Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi there not quite sure what to write here to be honest but here goes my son is just over 3 and a half will be 4 in February he has recently been diagnosed with asd. Me and my wife had been concerned for a while with some of my sons behaviours mainly communication but had been going back a fourth wondering whether it was just speech delay or autism. We had been going through Isend support and speech and language and recently went to the hospital where within observing my son for 10 minutes the doctor said he was autistic said and I quote "well you must have known" to which I replied no as I wasnt sure the reasons she gave were that he didnt make eye contact or have shared enjoyment both traits which he does with us at home which I said, she then said he is 100% autistic gave us a few leaflets and sent us on our way which was quite upsetting for me and my partner! Since this meeting which was 3 weeks ago now we have heard nothing and are a bit of a loss of how to help him also if I'm honest I feel like I am still in a bit of denial as i have looked into autism alot and feel like my son doesnt have many of the "usual" traits of an autistic child although i do appreciate i am most likely wrong as I have been told he is by a doctor. Sorry to ramble on but just havent really had anywhere I could let this out any advice would be greatly appreciated :)
Hello. We had countless meetings with pediatrician and he would only diagnose officially my son after 2 years of seeing him. We thought that after diagnosis we will get some support, maybe speech therapy on regular basis. But nothing like that happened. We were left pretty much on our own. Only school has helped as they needed to get funding for one to one support for my son. He is in main stream infant school and only now in year 2 he got a support from autism consultant who tailored for him a bespoke programme.
So be prepared for lots of fighting for funds, therapy etc. One think you can do is to get your son referred to speech and language therapist in your local NHS then they can refer you to specialist pediatrician.
In every county things might work but different in terms of amount of support you will get. We are in Hampshire and to be honest there is not much here provided by NHS.
Till this day NHS speech and language therapist comes only ones a year to see my son at school and only give advise to school staff what to do.
Hope you will find this a bit helpful.
Best wishes
Hello, First of all, a doctor cannot diagnose autism in 10 minutes. Your son does not have a diagnosis of autism. To get a diagnosis your GP should refer him for an assessment by a specialist team of psychologists. Talk to your GP about this. You will find information about this here: https://www.autism.org.uk/about/diagnosis.aspx
If your son has speech delay, he won’t have Asperger’s Syndrome. Anyway Asperger’s is no longer in the latest autism schedules. It is being phased out.
I would advise you to see your GP about this asap, as the waiting list for diagnosis can be quite long. This way if your son is autistic, you will be able access the appropriate assistance.
As an aspie, I'm curious as to what unusual traits you think I should have?
In all honesty, it sounds like the books you picked have been of dubious quality. Aspies are very much in the position that homosexuals were last century in that a few people like to label our behaviour as disfunctional or unusual, when in fact most people can't tell whether someone is neurodiverse or neurotypical.
To understand your son's needs and to develop your knowledge of autism I recommend you read this book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Autism-Asperger-Syndrome-Childhood-diagnosed/dp/1847094929/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=luke+beardon+children&qid=1574169826&sr=8-1