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First structured observation on Friday

bertieh

Hello

After a long time coming, we finally have an ASD assessment for my 8 year old son at St George's hospital in Tooting, London on Friday.   He has a structured observation and play based assessment on Friday with a clinical psychologist, then my husband and I have been invited in for a separate interview the following week.  We have also been asked to provide reports from school, his play therapist and we have filled out a few questionaires. 

Does anyone have any advice on how I can prepare my son for Friday?  We have talked about there being lots of people who want to help him feel happier, and that we all love him very much and there's nothing to be scared about - but as I don't know exactly what's going to happen, I am not sure what to tell him.  Any ideas please? I know that he is feeling scared and worried and different.  All the work and reassurance we put in telling him that everyone's different etc, and then these assessments are obviously trying to find a difference!  He has worked this one out...

I also would appreciate any advice on what to expect as parents and what I should be looking out for.  SHould I take a copy of the NICE guidelines with me for instance, or are there any pitfalls to avoid or be aware of?  Thanks for all your help.

Parents
  • Former Member
    Former Member

    There are issues with getting a definite diagnosis. All you will ever get is an "opinion" from an expert as there is no definitive test (like an x-ray tells you that you have a broken leg) for autism. SOme of their reluctance may be that they are reluctant to commit resources to someone unless they have a severe enough problem that merits a significant effort. Also, the label can have unfortunate negative effects on some people who think that it excuses their behaviour or it puts the responsibility on someone else to fix the problem.

    Sometimes the label is necessary to make a school (or employer etc) recognise that someone has specific needs and that they are not thriving in the current regime.

    Ultimately, your son needs to work out ways of managing himself and a diagnosis may help this process - particularly if he understands that it means that he is like his dad or like the other people that you know and that it is quite feasible to have a decent life with the condition. I managed with the condition (undiagnosed) for a long time until I was employed by a company that was particularly hostile to people like me. The label protected me but ultimately I have not been able to change their way of dealing with people so I have found another job. I am hoping that they will be more suitable for me and I am also going to try and be more reasonable as I now understand what difference the condition can make to the way I behave.

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  • Former Member
    Former Member

    There are issues with getting a definite diagnosis. All you will ever get is an "opinion" from an expert as there is no definitive test (like an x-ray tells you that you have a broken leg) for autism. SOme of their reluctance may be that they are reluctant to commit resources to someone unless they have a severe enough problem that merits a significant effort. Also, the label can have unfortunate negative effects on some people who think that it excuses their behaviour or it puts the responsibility on someone else to fix the problem.

    Sometimes the label is necessary to make a school (or employer etc) recognise that someone has specific needs and that they are not thriving in the current regime.

    Ultimately, your son needs to work out ways of managing himself and a diagnosis may help this process - particularly if he understands that it means that he is like his dad or like the other people that you know and that it is quite feasible to have a decent life with the condition. I managed with the condition (undiagnosed) for a long time until I was employed by a company that was particularly hostile to people like me. The label protected me but ultimately I have not been able to change their way of dealing with people so I have found another job. I am hoping that they will be more suitable for me and I am also going to try and be more reasonable as I now understand what difference the condition can make to the way I behave.

Children
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