Reluctant Consultant Psychologist?

[BabyMommaDec2012]

Hi there - my DS is in yr1 and struggles with attention and following instructions. He got his first CAMHS appointment at the end of his reception year as he was struggling in class and the school referred him following advice from an Ed Psyc. He’s had ‘informal’ appointments with his assigned psychologist plus an observation at school by her. However, his formal assessments have only just begun. His psychologist has stated that she feels it’s unlikely that he has strong enough traits to get a diagnosis (ADHD or ASD ). So far, he’s had a Weschler (WISC) test and next up is an ADOS. However, before the appointment for each meeting or test, she always offers me a choice to cancel his assessments and his CAHMS involvement if I no longer wish to take part. I always find this odd - it’s almost as though she’s only continuing with him because I’m somehow forcing her to do so. Is it normal for a CAMHS ‘opt-out’ to be offered before each CAMHS appointment is arranged?

We were reminded several times that we can just opt out at any time. From their point of view, it's the quickest way to get to the next child on the waiting list, and they need to target resources at families who are sure they want the answers. Our son was diagnosed by multidisciplinary panel without even getting to ADOS, so I don't think he was ever borderline really.
Your son's passed enough gateways to warrant being at this stage of the process. You don't need to feel defensive about letting the process do its thing. If the psychologist was sure he wouldn't get a diagnosis, he would not still be in the system.

Thanks for your message. It’s good to hear that the opt-outs seem to be a standard practice. I was getting paranoid!

Ignore! I wish I had. My DD was on the waiting list for CAHMS for anxiety. After 18 months they called me to ask if they could take her name off the list. I was so angry at the poor service and shocked at the call I just agreed. Now I regret it and am having to start the whole process again.

I think it’s terrible that they do this.