Had to take ds1 to see the doctor on Saturday as he had a high temp and a dry cough. He's asthmatic so it was the cough that actually concerned me most. Treating a full-on asthma attack is very difficult as he won't tolerate anything on his face, so I try to 'catch' these things asap. Anyway, the GP (not from our usual GP surgery) tutted a bit at ds1 lying down under the waiting-room chairs. Ds1 was a bit overwhelmed by the lights and loves enclosed spaces. The doctor looked in ds1's ears and told me had a bad ear infection and that "it's important for parents to notice these things MUCH SOONER!" I explained that ds1 has AS so doesn't tend to feel pain, and that it wouldn't occur to him to mention it if he DID. The GP said 'hello' to ds1, who eventually replied with a stilted 'hel-lo'. The GP said "Well he seems fine to me." WHAT????!! I left very quickly. So, is this kind of ignorance common amongst doctors? Does anyone else have to just guess when their SN child is ill? Ds1 tends not to act differently until he's pretty bad. He'd been quite happy at pre-school all week. Any suggestions?