Does anyone have a child who has no hobbies / talent AIBU to be concerned.

[Blueyisnowfamily]

My daughter 10 pretty much struggles with everything -
she has got health issues - they are medical not SEN.
she is not academic in the slightest - really struggles with writing etc
has just started learning to read okay but up to a year ago could not.
maths she is better at but is still behind with division and times table.
she is dreadful at sport ( bless her )
she is not very good at art but tbh she doesn’t apply her self.
she is not musical or shown any interest in music.
there is nothing she is passionate about. I never worried before as she was so young but now at age 10 I wonder if if this is usual ?

I work with Autistic people and this sounds just like autism. I would push for another assessment. The diagnostic criteria is repetitive or restrictive behaviour/interests which includes having sensory needs (assembly too loud for her, not showing interest in subjects), difficulty with social interaction (not bonding with children) and difficulties with communication, this can include non verbal communication so not picking up on people's tone of voice etc and can include having a delay in early childhood that they overcome. Sensory needs, meltdowns, lacking self care skills, difficulties with motor skills are also very common with Autism.
A good assessment and diagnosis could give you and school advice on how best to support your daughter so I really would urge you to arrange an assessment.

Kindness and thoughtfulness is everything ❤️

HiOP,

I have read through some of your posts so forgive me if there are things missed. I work in a community child development team, I complete ASD and other developmental assessments. I am a psychologist, paediatricians where I am are not involved unless child is under 5yo.

What you describe sounds like a complex profile. You have the impact of a medical dx to consider, and describe some things consistent with ASD and quite a lot of things consistent with dyspraxia and/or dyslexia. When you eventually get to have an assessment this will be done comprehensively. As I’m sure you’ve been told, your EHCP is supposed to be needs led so no dx should make any difference (although in reality I know it does matter).

However, I wonder whether school may be able to refer using their school hours for an assessment with their educational psychologist? This would be what we would suggest as a next step from within my assessment service (NHS, although of course there are huge discrepancies between services).

the reason I say this is that I would assess for neurodiversity (ASD/ADHD) and /or learning disability (IQ less than 70). I don’t think you child has s learning disability from your description. Learning difficulties (dyslexia/dyspraxia etc) are classed as different to learning disability (in the NHS) and are assessed by Educational psychologists , who work within schools and are generally employed by the local authority (separate to nhs health services). Your school would refer for that assessment, it’s unlikely your paediatrician would suggest that. In my team we would be asking for those assessments to be completed before moving into more intensive assessment pathways for ASD, especially given the health picture.

Another consideration is that you can now ask to be referred to a different nhs borough based on the ‘right to choose’ pathway, your GP should tell you where has the shortest waiting list and you can ask to be transferred there. They need to be able to justify using a good reason why they can’t do that if they say no.

anyway, sorry you may have already been through all of this before but thought I would just chip in incase there’s anything that would be useful to you.

Good luck OP!

Only just being able to read at 10 is quite worrying. Are you sure theres nothing else going on? Autism etc. She must be very far behind her peers. Could it be because shes missed alot of education due to medical appointments, hospital stays etc? What do school say about her progress, do they give her extra help?

I don’t know much about the process to apply for a SEN school place, I obviously know it’s a very difficult process but since your daughters school are saying they don’t think she will cope and you have an extensive ehcp then there must be a chance she will get a place.

I have recently spent a few weeks working in a SEN school (after 10 years in mainstream secondary) and what I will say is that I would absolutely send my child there if it was appropriate for them. My previous opinion would have been that mainstream would be better for children socially, however I’ve witnessed so many young people with various SEN being somewhat outcast from friendship groups when they can’t keep up (maturity level, social skills, sports skills etc) confidence takes a real battering when you are visibly behind your peers all day every day.
The real beauty of the SEN school was how diverse the students were that no one stood out as being different or behind. It made such a difference to their confidence levels.

of course SEN schools do differ wildly and are very area dependent but I would 100% ask to visit a few in your position and consider what would be better for her self esteem.