Dear Santa,
I hope you, Mrs. Claus, and the elves are jingling all the way into the festive season.
I know the old tune says “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth,” but I am quite OK on that front. What I’m really hoping for this year is something a bit more
more official, more life-changing, and honestly, way more boring to unwrap: an EHCP. Don’t worry, it’ll fit nicely down the chimney – just fold it a few times and watch out for the soot.
You see, I’ve been a very good girl. OK, there may be moments when my patience wore a little thin but I did try my best to manage that with stress-induced chocolate binges instead of losing my cool at those around me. You see, I’ve supported my son
through his toughest times – moments that felt like untangling a string of mile-long fairy lights when it’s time to put up the tree. I’ve negotiated the war zone between father and son, soothed tensions, delivered endless cups of tea, and paid out of pocket for a SALT report that’s not the seasoning kind. I’ve faced our Local Authority, who have been reminiscent of Scrooge, and all I want as a reward for trudging through these bureaucratic blizzards is one not-so-simple document: a solid EHCP.
Seriously, Santa, I’ve been fighting to meet my son’s needs for months. It’s felt like trying to build a tower out of Christmas baubles – each time I thought I had a solid
base, they would wobble and topple and I would start again. School placements, medical considerations, constant demands (and I do mean constant!) from my boy – I’ve handled it all. A medical needs school became my battleground victory. I’ve done everything short of donning a red suit and hijacking your sleigh to make my kid’s world a better place.
If it wouldn’t be too much bother, Santa, while you’re making your rounds, could you also help out a few thousand other families who are in the same sleigh-ride through red tape? Maybe drop a handful of EHCPs down their chimneys, too? Throw in some reasonable adjustments, a scoop of speech and language therapy appointments, a dash of occupational therapy sessions, and maybe top it all off with a generous sprinkling of CAMHS appointments. Trust me, Santa, these requests aren’t as flashy as Playstations and train sets, but they make a world of difference (but the kids will still want the Playstations and train sets so drop those off too).
So please, Santa, show those Scrooge-like LAs that the spirit of Christmas is all about giving—especially to those who’ve earned their place on the ‘Nice, Desperately Overstretched, and Seriously Sleep-Deprived’ list.
All I want for Christmas isn’t my two front teeth; I’m fine in the dental department. All I want is an EHCP. And maybe one or two (thousand) more for everyone else who’s fighting the same uphill battle.
Yours hopefully,
A Very Good (and Slightly Exhausted) Girl This Year
