'Possibly on THE spectrum'....

[humanoctopus]

I have a gorgeous 3 year old ds.

Loves cuddles, super smiley, etc.

His speech is practically incomprehensible (doesn't bother him, no frustrated 'not getting understood' tantrums, iykwim).

He usually repeats the last word you say in a sentence ('do you want a sandwich? Him: sandwich.')

He has a funny walk, mostly his feet point inwards, but he still manages to run like the wind, climb, etc.

He is generally considered by people who meet us as looking very young for a 3 year old (ie, he does look like a 2 or even 1 and a half year old).

He had the usual developmental check up, and then the nurse was all concerned and gave us the communication parental questionnaire (preparation for further investigation). He scored poorly on that, I really felt that I was consigning him to be labelled. When I asked why I was filling out this questionnaire, she told me that he was possibly on THE spectrum. Then she had to fly off somewhere.

I know he is behind, but am feeling a little down about him now.

Its likely that we will have to wait 3 months + to begin an assessment process.

What do ye mumsnetters think?

Any input greatly appreciated.

As Agnes pointed out you can self refer to the services such as Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy yourself before you see someone in 3 months time. Have a look on your local PCT website to find the contact details. Some areas do drop in centres for Speech and Language Therapy.

humanoctopus

Have a look at Identification and Evaluation of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders 2007
and this includes two tables of issues regarding the diagnosis of Autism and Aspergers
[[http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/120/5/1183/T1.expansion.html Diagnostic Criteria for 299.00: AD (autism)
Diagnostic Criteria for 299.80: Asperger's Disorder (Referred to as AS in This Report)

should be
Diagnostic Criteria for 299.00: AD (autism)
Diagnostic Criteria for 299.80: Asperger's Disorder (Referred to as AS in This Report)

unfortunately not all areas allow you to self-refer, but it's v worthwhile googling the PCTs and phoning up yourself to check that out anyway. If you aren't at work in the day, then some Children's Centres put on vaguley useful courses about helping you to help your child communicate, some suitable for language delay - I went on a Hanen one, You Make the Differnce during the wait for referrals etc, that was useful and had a mixed bag of parents some parents of kids with SN, some not.

PS - don't expect GP/HV to know (or tell you!) all you need to know about wht's useful locally in terms of services/course/what's on at the children's centre, etc. be prepared to do a bit of diggin g/phoning around yourself.

Ds1, aged 3, was a cuddly smiley happy little boy who had never had a tantrum in his life. He didn't talk, and he didn't feel the need to communicate. Now, I don't want to worry you, but he does have ASD. The reason he didn't have frustrated tantrums was because he was disengaged from his environment and didn't want to communicate anything. His tantrums came at 7.

Contact your GP and ask for your son to be assessed.

my son is waiting to be assessed, the health visitor referred him, i know deep down there is something not quite right with him, i've worked with children his age and my gut instinct told me something wasn't quite right from him being a baby. my lo has some behaviour that raises concerns but it wasn't till the nursery he attends carrie dout some observations and put him 10 months behind i just got upset, i spent so long getting people just to believe me then when they do i didn't want to hear it.

i have also worked in a school for children with autism and every single one of those children where different with social interaction, speech ect, i think theres quite alot of myths around autism. i'm not sure what direction the assesment of my lo is going to go down,, alot of his behavoiurs are quite subtle

Just to echo Colditz children with autism differ massively
Some are very challenging, overactive and tantrum due to sensory overload
Others are passive, withdraw and play on their own and very very content not interacting and just doing their own thing.

Its not unusual - having made this mistake myself - to think you have a very easy going child when actually they are too passive. My DS is incredibly affectionate with familiar adults but won't have anything to do with his brothers at all.

Yup, autism is perhaps best described as 'too much/too little'. We can be very cuddly and friendly - but not have a clue how to use that appropriately. Or we can be very standoffish and isolated. But what we can't do is get it right for the person and the occasion, since those are very specialised social skills, and our brains don't have that bit of the brain wiring rigged in properly. It can be great to have a cuddly friendly child when they're pre-school, but if they're still trying to hug people when they're 14 and it's taken the wrong way, it can be a disaster. (Generalising throughout...)

It's totally natural to feel a bit down when you realise there's the potential for your child to not grow out of all those funny little things they do. At first it can feel pretty over-whelming and you try to convince yourself it's not a real problem.
However, getting the right help and support for him will minimise any negative effects in the long term, it can only be good to fully understand his issues. Intervention at this early stage can make a huge difference. Knowledge is empowering, so find out all that you can about potential diagnoses. Whatever the outcome with the right support your ds WILL do well and fulfill his potential and that's all any parent wants isn't it?

The knack is also in realising the positive things rather than just the negative ones. Medical and diagnostic teams etc often concentrate so much on 'what's wrong' rather than on the findings that show we're (for example, and generalising) able to see, hear and sense three times more detail than others, use our ability to concentrate to hugely good effect, be very conscientious about laws, rules, social responsibility etc, be a loyal and good friend to people, etc. Seeing us as a set of 'things wrong' is a sure way to feel bad. Seeing the stuff we can bring to the world is far more positive.

Thanks for all the great replies.

Its so useful to hear others experiences.

I just hate waiting!!!!

Did anyone decide to go privately? Either for a second opinion, or to speed up the process (or both!).