\n<\/p>\n
Sarah Kilgariff, who lives near Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, applied for an EHCP for her son Freddie last July, after the five-year-old suffered a stroke because of a complication from chickenpox. <\/p>\n
Ms Kilgariff says Freddie now suffers from fatigue, struggles to regulate his emotions, and is back to wearing nappies.<\/p>\n
She says because of his needs, her son cannot attend school full-time. The family are still waiting for their EHCP – more than five months after the 20-week deadline. <\/p>\n
“It’s horrific because I can’t do anything because it’s out of my control, and that’s really frustrating,” she says. “He’s been neglected for a year. He’s been completely forgotten about by the system.”<\/p>\n
Staffordshire County Council apologised to the family for the delays. It said Freddie was assessed for a second time in April, after the first test in February failed to meet quality standards. It said a significant increase in requests for EHCP assessments had been made worse by a shortage of educational psychologists, and it had now recruited more. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n