1st Appointment with Community Paed - What happens?

[littlelegsmum]

As the title suggests, DD is due to have her appointment tomorrow. I know I need to take all private DX reports and my 'report' on her but is there anything else you would recommend?

DD is 11 (going to High school in September). She has:

S&L issue - age 6.5yrs
Mild Dyslexia
Glue ear also seems to be making a comeback

appointment is for my querying ASD/Aspergers but I also want to query APD - can I just mention this at the appointment or should I have stated this previously?

It's only a basic medical and developmental history.

You can discuss anything you want. If you provide reports the Comm Paed must read them.

It's just a basic medical check which usually results in a few paragraphs of report (Appendix C to the Statement)

I'm sure you can bring up APD, though the paed may not be very familiar with it!

My stock advice is to write all your questions as well as the 'symptoms' down beforehand because it's really frustrating if your mind goes blank once you are there. Is anyone going with you? Handy to remember parts of the appointment you forget, or to keep your DD occupied if you need to talk to the paed alone.

Have in mind what you want the appointment to accomplish. Will this be a DX (unlikely but possible) or just the first stage towards a DX (hopefully) or just a bloody waste of time with the paed not making any decisions and suggesting to wait and see? (hopefully not) At the end of the appointment what are the next steps? Will you be referred on to a multi disciplinary team, or other profs who may provide some therapy? Are there any local support groups,

Oops, posted too soon. Meant to say good luck.

Is it just a SA appointment, littlelegs, or one you have requested?

Thank you both for your replies. Right i've taken the advice but hadn't even thought to ask what happens next

It is an appointment, with a view to be dx'd further down the line. I was a little unsure if they'll need DD to do anything today or not. Guess i'll find out in an hour (so nervous, for some reason)

You should see the paperwork i'm taking with me, she'll think i'm staying for the day!

Just a little update:

Luckily dd was acting a little weird (aka normal) so the paed saw some of the things I was saying re. Immature. Dd also agreed with lots of things I said, so I suppose that helped. I gave her my report on dd ways and we went through her questions.

At the end she asked me if I had any idea where we needed to go. I said that I had a feeling dd was on the spectrum as it can appear different to girls and boys. She nodded her head and told me that she'll be referring dd on for the multi disciplinary panel. It's obviously a long wait but I'm relieved they've decided which way to go.

She wants dd to go for a blood test (dd almost went into overdrive when she heard this) as she's really pale, got a very limited diet and can get tired easily. She said she will see us again in 6 months but we will get a letter confirming next steps once it's been typed up - I'm presuming she means everything we've talked about.

That's good, littlelegs. It sounds like you were properly listened to and DD performed! Any idea how long the MDT waiting list is? Will your follow up appointment with the paed be before that? Does your DD already see a SALT? Hopefully the letter you get will mention that the paed suspects ASD, which will help in any school support issues you may have. She sounds like she may be a bit anaemic? (I'm not a medical professional )

What support will your DD receive at school? Is she on school action or SA plus or does she have a statement? I'm glad you have had this appointment before she starts secondary, it gives you a chance to let the school know from the off about her needs so hopefully there won't be any misunderstandings of her behaviour. Time to see the SENCo ASAP in Sept, unless you've already raised it.

My DS2 is 12 and has just finished Y7 and secondary has been really successful for him so far. However, he was DXed at 3 and had a statement when he was 5 so by the time he hit secondary I'd been able to find the most appropriate school and he gets full time 1:1, over and above his statemented 20hrs. One of the things they do provide is a breaktime and lunchtime 'club' in learning skills for those DC who find unstructured times tricky (also keeps him safe from bullying) and a homework club after school for those who struggle doing HW at home, again maybe because school is for work and home is not! There is also an electronic passport that each subject teacher sees when taking the register (they register every lesson) which gives them a brief explanation of his difficulties and some strategies, like making sure he's written in his HW book, etc. In a secondary there are so many teachers who might only teach them for 1 or 2 lessons a week that communication of issues needs to be good.