How long was your waiting times for ADOS?

[genieinabottle]

Hi, referal to Cahms was made mid-november last year.
Early February we got first appointment for pre-assessment interview.
We were told 4-5 months waiting times for ADOS and ADI... so that would be may-june time.

How long did you wait? Is there anything you did that made it happen sooner?
Thanks.

How long is a peice of string? You are doing well!

We've been on waiting list since August. We are anywhere between 11th and 13th in line for ADOS/ADI (after being bumped up from 25th because of complaints). It seems they are doing about one assessment a month at the moment - if that.

So at this rate it will be next year before we are seen.

The team is being taken over by another trust though so I don't know if that will change things.

OMG!! 1 assessment a month! That is terrible.
What on earth are they doing with their spare time!?

We were not told our number on the line, instead she looked up in her appointment book when through a few pages and said 4-5 m wait.

Do you think if i ring them, up the secretary would be able to give me details of how far we are down the line?

Yes, I think so. They usually have a cancellation list you can go on to if you can do an appointment at the last minute.

We do not have a dedicated service so the 'specialist team' is actually made up of generalist SALTs, Paeds, Psychs etc. The Psychiatrist and psychologist from CAMHS then fit in teh ADOS etc around their regular work..

Super, I really trust them to make an accurate diagnosis!!

referal untill ados was 18 months. dx was officially given a few weeks later.

I should add we were referred to CAMHs in January last year. August is the date CAMHS officially put us on the waiting list.

They have three layers of gatekeeping before that happens - community paed, counsultant paed and then someone from CAMHS takes an hour long history and watches the child and decides whether you should go on the list.

Ridiculous

"They have three layers of gatekeeping before that happens - community paed, counsultant paed and then someone from CAMHS takes an hour long history and watches the child and decides whether you should go on the list."...yep that sounds familiar!!

Same thing here. Comm.paed first for 3 reviews (she was gathering reports from nursery, senco salt,...) at 3rd review consultant paed was there too. That was when it was offcially decided to refer to Cahms (in november)

Then we had this fisrt meeting with ASD team paed and psychologist to see whther there were enough 'evidence' to put DS on waiting list for Ados.

It is endless!!! So many loops to jump through...

I use accurate in the sense of careful, meticulous process etc...I knoa w what you mean though

tee hee hee not much chance of that

I think this is where you get back to the old are needs being met irrespective of dx or will dx help you argue more effectively for needs to be met.

Certainly my experience of the school system to date is the latter. It is all too easy for people to say for example, you have SPD and not ASD therefore you don't need help with social communication etc. Schools will get out of whatever they can and a dx representing an accurate picture of needs will help.

You are right, but you also want your child to be seen by someone who knows what they're doing.

I wouldn't take him with a rare ear condition to a generalist. I don't see this is any different.

You need to feel confident that people know what they are doing and have experience.

This is intrusive testing for the whole family and should not be done without good cause and without real prospect of it making a difference.

And schools are a different ball game, in a class of 30 with no one who is particularly interested in your child, you have to be confident that you know what the problems are so you can fight for them to be addressed.

I think it might be that you have more confidence that you know precisely what your child's needs are whereas I am still looking for someone to help me with that.

I know most of his problem areas but I suspect others, and I would like to have advice from someone I trust on this eventually!!

I didn't do anything. Some kids here wait years for an ADOS and J was a 'priority' so was looking at a 9 month wait. Then he started attacking people and wanted to stab me and the waiting list 'shortened' again because of that, as the psychiatrist sped it up.

So we only waited 4 months in the end.

Thanks for replies. I'm unsure whether the 4-5 months waiting times we have been given is accurate or if it'll be more... , but i hope it will be all finished by september. Having at least a dx for DS before reception so it will smooth the path for statementing should we eventually have to.

what is ADI?

Autism Diagnostic Interview.
Basically lots of questions to parents regarding child development as far as i know.

thankyou. Have an appointment for our son with pead next week about possible ADHD and ASPERGERS and so am trying to get as much info as possible