Just a quick question if anyone knows if it is possible to apply for benefits such as DLA for my as yet undiagnosed ASD DD? As it stands she has had appointments with a pediatrician sp?, a speech and language therapist, a behavioural expert and an occupational therapist over the past year.
Things seem to be moving very slowly and the general consensus amoungst all the experts seems to be that although she shows strong signs of being on the ASD most likley on the high functioning end with something like aspergers the fact that she is only just turned 4 means that a diagnosis is likely to be a long time away.
I think the average age quoted by the doctor was around 6 or 7. Now, whilst I fully understand the reasonings behind this in that some of her behaviours and mannerisms could be put down to immaturity, the thought of waiting another 3 or 4 years seems like a lifetime away. She is the second eldest of 4DC and I can honestly say that life with her can on some days bring me to breaking point. Sensory issues particularly with shoes, socks and labels make mornings an absolute nightmare. Coupled with her deviant and sometimes violent behaviour, her lack of empathy for her siblings, her OCD issues regarding going to the toilet and hand washing as well as many many other oddities such as strict routine patterns, literal thinking, failure to understand humour or irony, and repetitive sayings or actions I really do feel as though im at my wits end. I feel like a failure and am ashamed to admit that sometimes i just think to myself that life would be so much easier if she was just "normal". A lot of times the house is so disrupted by her behaviour that I just give in and do watever it is that will make life easier.
With 3 other DC to look after I really dont have that much time to dedicate to her alone although I do try my best to be patient and understanding. She also has quite a bad stammer which can frustrate her. I never know what is going to trigger a meltdown or how to handle it when she does. All I can think is what have I done wrong?
The question about the benefits may seem very grabby but since this is my life for the forseeable future i was thinking that any extra money would help enormously to pay for things such as ballet lessons or gymnastics classes which could possibly help with the discipline side of things. I've been told that she is an extremely flexible child with a lot of potential in areas such as these but at the moment I just simply couldnt afford the expense.