Im an Autism and ADHD Assessor - AMA

[magictits]

I get heaps of questions about this IRL so thought I would post here and answer any questions in case they are helpful to anyone.

@hopeidontforgetthisusername support in schools is based on needs, not diagnosis. Schools cannot have a blanket policy of refusing to accept independent assessments. Remind the school they must make reasonable adjustments as per the Equality Act. If they are a state school, also remind them they must make their best endeavours to meet DD’s SEN as per the Children and Families Act 2014. To not do so leaves them open to a disability discrimination claim.

Request a meeting with the SENCO. Follow up with an email so you have a paper trail as evidence should you require it. If that doesn’t work, go higher.

I’m currently at the beginning of the assessment process, I’m in my mid 50s, and have a daughter who is diagnosed ASD, so obviously there’s family history and my GP is very supportive so has referred me. I’m also in therapy for PTSD from a traumatic childhood, and it’s honestly shocked me how much I’ve apparently been masking my entire life, and like many, menopause seems to have set off a chain of events that’s making masking really difficult. All my internalised emotions are bubbling up and it’s overwhelming.

And @Hobbiestwriter my daughter was assessed by a paediatrician several times and because she wasn’t struggling academically was dismissed as ‘fine’. However, once I asked for a second opinion from a multidisciplinary team like the one @magictits works with her issues were recognised and she got a significant diagnosis. So, yeah, Drs aren’t always the best people to diagnose ND issues.

@mumuseli Most of the increase in diagnosis is from women who struggled for decades before TikTok and mobiles were even a thing, but we didn’t have a name for the way our brains work differently from others’ brains.

There’s a temptation to jump to blaming the internet for recent diagnoses but it’s not as simple as that for many of the adults getting diagnosed now.
Modern society is in many ways more difficult for ND people to navigate than it used to be, but that is more due to inflexible work schedules clashing with delayed sleep phases, or open plan offices affecting distractibility/sensory issues.

In an agrarian society it was ok for some people to be nonverbal and keep their own company, or to combine herbs in new ways as a “wise woman” in a cottage in the woods. Now those people, forced into noisy, sensorily overwhelming, social roles, are struggling and it’s not that we have new kinds of people.

As a rising tide lifts all boats, so a falling tide leaves some stranded. Society has shifted and left behind the ways of being that worked well for ND people.

People react to environmental conditions, often in unexpected ways, and inclusive workplaces/societies work to combine everyone’s different strengths and mitigate their weaknesses rather than force homogeneity.

Both the nurse and trainee were present. The trainee did the developmental interview.

Thank you for your response @flawlessflipper

The meeting was with the SENCO, she did say it was based on needs, not diagnosis but then failed to take on board any of the needs identified in the report. A few days later I sent a follow up email detailing the childs needs but the SENCO did not reply to it. I then contacted SENDIASS and after a week I sent an email asking for a meeting and with SENDIASS to be there. I didn't get a response so after a few days I chased again and we do now have a meeting set up but it has been hard to get to this stage and during all this time none of the things that were identified as being things that could help the child have been actioned.

@hopeidontforgetthisusername if you don’t get anywhere with the SENCO, go higher.

You could also consider requesting an EHCNA yourself. On their website, IPSEA has a model letter you can use.

Be careful with SENDIASS. Some are good but too many repeat the LA’s unlawful policies.

Thank you @flawlessflipper that is very helpful. I was a bit concerned that SENDIASS may be ‘cosy’ with the school SENCO so we shall see how it goes. if it doesn't look promising I will look into IPSEA as you have recommended - I may just look them up now to get myself prepared.

@hopeidontforgetthisusername I found our SENDIASS to be ridiculously helpful. She did so much research for me, she really didn’t want to give up! I hope yours will be as helpful!

Thank you @SeriousTissues for sharing your experience and it’s lovely to hear that you have had a positive eexperience - hope all is well for your child now?. I really hope ours is as good as yours 😊

Yes, thanks. She’s doing OK. Doesn’t much like school still, but throws herself into everything going with enthusiasm and has lots of friends and a really tight-knit friendship group. She hated having to sit next to boys initially as they were loud and obnoxious! But has now got some good friends who are boys! They’re often on group chats on loudspeaker and it always sounds weird to hear boy’s voices in my house!!

@magictits
A quick one. Is it worth going private and bypass the GP? Because mine says Oh it's a 2 year waiting list...

@magictits
A quick one. Is it worth going private and bypass the GP? Because mine says Oh it's a 2 year waiting list...

I encountered a similar GP. I'd put a complaint in and ask to see a different GP.

I'm sure my 12 year old son has AuDHD with PDA profile, plus OCD. He won't go to school, rarely will leave the house and every day life is a big struggle for him.

I've booked a doctor's appointment three times, but he will not go to the appointment, so I end up having to cancel.

What can I do in this situation?

@pipszyou could have a look what other services are available in your area and self refer. Often early help or family support, basically a service that can come to your house. They may be able to help with any onwards referrals and organise meetings with the school etc.

Whats your opnion on melatonin for children with adhd. My son has adhd,he doesnt get out of bed or mess around but he takes litterally hours to switch off amd get to sleep

@pipsz I would go to the GP appointment alone if DS won’t go. Also speak to the school.

If you can afford it, yes. You don't need a GP referral to go private. Just self-refer.

I dont agree with that. You need your core qualification (in health or social care) plus autism training to do autism related developmental interviews (ACIA) and ADOS.

For perspective, Im training up a psychologist at the moment with years of experience. She has done the ACIA and ADI-R training but doesnt have the experience so is shadowing me. She hasn't done the ADOS training so doesn't go anywhere near those atm. Once she has done the training she will shadow, then do some with supervision, then move on to doing her own.

Also a 40 minute developmental interview is shockingly short.

@magictits sorry, I may have been unclear, it was the appointment with my daughter that was 40 minutes; the developmental interview was about an hour with the trainee. What cheesed me off about that bit was the number of errors she made in the write up of that interview and that despite me telling her of my daughter’s many interests, she focussed on one. So there’s a line that says “X has very many interests including attending football matches, taking football lessons and playing in a football team” (football just used as an example) so it implies she has a ‘special interest’. When my daughter read it she said that if she’d have to choose one of her interests as being ‘special’ it wouldn’t actually have been the one they’d chosen 😂

Love this response!

@magictitsI'm really sorry I've tried several times to load on the browser to be able to pm without success.

This has been a really informative thread, thank you. Which training provider did you use or recommend please?

Many thanks

.

Training provider is Pearsons or Hogrefe.

How much would some childhood trauma affect an ASD assessment in a ten year old who has shown traits since babyhood and before the trauma? The traits have become more pronounced since puberty started. He also very obviously has ADHD and both parents and all step siblings are either diagnosed or awaiting diagnosis. Thank you.