WWYD Private assessment or not?

[bedheadz]

We have been in the system for 15 mths ds is 7.

So far we ds has had SALT assessment, Physio assessment which led to weekly physio, OT assessment (sensory), EP observation and comm paed appps x 3.

In our 3rd paed app this week after all the reports from the above were back we have been given a verbal dx of ASD, but need the ADOS to find out were on the spectrum ds is. The waiting list for ADOS is at least a year.

Previous to getting the verbal dx I had booked a private assessment for ds because I wasn't prepared to wait at least another year. Now I am not sure whether to be patient and wait for CAMHS ADOS or to go ahead with private assessment. I wasn't expecting the verbal dx because apart from the initial referral from BEST who stated they thought he was on the spectrum all the other proffesionals have just talked about social comms difficulties.

WWYD?? We are not loaded so the money issue would be my main reason for waiting.

Will your DS get any extra support at school with a verbal diagnosis? Does it matter at this point in time where on the spectrum your DS is? I'm guessing your DS will be going into junior school in September? It may be best to wait a year until your DS is 8. The age of maturation is 7-8 so it may be that you get a much clearer outcome in a years time than you would do now - maybe not. If the results of the ADOS would get your DS more immediate help then I would say go for it privately.

My DD has just turned 5 was diagnosed a 3.5. We had a review a few months back where Paed said she was at the other end of the spectrum (nearer the NT end) but to be honest this means nothing to us at this point in time. (She did not have the ADOS - I don't even think they do it in our area) . I don't think we will have a clearer picture for our DD until another 2-3 years.

Definitely go private. CAMHS can string things out for months / years.

You can show them your private dx and it will give them a push in the right direction.

I did this.

Best wishes

What support is he getting at school? A DX shouldn't make any difference, but in reality, it does. Don't let the lack of one stop you getting your DS support.

Before the end of term he was getting weekly input from a play therapist (which has now ended), and social skill session with BEST (which will continue).

He doesn't get any help in the classroom or on the playground.

School are supportive to a certain degree and unlike some posts I have read on here they are seeing what we see.

He is very passive in school and has so far coped other than a few incidents of bullying etc. He does get distressed in school but it more an emotional outburt rather than meltdowns.

I am concerned about transition into the juniors, although he is achieving above the average in all subjects, he really stuggles with the physicality of writing and putting his thoughts down on paper. The differance between him and his peers is becoming more obvious and some of the children are becoming less tolerant calling him a baby etc.

I got the autism advisory teachers to come into the class and give the rest a talk about 'invisible disabilities' with direct reference to my DS. The class became much more tolerant and supportive, but it's very much down to how you feel about publicising his issues.

My DS also started using an Alphasmart wordprocessor at Y4 which put him on more of an even wicket with the rest. He has a Statement of SEN and 15 hours plus 5 lunchtimes 1:1 support, though. But I know of children who use Alphasmarts without statements.

Is your DS on School Action or school action plus with an IEP? He should be, and you should be involved in setting achievable targets for him. They might include improving social skills by having a circle of friends who are chosen to be supportive. It could also include fine motor skills needed for extended writing.

It may be that your DS will cope well without 1:1 but the only way of getting it would be to request Statutory Assessment. Is this something you have discussed with the school? Is juniors a separate school? Have a look at the relevant sections of the SEN code of practice. Link here You can get a hard copy, must say somewhere on the website.

Yes he has recently been given an IEP after the Ed Pysch observed him.

Sorry, tis still me, on another thread.

Is it a good IEP, are the targets SMART, specific, measurable, achieveable, relevant and timely, (or some such buzz words.) Were you involved in deciding them and agreeing them? How often will progress be reviewed? Hopefully termly. If the EP has been involved then your DS will be on school action plus. Sounds like the school are on the ball. Which is nice! Does no harm to find out what the system is, even so, knowledge is power.

I have no idea tbh, they discussed them with me but they were already decided and written.

Target ds is able to take turns Criteria of success ds will be able to take turns in games on 5 occasions Methods & resouces ds will work with TA/Teacher on an individual basis at first before introduction to a group. social skills will be modelled and discussed.

He is fine taking turns as long as he goes first lol, losing is the big one really.

Target ds is able to start a convo for 1 min with teacher/TA/child. COS ds will be able to hold 1 min convo on five occasions. M & R using a 1 min timer ds will be encouraged to start a convo this will be modelled first by teacher, ds will then choose a child to start a convo with.

Target ds is able to edit his work working with teacher/ta highlighting his good points and 2 points to improve his written work COS ds will edit his work on 3 occasions M&R on a photocopy of ds work I will model highlighting good things and points to improve. ds will then be encouraged to edit his own work with teacher/ta.

This IEP was wrote about two mths ago, at parents evening teacher said they had really worked on it so that he had something to work with when he starts with his new teacher.

Also in his school report it mentions a scribe but when I asked his teacher she said he was scribed for on one or two occasions. I thought this was a bit dodgy because it sounded in the report quite often not just once or twice.

What do you think of his IEP?

Couldn't recommend having a private assessment enough. We had an ed pysch observe our DD and state in her report "very high probability of ASD" we accepted this and started going through the request for a statutory assessment we applied for legal aid to pay for our private assessment which we got (it cost £900) and the assessment conclusively showed our DD has ADHD and DCD not ASD at all. We sent our report to the trust as part of our stat assess request and we also complained about the original ed pysch report as it turned out she had done a lot of things wrong. The board then carried out another assessment by a senior ed pysch who concluded absolutely no ASD whatsoever. Oh and great news we will be getting a classroom assistant to help with DD who starts P1 in Sept.

It's a well written IEP. The only concerns I'd have would be that you were presented with a fait accompli, no chance to think whether you thought the targets were relevant.

The turn taking target is pretty standard, helpful to get DC children to understand that communication requires taking it in turns and isn't one sided. If you think he's already mastered turn taking in games, maybe a different target would be more appropriate. It may be he can take turns with you but struggles with it at school.

The school do sound good. Just need to remember that you are the expert on your child and they should be treating you as an equal partner.

Gone right off your actual question, sorry.