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help with being diagnosed

NAS89112

my daughter is 5 years old, we attended a hospital appointment who referred us for an autism assessment, the report they made, said they were very confident there was loads of evidence to support autism, the doctor agreed, but her school has rang our doctor and said they completely do not agree at all, has anyone had this? is there anything i can do, i have spoken to the school so many times about this, the whole of last week there were so many melt downs, times where she had to sit alone in the office for them to calm her down, but they mentioned none of this to the doctor. 

  • in reply to Blueberry

    They can’t stop them. But because they have disagreed and it’s on record they have to do another assessment even though 3 doctors have agreed she definitely has signs of autism.

    but now the school are saying she has signs and they want her help. 

    but because the school first said they don’t think she does it’s now pushed us Back waiting another 9 months for the next assessment. As the school have now said they agree the doctor can’t change her mind on diagnosing her as it’s now record that someone didn’t agree. So she has to do it by the book. 

  • The senco started school this septemeber 2023. She is the one who told the doctor she done an assessment and her behaviour is completely fine, no melt downs etc, however Liz who welcomes her on a morning has witnessed Isabella screaming, biting, hitting whenever coming into school.  She said this is concerning for her as it’s coming out more and more and when she discussed this with other teachers they’ve not relayed back this information to the doctor who questioned the school. 
    so after the appointment with the doctor, I went to see the senco in school and asked what’s report she had done, and could I see it and she told me she hasn’t done one, or had any 1-1 one with my daughter. So said her opinion is based off the fact my daughter can communicate and speak properly. 

    however this friday gone, I spoke with her teacher who now has major concerns about her needs and she now thinks she is masking this while at school. So she rang ours doctor and demanded the test in school was done quicker as they have now pushed us back 3-9 months. This teacher is now blaming me and the doctor for it taking so long and her not getting the help the teacher thinks she now needs. 

  • Point out to the school, look up some back up literature online as support, that autistic children often mask heavily at school. A child's school persona can be very different to the one they present at home. 

    The school may be reluctant to take on the extra cost of supporting a diagnosed 'disabled' child. However, attempting to prevent a diagnosis for this sort of reason would count as discrimination on the grounds of disability and be illegal. The school would not admit to this, but it is a possibility. Please contact your doctor and the school (possibly the school governors) formally by letter and express your lack of confidence in the school's attitude and intentions.

  • in reply to Caelus

    Schools supply evidence on the form for assessment.

  • in reply to Blueberry

    id say no, but their comments will be part of the assessment i guess.

  • Can the school actually stop the assessment going ahead, then?

  • This sounds very strange to me if there are clear signs your daughter is struggling at school. Who have you spoken to at school? The SENCO would be the person to speak to  about this if you haven't already. Maybe ask them how they are documenting any issues she is having to gather evidence and look for patterns/triggers in behaviours at school. My daughter seemed 'fine' at school but was having meltdowns at home. It wasn't until we approached school they started to notice when things were not quite right. It still took three years for a diagnosis (Covid got in the way as well). You can still try and put things in place to help her. I did a lot of reading when we started the process and she got intervention support at school about emotions and friendships before her diagnosis.

    Hope this gives you something.