To think 'The A Word' has lost it a bit

[Justmeagain78]

This series has been so moving and educational so far I was utterly disappointed with tonight's episode. What could have been a realistic portrayal of the struggle families go through to get support turned into a ridiculous farce. The specialist with a childhood grudge against Joe's mum was just silly and unrealistic. The mum is also starting to be portrayed as a pantomine villain rather than a flawed mum who loves her son. The family dramas have overshadowed Joe and his issues - I really don't care about granddad, the Viagra and the ukulele lady or watching the family lurch from bickering to snogging - I wanted something better than Eastenders! Such a shame.

But there's no suggestion he was seen quickly. In the first episode it was clear there was a long back history when people initially thought there might be hearing problems, and when the grandfather took him it was clear that the first doctor had already been involved and knew Joe well; subsequently it emerged that she had referred him on.

Well said, ZZZZZ

My issue with this program is that the 'light entertainment' bit (family dynamics, shagging etc) is fine.
The potential misrepresentation of a diagnosis of autism as being something relatively brief, with relatively few appointments, is not fine.
It encourages misperceptions amongst the public who have had little contact with children with autism, or their families.
Yes, families are 'all different' and yes, Autism itself is a spectrum, but one thing that many do have in common is a gruelling often heart rending 'journey' through the 'system'.

I'm a speech and language therapist. I help diagnose autism in the NHS/privately.

The little actor is fantastic. The portrayal of the SLT doing 'family therapy' before taking out the grudge against the mum was bloody awful to watch !

Oh and YY to what ZZ said.

The parents we see privately have sometimes totted up very similar appointment, waits etc. The paperwork trail is enormous when we sift through it to prepare a report.

It's astonishing. And heartbreaking.

It's drama though isn't it not a documentary.

I know but you can't expect them to make a true to life in every element programme that fits into what six hours?

I agree the program has gone rapidly down hill but will point out DS was diagnosed at his first appointment with a senior SaLT. We did wait 9 months for the appointment though. I know we were lucky in this.

I thought it was closely based on true life as there was an interview with the mum and the woman who plays her on bbc breakfast the other week. Interestingly I didn't warm to the mum in that interview either!

I find it interesting that the people on this thread who don't have children with autism think it is realistic and a good programme and yet most of us with children with a diagnosis of ASD don't enjoy it.
I am finding it difficult to watch. I have lever arch files of reports about DD who is 7 and ASD going from when she is 2 to just a couple of weeks ago. This just feels so sanitised. Yes parents struggle with the diagnosis and with their feelings about both that and having a child with SN. But why is the mum being. Painted as a 'bitch'. It's just too easy. Why can't she be a human being g like the rest of us who gets it right some days and wrong others. Yes the family may well need a new way of communicating. But why can't it be shown that the family work this out themselves with trial and error and some good strategies from professionals. Again sometimes getting it wrong but other times getting it right.
I don't watch it and have empathy for the family I don't see a family working hard to get it right for their child and that is my experience of autism. It feels like a programme that has been made to show what people imagine a family with a child with autism might be like not like it actually is.

This programme would be getting it right if those of us with children on the spectrum felt understood. A lot of us don't. I don't think they've got it right.

And as for the interaction and family therapy dished out by the speeches nd language therapist, it was utterly ridiculous. No one would ever do that. That is not what SALT is. If they had shown Joe posting pictures thorough a pretend post box and pointing to the picture of the boy going over the bridge it might have been more accurate.

It is a really huge, missed opportunity and has done more harm than good as far as I am concerned.

I am enjoying it. Isn't it a bit like Casualty - if you work in medicine you are probably shouting at the screen that that isn't how it is and therefore not enjoying it. If you have a child or experience of Autism then you want something truer to life. The rest of us are just enjoying it for what it is - a fictional series which we don't think is reality, just like we wouldn't think casualty is the reality of the NHS.

Totally agree Totty.

I get that tottyandmarch, the difference being that if casualty get it a bit wrong it doesn't really matter, however our children and our families experience prejudice from people all the time and actually it really does matter to us that they get this right.

That people could maybe understand my daughter a bit better after watching this programme. But that won't happen and that does matter to me.

zzzz she spent a morning with him, spoke to the school at length and talked to us for over an hour and read the forms we'd filled in. She was confident she had seen more than enough to diagnose.
I know of several other families who have had the same experience.

Having googled I think they may just have had a mum on telly who has a son that had a similar diagnosis. I obviously got the wrong end of the stick!

where we are all children being assessed have to go to a panel - the paperwork not the child - not one person can make a diagnosis but a panel of professionals,
i must same wevecome.....i don't think i person should be making ASD diagnosis' alone, its such a hard call sometimes. i also do not think one morning is enough time to assess a patient.

here the process takes 6 months minimum.
child is assessed.
parents are consulted without child + questionnaires.
child has SLT assessments
school fill out lengthy questionnaires.
all paperwork goes to panel
diagnosed or not.....and informed by consultant at next appointment.

we are 'lucky' in that as my child has other medical problems he is already a patient of the 'right consultant' to start ASD diagnosis and we have not had to wait to start the process.....at the present time there is 1 year for an initial appointment just to meet the consultant.

Loved the post by zzzzz further back because that was exactly what we went through. We were lucky...around two years from first referral by nursery to an early years teacher and then on to SENCO, GP, school nurse, child development paediatric.clinic, OT, SALT and then paediatrician. Referral from there to the social communication clinic and a long assessment there with access to all prior reports and finally a diagnosis.

Well whether rightly or wrongly we got a diagnosis that day, it saved us a lot of stress and heartache. It's blindingly obvious he has ASD. Now feeling very shitty that we've done it all wrong and like I should apologise for not going through the proper channels.