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Should I have dd assessed or is this anxiety?

10 replies

Minnie123456 · 11/06/2023 00:17

Sorry in advance if I waffle but not sure how to write this all down and I apologise if I don't use the right words/terms. Dd is 9 nearly 10 and a few people have suggested that we have her assessed for autism etc sometimes I think there is something there and other times I think she is just a nervous/anxious child.
Reasons for getting her assessed:

*seems to be having sensory issues with food-too chewy,mushy,doesn't like smell, she used to eat anything now she hardly eats anything, would live on sausage rolls, small frozen pizzas or nutella sandwiches
*doesn't like tags on new clothes, sometimes the labels that are stitched in annoy her. Has to wear pants in bed as labels annoy her

  • when younger hated hairdryer/hoover/hand dryers. Now tolerates the hoover, uses hand dryer&hair dryer only if she has to *when in shower doesn't like right hand side of head being touched/shampoo being rinsed off that side. *can't take a joke- gets upset if joke is about her *has had meltdowns/tantrums from 1 1/2 years old, they're not as frequent now but if things don't go her way and she gets worked up she has one *has to have the last word, will bring up things others have done to continue arguement/justify her actions. *watches the same programmes over&over, the other month it was Spongebob, its now The Simpsons *gets very upset if she's not going to make target in school *doesn't like stickers/facepaint/nail polish- she actually freaked out the last time I got my nails done and wouldn't speak to me for ages. I very rarely get them done *falls out with friends alot in school-has to be her way *won't cuddle, will cuddle me but on her terms, she will still sit on my knee though 🙄 *has a fear of me getting a shower, even though dh is there. *won't go out to garden unless dh or I are there- prefers to be inside *not great in crowds, sticks to my side and wants to go home *complains of sore tummy-we think this is when she is nervous *tells us not to shout when telling her off/asking her to do something- we're not shouting. *holds a grudge if someone does something on her- she does not forgive easily lol. *fear of cats, dogs, flies, spiders,wasps,bees. *gets very upset at the slightest things- this could be hormones though. *when she saw a girl from her class she didn't make eyecontact but waved in passing,although she doesn't really get on with this girl.

Can't think of anything else atm.

OP posts:
Minnie123456 · 11/06/2023 00:30

Another one
She lives in her fleecy pjs and bed socks even in this heat. She also puts her onesies, snuddies over her clothes when she can get away with it.

We have asked school if they had noticed anything but they haven't.

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GameofStrife · 11/06/2023 00:31

Many of the same points as my daughter...who was assessed and is ASD. Girls present very differently to boys.

GameofStrife · 11/06/2023 00:31

Girls also mask better

DeffoJeffo · 11/06/2023 00:32

100% start the assessment ball rolling. Lots of similar traits to my two ASD DC!

Rainydaysandicecream · 11/06/2023 00:37

I would assess. You're wondering and worried so why not. Are there reasons you don't want to assess?

YukoandHiro · 11/06/2023 00:39

This makes me think I should get my 6yo assessed but I have put most of it down to age so far....

MagicTape · 11/06/2023 00:41

I would. If she is autistic, and everything you've written suggests there's good reason to think she is, then an assessment will confirm that and she will get the support she needs. If she isn't and she is "just" anxious then it sounds as though she is very anxious. But unless you know, you won't know whether to treat it as anxiety or autism.

Take "school haven't noticed anything" with a pinch of salt. School "hadn't noticed anything" with ours until we applied for an EHCP and then it turned out they had noticed a hell of a lot.

Minnie123456 · 11/06/2023 10:18

Thank you everyone for your replies. I will phone the gp on Tuesday to see about getting her referred I can't phone tomorrow as it's only emergency phone calls only.

@Rainydaysandicecream it's not that I don't want to get her assessed- some of the signs can be explained eg temper tantrums, wanting things her way- shes an only child, also some of the signs have only been showing up gradually for eg fussy eating.

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Hoppinggreen · 11/06/2023 10:22

DD showed some of those behaviours but we didn’t really think much of it. She’s 18 now and last year at the advice of her college we had a Private assessment for ADHD (NHS weren’t much use) and the Psychiatrist and other specialists who did it concluded that it was anxiety rather than any kind of neuro diversity, although they did caveat that it’s never possible to be completely sure.
Good luck and if at all possible consider having a Private assessment or you may be waiting quite a while - even Private it was 2 months

Minnie123456 · 11/06/2023 22:39

Thank you @Hoppinggreen I think we might look into going private depending on waiting times through gp.

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