Autism referral

[purpleme12]

If school have referred her for autism
What happens at the first appointment I get?
Someone told me they go right back to the beginning?
Please can someone tell me the questions they ask
I'm not really sure it's autism

Practice differs area to area, no one on here can tell you what questions they will ask. For example, in some areas it is just a screening appointment to ensure you are on the pathway. In others the first appointment forms part of the actual assessment. In some areas you &/or school will be asked to complete questionnaires prior to the appointment. The general areas that will or may be covered are development to date, current difficulties, school history, medical history.

Is school allowed to refer for a specific reason like autism? I thought they weren’t allowed to diagnose/make suggestions like that?

In many areas schools are able to refer for an ASD assessment. A referral for assessment isn’t the same as schools diagnosing.

Ok thank you, that’s helpful to know

Oh ok.

Will they just speak to one parent or would they specifically say they need to speak to both?

DS is on the waiting list for assessment, after the referral was accepted we had to fill in a 108 question form, that went right back to pregnancy and birth.

In our case we're almost 100% certain it is ASD. DSis with experience of children with ASD has spotted it and the school agreed to the referral with no argument and have said since they're pretty sure he is.

Oh right what were the questions? This sounds scary.
I don't think she's got it I think it's ADHD

Where we are DS has been referred to the Neurodevelopmental Service, they assess for ADHD as well as ASD.

The questions were about any health problems during pregnancy - I had severe sickness and then developed preeclampsia. I assume they ask because, from I've read, some conditions increase the risk of ASD. They asked about the birth - if it was a caesarian etc.

There was a question asking if any close family members are neuro diverse. And questions about whether DS hit developmental milestones and any trauma, illnesses etc. in his early years.

Ok
Yes her dad has ADHD.
What do they class as trauma? Me and her dad split up when she was 4
But loads of kids have parents spilt up. That's normal

Whether they want to speak to both parents or not also depends on the area, and individual circumstances.

They are likely to ask about the seperation, not necessarily from a causal POV, but because it is part of DD’s history to date.