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Do you have to accept Autism diagnosis for child?

yve

Hi

I have an appointment for my 3.5year old for an Autism assessment. My child displays some Autistic traits (spinning, opening closing doors, verbal stimming) not others (very affectionate, eye contact, wanting to play). My question is, Do you have to accept an Autism diagnosis if i get my child assessed? Or does a parent have a right to reject it?

The reason i ask, is although i understand you gets lots help with a diagnosis, the downside is sometime a mis-diagnosis occurs,especially at a young age.

Anybody know? Thanks

Parents

  • Hi Yve,

    I think there are a couple of points worth bearing in mind.

    Firstly, if they do tell you that they think your child is autistic, make sure that they give you a complete explanation of why they think so - don't be afraid to raise any and all questions that you need to so that you can understand their opinion, and challenge them if what they say doesn't match your experience as your child's parent.

    Just getting a "label" is little help on its own, even if it is correct.  If your child does later require some assistance at school, it is much more important to identify the specific things they are struggling with than it is to have a label that assumes your child to be exactly the same as all the other people with the same label.

    Secondly, an early diagnosis should always be amenable to revision as your child develops.  A second opinion isn't just something for the days immediately following diagnosis - at any point in your child's life you have every right to ask for someone to take another look.

    Best wishes.

Reply

  • Hi Yve,

    I think there are a couple of points worth bearing in mind.

    Firstly, if they do tell you that they think your child is autistic, make sure that they give you a complete explanation of why they think so - don't be afraid to raise any and all questions that you need to so that you can understand their opinion, and challenge them if what they say doesn't match your experience as your child's parent.

    Just getting a "label" is little help on its own, even if it is correct.  If your child does later require some assistance at school, it is much more important to identify the specific things they are struggling with than it is to have a label that assumes your child to be exactly the same as all the other people with the same label.

    Secondly, an early diagnosis should always be amenable to revision as your child develops.  A second opinion isn't just something for the days immediately following diagnosis - at any point in your child's life you have every right to ask for someone to take another look.

    Best wishes.

Children
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