What Can I Expect From CAHMS? Re Aspergers

[joencaitlinsmum]

I have a lovely DS who is nearly 11, he has always had his little quirks which I put down to just "being him" and we have had a few emotional issues along the way of him growing up however things came to a head after he went on his yr 6 residential trip back in September 2010.

To cut a long story short the school senco thought he could have aspergers and at the very least wanted a referal to a anxiety clinic.
My GP agreed and referred him to CAHMS who refused to see him and passed him to the anxiety clinic.

Now he has been accessed at the anxiety clinic they have also expressed concerns that he has aspergers also he didnt come out "high" on the tick box tests and have referred him to CAHMS.

Our appointment has come through from CAHMS but I'm not sure what this is going to achieve? The school senco has said that DS is not "bad" enough and will just have to cope with life.
He is doing so well academically (with a bit extra support for confidence issues) and is so well behaved that I often have to pinch myself!

I just wonder how he will cope with going to secondary school later this year, the change in routine and mixing with other children when he already finds it hard in a smaller school?

I am using the techniques I have been taught at the anxiety clinic but its early days, just want to know what I should be pushing for with CAHMS and what help I should be getting!

Thank you if you have got this far :)

Have no personal experience of CAMHS so hopefully another poster could help in that respect.

Re your comment:-
"The school senco has said that DS is not "bad" enough and will just have to cope with life".

Well that's just great of her to say that. Awful too of the Senco to suggest this to you re your DS.

Would seriously consider now applying for a Statement to help him at secondary school (this will get his additional needs properly documented) as many children with AS or on the spectrum can flounder badly in secondary if there is not enough support.

I think CAMHS itself won't be very useful. But the dx will be invaluable to you and to him.

Your school is not qualified to dx - only CAMHS or a paed can.

You need to push for a full assessment of ASD - and you need to find out in your area whether CAMHS dx ASD or the Paed does.... (Ring CAMHS and find out)

I've been through CAMHS with my dd who they diagnosed as having Autism. She is probably more Asergers though but she had some speech problems then, hence the diagnosis of Autism. Basically our CAMHS only keep seeing you after diagnosis if you are taking any medication. She was put on Prozac due to her anxiety and they kept seeing her until she came off about 18 months ago. Once she had been off for a while they discharged her.

What CAMHS can did for us is diganose and then try and manage issues with medication. If we hadn't been taking any medication they would have discharged her after the diagnosis.

Having a diagnosis can really help in senior school so teachers understand and there may even be a bit of extra funding if you push for it.

Good luck

I think you need to go to the secondary school now and try to imagine how your son will cope there. If you think he will find it difficult see the SENCo and discuss what support they can put in place for him. If they don't feel able to provide what you think he would need you need to apply for a statutory assessment of special educational needs which may lead to him getting a statement.

My DD1 was exactly like your son and coped quietly until she started high school. That environment was too much for her, she began to refuse to attend and this is what led to her diagnosis of AS by CAMHS.

CAMHS services are very variable. They have been fantastic for us but others have had bad experiences so you probably won't get the answer your looking for on here unles you post which area you are in.

A diagnosis isn't essential for getting a statement but it does help.

If the Senco hadn't been on the school trip and seen DS "freaking out" for want of a better word she wouldn't have belived me about his fears etc (her exact words). I did try to explain to them about it before he left and was made to feel like I was a over protective mother!

She has also said he is so well behaved and enjoys team games so is not typical aspergers!

"She has also said he is so well behaved and enjoys team games so is not typical aspergers"

Some children on the autistic spectrum behave and conform in class but bottle up all their frustrations re the school day.
And how would this SENCO know exactly?. She is truly no expert on AS is she?.

I would take no notice of such comments but would instead become a strong advocate for your DS. This is because no-one else but you will or is better placed to fight his corner for him.

Thank you for your responses, we are in Berkshire.

Does CAHMS apply for the statement or is it the school?

You apply for a statement. See the ipsea website.

www.ipsea.org.uk

As Indigo rightly states you need to apply for the Statement. The above website has model letters you can use when you write to the Chief Education Officer of your LEA.

If you personally apply for the Statement you know its been done then, also you can appeal in the event the LEA say no to a Statement (School cannot do this).

Don't listen to the SENCO they often don't have a clue. I was looking for a suitable main school for my daughter that had a good Speech and Language provision. She recommended a list of schools under the heading SLD, which is Sever Learning Difficulties rather than Speech.

Most SENCOs are just money people looking for ways to save, they aren't Special Needs teachers, who have some understanding of issues. A SENCO really won't want to spend any of their money bringing in the specialist needed to get a statement, especially if they have got away without giving too much support for so long. It's costly process obtaining a statement for a school.

Saying that I would look at obtaining as much support as you can before transition.

YOU need to apply for the statement, send the letter on the IPSEA website and then find out if you have a parent partenership service in your county to help you with the next part.

We were referred to CAHMS back in 2007 i think when DS was challenging at school only aged 6. CAHMS assessed DS and then referred him to a day center type place for further assessment where they told me there was nothing wrong with DS. What followed was a year of fighting, screaming, crying and shouting till they finally assessed DS using the ADOS test and it came back as autistic! Before diagnosis DS had a statement for 15 hours 1:1 but we had every school in the county refusing to take 7 year old DS! After diagnosis we got a full time statement and a specialist place in a small autistic school where DS has been for nearly 3 years now.
We still see CAHMS as DS is now on strattera for aggression and anxiety.

Just beware, I trusted CAHMS but they let me and DS down badly, trust your instincts. I KNEW ds has issues, CAHMS insisted it was ADHD and then that it was my bond with him and my parenting skills........very dark days but i pushed them and refused to accept their fist DX of ADHD and thankfully i was right.

our experience with CAMHS in our area is very positive - I have a 13 yo with AS and hew was diagnosed when he was 6.
We still receive support from CAMHS even though my son is no longer on medication. CAMHS even provided my dtr with support to come to terms with her brother's behaviour.
Like the poster above, take no notice of teacher - ime, they are poorly placed to give you any advice about your child and his needs.
My son is the text book student in his school setting but at home, is totally non-compliant, aggressive, verbally abusive.
I had years of his ms teacher saying that he was 'fine' with a clear underlying implication that it was him home life that made him behave like he did whilst at home.
Read Tony Attwood.
Professionalise yourself by getting a copy fo the SEN Code of Practice. I found it never hurt to know the lingo. And apply for a statement yourself. Then apply again when they refuse to assess! You are your son's best advocate and if you can get CAMHS on your side it can be a good thing (well in our exp it was).
Good luck!

I am going through a similar thing. my ds is 11 and moved to secondary in september. all had been fairly ok in primary but he couldnt cope . The school were horrible (long story) and i had to get him out of there as he was talking suicidal and allsorts . They had said that they thought he had a problem, possibly aspergers.
i went to my gp and asked for camhs , the first appointment was really just to get the info of the situation. They then said that they thought a furthur appointment with a psychologist was a good idea but we have to wait 6 MONTHS !
meanwhile we are at home waiting for a school transfer and ds behaviour has deteriorated into anger , self hate , total flip outs.
nightmare.

cheeryface - that's tough. We were lucky but that was about 7 years ago. My son's diagnosis was CAMHS led. We also went to our gp who made the initial referral. You could have knocked me for six when he was diagnosed with AS - I thought my world had come to an end.
I have heard that CAMHS services are patchy but we, when I hear other people's stories, have clearly been very lucky. Without them, I think that neither my son nor myself would be here today.
I think with the cuts coming, things will only get worse

laydeec if you dont mind me asking what sort of problems does your ds have? i am really confused at the moment about my ds2 especially as he is also having headaches everyday now.