4 year old being assessed for autism

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 

Parents
  • 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.

Reply
  • 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.

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