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Hello Mumofboys, and welcome.

I give you a very guarded 'yes it could', but it's a big leap from 'sensory issues' to ASD, and I'm afraid that you're asking for an opinion here without giving enough information to work with. Perhaps you could quote the entire letter (anonymised please!!!) so that we can try to give you proper feedback as to how we see it. You would also do better to spell out to us just what you think his beahvioural problems are - you're his Mum, you know him best. This is the kind of support that we like to give, especially to struggling parents

Do this OT particularly specialise in the subject or have some other knowledge base that makes them suitable to make an assessment? It is one thing to say 'I believe that this indicates that (s)he has a sensory processing disorder' but it's a very different thing to say that (s)he HAS sensory processing disorder. You do not say whether or not they express an opinion as to what is causing it.

No disrespect to OTs (far from it!) who do an excellent job in their field, but from what I know of their work, I would consider it unusual for an OT to be even expressing such an opinion. I stipulate that there may be an aspect of OT work that, in 30 years of working alongside them, I've still managed to miss.

And, rhetorical question, what is 'sensory processing disorder'? All ASD people have sensory issues, but sensory issues do not necessarily mean ASD.

And finally, if 'school' had some concerns, why did they 'privately' bring in an OT when they could just have easily raised their concerns in a proper way with your GP and local health authority? Or was it THEM that sent in the OT?

A paediatrician will certainly take into account the OT view, but they would be duty bound to ask the same questions that I have.

You might find it more helpful if you give a little more detail about his 'behaviour problems'. There is plenty of information available to you online about ASD indicators, so that you can consider his life and compare it to ASD issues, but be careful - it's easy to make someone fit the picture, and you really mustn't do that.

I'm not suggesting that this is you, but poor parenting skills also lead to 'sensory issues' and 'behavioural problems' and we have an issue on here with people who look for an easy answer - see the thread (and particularly my entry on it about this very subject) entitled suicide risk and people at the abler end of the autism spectrum.

(To the others reading this) Does anyone else have an experience of an Occupational Therapist being involved in diagnosis? I'm intrigued to know, it is definitely something I would NOT normally expect of them! I like finding out new information, and we've all got issues with the diagnostic process...

Hello Mumofboys, and welcome.

I give you a very guarded 'yes it could', but it's a big leap from 'sensory issues' to ASD, and I'm afraid that you're asking for an opinion here without giving enough information to work with. Perhaps you could quote the entire letter (anonymised please!!!) so that we can try to give you proper feedback as to how we see it. You would also do better to spell out to us just what you think his beahvioural problems are - you're his Mum, you know him best. This is the kind of support that we like to give, especially to struggling parents

Do this OT particularly specialise in the subject or have some other knowledge base that makes them suitable to make an assessment? It is one thing to say 'I believe that this indicates that (s)he has a sensory processing disorder' but it's a very different thing to say that (s)he HAS sensory processing disorder. You do not say whether or not they express an opinion as to what is causing it.

No disrespect to OTs (far from it!) who do an excellent job in their field, but from what I know of their work, I would consider it unusual for an OT to be even expressing such an opinion. I stipulate that there may be an aspect of OT work that, in 30 years of working alongside them, I've still managed to miss.

And, rhetorical question, what is 'sensory processing disorder'? All ASD people have sensory issues, but sensory issues do not necessarily mean ASD.

And finally, if 'school' had some concerns, why did they 'privately' bring in an OT when they could just have easily raised their concerns in a proper way with your GP and local health authority? Or was it THEM that sent in the OT?

A paediatrician will certainly take into account the OT view, but they would be duty bound to ask the same questions that I have.

You might find it more helpful if you give a little more detail about his 'behaviour problems'. There is plenty of information available to you online about ASD indicators, so that you can consider his life and compare it to ASD issues, but be careful - it's easy to make someone fit the picture, and you really mustn't do that.

I'm not suggesting that this is you, but poor parenting skills also lead to 'sensory issues' and 'behavioural problems' and we have an issue on here with people who look for an easy answer - see the thread (and particularly my entry on it about this very subject) entitled suicide risk and people at the abler end of the autism spectrum.

(To the others reading this) Does anyone else have an experience of an Occupational Therapist being involved in diagnosis? I'm intrigued to know, it is definitely something I would NOT normally expect of them! I like finding out new information, and we've all got issues with the diagnostic process...