Autistic child swearing at health care staff

[avenueq]

When distressed. How is this to be seen? Blame the parents? Or accept that it's a special case?

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Definitely wouldn't be blaming the parent/s.

I think health care staff would understand that it was all part of the distress and wouldn't blame parents.

Absolutely wouldn’t be blaming the parents.

As a HCP I would just treat it as one of them things and get on with my job!

What if the child has no official diagnosis but has an EHCP and the parents tell you the child is autistic?

No official diagnosis wouldn't change the fact that I wouldn't judge the parents.

I was told today that I needed to stop my child swearing, my explanation that it is part of his condition was dismissed and it was implied that I was using it as an excuse.

It was the gp practice manager. I want to take it further, am I mad?

I don’t know a huge amount about EHCPs but I’m curious as to what his is for if not ASD?

Medical issues/disability but his social skills are listed in there as well

Well gp practice managers don’t have to be qualified in healthcare, probably doesn’t have a clue about ASD. Saying that some gps/practice nurses don’t have a clue either . I’d complain.

I’ve had a nurse at the GP practice say to us are you sure he’s autistic he doesn’t look it? Others have said we’re all a bit autistic - it’s so annoying as these are the people you should be turning to (Dd & Ds made up a little song about that one you might appreciate
Everyone’s a little bit autistic sometimes
Doesn’t mean you go around creating straight lines!

Curly - Ds can’t get an EHCP for his autism alone but we may be able to apply for his social & emotional difficulties. You don’t get one for a diagnoses but you have to prove that school have tried to put things in place to help a child with their difficulties, diagnosed or not but that they aren’t enough.

OP - I wonder if it’s worth you getting in touch with Paula the mum of a young lad called Oliver who died. She had a petition to get it debated in Parliament about training for HCP’s following the appalling treatment of her son.

I'm still so shocked at the tone in which she spoke to me

Without a diagnosis you cannot say the reason for the child's behaviour is autism.

Why can't I?

Not being able to access an official diagnoses doesn’t make a child less autistic.

Because we can't all just diagnose our own children

Your child might display autistic traits, but without a diagnosis I'm afraid that's all they are.

alexander

No it doesn't, but equally without that proper diagnosis we can't just 'do it ourselves'

Complain it is their job as a practice to make reasonable adjustment and be understanding of his disability and needs. Manager needs more training. Complain in writing to NHS England rather than the practice as normally the practice manager responds to complaints. Details are on their website.

If I reacted like that to every child, young person or adult with autism or not who has sworn at me over the years I would have been out of a job long ago.

No blame, being a parent of a child with autism or hidden disability can be hard when people show no empathy and understanding. They don't need paperwork to prove it if you as his parent say he has autism at the desk. GP or hospital staff may have access to notes that confirm but reception staff should accept your word as his parent. There is a lot of assumption that all people with autism are the same as his main carer you know him best and they should respect that.

Oh and you are entitled to special needs support in school and disability living allowance without a diagnosis because it can take some time to confirm diagnoses and that doesn't mean that the child doesn't have needs. The same is true of health care those needs still need to be recognised and met.

She said to me I needed to calm him down before coming to the surgery. The reason he got distressed was that we were kept waiting for 35 minutes in the nurse's room with no idea what was happening