O wise mumsneters

[pilesrock]

Don't really know where to start,but I'm sure there's something "not quite right" with my DS and I would like the benefit of your wisdom please.

AS a Baby he was "almost too good" and was always happy and content.At about 12m I had a feeling that every thing wasn't right but couldn't put my finger on it,the best way I can describe it was he appeared"chilled" all the time .
He was a late talker (and walker) and only could say "gone now" at 16 m he also appeared to have his own words eg Daddy was "gaga" until he was about 2.He didn't pass the inital hearing tests and didn't appear to react to sudden noises as a baby, but his hearing was found to be perfect when he had a hospital test aged 2.

He was referred to a pediatrician at 18 months who basically said there was some developmental delay and he'd probably always have some sort of SEN - anyway was discharged with a referral to speech therapy.

Fast Forward to school age He's always been just below average but never messes around and indeed every teacher has commented that they've never had to tell him off !

He's now 8 and the above doesn't worry me too much in its own,but he appears to have trouble with his short term memory and has great difficulty recalling things from minuets ago & we find ourselves having to repeat things at least 3 times sometimes within seconds.He also has problems under standing / processing instructions eg If I was to say "go upstairs,brush your teeth,wipe your face and turn the light off" None of the above would get done But If I phrased it " You need to go upstairs,go into the bathroom and brush your teeth and when you have finished that,you need to wipe your face and after that you need to turn the bathroom light off" It would get done.

I probably haven't explained everything very well but do you think that I need to get this further investigated or am I making mountains out of mole hills ?

Your opinions are very much appreciated.

I would advise to trust your instincts and ask your gp for a referral back to a developmental paediatrician. I think the symptoms you describe do ring some alarm bells although it may not be immediately obvious what's causing them. The processing delays could potentially be related to things such as auditory processing delay/disorder, attention defecit disorder or autistic spectrum disorder although there would need to be a lot more investigation before any of that could be confirmed.

Hope you get some answers and reassurance about your concerns.

Thank You for taking time to reply,I suppose I'm really looking for reassurance that I'm not imagining things.
I also thought that DS had some of the markers associated with Auditory processing disorder and also ADD,but I was under the impression that there were also likely to be behaviour or concentration issues with ADD ?

The problems he has are very subtle and probably go unnoticed by others, especially school,but when we mentioned his short term memory problem his teacher seemed to take notice and said "ah I've noticed that when I've asked him to do something,he's forgotten seconds later".
I've found that over the years me & DH have adapted to him and automatically phrase and explain things in the way that "seems to go in" Another example is If I just put his dinner money in his bag and said "your dinner money is in your bag" it would still be there the next day, so I have to physically show him me putting it in his bag and back it up verbally by saying " I'm putting your dinner money in the front pocket of your bag & when you get to school you need to give it in".

A pinkorkid said, I would go and have a chat with your GP and ask for a referral to a developmental paediatrician.

I also had 'the gut feeling' about my ds1, but over the years we adapted to accommodate him and I always felt that perhaps I was just a bit paranoid.

It was such a relief when we eventually did go to see the GP that she listened, understood and agreed we should at least have some checks done.

Its a good time to do it as well, as if he does turn out to need extra support in school, you can make sure its all sorted before transition to secondary.

Might be an idea to have a chat with your school's SENCO (Special Needs Education Officer) as well, but for us the GP was definitely the right route.

hth

ADD can be defined as primarily inattentive, primarily hyperactive or both. Primarily inattentive is more likely to go under the radar than if the child is hyperactive.

There is a diagnostic form, which you may be able to find on the internet,(try www.sdqinfo.com/b1.html) called the strengths and difficulties questionnaire which is often used for parents and teachers to give their observations about the child as part of the diagnostic process includes descriptors like "often forgets things" which you have to rate as never, sometimes or always.

It's good - in terms of getting others to take your concerns seriously - that the teacher has also noticed the problems with short term memory.

It's also good that you have found strategies for communicating effectively with your son realising how explicit you need to make instructions/explanations for him. Again this could be something an educational psychologist or a Speech and Language Therapist could advise the school on implementing in the classroom setting. Could you ask to speak to the senco at school to discuss if she could refer him for evaluation. You can also access the SALT via your gp, I think.