Summer born child with autism

[Chargertest]

Hi
We received a diagnosis for our son last week and everything has seemed a bit overwhelming.
He was due to start school in September. He was born at the end of August. Now with the diagnosis we are wondering whether there would be any benefit in delaying him.
Has anyone been in a similar position? We are struggling with the decision. He's quite young for his age and struggles to interact with his peers.
Thanks

When a person has autism, they are "wired differently", which is different from a developmental delay.
They will be wired just as differently from children a year younger than themselves.
When a child has a developmental delay, then they are likely to develop in just the same way as most neurotypical children, but reach all the milestones a bit later.
A person with autism will commonly have an 'uneven profile' - meaning some things they will be 'age appropriate' at, some they may be really advanced at, and others they will be considerably behind their peers at. Delaying a school year doesn't really help them access the areas they find more difficult.

With your diagnosis being so recent, you are probably quite overwhelmed at the moment.
Where you live, do you get any post diagnosis support ? (From the CDC or portage, or through your Nursery, or through a Voluntary Organisation - I know 'Contact' are doing some Brighter Beginnings Courses for example.... our CDCs offer families of newly diagnosed pre-schoolers 3 follow up sessions to work through all the questions families have and offer advice and strategies....... our LA also offer courses and workshops for parents of children with SEND.

Does you littele one go to Nursery at the moment ?
Has there been any talk about him needing an EHCP ?

Thanks for your response, sorry for the delay. Yes we are being referred to the early years inclusion team for an appointment before he starts school. What he will need we are a bit unsure of at the moment. To be honest it's come as a bit of a shock and we are both trying to process it all and feeling a bit overwhelmed and sad.
I guess I was thinking he's young for his age anyway and wondered if he might benefit from another year of going to preschool 3 mornings a week that he's doing at the moment

Hi @Chargertest, we were in the same position as you last year. It is just over a year now since DS received his ASC diagnosis and he will be turning 5 in a few weeks time. We decided to delay starting school and DS starts in Reception this coming September.

For us it has been really positive. DS wasn't ready for full-time education last year. I think just turned 4 is young for any child to start school. An extra year to develop and mature has done DS no harm. His communication has improved, he no longer has a nap in the afternoon and he is now toilet trained as well. I do agree though with BackforGood that delaying school for a year isn't a magic wand. DS still faces the same challenges and will require a high level of support throughout school.

The biggest benefit has been the extra time. Last year everything felt rushed and up in the air and we were still just trying to come to terms with the diagnosis. The year has given us space to get an EHCP in place and really look at schools and consider where would be the best fit for DS. We have a better understanding of the strategies that work for him and the support that he will need in school. Delaying took the pressure away and gave us space and time to consider our options. For that alone I would say it is worth it.

Good luck with whatever you decide. It takes some time, but things do start to feel a bit easier.

Our DS received an ASD diagnosis aged 6. He is summer born. I keep thinking he would be better off in the year below. Whilst his ASD is not immediately noticeable he spoke late and is just generally a slow developer, takes time to process things, appears young for his age etc. He would have been so much better off starting school a year later, he was not ready at all at just 4. Had I known then what I know now I would have definitely delayed his start to school.

I think it may be that some kids with asd may struggle with speech and learning to read etc so may cope better at 5.
I know a dc with asd who repeated yr r and was certainly doing a lot better the second time. I guess the had the support sorted out better the second time too.
The other dc with asd who repeated ended up moving to a SS rather than yr 1 as they must have been more severe.
I think the youngest in a yr struggle socially anyway.