Getting desperate. Would private ed psych help?

[MsJaneAusten]

Hello wise ones. I’m hoping you can help as I’m feeling a little desperate.

My ds is 6. I’ve suspected there was something ‘different’ about him pretty much since he was born. I was initially fobbed off as a nervous first time mum, but since he started nursery, then school, we’ve had constant issues. He gets incredibly anxious, he’s behind his peers for reading and writing, he finds transitions (between classes/times of the day/teachers etc) really hard, he’s impulsive (hits/shouts then feels guilty afterwards), etc. He generally finds lessons with his own teacher ok, but is particularly challenging at any kind of unstructured time (break/lunch/after school club).

We were referred to community paediatrics and had the first meeting last July. Nothing since. I’ve called to chase and been told that the consultant wanted to see him again before putting him on the ASD pathway, and that we could expect the next meeting in about four months time. Argh.

Things got so bad at his last school (not allowed out for break or lunch) that we moved him to a different school a few weeks ago. He’s settled well with his class, but they’re also finding his break /lunch behaviour really hard. I’m terrified that things won’t work there and that we’ll need to move him again. I really don’t think he’d cope.

I’ve just been googling Educational Pyschologists and discovered that the local nhs ed psych also offers private consultations. Is this worth it? It feels like a way to speed things up and go help school to help him. If it would help DS I would happily pay, but I don’t want to do anything that would negatively impact on the support he might get.

Any thoughts? Are private assessments worth it? Anything else I can try.

Thank you

There is no harm in calling the educational psychologist and expressing your
concerns. My dd1 has dyslexia which was not confirmed until year 6. An assessment does not solve all the problems a SEN child and you as a parent will face but it makes things a lot better. Good luck

Thank you. I’m going to call her tomorrow. I’ve also emailed the headteacher to ask if she has any more ideas of how we could support him as, frankly, I’m completely at a loss

You may be better of with a private psychiatrist or clinical psychologist who is specifically qualified to diagnose ASD.

Does an educational psychologist not do that? I must have misunderstood. Ok. I’ll look into it. Thank you!

I thought an ed psych worked mostly on educational accommodations to help kids get the best out of school. I was under the impression that a paediatrician was needed for an official diagnosis - correct me if I am wrong.