Hi
I'm new to Mumsnet and this is the first time I've posted on this board.
My DS has just turned 4. I have had concerns about him since last year as his speech is very delayed and his social communication is poor in other ways too. Left to his own devices he would count (he can count to well over 100) add, spell and recite the alphabet most of the time.
He is being assessed and all reports point out his speech delay, poor eye contact, occasional hand flapping, extreme precociousness in some areas (reading labels, counting) and other symptoms which indicate some form of ASD.
A year has gone by and all I have been offered is a workshop which frankly stated the obvious. It may have been of help to the parents of a child who had speech delay due to being plonked in front of the tv all day long but was otherwise of little use.
They say he has met all targets so far but he is still way behind the average 4 year old, speaking in 3-4 word sentences most of the time and if he can get what he wants by saying less he will. He doesn't seem to understand the ping pong nature of conversation at all.
I have been reading a lot about ABA and it's given me some hope. I am trying to learn about the techniques but if possible I want to get him on a programme. Does anyone know how to go about this in the UK and how much it costs. Does it have to be 40 hours a week? Has anyone had success by doing it themselves? The problem is that I work 3 days a week. On those days he attends pre-school which he copes with and enjoys and I'm sure it's helped him along a bit but I really feel that he needs one to one attention.
Does the council have a duty to provide speech therapy before he gets a diagnosis? Money is tight but I am prepared to make sacrifices to ensure he gets as much help as I can afford - still though I want to make sure that he is getting all that he is entitled to.
Sorry this is so long but I am really at sea with all this - I've only just come to terms with the fact that he probably has ASD and I'm feeling pretty alone and scared about the future.
Thanks in advance.