Anyone have a child like this? Possible ASD/ADHD/Auditory Processing Disorder

[pinkgin85]

DS just turned 6 and I've known something wasn't quite right since he was about 18 months when he had no words at all and didn't understand what we were saying. However slowly his speech has come along and so has his understanding, although it's still behind his peers. He can have a conversation but it's quite limited and rigid.

He is extremely fussy with food and doesn't like trying new things so quite sure he has some sensory issues there.

He's been referred down the ASD & ADHD pathway but a diagnosis could take upto 2 years. In the meantime I'm just trying to figure out what's going on so that I can help him. He already sees a private SALT who liases with his school and we're all confused about what's going on with him.

Academically he's fine, maybe even bright. His reading level is Turquouse (Y1/Y2), however his reading comprehension is terrible. We're not sure if that's because he just doesn't pay attention or something more.

Maths is good too and he enjoys it the most. Although has trouble with verbal tests.

His biggest issue is around listening and paying attention which makes his language issues even worse.
Anyone have a similar child? Does it get better with age?

Thank you

his reading comprehension is terrible. We're not sure if that's because he just doesn't pay attention or something more

Ask the SALT to do some tests around semantic pragmatic language, to see if those results will help to indicate what his precise difficulties are.

There are plenty interventions, but first the specific difficulties need to be identified.

We had a child a bit like this. He had the concentration span of a gnat, very poor language skills, no social skills, only ate very bland foods like spaghetti and potatoes, exhibited bizarre behaviour and regularly had meltdowns.

When he went to school at 5, he had no idea how to behave. He regularly lay down in assembly, refused to co operate in class and used to hit the staff and other children and growl aggressively.

He was diagnosed with autism when he was nearly 8.

By the time he was 11, our son bore no resemblance to the little boy he had been when he first started school, although he still struggled with language, was emotionally immature and still needed a lot of support at school.

He went to a fabulous secondary school where they put in virtually 1:1 support and he settled really well in a very short space of time. Although he still found things difficult at school he did really well and all the behaviour problems we had up to then stopped. I believe this was because he was given the right support at school by people who understood autism and were experienced in this field.

As the years have gone by, we have met many challenges, but our son has continued to develop at his own pace. Mainstream FE was a disaster as the staff had no clue about autism and just expected him to fit in with everyone else. Not surprisingly the placement fell down and our son was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.

When he was 21 he went to a specialist college for students with autism. He spent 3 years there and achieved far more than I ever thought possible. He learnt independent living skills, improved his communication skills, did work experience with the public and acquired GCSE and NVQ level 3 qualifications.

Most important of all, he learnt strategies to cope with his difficulties, an understanding of his condition, and acquired increasing confidence.

As a result he has triumphed over autism to such a degree it no longer defines him. It is just a part of who he is, along with his love of cats, his quirky sense of humour, and his inherent ability to endear himself to everyone who meets him.

Hi @pinkgin85 yes he sounds quite like my 5.5 year old DS. Speech delay until 3 ish and then an explosion of language and now he chatters all the time, but only about his special topics. He finds conversation hard and cannot do it with peers so school are teaching him scripts to help, but he still finds it stressful. He interrupts a lot. He asks repeated questions and finds comfort in familiar answers. His maths is much above his age (he's learning about percentages and is obsessed with large numbers of over 8 digits) and he loves numbers I think because they don't change. 1 and 1 is always 2. He can read now although he's still on the red band but he massively struggles with comprehension too. He can't remember sequences of events very well and can't guess at character motivations because he can't easily imagine himself as someone else. He is diagnosed with asc and its this type of thing that he just finds impossible to do because of how his mind works. It's like if I look sad, he won't pick up on it, but if I tell him I'm sad then he'll show empathy. His mind is too busy trying to categorise everything and make sense of the world to be able to guess what I'm feeling (or peers are feeling) too. He has to have reasons for everything and is very demand avoidant. He likes routines and has very rigid thinking. He only eats certain foods and they cannot be mixed. E.g. he'll eat spaghetti bol but only if the pasta and the meat are separated and no sauce. He has motor skills delays that affect handwriting. He forgets that we all have separate minds and won't vocalise something e.g. he's too hot because he thinks I already know. He is also the funniest, quirkiest, most loving child I have ever known. He currently is obsessed with clocks and calendars. He found out about leap years recently and talked about them non stop for weeks. He taught himself how to tell the time when he was 4. He has strengths but he needs a lot of support to achieve them. He also never sits still and attention span is small but getting better due to support like playing the autism bucket game at school to encourage joint attention. I just get interested in his interests and go from there.
I think what you and the school need to do, while you wait for diagnosis, is to start the ball rolling with an EHCNA, which is a needs assessment that should if needed lead to an EHCP that will list all his needs and state how these will be met. This is a legal document so provisions have to be carried out. You can apply for one yourself I think. The ipsea and sendiass websites are very helpful but I'd probably start by talking to your senco.

Your DS sounds like a lovely young man @Ellie56