Delayed Mental Health Diagnosis Hampers Education of Boy Who Cannot Read and Write

A seven-year-old boy who has never spent a full day in school cannot read and write and can only count up to 20. Louie Lee requires a diagnosis for his special education needs and behavioral issues. The years of waiting left his mum in desperate need of help.

Michelle Casemis, a single mom of three kids, claims she has desperately been trying to get help since Lee started nursery, but her son has been "let down by the system," as per Mirror.

Long-awaited diagnosis

When her son was six years old, he got a statement of special educational needs, years after it was apparent to his teachers and his mother that something was amiss.

Louie's former school, St. John Lloyd Primary, could not cope with him, prompting Casemis to remove him from mainstream education in July 2021. The seven-year-old has stayed home. Hence, the mom cannot return to her day job as a hairdresser.

Casemis said with no diagnosis, she cannot find a suitable school for her son. She added that she could not bear that her youngest child has no school friends and has been "denied the help he needs."

Her other children, Micheal, 19, and Hollie, 17, attended the same school.

The mother complained about the long delays in helping children like Louie, who could not remain in school for a day for several behavioral and anxiety problems.

She said that she stayed in the school for 90 minutes a day when Louie started in reception. It went down to 60 and then 30.

The boy did not get a statement of his special needs until he was sick. They are still waiting for his check-up for diagnosis to see what is wrong, as per plainsmenpost.

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No special education support

The school sent a private tutor to their home, but the set-up also did not work. The mom has been told many things he might have, but there is no diagnosis yet. The school told her that Louie seems to have autism or ADHD. They have been looking for doctors for three years.

She could not say a bad word about the tutor, but she was in a position where it was possible to keep Louie in school. But, Louie also did not want to leave the house and had attachment issues.

They were struggling to get him into school. He was only staying for half an hour, and it was not worth the chaos and battle.

The school got Louie a one-to-one help, but he could not build a relationship; thus, that also failed. She said that Louie had lost so much. He could not read and write and had never had any school life. He has not played in the schoolyard or joined in with PE.

 Cardiff and Vale University Health Board seeks apologies

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board apologized to Louie and his family for the delays experienced in exploring a diagnosis. They added that the diagnostic process for neurodevelopment is complex and waiting times for access to services are not where they would wish they would be, she said.

The Sun reported that the Health Board assured the family that they are working hard to improve this. They added that they are working closely with parents and colleagues in the education sector to support the referral process and data collection by professionals for a diagnosis.

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