he was left blocked in M’s hands, hugely traumatised once again.

During this process a pattern could be seen.  If he had a good day and no frustration there were no problems at home except for the 24/7 trying to keep up with and contain him.  On a bad day just getting him to take his medication, go to school and trying to keep him there caused real stress.  Then when home he would smash up the house, fallout with friends and behave badly.

I had fire doors and locks put throughout the X’s house to protect the other family members and limit C’s area of destruction.  This often happened after a bad day at school or in the world at large.

C was not interacting well in the community, mainly ducking and diving as someone always had an issue with him.  I have talked C through, and so has his mother, virtually all of these daily and sometimes multiple daily events, which leave C confused, frustrated and angry.  From previous experience we know that since his breakdown at Pixie’s too much of the wrong sort of pressure will cause C to crash into depression and possible suicidal tendencies(post traumatic stress).  So diffusing and communicating all day with C and trying to stop problems for him before they start and solve them when they happen is the daily routine.

Over the next few months M applied for notes from all the relevant parties to understand what and how this case could have gone so wrong.  As more and more paperwork turned up, this pattern continued throughout his short career at Haley Hall and Falconers.  He started in January, out of school by May and October respectively, and again M was left with full 24/7 control of a child who had crashed again for the 4^th time. M had been fined for poor attendance whilst C was at Falconers but it was only down to her dedication to keep C in some form of structure that she managed to get him there at all after April 2010.

During the first four months of 2011 C settled into a good routine at my cottage and we did several projects where C built Moto bikes and much else.  He slept well and unwound even after traumatic incidents.  He has never damaged or broken any part of my home.

Steady progress was made.  I had a good understanding of what I was dealing with.  I mentored for C with Dr W who was happy with his diagnosis and felt a 2^nd opinion was not necessary.  I had exhausted all avenues to have C’s diagnosis upgraded to ADHD and Autistic spectrum with secondary social and emotional problems due to post traumatic stress syndrome.

The first Arc worker, Arc1, had not been a success.  More and more case notes turned up and it became clear that a totally wrong picture of C had been portrayed to them.  C had been accused by social services of being part of the gang of children who had been harassing elderly, disabled people in the street.  As usual he behaved poorly at a meeting with PCSO J and two ladies from the council who were investigating the incident.  A bit of “Round up all the usual suspects” I’m afraid.

I mentored for C at this meeting and had to remove C due to the no-nonsense type questioning that he received from the council official- obviously being stern to a naughty boy was going to get her answers.  C blocked, as Autistic children do, especially when it’s by an authority figure when put on the spot like that, C goes blank and will say or do anything just to get out of the room.  Hence his constant abuse of Dr W during our meeting with him where C called him a “Wanker” until he was asked to leave.  Being Autistic and having very limited vocabulary or good understanding of the structure of the English language, C felt he was being ignored and over-drugged and not listened to and that made Dr W a “Wanker”.  C is obviously a ‘heart-sink patient’.  These patients have got to you so much that your heart sinks when you see them and you do your job until you can refer them.  Unfortunately the buck stopped with Dr W.

Once C and I rejoined the meeting with the council officials after about ten minutes of coaching, it was decided that C had not been involved, he had either been with myself or his mother for most of the incidents.  We explained how the same children and others had made C’s life miserable and that he too was at risk in the community.  The children responsible were caught and dealt with via ASBOS and banning orders.  Social Services also felt that he had been originally traumatised at home and that M was not a good parent.   At the end of Arc1’s tenure social services were claiming that C was downloading child porn (unsubstantiated).  The Police reviewed and searched for any such evidence and none was found.

Yet the sad truth was that C had been let down by yet more professionals who received him in a stable condition and left him with at least two obsessive projects that we could have done without, over model cars and fishing.  When you promise C something he will expect you to do what you say.  If you don’t he can’t wait so he will try to do it himself which then leads into another destructive obsessive cycle.  I had a long talk with Steve Gentry and I believe that M talked to him and subsequently others from Arc as well as Arc2.

From May until August we did a lot of work with C so we could alter his medication and during August Bank Holiday we helped C detoxify and cope with withdrawal symptoms from removing the majority of his medication.

Arc2 from Arc took a long time to bond with C.  As a result of C being so upset at Arc1, and Social Services, he hated anything to do with Arc.  It took more time to get him to see Steve than the time he was actually with him.  By September much of the hard work to settle C at Roman Fields had been ruined by C not being able to go to the 4am project.  I believe C was the victim of internal politics.  C doesn’t bond easily however Trevor from 4am and C were fishing buddies and his loss unsettled C.  His workshop had been partially removed from him and he really did feel unloved.

Hence, the school show a 91% attendance yet C’s full day attendance was less than 40% and dropping.  This has also coincided with persistent verbal abuse and harassment from specific neighbours which had been escalating over a period of time since C was called into the council for a meeting I mentored at.  As his name was not cleared, these neighbours obviously felt they had the right to pay C back as he had got away with another offence.

I have worked with and counselled C on many occasions.  One particularly comes to mind which occurred recently.  C had just been assaulted by a 17 year old youth.  His mother had gone to the station to pick up his sister.  C could not access the house.  He went to a good neighbour, still in tears and shock, to get the spare key but she was not at home either.  His anger, frustration and pain got the better of him and he started to meltdown.  He managed to get into his garden and then vented his rage as he had been taught.  He was hitting the garden table with an old handle bar, sobbing and yelling, when a young man in his 20’s peered over the fence and started laughing at C and yelling “He’s psycho, look at this mental little fucker”.  With taunts and laughter in his ears he ran off down the road with the handlebar still in his hands.

M and his sister arrived home to witness C in a highly emotional state rushing up the road.  The neighbours and their friends by this time were peering out of their front windows.  M tracked C down and found out what had happened.  I was phoned soon after and talked to both of them.  Later I went to their house and got to the bottom of why C was punched and sorted out that situation.  C has been hit very hard by older youths on several occasions whilst I have been involved.  He is not safe in the outside world and he does not feel safe in his home anymore.  Since he was restrained at school, then excluded and other factors mentioned, C has no interest in Roman Fields, same pattern, school number 5.  The only place C has been safe is Sarratt.

M has found a school who will be able to replicate the work that we have structured for C and hope we can integrate him into it.  C has been to a few schools and has decided it’s the one he wants to go to.

I have mentioned C’s tendencies in the past when he melts down to have the odd suicidal moment.  M had C back at home within 15 minutes of the incident and was debriefing him when the Police turned up looking for an unidentified 15 year old boy who had been seen causing damage with a crow bar.  M explained to the officers that C had mental health issues (Autism) and complained once again about the neighbours.  C now had the police in his house who he usually tries to hide from.  He is always being stopped.

His diagnosis in September even though Education, Social Services, Dr W, Police and through M’s lawyers, Council and the MP have been informed of C’s diagnosis yet not updated the information which leaves C open to harassment and in some cases a stern lecture about him being a naughty boy.  This was the last humiliation for C, he had just been assaulted, verbally abused and humiliated in public and then his inner space invaded by the Police, when all he wanted was to be safe whilst out in the fields at the back of his house playing.

During the past year these incidents have been common place, intimidation, harassment, false accusation and allegations and now a threat to their home.  This comes in the guise of the Council on information received have decided to charge M I believe over £4,000 on earnings that are accepted as Normal Business Costs by the Inland Revenue and not the council.  This, if she loses, means prosecution for Benefit Fraud and probable eviction.

I had long discussions with both M about her predicament and coached and counselled C after he was I believe inappropriately talked to by a Police officer who had not received the update on C’s diagnosis.  Both the Council’s notice of tribunal and C’s incident happened on Christmas Eve which ruined Christmas for C and made him start back at school with an attitude.

I refer you to my update to the MP on 23-12-2011 (Appendix 1) where I asked for his help in getting C into the right environment.

January 2010 until now:

C has lost Arc. Steve had become an important part of family life.  Letting M download to someone who was, at last, not there to judge.  Even C learnt to respect Steve and he was a sad loss.  It had taken Steve a year to start to get close to C, now C has to start again.  More loss of structure, Steve has gone, not loved at school, constant harassment of one form or another in the outside world.

I have tried to keep this statement brief.  However, I am putting together a full case study to be published through the College of Chiropractors which will be full and in-depth.

Opinion- from the case notes and over 1,500 hours of professional time.  In this case I believe that the Council’s policy of non-diagnosis of mental health issues in children under 7 means they have no children with these issues so there is no budget for them, so when a child does have these issues, as there is no diagnosis, they can’t exist.

Education have not kept C safe or educated him (he still has a reading and maths age of a 6 year old) and have not learnt from their mistakes.

Social Services have carried out what can only be described as a vendetta against the family (well documented and contested).

Medicine-No proper medical facilities and expertise and back up staff with appropriate training to deal appropriately with these children because they are not diagnosed.

Diagnosis- ADHD and Autistic spectrum with secondary social and emotional problems due to post traumatic stress syndrome.

Prognosis- I believe that with the right help and support C could do well, having seen the changes in him in the past 18 months.  It will be hard work but C has the capability.

I will be able to answer any further questions regarding C or related issues at the tribunal.

Howard Lamb, DC

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Lamb Chiropractic Clinic Ltd

Howard Lamb D.C.

The Surgery, 48 Marsh Road, Pinner, Middlesex, HA5 5NQ

020-8866-3230/020-8866-8018

_______________________________________________________________________

21st December, 2011

Letter to MP Mike Penning

Dear Sir,

Re: Our patient C, Hemel Hempstead

 I thought it time to update you on C as much has changed since our last meeting.  C has been diagnosed.  This has taken over 9 months partially due to C being non-compliant but due also to Dr W’s constant refusal for a second opinion.

Mrs X’s legal team commissioned Mr John Hall whose CV and diagnosis are attached.  This diagnosis has him high on the Autistic Spectrum.  On a scale of 1-30 with 10 being the early spectrum disorders I believe that C was 24.  He is a very complex child who has had his life hugely complicated by inappropriately trained professionals with no idea how to deal with complex autistic children.

I have listened to harrowing stories of how C had been treated in school, particularly Rossgate Primary and Hailey Hall, and out and about at the world at large.  A classic example of this was at Rossgate Primary School when C was 5 going on 6.  The school had just failed its Ofstead and a new temporary head was put in place.  C at this age had well-documented sensory problems.  He was unable to speak to any degree of reasonable comprehension or understand basic and simple commands.  He was totally mentally and emotionally isolated and needed specialised 1-1 care.  The previous head has understood this and tried to help where he could.  C was refused statementing because he did not fulfil Hertfordshire County Council’s criteria.  This was perhaps because M had been labelled a bad mother and C a poorly parented child.

C did not interact well or communicate with the other children, and he stood out from them.  He was verbally abused and bullied in the playground, and I understand that his nickname was ‘Loopy C’.  He could not engage in class due to his dyslexia   and verbal dyspraxia.  I am still waiting for Janet Hislop’s notes some 10 months after applying for them.  Hopefully when they finally arrive they may shed more light on   C at this age.  However there is enough documentary evidence to show that C was a child at risk with very complex needs.

C was already on a slippery slope.  He was angry and frustrated because he could not communicate and was very isolated within the school as a whole.  He tended to stay with the dinner ladies where he was safe and where he got 1-1 communication.  The school had done the best it could but had no funding.  The new head was there to sort out the school and clashed with C virtually immediately.  A naughty child who would not comply, but in C’s defence he literally did not understand what she was saying to him.

Over the next 4-6 weeks there were many more clashes.  C would often hide in cupboards; he would not come down from the top of the monkey bars; or he would try and hide under desks and chairs.  On one instance he was dragged the full length of a corridor whilst being severely verbally bullied and abused.  He was made to sit on his own in the Head Teacher’s office, scared to move.  The list of incidents is long, and over time I am still getting more out of C.  His sister S is 2 years older than him and being at the same school she recollects other incidents.  M was informed by concerned staff as to what was happening, and this explained why C had been crashing so often.  C has never really recovered.

Soon after this they moved to Kettering and over a 4-year period with lots of positive help, through a good system that was put in place, C improved.  He felt more secure, and with medication C started to speak and good progress was made.  By the time he returned to Hemel he was starting to read and write, and was verbally active.  He had good school attendance and was beginning to come back on track.  This was only done by a huge amount of work and co-ordination by Mrs X, again well-documented.  Within 6 months of his return he was in a worse state than when he had gone to Kettering.  The chemical balance of his medication was changed and this helped destabilise him.  Again he was put into a mainstream school, and so C, because of the trauma of Rossgate School, crashed.  He was at Pixies until May 2008, and again left in the hands of Mrs X until January 2009, when he went to school at Hailey Hall.

During that period between May 2008 and January 2009 Mrs X was virtually single-handedly bringing up a complex autistic child who had crashed again due to the system, and she literally had to be on top of him 24 hours every day.  She could not work as she was trying to repair the damage done but without a support team this time.  I believe that your involvement started at Hailey Hall and that you are pretty up to date with much that has happened since.

Because of his wrong diagnosis I believe that C was over-medicated.  Since we have removed 60mg daily of serious chemicals out of his diet he has improved in leaps and bounds.  That was over the August Bank Holiday this year with the help and support of C’s GP.  Dr W felt that the medication was suitable and so refused to help.

C has come a long way since I met him in September 2010.  He was depressed, suicidal, totally non-compliant in all areas of life, and spiralling out of control.  However we still have a long way to go.  John Hall estimates C as having the reading, writing and numeracy skills of a 5-6 year old.  Since the change in medication he has emotionally grown from an 8-year old to that of a 10-11 year old.  Due to the damage that has been done he needs to go to a very specialised school in Devon

I believe that Adrian Phillips, part of M’s legal team, has already contacted the Council regarding Education and Social Services complaints.  You are already aware of the involvement of Withers on C’ behalf regarding Human Rights/Abuse which has been on a pro-bono basis but hopefully we have backers to push this process forward in the New Year.

I have not gone down the medical negligence route yet as I am still preparing a full case study which I will publish through the College of Chiropractors.  I have received over 3000 pages of notes on C but much of the meat unfortunately had already been taken off the bones, so to speak.  However there is enough to show breaches in Codes of Practice to breaches in Law, and that Education and Social services just lie.

The whole situation is an absolute mess.  I believe Social Services went to foster C and keep him at Roman Fields.  Please see a copy of a letter to Adrian from myself on the subject.  C has been deeply scarred by the system that should have protected him, and being autistic it could take the rest of his life to recover.

C is not the only child at risk.  In my time of involvement I have met at first-hand and talked to others who seem to have legitimate grievances.  I have taken on a graduate chiropractor who will start on a batch of the 72 other cases that have been brought to my attention.  I believe that some of these have also been in contact with you.  I will keep you updated on these as we slowly work through them.

C needs to be in a specialist ASU school as soon as possible.  Any help that you can give in terms of putting his case to Hertfordshire County Council would be gratefully appreciated.

Yours Sincerely,

Howard Lamb

DC

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Lamb Chiropractic Clinic Ltd

Howard Lamb D.C.

The Surgery, 48 Marsh Road, Pinner, Middlesex, HA5 5NQ

020-8866-3230/020-8866-8018

15th March 2016

Dear Howard,

I thought you might find this case interesting and relevant. 

Regards

Paul Gardener
Solicitor-Advocate*
J. Garrard & Allen
Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (47796)
*(Higher Rights – Civil)

DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION & CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: AN INTERESTING CASE

In a recent First Tier Tribunal case a child was successful in a claim for disability discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 where that child had assaulted a teacher in a BESD (Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties) School even though normally a tendency to commit violence against another invalidates such a claim.

Here the young person was able to convince the First Tier Tribunal that the action of the teacher had caused the young person to react in this way and therefore the action was as a direct result of his disability.

The First Tier Tribunal held that the Responsible Body was unaware of, and had failed to understand, its obligations under the Equality Act 2010.

Additionally there had been a failure by the Responsible Body in relation to its own Behaviour Management Policy and also failure to provide reasonable adjustments in respect of the young person’s disability.

Here the young person had a diagnosis of Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) and this together with a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) meant that he was disabled within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010.

The school, as the Responsible Body, was aware of his disability before his placement with them and he was placed in the school as he was unable to access education in a standard educational placement due to his severe behavioural difficulties.

The First Tier Tribunal held that in spite of this information the Responsible Body did not have sufficient understanding of his particular needs prior to him being placed in the school.
The teacher asked the young person to remove his coat and to take his books from his bag and he refused and was asked to leave the room and again refused.
These refusals were consistent with a young person suffering from Pathological Demand Avoidance but in spite of this the teacher and teaching assistant persisted in making repeated requests.

Responding to this the pupil pulled his hood over his head and put his head on the table in front of him and the teacher and teaching assistant attempted to remove him forcibly from the classroom.

The pupil reacted by winding his legs around the legs of the table and he was physically manhandled to the extent that a leg of the table came away from the table and the pupil was carried out of the room and he was kicking and screaming and was then restrained for 20 minutes and all parties sustained injuries.

The First Tier Tribunal held that it was a “bad case of disability discrimination” and they would have awarded damages if they had the power to do so as the courts did.

The Responsible Body was ordered to make a full written apology to the young person expressing their regret and providing an explanation of the steps would now take to ensure that this type of discrimination never occurred again.

The First Tier Tribunal also ordered the Responsible Body to ensure that all Senior Managers, staff and Governors of the school underwent training in relation to the Equality Act’s implications for school management. They were also ordered to review the school’s policies to ensure that they were compatible with their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 and this review was to be conducted with external assistance from appropriate educational consultants.

The First Tier Tribunal ordered a copy of the decision to be sent to the Chief Officer for Children and Education in the County concerned as well as to the Equality and Human Rights Commission and OFSTED.

Comment

This is a decision of a First Instance Court and that means that it is not binding on other courts and nor on the First Tier Tribunal itself.

Nevertheless it is an important decision as it shows that a tendency to commit physical violence against another person does not act as a complete bar to bringing an Equality Act claim arising out of an incident where the person claiming has committed such physical violence.

Each case will depend upon its facts but the type of circumstances which occurred in this case are not that unusual.

It shows the importance of BESD schools being fully aware of the law and of their responsibilities as well as being fully aware of the young person’s particular needs.

Although this case involved a BESD school, exactly the same principles apply to a child with special education needs and thus applies to all Special Education Needs and Disabilities cases and indeed to any child or adult who is disabled within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010 where someone else knows or ought to know of the disability and the issues involved.

Thus it applies to all mainstream education as well, and potentially to service provision outside the educational field.

Original post:
https://kerryunderwood.wordpress.com/2016/03/15/disability-discrimination-children-with-special-needs-an-interesting-case/