Early intervention

[angpat]

Hi, please could you help me with suggestions for my 18 month old son who likely has ASD. He has speech and language delay , not saying any words but babbling and makes lots of noises , not pointing , very over friendly with some strangers especially men , will go and sit on their lap (not sure if this a symptom of ASD?) as I thought the opposite was true. He stims sometimes with hand flapping and spinning and some finger movements but nothing excessive.
he is otherwise very friendly , social , plays and likes children’s company , likes adults and smiles and interacts with them - strangers and family members but in particular the men
he is interactive with my husband and I , loves peek a boo and hide and seek, good eye contact with us , responds to his name 50 percent of the time I would say ,has some pretend play and likes to feed us.
he does have glue ear with hearing loss and he has grommet insertion next month
I would like to know what intervention I can start early in central/north London please , as I know early intervention is key. I havnt seen a developmental Paediatrician yet so no diagnosis but will do this privately as I know waiting times are long
any books, OT therapists or SALT that people have used and have helped their child
thank you

Some people find this booklet and this website helpful for sensory difficulties.

See whether any local special schools run a playgroup. This can be a good source of local knowledge e.g. what other groups are around and sometimes professionals attend.

If Portage isn’t already involved, look at this. In some areas, you can self refer to SALT and OT. If you can’t, the HV should be able to. Although not all ICBs commission sensory OT on the NHS anymore. If you want to look privately, have a look at Melinda Eriksen and Diana Pierags for OT. Aniesa Blore and Moyna Talcer are a bit further away, but equally excellent and still within travelling distance. For SALT, you could look at Juanita Hurley and Jackie Harland.

Apply for DLA. The Cerebra guide is helpful when completing the form. Having DLA will help when DS is 2 because 2y/o’s in receipt of DLA get 15 hours of nursery funding. Does DS already attend nursery?

This is exact copy & paste of my LO who is 31 months old. The above poster posted some really useful advice but I am going to expand on glue ear. If you have done some research you would see glue ear can mimics ASD traits and can cause issue with sensory issues as the vestibular system which what balances the body can be affecting when there is a hearing imbalance. You don’t state how long your child has had glue ear and to what degree the hearing loss is. I would advice while you are awaiting grommets insertion to push for a hearing aid as this will help in the meantime, use makaton sign, make sure you’re at LO eye level when speaking and try to point and over exaggerate movements to see if he came pick up gestures to communicate his needs. My LO had glue ear with hearing loss for just under a year showing sensory issues and ASD traits. Made sure I got him on the list for grommets and adenoidtonsillectomy as you often find that these can be enlarging stopping the ear from draining properly. My LO had this procedure done 2 weeks ago and they say it’s takes 3/4 months to really see the difference. However as sooon as he woke up he was a complete different child pointing gesturing wanting to socialise picking up new language babbling, he still does some sensory behaviour but because of the length he had glue ear I don’t expect it to disappear but will keep an eye out for a few months post op. We also see an OT sensory session weekly she also does speech, this is private. LO is still on waiting list for autism, so I will still go ahead and still put him on the list as the wait is around 2 years. It’s good that you LO was diagnosed early hopefully he will catch up and it won’t affect him long term. My PM are open if you would like an update in a few months. The SALT and OT I use are based in Harley street London and they are very good.

Thank you for this! Yes he does already go to nursery. Nursery have no concerns about ASD yet though. They say he interacts and plays with the other staff and kids well and responds to his name a lot.

What support is DS receiving at nursery? Support is based on needs rather than diagnosis.

I forgot to mention LO been attending nursery since 14 months old. But only in last 6 months was put on an ISP (Support Plan) this is not for behaviour as he is well behaved and at this stage is more play and moving freely in room. But it includes target for 1-1 at least one hour a day with key person ( reading, singing, what’s in the box) this is to support communication and pretend play. As other poster mentioned I managed to secure DLA MRC for my LO solely on glue ear and ASD traits no diagnosis and this is to fund his private sessions. You might find nursery are a bit laid back but I would push for a support plan so he can have that 1-1 time.

He isn’t receiving any support at the moment as apart from his hearing they don’t feel there is an issue as he is still so young so not too worried about his speech yet until 2

What’s the name of the SALT and OT you used please ? Thank you x

Speak to the nursery, they should be providing support. Also, look at Portage (if you are in an area where they support DC attending nursery), playgroup at special schools, DLA, that I mentioned in my pp.