Hand holding required! Paed appt tomorrow

[mrsbaffled]

Eek! DS1's paed appt is tomorrow for suspected AS. I am so very nervous! We have been here before 18 months ago when we suspected dyspraxia (and ended up with dx of SpLD), but school have got involved and pushed us to get another referral. I bet I forget to say something really important!

I am guessing all that will happen tomorrow is the paed will decide whether to refer on to other people??

We have already seen cognition and learning teacher, been to physio and got a pack for OT (don't actually get to see a person round here) - so perhaps that will save a little time?

I have no idea how long it might be til potential dx, DNiece's dx took about 4 years!

Good luck...

We are still waiting for paed appointment!

Will be thinking of you!

Good luck tomorrow. I'm guessing it'll just be another stage on the route. Agree to have all your questions in writing, remember to ask what happens next. How long til next appt, who with. I found asking what they thought it might be helpful if they weren't happy to DX. Also, I do tend to cry at these meetings, so don't be surprised if you do.

Don't be surprised if you come away feeling like not much was really said at this point. We seemed to have early appointments where little was really talked about and we were just told about forms we would have to complete and send back and about waiting times. I have to say I was just frustrated at that point, but in the end the system came good and we followed the path through to the diagnosis.

Thanks, all x

beautifulgirls how long did it take from first appt to dx?

In our case it was around 10 months but it will probably vary on your area. We had to see a paed, then have forms completed, they then had a team meeting to decide if we would even be seen further and then we had the first ASD consult after being on that wait list for a while (just us seen, not DD involved in that first ASD consult) and after that she was seen in school and then had an ADOS later on where we finally got the diagnosis.

Good luck.
You might feel deflated after as it more a step along the road than the destination. Hope it's a positive experience for you.
Have your points and questions written down.
Take notes while they are talking to you.
Will you have a chance to talk without your DS?

Thinking of you this morning!

Well, I am back! The paediatrician wants to observe DS in school, then if she deems it necessary DH and I will meet with her without him and fill out a massive computer questionnaire ..... We will get most of the way by Sept, she thinks. She said it isn't a cut and dry case ( he showed decent social skills in the room) so wants to investigate further, but she doesn't always give a diagnosis unless she can see a real benefit to it ( I think my sanity needs one, though! Plus he is yr 4 so the transition to secondary is coming up....)

I think it was positive.....

Oh there are lots of benefits to having a diagnosis, even if it lives in a drawer in your house. It's useful to draw on for support for our DC and to help them understand themselves as they get older.

And so many of them show lovely social skills in a one-to-one situation where their parents are present and they are interacting with an adult. Very clear 'social rules' about that. Not so clear when you are dealing with the social intricacies of your peer group, over time.