Last year my middle DS (now aged 6) was referred by school (on the advice of the Educational Psychologist) to the Umbrella Pathway which is basically the assessment process for autism and similar conditions. Naturally it is a long-winded process and he has so far only seen a clinical psychologist. The next step is an appointment with the community paediatrician team and after that the professionals involved will reconvene and discuss his case. We have been told now that instead of aug/sept for this next appointment it is likely to be jan/feb.
Although academically very capable, his behaviour at school is very up and down largely stemming from his inability to regulate his emotions eg cannot calm back down once upset. He is also very fixated on the death of his great-grandmother 2 years ago. Obviously he would have been very little when this happened and we have always allowed him to talk about her freely, given him photos of her etc, but any mention of anything related to death affects him greatly.
Does anyone a) have any advice re dealing with bereavement in young children, especially if it is not a recent issue and b) have any experience of going down the private route for autism assessment in the hope of a quicker process?