SALT has referred DS for paed assessment - is this unusual?

[Bouquetsofdynomite]

Had DS's (2y6m) first SALT assessment today and they want to see him again but she has also referred him to a paediatrician. Just wondered how common it is and whether that means she thinks there is something.
I'm not worried because he is a funny kid so it will be good to find out one way or another if there's something there. Just curious if she has a hunch and how accurate it might be, personally I am regularly torn 50/50 between him being merely eccentric or actually having a problem.

Not unusual. Good they have though. They uhmed and ahhed about ds1, decided not to, but to see him again in 3 months- 3 months translated into 8 months (oh the joys of the NHS) during which time it became apparent there was a problem but we were stuck! There was a 2 year waiting list for the paed there! we moved!

Do you have a system where the child gests assessed by a whole bunch of people in your area- ds1 eventually got that, and it was great- we saw everyone over a period of 6 weeks and he was observed in a nursery setting etc, then they put their heads together for dx.

That's how ds1 got a referral to the Paed. I think she knew back then that ds1 was autistic but obviously couldn't tell us that.

Ds1 got into the system pretty quickly after that. He saw the Paed about 3 months later. She agreed that it was autism and he had a full assessment with everyone about 3 months later.

Thanks.
Coppertop, out of interest did you know? Or at the time did you think he'd catch up/grow into normality?
Gess, honestly no idea how the system works here, they just said they'd be in touch with us.

Hi My DS2 got referred to paed after his second salt appointment. I was suprised but I am glad that she did now as it is better to know that there is something that he needs some help with. He is in process of getting dx in a multi disciplinary way. Hints that ASD. It has been quite a quick process for me but lots to get your head around.

I thought he was just a late speaker and he would catch up. He has always had fairly good eye contact, smiley and laughs a lot. I don't know how to explain it but there is something unusually attractive about the way he looks at people. I didn't realise that you could be ASD and do that. My ignorance and crapness. Also didn't realise stuff like no pointing was an indication. It has been like my eyes have been opened and I can see stuff I was blind to or didn't realise before.

Oh yeah DS2 is 3.5 saw salt first at 2.6 and this has all happened since he was 3.

I knew that something wasn't quite right but couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. I did a bit of research and googled some of ds1's 'habits' and kept finding myself being sent to sites describing autism. By the time the Paed appointment came around we pretty much knew that ds1 had ASD. The Paed confirmed it.

I was a SALT in pre-children life. I used to refer quite a lot of children for developmental assessments, usually because I needed a more comprehansive overview of the child's overall development to see if their language development was in line with it or not. It's very common to do this. Although SALTS know something about general development, they are specialised in Speech, Language and Communication so can't carry out formal assessments or diagnose outside this area. They are often however the first point of contact as the child presents with delayed language development. Hope this helps! Good Luck.

Bouquet
We saw a speech therapist and she referred us to an ear nose throat specialist.

Did she say actually say what it was for? For example, it could well be his hearing.

It was def to do with his development as we talked about his apathy, for want of a better word, maybe affecting his motivation for communication iyswim.