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Community paediatrician appointment

2 replies

HeyDuggeeandtheSquirrels · 29/06/2018 16:35

We've got our first appointment with the community paediatrician soon and I'm a bit unsure what to expect and what to prepare for.
My DD is 3 almost 4 and has a speech delay, we get words but there is no consistency, she currently uses Makaton as her main form of communication.
We've been told that SALT will also be there for the appointment and I'm pretty sure they are looking down the lines of an asd diagnosis but from what I've read I'm not convinced. Any behaviour that my DD displays that makes me think maybe asd is so minor that I can also just explain it by her being 3. Any advice would be much appreciated Smile

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BackforGood · 29/06/2018 17:32

The process is different in every local authority unfortunately, so no-one can give you a definitive answer - unless you post where you are and happen to be seen by a poster from same area.
I could tell you what happens here, but it is definitely not the same as surrounding authorities.

In essence though, I think it is really worth while to write down everything that you d, that is an adjustment in some way, for your dd. Think carefully, as much of what you do becomes habit, and you don't see it as an adjustment.
It is really easy to forget to mention things otherwise.

Where you can, try to be as 'numeric' as you can... eg 'we hear these 6 words, in context, fairly often' rather than 'doesn't say much'. Or - just as an example, if she were a fussy eater, rather than saying she is fussy, say "She will eat all ''dry' foods but doesn't like any sort of sauce and doesn't like foods touching other foods" . or 'When offered a choice, she repeats the last word you said' etc. If she has distrubed sleep, write down the 'typical' night she has. 'Sleeps through' means different things to different people. Try to avoid words like "some" or "not much" as people have different perceptions.

If she attends Nursery, then ideally get them to fill in a developmental profile and / or write a bullet point list of what she can do and what she struggles with.
It just gives the paediatrician and SaLT so much of a head start when they meet someone for the first time.

HeyDuggeeandtheSquirrels · 29/06/2018 17:52

Thanks for that BackforGood. I hadn't realised it was different for every local authority. But a general gist of what people have experienced is great.

I was expecting some sort of questionnaire to fill out beforehand and so were nursery, but we haven't received anything. So I'll start writing things down.

I have a list of all the words or sentences she's ever said and they were all in context for the situation. But I'll make notes about other things. Although I think like you said it may take me a little bit to realise the adjustments I've made without realising.

I've also got her folder from nursery as she's starting school in September so I'll take that to show progress and struggles over this year from their point of view

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