Paed doesn't seem to want more than one diagnosis for DS

[sweetteamum]

DS, 10, had his first Paediatric appointment yesterday and as soon as I mentioned he'd recently been found to have Dyslexia, he wouldn't commit to saying he thought it was anything else.

DS has got autistic, adhd and dyspraxic traits.

He asked me what I thought and I told him adhd and dyspraxic, to which he replied that Dyslexia was enough already. What on earth was the purpose of the appointment and to go through the issues to be told that!!

Anyway he went on to say that DS did have difficulty with coordination and he would refer on to occupational therapy and physiotherapy but still wouldn't use the term dyspraxic.

He also said (in response to my question) that he wouldn't be able to confirm or deny adhd until he got report back from the school. He never once said he wanted to fill in the conners form but that he would write to the school.

All in all I don't really know where I stand or what to say to school.

[auntevil]

The paediatrician is likely to need the reports from all of those you mentioned before ruling in or out any of the potentials.
The thing with all of them is their co-morbidity and the crossover of symptoms. The paed is probably reluctant in case they pick the wrong one.
There is a lot of crossover between dyslexia and dyspraxia, both in their ways leading potentially to lack of focus - attention deficit. A good OT report might give more indication as to what is the root cause and more importantly, what strategies to use to help with specific areas of concern.
Do not despair, this is only the first appointment and you have had some useful referrals from it.
Re the term dyspraxia, many paeds are going away from this term to DCD which has set criteria for dx. For this the OT report and school report would be necessary

[sweetteamum]

Thanks aunt for the reply. I was really worried in case we were getting fobbed off, without me noticing (I can't read between the lines).

It's good to know that the referrals we have are useful. On the summary. He did write about 8 main difficulties that needed attention so I will try and be more positive.

Thanks again :)

[SallyBear]

My DS was dx at 8 with Aspergers. We mentioned difficulties with reading and writing and that he was dreadfully unco-ordinated. The paed made note of it and that was all. Fast forward to age 13 and he has now got an additional dx of Dyslexia from an EP and now a dx for Dyspraxia from the original paed. When I asked her why she had not dx him at 8 with Dyspraxia she said that she felt we had enough to cope with his Aspergers. We could have got him statemented then with that additional dx. We are in the midst of Statutory Assessment as we speak. DS is severely dyslexic.

[sweetteamum]

Thanks for that Sally. I'm just trying to avoid the same thing happening with ds, that happened to dd - she was left for years, with the wait and see approach and its only because of my pushing that we've got a dx.

However, if it takes a little longer to get the right dx then I suppose it'll be worth it :) I just want the help he needs

[LimboLil]

I think we must have been lucky with our paed. Our son's dx is ASD, learning difficulties and dyspraxia. She said to us that she had given the additional dx to ensure that we were not fobbed off by schools just claiming it was social communication difficulties and nothing else. We were already going through SA alongside dx assessment so I think she got as much in there as possible to help that process. Statement due v soon so I will find out if it worked!

[sweetteamum]

Wow, that's great limbo. Think I will cross my fingers the locum paed has left and I've got one like yours for the next time we're there :) it's great that they're willing to help you.