social awareness and autism ?

[spiritsam]

Hi all i am new here and need some advice please . I feel my little girl has Autism but the support teacher who assessed her for 1 to 1 said she is too socially aware . Exactly what would she mean by that . Any ideas ?
I am getting lost from information overload lol x

Hi
How old is your DD?
I have constantly been told by teachers that my DS couldn't possibly have autism as he didn't present in the way they expected, however it turns out that he definitely does.
DS is 8 and is aware that he is different from other children, he has probably known that for about a year. However, he can't tell for example that he should treat teachers differently from his peers.

Hi She will be 3 end of May .She has speech delay , over friendly , very active , odd behavours and meltdowns , likes routine e.tc . Nursery def think something is up and asked me to keep a journal . Daughter has been referred to Development team . Sorry am not sure how you use terms e.t.c on here yet ! And thank for replying x

Hi zzzz i did not go to teacher it was assessment for 1 to 1 support . See above post for why i think this , i could go on and list lots more reasons . My GP was not even interested in her dribbling and bowel problems i went straight through HV , she had hearing test , then SALT app the assessed for 1 to 1 and referred to Developmental x

Hi spiritsam. I am fairly new to this too. With reference to being socially aware.... it means she can pick up on the social rules we learn naturally, like how to behave with friends, how to read and understand gestures, tones of voice, emotions on peoples faces etc, how to behave with adults and why you can do one thing in one situation, but not another. Hope that helps.

Ah thank you creatovator x

spiritsam, don't spend any more time thinking about the ramblings of an unqualified support teacher. You are doing all the right things. If you want to something more, then find out the number of the developmental clinic or wherever you have been referred and ask for waiting times or for a cancellation.

Hi Starlight yes chasing the appointment was next on my list . Was just curious really . :)

Advisory or support teachers and even Ed Pyschs can't diagnose (DX.) Only a developmental Paed can. Also, they are probably more used to seeing boys on the autistic spectrum and girls are naturally more communicative and social so their deficits can be masked. As Starlight says, you are doing the right thing. If you have doubts yourself, she needs to be assessed by the paediatrician.

Hi Ellen
Yes am going to chase the referral i think and see how long we have to wait . It's been about 5-6 weeks now . What ever does or does not come out from the referral she is my little treasure

In our area specialist teachers and ed psychs are part of the diagnostic panel and therefore are making diagnoses, albeit as part of a group. If the specialist teacher who had observed a child in school felt that the child did not have autism he or she would be very unlikely to get one.

spiritsam if you feel that your lovely daughter is in need of a dx in order to access her education you need to read up on autism in girls, esp Tony Attwood, and then go to appointments armed with the evidence. Insist that she has a formal assessment as per Starlight's advice and don't walk away without what you feel your DD needs.

Without wishing to offend teachers [!!], they DO NOT have the ability to dx ASD just because they have done the course. 'Oh your child ticks all these boxes, but not those therefore she/he is .....'.
We are at GOSH seeing [amongst others] Neurodisability as my son isn't 'typical' and the wrong dx or label has been hanging over him for years -he's now 7. He is now Home Educated as he had a SEN for physical disability that his school chose to ignore. [This probably makes me v 'anti', but there you are!] Thank them for their 'interest' then get someone who knows what they are looking for, having spent their career training for such purposes! Use what you know about your child, you know her better than anyone. A correct and considered dx is a blessing, the wrong one definatly a curse that's hard to get away from.

Spiritsam, there was a popular myth that autism = shy, antisocial. Nope. Trouble is, they were diagnosing on that false thought for years. Autism = social clumsiness and being scared stiff of sudden changes of routine or events of the day, and (often) sensory behaviours. So people with autism can be shy, or not. Sociable, or not. But the social stuff from us is often just plain weird - either too much, or too little. Too friendly, or not friendly enough. Write not at all, or write all the time. Chat not at all, or can't shut up no matter what. It's the extremes that make it more likely to be autism-related. But yes, as has been said, only a proper diagnostic team can make that diagnosis.

I agree with Al1son. It could be that the support teacher doesn't have much experience of girls who have autism. They present very differently to boys and are much better at learning to mask the signs in order to fit in with their peers. In particular, their social skills are much more difficult to assess, unless you are experienced in working with girls who have ASD.

Tony Attwood's book is a good place to start and covers girls who have ASD and there are a few books specifically about girls here - although I can't personally recommend any of them, as its my ds1 who has AS. this thread on an autism discussion forum is an interesting read though.

Tony Attwood has made a dvd that might be of interest, details here - I'm not sure how available it is in the UK though, you might have to send for it from Australia.

On its own the 1-1 teacher's observation doesn't really mean all that much. Its just a snapshot of how your dd was during a certain time slot on a certain day. Its not possible to diagnose ASD on the basis of a single observation. Diagnosis is usually made after a comprehensive developmental history is taken, along with information on communication skills and possible sensory issues. In some areas the paediatrician will be able to diagnose, in others, like ours, there will be a multidisciplinary team consisting of Ed Psychs, Occupational Therapists, SALTs, Clinical Psychologists and a Paed. They will gather all the necessary information and then carry out an assessment (in our case it was the ADOS) before making a final diagnosis. The process can often be drawn out and lengthy, although in our case, it was the waiting list that took the time and the assessment itself was fairly quick.

I think the consensus is that while educationalists may be part of a multi- disciplinary team, individually they are not the right people to DX! You are waiting on your developmental clinic appointment, they will be the right people! Your DD does sound lovely, Amberlight's post gives a good description of social niceties, over friendly comes into that. My DS is active but odd, too!

Good news the team's HV is ringing next week to come out and explain process e.t.c So far daughter down for Paed , Occ Therapist and maybe their speech therapist , appointments and final meeting should all be done by mid July :) x

Sorry about quick post will answer properly tonight :)

That's great spiritsam! Worth hassling them, then.

Well thanks all for your messages have taken it all on board and will look for the books .
Further good news is that HV from Child Development Team is coming on 23rd May to chat, observe and bring dates for Occupational Therapist , Paed and maybe their SALT so fingers crossed and will let you know how we get on . My DD had meltdown again leaving Nursery today and was after biting the hoover wire yet again but it is all going down in her journal .
Hugs and thanks to you all :)