Salt made urgent referrals

[babybellx]

Hi everyone please share your thoughts! Worried mother here .
son 40months old had his first speech and language appointment.
the therapist has told me she will be putting referals to OT (occupational therapy) & pediatrician. This is first time she met him, I see her worries too.
has anyone been in this situation would this mean she is highly concerned for him? And how likely are the referrals to be accepted? Can they be declined. Waiting for his report.
PLEASE ANYONE GIVE EXPERIENCE OF ANYTHING LIKE THIS OR SIMILAR SITUATION.
thank you

people not on benefits will be paying for that nursery yes. I’m assuming senco is qualified enough? As she’s there for special educational needs children?

And maybe post on the SEN boards rather than mental health. Its not a MH condition and you will get some good advice on the SEN boards.

Thank you all for these replies as for now it’s putting my brain at ease. I have been so worried for 1 whole year with asd/adhd in the back of my mind causing me serious anxiety and worrying that I’m not doing things right but now it’s making me understand that it’s not me and that it probably is the asd route. I am kind of mentally prepared for that as it’s already eaten me enough so I just want to get him seen asap to be able to put his support into place now ♥️

@babybellx I'm glad the referrals are in place now but I also think you should look into changing nurseries. You need a supportive SENCO on board, even if you start the EHCP process yourself.

My DD is 4 months older than your DS and I first raised concerns with the health visitors over two years ago but it's been a long process to get anywhere. She's now waiting for an ASD assessment.

My GP requested a paediatrician referral and it was rejected twice. It was finally accepted the third time almost one year later. You will have to be really persistent in chasing referrals etc and I recommend starting a timeline of events/referrals so you have a record of what happened when - this will be helpful for the EHCP application and also the ASD assessment.

If you can afford it, look into private speech and language therapy and a private sensory OT assessment/ongoing occupational therapy. We recently had an assessment done and it was really insightful and lots of things were picked up that I hadn't noticed myself. The report included suggestions for home and also specific recommendations for school/nursery for the EHCP.

Look into applying for DLA if relevant, this can help fund anything private if you go down that route.

Start the EHCP process yourself, I did the same earlier this year. There's lot of helpful advice on the IPSEA and SOS SEN websites.

Join the EHCP support thread on the SEN board for advice, there are lots of knowledgeable posters on there - https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/special_educational_needs/5077140-ehcp-support-thread-no-3?page=9.

I also remember the initial shock and worry for the future. It's not an easy road to go down so remember to be kind to yourself and take things one step at a time.

🙏 thank you for all support ! Means so much to me.
I have applied for dla for son. His care needs are so severe compared to a child his age.
mobility needs are there too however I don’t think he will qualify for high as under 5s arnt entitled to low.
I will be looking into a ehcp and applying to be able to make sure he gets 1-1 and the other needs that are needed
now because I’ve been referred to ot does that mean that he would need a private one too? If so dla could cover that if he gets awarded.

Sadly not unusual to have a senco gaslight. I have had it a few times. Not all but shamefully some.

Change nursery unless its very disrupting to DS.

Its great that professionals are involved and trying to help you and DS.

ASD would be multi professional team. ADHD would be questionnaires like Brief 2 where they ask you and education setting to fill in to compare.

ASD in some areas is taking 4 years in the NHS. I know it feels a bit scary and unknown but honestly if it is that early identification and therapy/support is best practice. So run with it. Keep us posted - the SEN board is full of kind and helpful posters who know their stuff.

A diagnosis doesn't change who he is, but it will help you be the best parent for whatever his needs are.

@babybellx no worries. It depends on what is offered in your area. In my area, there are certain hoops you have to jump through first before you can try and get referred to sensory OT so we still haven't been referred via the NHS yet. You could maybe wait to see what the NHS offer first and see how long the waiting list is?

I mainly went private as I know the private assessments and reports are much more detailed and that's what I wanted to include as evidence during the EHCP process. And we really needed help with things at home.

For speech and language therapy, I had to go private as when DD got seen by the NHS SLT after an 8 month wait, no therapy was offered (and she is non-verbal), just an assessment/report.

If your DS is happy at nursery I wouldn't move him. Him being content there and the staff being happy with him are significant wins.

My DD who I suspect will be diagnosed with ASD struggled with nurseries and I ended up trying 3 different settings for her.

The Salt appointment sounds very positive! It's great that they are getting the ball rolling with the referrals. It's the first step to getting the answers you want and help for your child.

I know it can feel a but scary but as a pp said a diagnosis doesn't change your child. It really is just a name that will help you and your child get the help you need.

I'm sorry you've had a tough time with the nursery. It's really bad tbh, no one knows your child better than you, so to dismiss your concerns like that is terrible. You sound like a great parent with your persistency getting this referral. As pp said you will have to keep chasing these referrals. Hopefully won't get rejected but if they do get straight back to whoever referred to refer again.

Just a side note make sure your claiming dla for him. He dosent need to have a formal diagnosis. Just write down everything he does and what appointments and referrals he has. Can take a while. You can always update it when he does get a diagnosis

I knew my son had ASD at 3. He had odd facial expressions (completely blank or weird exaggerated faces), an obsession with car badges and with signs; he mixed up hot and cold - would walk into the sea fully clothed and sit down on a freezing day in winter. He was rigid in his behaviours. Epic meltdowns if he was thwarted. He was always on the margins of groups of children in play time. A late reader. He was diagnosed at 7, with a fairly substantial score on the ADOS test.

He's 18 now. He got A*A A in his A levels and he's at a great university studying for an MEng in mechanical engineering. He has a beautiful girlfriend. He has a part time job as a Tesco delivery driver. Everyone likes him.

Please try to not be scared. Things don't always pan out as expected - with both neurotypical children & with kids who have ASD.

This is so positive thank you for sharing.
ive been reading into things like this and this is the whole reason why I want him diagnosed so that he can get the support he needs to be able to get good grades and have a good future ahead of him.
I hope all parents that are going through this look at the good side of asd too! Autistic children are bright talented kids with the right support ❤️

Oh @babybellx, I really feel for you. How awful to have been struggling with all these worries on your own. Sounds like the nursery have been absolutely negligent.

I used to work in early years and the SALTs were the absolute best people. I hope things become clearer and you get support from now on.

💜💜

If some people pay it’s a private nursery. She will have some qaulification but they will probably not even have one member of staff who is a qualified teacher.

I have an autistic 7yo, who has an EHCP and attends an ARP (a mainstream school with extra support, he spends 50% in mainstream class and 50% in suport unit). I also have a 4yo who is most likely also autistic and the pediatrician has just referred her on for assessment pathway. It sounds terrifying written out, but both kids are happy/healthy and doing well. There's an awful lot of paperwork and meetings in the background to make sure they have the suport in place, but there's no reason a child with ASD can't thrive.

I'd change them over to the nursery attached to wherever they will go to school. They'll have to make the changes at some point anyway and having them known to staff before they start reception, will help down the road. I also found the senco at school nursery much more helpful. Nursery's like your one have the same responsibility to suport SEN, but will often try to put off doing anything until the kid reaches school age and leaves anyway, whereas the school SENCo has a vested interest in getting them suport, because it's them that will be dealing with an unsupported child if the don't.

With my eldest we went onto a early help plan with all the different agencies forming a TAF (team around family). Seemed scary at the time, but it was really just a more formal way to make sure everyone was giving him the suport he needed, and nobody was fobbing us off. We had meetings every 6-8 weeks, with targets set for what everyone would do before the next meeting. Often it was just me, health visitor and school, sometimes salt, and once pediatrician. The health visitors only real contribution was to ask "when should I book the next meeting" and stare pointedly at everyone until they set a date, but that really helped keep everyone else doing what they should.