Query Aspergers? What next?

[smokinaces]

Posted this in behaviour and was signposted here, sorry for the cut and paste....

Hi,

DS1 has just finished reception. He completed all stages of the Foundation Stage Profile, apart from his emotional and social development which is way below. We've been heavily involved through the school year with social stories and other techniques, but the report now says there are real concerns about his social awareness and impact on others etc.

Its become more apparent with social situations that he really does struggle, and having done some courses on the school suggestion at the local Austism unit it does seem like its pointing to Aspergers.

I have a GP appointment in the morning, on their recommendation. What next? Do I ask for a Paed referral? Or does the GP go forward with this? The school will support us I should imagine, on the back of this report and situations that have occured in school (had several meetings with Head and his teacher and the TA). He is 5 next week, and so so intelligent and clever, but as he is growing older the social struggles and lack of development are really becoming apparent.

Thanks

(also to add, he's already undergoing speech therapy for nasal sounds and misprounciation, and ENT for glue ear and hearing problems)

[EllenJaneisnotmyname]

Sorry to hear that, smokin. I would recommend asking the GP for a referral and mention that both you and the school are concerned. People have been fobbed off with a 'wait and see' approach by GPs before, but get a DX the earlier the better IMO, so it can help you persuade others that your DS needs support despite his intelligence.

It's really good that your DS is so bright, it means that he'll find it easier to learn all the social niceties that come naturally to others, but he will have to learn them. Has the school got him on school action or school action plus yet? SEN isn't all about low academic achievement, but some schools (and LAs) need to be persuaded of that. It's perfectly possible to need an IEP (individual education plan) and to be G & T. He'll need some social skills training at the very least and maybe he'll struggle with literal language and inference.

You've come to the right place. There are lots of people on here with experience, good and bad, that they are happy to share.

[smokinaces]

Hi Ellen

He's on School Action Plus, and has been for most of the year. The school are fantastic, and they've encouraged me to go on parenting courses regarding autism and aspergers, as well as dedicating time to him 1 on 1 to go through social stories etc. We use a lot of timelines and schedules and visual aids at home which helps too.

I will take his school report with me tomorrow - its blatantly written in there (and a nice spidergraph showing his lack of development socially compared to his academic learning) and hopefully this will be enough for the GP to form a referral.

I think the main thing today was my Mum acknowledging something was slightly amiss. She's a primary school teacher with 20 years experience, so for her to mention it really hit home.

[EllenJaneisnotmyname]

Sounds like you've got a good school there, smokin. The next step might be requesting Statutory Assessment for a statement of SEN if he's failing to make adequate progress on SA+. It's not necessary for every child, but you should be aware of the SEN Code of Practice link here for what should be happening. Even with a proactive school it does no harm to have as much knowledge as possible.

A DX won't actually give you much but it should help to open some doors to support that may not otherwise be available. The NAS Earlybird parenting course required a DX when I did it 7 years ago. Whatever, having a DX or even a suspicion of AS gives you the opportunity to find out what interventions may be useful (like your social stories etc) and may help your DS in the future to understand himself better, which can help a lot with self esteem issues. Tony Attwood's books are often recommended.

My DS2 has HF ASD, not AS and his DX came earlier at 3.6 as he was quite obviously autistic and non verbal. Even he has managed to survive and succeed in MS primary and he'll be going to secondary in Sept. There are many others on the board with AS DX for their DC who can give you better advice.