Appointment with consultant paed - DS possible ASD, please advise

[DameGladys]

I posted in May/June time about DS who had his 2 year check and the HV had a few concerns.

His understanding is my main area of concern - he also doesn't request ANYTHING.

Since May we've seen the SALT, have recently started having visits from a portage lady and have had a further appointment with the HV.

She was impressed with some of DS's progress but agreed with me (am trying to be pushy!) that referring him to the consultant would be wise.

Didn't know what waiting times would be but got appointment through almost straight away for 19th Oct.

This has parallels with the other thread about going back to the start of your SN journey. I guess I am there. What would you ask the consultant?

Many thanks in advance for any tips you can give me.

Bumping with a link to the old thread

I missed loads out in my OP because I didn't want to splurge and be boring. Hearing test done and his hearing is v good apparently. We've been doing loads with him and been guided by More Than Words (thanks!)

Just wondered if there were any key questions I might regret not asking the consultant.

I don't know what to advise about asking the consultant - it depends on what you want to know.

Do you think you know or have a gut feeling what ds may be diagnosed with? If so, make sure everything you want to discuss about this is covered.

But would suggest taking a list of questions with you, as it's so easy for the appt to go in a blur and you come out realising you'd forgotten loads of things. Also, might be worth writing down all the things (behaviour, s/l issues, examples of poor understanding etc), as it's easy to forget to mention some of these too.

Good luck.

Thanks for replying. I think I'm just being a bit needy and panicky.

On re-reading the old thread there is a ton of brilliant advice which it's good to remind myself of.

I am planning to take a list and also jot down things she says if I can.

I don't know what I think he may be diagnosed with. I guess ASD though there are loads of things that don't fit. However I bet everyone with an ASD diagnosis would say the same about things not fitting. I wonder how much I'm in denial sometimes, though I try not to be.

Taking a list is a good idea as you may forget things when anxious. I agree that most parents feel that a lot of things in the stereotype 'don't fit' their autistic child but it depends what the things are ! Is he requesting now ?

sorry just saw you put that bit about requesting in the latest post ! would be a lot of progress in one day !

Lol, yes that would be good progress.

He is choosing between options a bit more now, but it's all very much forced on him iyswim, even though I try and make it fun. It's mostly choosing by reaching for things rather than using words too. But we're persevering and I can see little steps .

He just doesn't seem to see what is to be gained from requesting - yet.

My DS was a bit like this - couldn't see the need for language at all.

He liked ice cream and eventually figured out if he said 'ice crean' he got one. Took flippin ages though...

We paid for private speech/language therapy for him which has really really helped.

He can speak in sentences now.

Best of luck at the docs.

Just be aware the consultant can be just the first port of call. In our area you see the paed first but everyone actually knows it's the clin psych who does the diagnosing. It should be multiteam assessment for asd but not all paeds are very expert in asd. They might just be the person who coordinates it all.

One of the best things I've learned from this board is that what's important is meeting your ds's exact needs - the diagnosis itself is just a label (though of course that can open doors to support). So just make sure you really get across what your ds's precise deficiencies/delays/problems are, and make sure you get answers about these, rather than being sidetracked into discussing other areas you may not feel are too relevant. Remember, you're taking him to see a paed because you have concerns about xyz, and the xyz what you need to focus on.

sorry, meant "the xyz is what you need to focus on"

Thank you - all really useful.