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4 year old being assessed for autism

Kloemg

Hi everyoneI've just signed up to this page for a bit of support / advisemy son is 4years old a few weeks ago I was called into his nursery about quite a few concerns eg behaviour social skills ect they then got someone from IDS (integrated disability services)  to assess my son in the setting, she said watching my son she'd like for him to be assessed for autism or asperges,  I've also thought there was something different as I have 2 other children,  not to compare, he can be very aggressive, and have random outburst if he isn't happy about a specific thing, he is not good with making friends and would much prefer to be alone,  he always seems to have a angry facial expression too even when I smile at him, he doesn't like to be approached without warning this can cause a huge scene if someone touches him,  when he's sad he will go and sit alone and will not want any cuddles from me which makes me feel quite sad, I've Googled everything and sometimes I'll think, yes he's got it and then other times I think,  no it can't be,  it's been on my mind since they first mentioned it and now the waiting game is horrible, I don't know what to expect or when to expect it any advice would be greatly appreciated I know there's a lot of people in the same position but sometimes I feel I'm the only one going through,  many thanks 

  • Hi, im new here as well. My daughter is 4 and in nursery. In brief she struggles socially, with transitions, with bondaries and with appropriate behaviour. She won't always answer to her name and avoids eye.contact. She will talk to, hug, touch and even tell strangers she loves them. She runs away without looking back hard to deal with this when out! Today was our third meeting at school with thee senco and the first time we met the educational physchologist after her first obervation of our daughter. Both senco and educational physiologist said we needed to go down the autism.assessment route. She has been referred to both camhs and the pediatric team. Today was the first time autism was mentioned by anyone then us and  trying to get my head round it all.

  • I am in a similar position and the anxiety is unbearable! I just want to know - yes or no. My boy is in reception class and is one of the youngest in the year. Problems were noted at his 2year development check, again when he started preschool and also when he started reception class. That's when I asked the staff to pursue things a little more.

    He has been accepted for a complex case review, and has seen a speech therapist and behavioural therapist. The speech therapists report will be considered by the complex case panel along with a review by the community paediatrician. I havent been told that the behavioural report will be considered, but will ask for it to be given when I see someone who can do this for me. My child is 4yrs 8months.

    Regardless of diagnosis, we have been given speech therapy, behavioural advice and social skills training.

    Thats what I have experienced, hope it's useful. Not sure if we'll have a diagnosis at the end of it all but we are getting the help he needs regardless.

  • Former Member
    Former Member

    There are two reasons why I didn't get a diagnosis earlier

    a) Aspergers wasn't recognised in UK (or any) schools at that time.

    b) It didn't make me ill or unmanagable.

    Schools nowadays may want to identify autism for a number of reasons - it helps them treat different children more appropriately, they may be able to get extra resources and they may want to organise themselves differently.

    If you are no longer at school then you may want a diagnosis because of mental health issues or to enable you to benefit from Equality Act provisions. On the other hand, you may have autism but manage perfectly well on your own. In my case, I was on the verge of a breakdown and in serious conflict at work so the diagnosis became necessary at that point in life but no-one had put their finger on a specific issue before then. I guessed that I had autism and the doctors confirmed that suspicion with a diagnosis that gives me some protection under the Equality Act and it also gave me access to the local NHS mental health services. I have now pretty much recovered from the MH issues and am left with being the same old autistic me that I have been all my life.

    Diagnosis involves being asked about incidents in your life and some observation of how one behaves in social interactions. My life history is typical of someone who did not know that they were autistic and the observational bit showed that I was unable to do the normal eye contact thing and I have little ability to work out what people are thinking and feeling so I will say odd things and appear to be grossly insensitive to others at times.

    The diagnosis has given me massive insight into the way that I am different to normal people and I try and work harder at avoiding being offensive and being more considerate. It doesn't come naturally but I manage pretty well.

  • Can I ask how come they didn't diagnose you earlier on in life,  and how you got diagnosed after such a long time,  sometimes I look at my little boy and he just seems like an everyday 4 year old and then other times I see something different,  and what exactly happens when your being assessed 

  • Former Member
    Former Member

    Welcome to the forum :-)

    It isn't the end of the world, though, if he is autistic.

    A lot of your description reminded me of my own childhood - I was never in the in-crowd, I always looked miserable and was no good at responding to people smiling at me. I was good academically and, in hindsight, must have been in schools with the right amount of discipline and fairness to suit me. My parents (mother particularly) found the right way to bring me up (the standard best parenting practices of positive reinforcement suits most kids but autistic kids especially) so I went through most of my life blissfully unaware of my differences.This was all before there was any recognition of this issue in schools.

    It all came undone in a recent job where I came up against people who could not cope with people like me so it all came undone. I got diagnosed at 56 and now, three years later, I am back in a good job that suits me and have time to help and appreciate the grandson that has now come along. Life can be good even with autism!