CAMHS assessment - timing all to pot?

[UnChartered]

Hi all

i've namechanged again, but hope you'll bear with me and even remember a little about us? Anyway...

We've been on the waiting list for assessment for DD (4.10yrs) for ASD/ADHD since November last year (had initial appt, specialist nurse said ASD/HFA) - last time i called the Paeds office to chase up appt, it was agreed that since the next appts were being offered in July/Aug (long list ) it would be beneficial to seek a SALT assessment to save time (ie get to Paed in Aug then spend another 3mths waiting for SALT)

We've got a SALT appt for late April, but yesterday rec'd a letter with appt for Dev Paed for the week before the SALT one!

This has sent us into a bit of a tailspin tbh, it's all got scarily real.

The appt will last approx 90mins, can anyone help us as to how to prepare for it? I can't call the office as it's B/H and they won't be open until Tuesday, maybe even Weds...

not famiiar with the ADHD side of things, but imagine they would want input from school as well (ADHD symptoms need to manifest at school as well as at home) so they may want to send a questionnaire to school for that.

In terms of the ASD side, paed is likely to want to know the ins and outs of your DS's development from pg/birth onwards. Paed is likely to ask all the relevant questions about behaviour/development, so don't worry too much about that, but it's worth you having a list ready of issues you want to mention just in case.

Unfortunatey the diagnosis process varies so much from area to area, that I don't know how likely you are to come out with a formal diagnosis from this appointment or whether the paed would want to do further tests.

thanks Light we've been keeping a sort of diary since marking down 'behaviour of note', so you think it's worth taking that along too?

we filled in lots of questionnaires back in January, there was one for school too, although i know what her class teacher wrote was contradictory

'does child have any organisational issues - NO'

'have you had to put any special measures in place to help child - YES, photographs and non-verbal communcation to help with organisation and help with changing wet clothes'

so, her 'red book' might be useful, too.

i doubt very much if we'll be looking at dx from this appt either, although it would be excellent if we did. i think

I would definitely take anything that you have recorded information about unusual/ quirky behaviour.

If you think the school will contradict you then make sure you tell the paed, Dd3's old school made it very hard for us to get a dx by contradicting everything we said. Eventually with my diary one paed decided to listen to us.

Good luck.

Can you find out your area's dx process online? Just to give you an idea ours was:

CDC assessment (OT and physio said no SN ) - Jan 2011
Went to private OT - dyspraxia and SPD dx 17 pg report March 2011
Commenced private OT therapy May 2011
Paed appt May 2011
SLT assessment Sept 2011
Mutli-discliplinary panel met March 2012 (paed, OT and SLT)
ASD dx March 2012

Take anything at all that might be helpful. - I actually emailed my observations all to the paed before the appt and then a further update about 6 months later. I also took his EYFS records from nursery. It was helpful for her to read through before the appt she said. My paed's secretary was happy to give her email address so that she could forward it to the paed.

PS Can you PM me your old name?! I was away for a while and can't link your new one in my brain with what I must already know!!

that's a really good idea about sending things in before hand, this is making me wonder if we're not going to get a proper 'hearing' since all schools and DD's old (attached to different primary school than she's in) nursery are all closed until 16th April...that's only a few days before the appt

What happened with us is that we were sent the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire as were the school right after the first appt and we both sent them back as did yours. It shouldn't make any difference as to how your appt goes.

If you haven't had any SLT involvement yet though you might need to see them them before you can get a dx.