Who would be the best person to go and see?

[OneDreamOnly]

Hope it's ok to post here. I thought that people on here would have the best ideas/knowledge but I am aware ds2 probably doesn't have any SN as such.

So ... Ds2 has some issues on a communication point of view plus some understanding issues.
It causes problems for him with his peers (he doesn't always 'get' what they are saying esp if a bit ambiguous). It causes problems for him at school, both with reading/understanding and with writing (more so then as he just can't explain his ideas). Even in maths it causes issues as he is struggling with word problems and explaining why he is doing such and such calculation. (But the maths themselves are outstanding).

Any idea of who would be the best person to assess/support him developing his communication skills?
I feel I've done as much as I can do with him (reading, encouraging him to talk, talking with him etc) but that there is something deeper going on.

TBH I would request a referral to a developmental paediatrician to rule out anything you may not have spotted.

You don't say how old he is but it would be worth looking through the symptoms of ASD, ADHD, Dyspraxia, Sensory Processing Disorder and Auditory Processing Disorder and making a list of all the symptoms from each that he displays (don't try and 'fit' one at this stage). Once you have done that put one or two real life examples of those symptoms and then take the list and examples to the GP for the referral.

HTH

A speech and language therapist first; then an educational psychologist. You should be able to refer him yourself to the Speech and Language Therapy Service; or ask your GP to. Don't let yourself be fobbed off by your GP - they often know very little about hidden difficulties. (Well all doctors except developmental paediatricians and child psychiatrists, IME)

You could in the meantime ask the school to refer him to the ed psy, but schools tend to prioritise the children. They may only buy in one day a term from the ed psy, which may mean a handful of children get assessed, when 16 are on the waiting list. A child, who they see as not causing any problems, could end up waiting 2 years. There are ways to get past that, but cross your bridges when you come to them.

Thank you.
Ds2 is 9yo and in Y4.

I have thought in the past that he could have AS but CAMHS ruled it out. In Fairness he had started to come out if his shell more and wasn't as 'explosive' as before.

What sort of assessment would the SALT do? The one we saw years ago said he had an unusual profile but nothing out if the norm (the areas where he was weak were still within the norm if that makes sense). She couldn't advise on any other test or support she could do.

Developmental paediatrician might be the way to go. And I'll have a look at all the other stuff star mentioned.
Who knew that, to be able to help your child, you needed to have an idea of what he could have first :(

If you go down the SALT route, ask for a pragmatics and semantics test as well as the CCC2 test. The first is about comprehension and inference, and the second is about social interaction.

Excellent, thank you!