should a apply for DLA?

[sadalot]

i have lovely beautiful daughter who has mild asd - the consultant still wont give use a proper diagnosis even though she has a sen and both her teachers are adamant she has asd. she has a consultanat apt in late august and i am going to push for a diagnosis. should i apply for dla? i love her to bits but i am ashamed to say that when she talks with certain people i will telll her to be stop talking ( i dont want them to notice that she is odd and tell the rest of the community)in the asian community asd is not really recognised and brushed under the carpet.i am proud of her but cant stop feeling like this. she in mn school and is obove average in her class. the head teacher is fantastic. when we first though she might have asd was when she was 3 and i think i cried for months with my dh.

[coff33pot]

I feel very sorry for you, it must be hard wanting the best but wanting to hide it at the same time. She is still your beautiful dd whatever she has

How does your DH feel about dd and her mild asd? Will he support you and dd in the community? I am not asian so I do not understand your culture but one thing I do know is that the older she gets the asd could stand out more as she could differ in comparision to other children her age, and so you must be prepared for this just in case.

It is good that you have a good school for her and that they support her. I hope they help you fight your diagnosis x

As for DLA and wether to apply I really do not know as I have not applied. It is late but perhaps someone can advise you tomorrow

[LivinInHope]

Hi, totally understand how you feel have 8yr old son with ASD, unfortunately a lot of ignorance exists within our community as its a hidden disability, like your daughter my son was referred to pead at the age of 3 for displaying ASD traits.

I would definately pursue an official diagnosis. My DH is lovely, however he is still in denial of our childs difficulties, which is very common in our community. Hopefully the diagnosis will help you to access some support group and the NAS earlybird programme. The whole process is made more difficult if you are having to go it alone.

I understand your desire to protect her, but as in the case of my son, her autistic behaviours will make her stand out amongst her peers as she grows older, don't be afraid to communicate her needs with family and close friends. If they don't already they will eventually understand.

With regards to the DLA I would apply, as it will allow you to access clubs or in our case get access to legal advice/representation and private reports to get appropriate support for my child.

[sadalot]

thank you for the replies - i have a good dh but he seems to think she will grow out of this which i know she wont. my mum and dad are really supportive and she stays with them in the holidays for a few days which she enjoys. sometimes the things she says break my heart but i always encourage her to play with other children which she finds very hard. she was 8 wks prem and i feel this is linked to her asd. she is 5 now -is it too late for the NAS earlybird programme?