The story is so long, and I am so upset - so apologies for the brief outline, but I am desperately in need of help.
My son has ASD, we don't have a diagnosis. It's so very clear, his teacher has outright said I believe 💯 he has ASD.
I have battled the SENCO since he started school and she finally agreed to send the forms, however i discovered today that she didn't fill out the ASD, only ADHD as she didn't agree. The ND pathway returned the forms and based on my evidence listed, asked her to fill in the forms as they believe he needs to be assessed for both ASD and ADHD. The form was first sent last March, returned in September and then re submitted with both parts filled out by myself, the senco and his teacher.
The format for the forms changed and they asked for them to be redone, apparently they eventually accepted them as they are, but she called me today to ask if I could ring the ND pathway to check they're now in the system and he's on the waitlist. I cannot do this until next week as they are only open Wednesday and Thursday 9-12.
I thought I was almost a year into the 2.5 year wait for assessment to find out today I'm at the start, because of how badly this was cocked up. I am very upset. My son needs support, he is desperately behind and becoming more and more distressed as the days go on.
I am at the point where I think I will go down the private route - I don't have any idea where to start. The SENCO mentioned looking at official autism charities for recommendations of reputable clinics, so that we don't pay out for something that isn't accepted by the NHS. Has anyone gone down this route? Does anyone have any recommendations of private practices that have diagnosed your child and it's been accepted as an official diagnosis? Personal first hand experience preferably, just so I know who to look into. I'm in the south west if that makes any difference.
Thank you in advance, a very exhausted mum.