Autism or PTSD

[Chargertest]

Hi
I wondered if anyone could shed any light on this. My child is starting the investigation into whether he has autism but he had a fractured start to life. I won't go into detail but I had PND then a breakdown and PTSD. He isn't a clear cut case of autism by any means and I'm concerned that the examination will pick up on the autistic traits as opposed to taking into account the other things and therefore he might not get the proper help he needs. Has anyone been in a similar situation or have any advice? The whole thing is really concerning me and I have incredible guilt on top of huge concern for my son X

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

I do sorry Charger, I don't have any experience but hopefully this will bump for you

[Goldmandra]

It's widely recognised that there are crossovers in the presentation of ASD, attachment disorders and trauma. A skilled and qualified team will take your son's full developmental history into account when making diagnostic decisions and recommendations.

If it helps, each child's needs are always different from the next anyway so they will make recommendations based on what would work for him personally. That will be based on their observations of him and information they have gathered about him so should meet his needs whatever the diagnosis he gets.

Try not to blame yourself. If you're heading into a world of having to fight for your child's needs to be met, you'll come across plenty of professionals who are keen to save budgets by blaming you for his difficulties. Please don't give them a head-start by agreeing with them.

[Chargertest]

Thanks for your reply. I'm glad it's widely recognised. It's just up to this point, no one has addressed that period of his life with me in any detail. One doctor just said oh so there were other people who helped to address his needs then ok so he wasn't neglected. It wasn't as straight forward as that. It just seems to be SALT who will be assessing him, we won't see a pyhsycologist until he gets his diagnosis which seems too late in the process.
I want him to live a happy life but I feel I've doomed him. I feel like I can't do anything to reserve the damage

[Goldmandra]

That doctor's comment is relevant if you have a concern about attachment disorder. Babies whose needs aren't met by anyone can develop this so the fact that your DS was being consistently nurtured will have protected him, even if it wasn't you who was doing it.

You should be asked to spend some time, typically two hours, with a professional (probably a psychologist) giving your DS's developmental history. They will take into account everything from conception onward so, hopefully, that will help you to feel more listened to.