School thinks my 8yo may have autism

[MOB247]

Hi,

Just wondered what other parents of autistic children had to go through to get a diagnosis?

I am a bit shocked that this is what school think he may have although he does have a lot of issues.

Is it normally diagnosed earlier? He is very good at reading and English but struggled massively with maths which causes him to have numerous meltdown ls during the day. He flickers his eyes and sometimes hits himself in the head if he thinks he's done something wrong. On the whole though he is a very loving and empathetic boy.

Thanks for any input. Feel a bit lost at the minute .

Autism covers a HUGE spectrum.
Some people who have autism are affected more severely than others. Some are more or less academically able. Some are more and some less affected socially. Some more and some less in terms of language. Some more and some less in terms of sensory differences.
Some incredibly academic people have autism (many of these will have received a diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome at the time, or may not have received a diagnosis, as less was known about autism 50, 30, or even 20 years ago).

Yes, some dc get a diagnosis from aged about 3. Some don't get a diagnosis until into adulthood.

If he doesn't have autism, then he won't get a diagnosis.
In some parts of the UK, diagnosis can mean a waiting list of 2 years or more.
He will still be the same child, but he may understand himself a little better and how his brain might be wired a little differently from most of the population. Doesn't mean he can't be successful.

We were convinced our son was autistic when he was 3. He wasn't diagnosed until he was nearly 8.

That's how long it took for someone to actually listen to us.

When in Y3 a teacher my son had only one day a week noticed that sensory problems may be the cause of his poor handwriting (didn't like the feel of the paper!) and got me to fill in a sensory assessment form, but it wasn't until Y4 that his new teacher noticed other things that led her to suggest to me that he should be assessed for ASD. (Being an only child we didn't realise at home that he was that different to his peers - just individual quirks!) Our GP referred us to the Paediatric services, and we had an initial assessment over the telephone (rather than face to face due to lock-down) in April. He said that he thought my DS warranted full assessment, but that it would be up to a 2 year wait! DS says often that he feels that he doesn't "fit in" at school and continues to have problems, as well as decisions needing to be made about 11+ and secondary school, so we decided to go private to get a full paediatric neurological assessment done quicker. We got all the forms filled out before the Summer holidays, and the assessment is next Monday. It will be a relief to us all to find out why he struggles with certain areas of life (even if it is something other than ASD) and receive advice on how best to help him.

We worked with my son’s school to get him assessed through Reception and Year 1. He had a consultants appointment during the summer holidays between Y1 & 2 (July 2019). The consultant told me verbally that he felt my son had ASD but wanted him to be seen by a speech and language therapist before making the official diagnosis. S&L refused to see my son saying he didn’t meet their criteria. We finally received a letter last month confirming his ASD diagnosis and are waiting for a follow up appointment. I know the Covid pandemic hasn’t helped, but it has been a frustrating wait with very little communication.