Toddler with possible autism

[StudentNurse3]

Can anyone tell me how SWs can tell if the toddler's speech delay and motor delay is due to negligence or if it is autism?

There is autism and ADHD in the family. However the elder DC hasn't had any delays.

The SWs want to put a supervision order onto her/toddler. They are coming from the angle that it is negligence. But I don't know how they can difirentiate and I'm not sure this is fair.

Any information or advice much appreciated.

@WhereAreTheLostPens What do you mean? "(Lots of ASD and ADHD diagnoses in a family can point to there being quite a few difficulties going on in that family, and these may have impacted the toddler)" Lots of diagnoses in a family usually points towards a genetic condition! Like ASD or ADHD!

The professionals have just put it down to neglect rather than looking at neurodiversity at this stage, so no I won't. I care about my family.

Of course they can my son was diagnosed with autism and learning disabilities at three ,the first thing to do is contact the GP or health visitor ,and get a referral to the community paediatrician and get the ball rolling for assessment.

Have the parents discussed their concerns with a health professional? What do they say? Prior to social services becoming involved and her decline in mental health were they trying to get a diagnosis or support?

This is my sister. I'm not outright saying there is no neglect, although we are supporting her and the DC so trying to fill in any gaps. But up until now we assumed her toddler had autism and that was the course of the delays. But since her mental health problems, CS want to put it down to neglect.

But hang on a second, what about the dad? Baby’s development and milestones are his responsibility as much as hers. And it is also his responsibilities to get help for mum when she’s struggling. Or was he neglecting his duties too?

don’t shove this on her shoulders. Nobody chooses to have mental health issues.

It reads as though you think the social workers are out to get you/her/the toddler. They are not, they're acting in the best interests of the child. Although there could be neurological conditions having an effect on him, they cannot just assume that this is all it is and the child can be signed off, they must look deeper to ensure the child is as safe as can be and the parent supported. They are doing a good thing. It's fine to advise that there is ND in the family, but you can't assume that this is enough to drop the case. And it shouldn't be.

If ND is suspected then the child should be on the assessment pathway as soon as possible, as it can take some time and early intervention can make a big difference. Suspecting ND and not seeking this is every bit as neglectful as ignoring parasites and injuries imo. It matters.

The well-being of the child trumps everything.

Yes at HV checks. There is nothing more to this than I have said.

It sounds ike a lot of assuming is going on here, you and your family assume its ASD, the SW assumes its neglect.

Has the HV or GP raised any concerns?

Neglect, autism and mental health issues can all look similar in small children. Add in normal variations in development and professionals can find it very hard to diagnose. At 2 the most important thing is that the wider family spend time engaging with the child, lots of speech based games etc - speech delay can for instance be caused by neglect eg parking a child in front of the tv all day every day, seen it myself through work.

Concentrate on well being now and seek further medical guidance around 3 if delays are still present despite current help

In your position I would write/email social services to make them aware of the history of autism in the family and specifically request an assessment for this. And I would make sure I got an acknowledgement of my letter/email also in writing.

Indeed they do.

When they are profoundly worried that the impact of a mental health condition will seriously impact upon the care of any children.

in the PP’s case - they didn’t think so.
in this case - they do

FGS OP. Let them do their job

She is working with them. And yes I agree they should be protected from neglect, but this just doesn't seem like neglect. I hope that there will be enough time for them to be able to see that.

And I agree about MH and Autism mixing - I know all about that!

I will raise all this when I get to see the SW but she's been off sick for weeks and the hearing is next month.

The problem OP is that if this child's delays are caused by autism then he needs even more support and help from his mother. His mother's mental health issues may not be the cause of his problems but they will certainly be contributing to them. Because they would impact any child.

So instead of trying to dismiss the concerns of social services and prove them wrong, she needs to be engaging with them (and other professionals) to in order to give her child the support they need.

I say that as a parent of 2 autistic kids, one now fully grown. I had lots of involvment from social services over the years but never imposed by them. The reason they stepped away and only got involved if I requested their involvement was because they realised very early on that I was fully engaged in fighting for the best for my kids. This is what your relative needs to be doing, she needs to be the driving force behind her child getting help. And if her mental health prevents her from doing that then it is entirely right that social services step in.

We are supporting SW involvement. And I know plenty about MH and autism, thanks.

Right, so they'll take no notice of this being a typical presentation of autism in our family and just put it down to neglect. This proves exactly why I am supporting my sister!

Yes, exactly and there are others too.

No

Ok, I'll make sure we get the ball rolling. It usually takes a couple of years to get diagnosis, though.

Autism is a big diagnosis process with paediatrician, salt etc it's a multi disciplinary team, it's never diagnosed for speed delay alone. And it's hard to get a diagnosis at 2 anyway. It's more likely they will monitor the child.

It's not that they'll take no notice, more that it'll be weighed up against actual, verifiable evidence. They'll speak to other professionals who've had contact with the mother and child and form a judgment based on the whole picture. If they are concerned they will present their evidence to a court and the court will decide. But it will be based on evidence and some evidence carries more weight than other evidence.

They had mentioned it to the HV but we're told he was too young for them to say. The DC in the family have been diagnosed at an older age, so I wasn't sure he could be referred at his age but I'll let his parents know to ask the GP to make a referral. I mean he is obviously already under the child development centre for physio and S&L.

I'm not shoving anything on her shoulders - it is Children's services suggesting neglect, not me!

The toddler's dad is non resident parent. He sees him every week though and does his physio and S&L stuff with him. It is not his responsibility to get help for his ex-partner, although he is caring and supportive.

Why on earth would the social workers be out to get me?? 🤨 But no you couldn't be further from the truth.

I don't want them to 'sign off' - she needs support. But with the right things. I'm not assuming it will drop the case at all. But just to be clear there is no suggestion of any other type of neglect.

They have already sort advice around the possibility of Neurodiversity.

I mean assuming on the basis of us having experience of autism/ADHD in DC.

I know a conversation was had with the health visitor who seemed to think toddler was too young for referral. But I now though that's not right so I'll let her know.