How long did you have to wait for a pead appointment?

[Kelly1978]

I've been trying to get my ds help since he was 2, he is now 4. He did start speech therapy and other assesments, but we moved. At the new address he was on the waiting list for speech therapy, assesment of his motor skills, and general developmental checks. We were there for 18 months and never got anywhere. I moved in Oct, contacted the new HV, and he has been referred again. This time to a children's resource center for a series of appointments to assess him all round. I was told he should get appointments in jan (he needs three). I've jsut got a letter today saying that the team have looked at the referral and agreed he needs assessing, and put him on a waiting list. How much longer should I expect to wait? I'm really for him, because we've been waiting for ages and he needs help. He should be starting school, but I really hate the idea of sending him atm, as I know he won't cope.

That is a long time.
Is he at a pre school at all? Have they a Senco member of staff that could jiggy things up a bit?

he should be a pre-school really, but I haven't sent him. He doesn't cope with social situations very well at all. I take him to mother and toddlers with the twins and I end up watching him more than the dts!

That is a long time. Too long. What I found personally is that there are two separate issues: the waiting lists, and the admin cock-ups. So you may think you are on a waiting list, but what has happened is that your referral is sitting in some secretary's in-tray or fallen down the back of the fax machine and you won't even reach the back of the queue till it is unearthed. I'm afraid the only way to stop that is to keep a list of everyone you've been referred to (by name) and call their secretaries to confirm that the referral has been received and that person is taking referrals and to get some idea of the waiting time. If you explain about the move and how long you have been waiting already, a nice seccy may bump you up the waiting list at this point.

It depends a bit on your local setup: your HV should really be chasing this for you (it's part of their job, but some HVs are good at it, some crap and some pretend it's not their responsibility) also you could ask your GP to chase etc.

Good luck!

It took about 6 weeks from gp writing letter (which in itself took 4 weeks) to appointment with Paed. Referral was then made to OT dept at end of September and we're still waiting for an initial appointment. Presumably your ds would legally have to be in school by September at the latest(dpending on when he turns 5) so think you should contact HV/school SENCO to put pressure on the dept to assess him asap.

That's a long time to wait. Ds1 was seen by the Paed approx 4 months after the SALT referral. In the meantime the Early Years Inclusion Service also did home visits and visited his pre-school to see him. Ds2 was seen by the Paed approx 5 months after his referral.

I would advise contacting your local Early Years Inclusion Service. You can usually find their number on your local council's website or just by doing a google search for them with your town's name. They may be able to hurry things along and even (if it's what you want) arrange for your ds to attend a pe-school with some support. Portage is also a good group to contact. Our portage worker also works alongside the local Child Development Centre and o has direct access to the Paed, SALT, OT etc.

He'll be four in June, I don't know why I said he was 4. Too many kids! He should have started nursery last sept and school I guess next sept here, but maybe this sept depending which school we go for.

I'm not entirely sure what stage of the process he is at. I keep getting told he needs this and that and I am totally bewildered by it all. I guess it must have been admin cock ups at the last address, but the hV chased them up three times so I don't know how. I know he has to see a multi-displinary team and a consultant and they want to assess various areas and then hopefully reach some sort of conclusion. I was hoping that three appointments and we would have some idea of what it is.

pre-school with some support would be ideal really, but with no hint of a dx, have I really got a hope? He desperately needs help with his social skills and langugae in order to cope with school but I don't know if that will be enough?

My ds2 has no written dx (although it is generally accepted that he has autism like his brother) and is at pre-school. The SENCO applied for funding from him and this has been awarded so that the pre-school can pay for extra help for him. He also has an IEP (Individual Education Plan) where the multi-disciplinary team set small targets for him to reach, with the help of the pre-school staff. This includes help with his language, understanding, and also his social skills.

No official diagnosis will not necessarily prevent him from getting any help.

We have also been waiting since about October. The school suggested the paediatrician should see dd....and we are still waiting. Her nursery teachers have asked the headteacher to chase it up, but they don't know if anything is happening. So I am going to see the Headteacher tomorrow about it. This is also the first time I have been in to discuss dd with the headteacher (or indeed anything!) so I am really nervous, and have no idea what I am going to say!

Good luck with that, wallace. I'm dreading when ds finally gets an appointment. I have no idea how to explain him! I really need to sit down witha pen and paper beforehand.

Found out today that the referral made in September 2005 might get ds seen by OT by the end of 2006

omg, whereabouts are you?

East Surrey. Will be giving the dept a call tomorrow to see if we could go private .

We were supposed to wait 9 months to see Paed (8.5 years ago) and actually waited 6 months as I badgered for a cancellation. It came through on DS's 2nd birthday and I couldn't turn it down so I'll never forget that birthday! Its definitely worth asking for a cancellation and reminding them that you are willing and available if one comes up..... without pissing them off, not easy!

I've had good news this morning. We have been given four appointments starting end of this month! I'm so relieved that someone is going to be lookign at him.

On the downside, I was chatting to a mum at M&T, one of her dts has cerebal palsy, due to oxygen starvation at birth. Her little girl is 19months and has been on the waiting list for ages for various therapies. So we'll prob still have a long wait too, but at least we're getting somewhere.

Glad you are getting somewhere

Well let's see.

3 months for first appointment, which we had to cancel.
2 months for next, as it was December realised it would be cancelled- it was.
3 months until next. cancelled.
4 Months to next (this takes us to April 2006). Phone to complain. Told that actually, appointment would be cancelled as clinician going on mat leave.
Dh blew top.
Appointment now in february, awaiting cancellation letter!!!.

we're off to first appointment today and I'm dreading it! Its in the afternnon when the dts are usually asleep, so they will be grumpy and I don't have a clue what to expect. I've just sat here filling out a huge long form about him, but I actually feel very confused about him and it's hard to explain. And I'm worried about what we might find.

Good luck with the appointment. It is hard but you will feel better in the long run if you can get some help in place. I don't know how you have managed worrying about it without any professional support.

My Ds2 doesn't have a diagnosis but has speech, language, motor and social communication problems and we got 1:1 help in preschool. I would talk to the preschool about what they can offer him - they should have a SENCO who can help get something organised.