Is 2 the earliest you can get an ASD diagnosis ?

[starsmoonstars]

My dd is 2 and I am quite sure she is autistic. Is 2 the youngest she could be diagnosed ? Does it sometimes happen that the assessment is inconclusive and you have to repeat it?

I’m really keen to get the diagnosis and get support in place for her as i think she is severely affected but is she too young ?

Yes 2 I think is the earliest. My son was diagnosed privately at 2 the month of his birthday then 2 years 6 months on the NHS.

If it's inconclusive yes I would imagine they would wait and see how your child develops

Sorry for doing all seperate messages. Just to say... There isn't really that much extra support once you get the diagnosis. I know several mums who get told and you're waiting for something to happen but it doesn't....

SLT, OT, Portage, DLA - They don't rely on a diagnosis it's needs based.

The nhs wait times are years in our area so I may look at private assessment. I’m going to check about accessing speech therapy etc if I can do so without a diagnosis but I don’t think dd will be very willing although it’s worth a try

DS was diagnosed at 2 years and 3 months. GP wasn't interested when I took him at 18 months and said we would have to wait until he was 3. However I contacted the HV team and said I would like them to refer him and they said if they could see a need for referral at his 2 year check then they would.

It was very quick 10 weeks in total from first appointment to diagnosis.

This was 12 years ago tho.

Good luck

Support is based on needs, not diagnosis, so a diagnosis won’t automatically mean more support. You could look at requesting an EHCNA if you think one is needed. Does DD attend nursery?

It is unusual to be diagnosed before 2, if only because of the waiting list.

Sometimes HCPs will adopt watchful waiting in young DC.

surely 2 must be the youngest owing to communication development.

Not any more as we trialled nursery for 4 months on the advice of the Hv and it was an absolute disaster so we stopped. I think if she goes again or for school we might need an EHCP?

You can apply for an EHCNA now. IPSEA have a model letter you can use.

In some areas they have specialist early years assessment nursery places. If your LA has them push for one of these places. In some LAs 2 year olds can receive early years inclusion funding, you can also ask about this although in other LAs it isn’t available until 3.

Also, some special schools have playgroups that are helpful to attend as they often have staff on hand to advise.

My eldest had an early diagnosis and attended an education preparation unit (admittedly this was a long time Ago and a different county) he got a statement (as it was then) years later whilst at primary.

My youngest girl was told it's likely she has Autism at 18 months but wasn't diagnosed till she was nearly 4 years old. The most stressful couple of years of my life going through endless tests & scans to get to that point x

I think it can be difficult to diagnose definitively that early. I have two friends who had a incorrect diagnosis at that age. One was diagnosed with ASD - but doesn’t actually have it, was completely fine after age 4/5. The other deemed to be NT and continued to become more ND over the next few years and was re-diagnosed a few years later.

So true! My daughter was wrongly diagnosed so had to take her to an Autism clinic where she was diagnosed and got her statement to start school. I can understand them being so young it's hard to get a correct diagnosis. She's coming 11 now & she's managing her ASD x

I didn't put my son in nursery till he was 3.5, that was when I thought he was ready. The first 4 months were very challenging, he often only managed 30 mins. Now he does 3 hours and enjoys it. It's been huge!

Can you contact portage? You might find that service useful. Google your local authority sen page.

My son was referred to pathway at 25m and diagnosed at just under 3. This was 5 years ago I can't imagine diagnosis happening earlier than 2/3 even going privately as it's social/communication. Global development delay could potentially be diagnosed earlier.

Just to second what others have said, you don’t need a diagnosis to get support.

Both my DCs had DLA, EHCPs, SALT and a number of other things by the age of 3 without any diagnosis. It was all based on their needs. When the diagnosis came (3 years later) nothing really changed. This is because support should be needs based, not diagnosis based.

In fact, I know very complex children with EHCPs and no diagnosis - and conversely, children with a diagnosis who are not even on the SEN register at school because they have no support in addition to or different from their peers (I’m an SEN teacher).

It sounds like the nursery misled you. I would speak to your HV or else get advice from SENDias or you LA’s free independent SEN advisory service.
Hang in there!

Be careful with SENDIASS. Some are good but too many repeat the LA’s unlawful policies. IPSEA and SOSSEN are better.

Our eldest was 2 years old when diagnosed our middle child primary aged. It depends on the area you live in as to how it works we have a development hospital in our LA. It also goes to how apparent it is as the younger the child the harder it can be. Our eldest was diagnosed in 1 appointment with reports from his nursery. Our middle child we didn't spot until school age as comparing them to each other they are completely different one is verbal and will live an independent life. The other can't tell you their name at 12 and won't live independently ever.

That’s a good point!

Apologies for rehashing an old thread but 10 weeks is amazing. Was that nhs? We've been waiting 4 years so far with probably 9 months more to wait for an initial appointment with a paediatrician. School has to do the referral in our area for older children and it took 2.5 years for the school to do their assessment.

Yes they want to wait until 2 to differentiate out normal toddler behaviour