To diagnose or not...

[Missisdoyle]

We have had 2 appointments with Paed' & 1 with SALT in the run up to July's possible diagnosis for ASD, for my HF DS (5). Paed said in Feb that she was leaning towards a diagnosis of ASD. Our school SENCO, ED Psyc, SALT & Paed have all told me that my DS ( who is already getting 5 hours/week TA time) will not get any extra help at school & not from NHS SALT. I have been watching various programmes this week on BBC, about people with ASD trying to apply for 100s of jobs & not even getting a reply. It was quite an eye opener, as I had thought that now we have things like positive discrimination to help people with special needs get a fair chance. Now I am wondering will this diagnosis be more of a hinderance than a help to my intelligent & creative son. I also realise that it could be misleading & confusing if my son gets a job & then has to explain himself to his employer later on... Don't know what to now. Advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks again all, your experience & considerable knowledge is much appreciated . I realise that I have much to learn. It just seems bewildering at the mo'.

No, I don't think DS would qualify for DLA. He is very able in most things, apart from auditory processing, pragmatic speech, anxiety & sensory issues. He is actually a very fast learner & is learning to swim at the local pool in a class with NT kids.

Missisdoyle

re your comment:-
"No, I don't think DS would qualify for DLA"

Do not automatically assume that he would not receive this benefit; make the application (think that Cerebra publish a guide to such forms). Its certainly worth a try.

Keep posting here too.

Thanks, I will give it a go. It would be great if we could get something towards speech therapy ( we are currently funding this ourselves, as NHS doesn't stretch to therapy for pragmatic difficulties), as it is becoming more expensive. I think that because there are a lot of grey areas with HF ASD, I hadn't thought that DS would qualify. He definitely does need more help than his peers with things like anxiety relieving strategies at school, sensory issues & social skill support. I spoke to DS's previous nursery's SENCO y'day & she was really helpful. She said DS could be entitled to 15 hours if he had a diagnosis - another reason to keep going.
Again, I am very grateful to your helpful pointers.

Just wondering if I can ask for a different NHS SALT to assess him next time... I don't have much faith in the one we have just encountered ( she said that Auditory Processing Disorder was not considered to be a real condition, etc) . She looked very young, recently qualified, I guessed, as she was also very nervous ( poor thing !).

there is no downside to diagnosis. He doesnt have to declare it later in life if he doesnt want to, and yet without a diagnosis, youll have hardly any chance of securing educational support. Ignore what the school say about not getting much support. That varies from school to school and hes not obliged to go to that one if their offerings are so pitiful, but it sounds to me like theyre trying to dissuade you from even trying. They sound lazy. I hear about schools like this ALL THE TIME

Good to know about requesting a different SALT, thanks. I think in order to make that vital contribution to DS's assessment, I would prefer the benefit of experience. I will request a different SALT tomorrow. Do you know if I have to disclose why I would prefer a different one ? I don't want to get that one into trouble at work ! Could I simply say I would prefer a more experienced SALT ?