Help and advice

[Kurly]

Please can anyone offer some advice or experience of similar issues they may have had.

My 2 3/4 year old son is currently waiting to be seen by a pead after being referred by a ST after one appointment. The ST said his problems are beyond her remit and he needs a full development review with pead. Below is a brief outline of his problems and behaviour.

Up until 18months to 2 years he had 'normal' development. Then he seemed to make little or no progress in language, understanding and emotional development. He says max 40 words in correct kind of context sometimes joining thats to a word (e.g. thats cat) he also repeats words that he hears e.g. gone but does not say the word without hearing it first.

He eats virtually nothing putting food up to his mouth and then not eating it. He will only drink one type of squash in his cup will not use anyother type of cup. He has limited play skills but if he likes something he will play it alot (eg pressing same button on keyboard).

He is a really bad sleeper often awake for a couple of hours a night. He is also very loving and cuddly with us but not with people outside of the family. He seems to find emotions difficult and confusing.

There are lots of other things he does or doesn't do but it would take for ever to write them all.

It would be great to know if anyone has experienced similar things and can give me an idea of what to expect at pead appointment. At moment I am really worried!

I think it is very good that you have an appt; waiting will be tough though. It might help to make a list of your concerns and observations. Also, if you can and if speech is a concern I would push the ST to give you something to do with him, or do something with him, while you wait for the appt. I do not have great experience of eating or sleeping problems, but perhaps your GP could get you referred to an Occupational Therapist, because your DS sounds like he may have sensory issues.
A lot of the things you describe in your DS will resonate with several of the MNetters here; there will be even more if you search old posts.
Waiting and being worried is probably the worst part; if you can face it, the old posts will give you a lot of tips on things you can read that can be useful. Good luck!

The system seems to vary according to where you live but generally the first Paed appointment involves answering lots of questions while the Paed is also watching/observing your child.

You will probably be asked questions about things like:

• the pregnancy and birth (whether there were any problems)

• Your ds' general development and if/when he reached various milestones.

• how your ds is around other people.

• family medical history

• any particular concerns that you have about ds.

It's best to make notes in advance if possible because there's always something that gets forgotten about.

In the meantime the Paed will be watching your ds to see:

• how he reacts to his surroundings.

• whether he interacts with you or the Paed.

• what he does with the toys that are (usually) set out in the room.

If the Paed has any concerns then they will usually arrange for a full developmental check, where your ds will be seen by a range of professionals: SALT, OT, Physio, Child Psych etc. How this is done will depend on the system where you live.

Some of the issues you mention sound similar to things my two older children used to do (they have autism), but there is such a vast range of different SNs out there (which often overlap with each other) that it would be difficult to say whether your ds had a particular condition.

Welcome to the SN board.

Thanks for the advice am definitely going to write things down before we go. Appointment came through this morning so thats great. He is already due to see a multi-disciplined team after the pead not sure if that is the norm here or not.

Have read some of the other threads relating to ASD and much of it seems to apply to him. Guess we will have to wait and see

Thanks
Again