Autism and ADHD

[MyBoatOrYours]

When can a parent ask for assessment for these from a GP or HV? My younger dd is nearly 4 and I strongly suspect she has one or both but I'm not sure how to go about seeking referral for assessment. Nursery say they have no concerns but also said it would be too early to be able to refer so they wouldn't be considering while she's at pre school. Thank you.

Sorry I can't fully answer your question but from what I've heard it's rare for ADHD to be diagnosed before age 6.
If you can wait till she starts school I'm assuming next September, teachers are usually good at spotting these things.

Once she's 4 you can ask school/pre-school to refer her for an ASD assessment with Caudwell Children.

Thank you both, that's really helpful.

How's her speech & language @MyBoatOrYours? Sometimes SLT can be a way of getting them referred. Have a look at this progress checker.

Have you tried seeing if the HV will assess her using the ASQ?

Hi there.
I’m not sure if anyone can help me or tell me where I need to post or how I post (I’m new here)!
I’m getting more and more worried about my lovely 17month old little boy and some people have mentioned he may have some autistic traits. I have health visitor coming on Thursday but wondered if any of you lovely mums could share what you think or your experiences please.

what he can do:
He points, claps and waves but on his terms. He does high fives, can blow kisses. He can point to body parts if I ask him where they are and can point to people if I ask him where they are, likewise pointing to things in books if asked where the cow is for example. He can make some animal noises. He responds to his name 80/90% of the time and brings me things to show me, although is mostly happy to play on his own doing his own thing.

concerns:
he doesn’t talk, babbles but no real words except for maybe 2. He makes noises constantly but very random noises
he has recently started to walk on his tiptoes but not very often and spins in circle but again only recently and not very often.
he’s not overly fussed by other children, will watch them but not necessarily play with them, he does try and give his little cousin drink and follows her.
he’s recently started to not be interested in playing with toys for very often, flits from one thing to another very quickly (not a very high concentration span) also doesn’t push cars along will just pick them up and sit them back down etc
He isn’t very affectionate unless poorly or tired.
he’s quite repetitive with some things

we had a hearing test a few weeks ago and they told us he has mild glue ear in one of his ears and will see him again in 3 months but that there’s not much that can do right now.
could this be related to behaviour/speech?
do you think I have any reason to be concerned or am I just worrying because other people have made me?
thank you in advance for your replies

You can ask for a referral at any time you have concerns. The younger your child is the more resistance you will get but my youngest was referred at 20 months. Generally clinicians don’t like to diagnose autism before 3 but if you have any experience of NHS wait lists your boy will be in secondary school by the time he gets an assessment anyway.

ADHD rule of thumb is no diagnosis before 6 but as I said the sooner he is in the system the better imo.

I wouldn’t worry about the nursery not having concerns as they are not experts and it is entirely common for your child to act differently in school setting than at home. I wasn’t diagnosed until my 30’s and my school would have said I was a cheeky little sh**. You can go direct to your GP contrary to popular belief. They can refer to community paediatrics. Health visitor cannot diagnose.

Go with your gut and don’t pay too much attention to other people’s opinions.