Child going into the unit at CAMHS for a few days for neurodevelopmental assesment.

[JustPondering]

HI, my DS is 6 and is currently being assessed by CAMHS for a neurodevelopmental disorder.

So far he has had an ADOS which showed that he isn't autistic but that he is hyperactive, verbally impulsive and showed too much eye contact. This led CAMHS to wonder about ADHD so he was observed in school by someone from our local special school who described him as an impulsive very busy little boy. Then an ADHD specialist went in and said he sat still and followed the teachers instructions and that he wasn't indicative of ADHD.

So now we are stuck with 2 contradictory reports so CAMHS are going to have DS come into the unit for a few days for observation. Does anyone know what this involves?

Also does anyone know what the likelihood of being on the autistic spectrum would be if ADOS says it is not autism? He has so many traits that are very autistic such as poor speech, he has a speech disorder and speech delay, he has sensory processing difficulties and motor skill delays. He watches tv while spinning with his eyes to the side, can't read, cant ride a bike. Doesn't understand sarcasm or any jokes no matter how simple and doesn't understand teasing. But he is very happy, confident and very very sociable, but very overbearing.

He also acts much younger than his age, he is 7 in a couple of weeks and he spent the last appointment at CAMHS crawling around the floor making silly noises and squealing, the man at CAMHS said he is attention seeking but in a very socially inappropriate way and that there is something very young about DS and he is not comfortable with just saying there is no disorder yet.

His older brother is currently being assessed for aspergers and his younger brother has a working diagnosis of autism although not confirmed till autumn. It's just so frustrating not knowing what if anything is going on with DS2'

Eye contact can be too much, too little or normal on the spectrum it is not part of the diagnostic criteria and is a misleading concept. It is possible to have both ADHD and ASD which maybe the case.

HI, he has seen an OT who assessed DS and she said he has sensory processing difficulties and she went into school to do some work with him on propreoception or something like that? She said he is sensory seeking and the work she did helped him to know where his body was in relation to space. She said they don't really do anything with sensory processing disorder at the child development centre where she is based though.

But yes it may be sensory processing disorder but it doesn't look like it is diagnosed in these parts.

Does anyone know what happens at the unit in CAMHS? I have never heard of it before.

DR has been under the care of the peadiatrician for 4 years now but it just feels like we never get anyone, they accept he has difficulties but don't know why. So frustrating. I haven't heard from speech therapy since last November either so I have just arranged a private assesment to be done by someone who comes to your home, so hopefully this will be helpful.

Oh and it was the CAMHS ADHD specialist who did the ADOS with DS so I think that is what started the ADHD ball rolling but now it seems like a different ADHD specialist doesn't agree so back to square one. Sigh.

sorry I cant be of help but your ds and mine sound very very alike and we are also desperate for some sort of answer its very frustrating. My ds is also presumed ADHD but im not convinced, he's definitely sensory seeking, with autistic traits but is very social albeit inappropriately and has good eye contact, he's a starer! pead told me he is too social to be asd and if he was asd he would have a need for routine, he doesn't as he outgrew it was terrible in toddler/pre school years although he does demand control over well everything really.

It is very frustrating, I would like to be able to explain to others why he is like he is, and also to know what strategies we can use. Yes we have been told DS is too social to be asd, but he is very inappropriate too.

I went to CAMHS this afternoon for an appointment about older DS so I asked him about the unit that DS2 will be going into, they were usefully as the same man at CAMHS, and he has explained it to me. He will go in for a full day on Fridays for 6 weeks, and in the mornings it is like a school with a teacher and in the afternoon there are activities with psychologists etc and they apparently challenge the child and see what their responses are. Sounds very promising. He said that although DS has had an ADOS and he scored low after seeing DS more and more he feels like he may be on the spectrum still and he is considering PDA but he has to be sure before giving him a label that it is the right one.

It's a long waiting list though apparently so will be towards the end of the year.

DS attended a CAMHS day unit for 7 months. Waste of time but got a full report at the end of it. You may want to enquire whether he will be mixing with other young people in the unit which will include self-harmers, anorexics, etc. The first self-harm incident that DS witnessed badly scared him. I'd describe it as a summer camp with some very loose psychiatric nursing and about an hour a week with a psychologist if he's lucky - probably less.

Oh gosh, I will enquire about that, DS would be very confused witnessing anything like that, he is like a toddler rather than a nearly seven year old really. Not sure if it is the same thing, he is going to go for only one day a week, on a Friday for 6 weeks and he said it may not be that long if they come to a conclusion before the six weeks are up.

I presumed that it would be with children with similar difficulties to him.

Sorry - didn't want to alarm you. DS's CAMHS unit was not just ASD - it catered for all mental health problems in children. I think he was exposed to things in there that he could have done without seeing IYSWIM.

My son went for a 5 week assessment at camhs in in their neurodevlopmental clinic. Ours was just mornings.

He "passed" his ados so this was our last attempt to get a diagnosis of what was wrong. We We had been in the system for 4 4 years by now and were also told their was a years wait.

My Dh contacted our MP who got us seen earlier- much to camhs disgruntlement but it still took ANOTHER year from our first appointment with them discussing the clinic to getting the ASD diagnosis. So going on our experience you may not get a diagnosis for 2 years.

Dreadful spelling and grammar. So sorry. Am on my mobile. Also ignore the duplication of word's! !