Published on 12, July, 2020
hi everyone,
i am in need of some help with the diagnose/ don't diagnose question. I have read a fair few posts about it and still have yet more questions!
My son is 7 and may be high functioning. He has plenty of traits but I worry that a diagnosis will mean allowances will be made for him which will ultimately make it harder for him as an adult - I want to give him a fair chance and the support he needs to live a happy and independent life as an adult.
i worry that laws about disclosure may change amd that attitudes can change. I'm not sure a diagnosis will get us any more support or any meaningful information about him that will mean we can support him better at home or school.
Can any anyone tell me what kind of information a diagnosis might give us about our son and what kind of additional support might be available? We live in the Thames Valley.
We went on the course with our local AS anod we think he is 'borderline' (!). We have worked v hard with boundaries and clear expectations and things are much better at home (we are hoping we are bad parents ha ha...)
my main concern for him at the moment is making and maintaining friendships.
Thank you!
Hi newfoodprocessor
I can very much understand where you are coming from. My son is 3 and a half years old and has just been assessed. He was referred by his nursery school for a speech and language assessment, and they believe he may have high functioning autism.
From our experience alone - and he only had his 'second opinion' last week, an assessment doesn't change anything, except give an option for formal diagnosis. From the position of being a parent with concerns for how this would impact my child, I read a quote on another post which summed it up perfectly - 'congratulations your son has autism, don't let the door bang on your way out'.
Whilst his speech and language will continue to be assessed, no additional support was given to us as a family. I only found this website through researching for myself and personally would have liked a bit more reassurance and information (which this forum has given me!).
That said, I am very happy that he will continue to receive support with his communication - he has come on hugely since speech and language have been involved, so perhaps you may want to start by asking for a referral to be seen by a speech and language consultant. They look at not only the development of speech, but at his whole communication and interaction with others. He had a hearing test too, to rule out potential hearing loss. They work alongside his nursery too. I feel much happier knowing he is being monitored and that his nursery are aware of potential difficulties he may have.
I hope this helps - sorry it's not much clearer, I'm still trying to work out the next steps for my son and for us as a family!
All the best and good luck with what you decide!