Published on 12, July, 2020
Good morning
After a few months of high anxiety with our 10 year old girl - seemingly out of the blue - we have now been told she may have ASD. From nothing to a situation which has spiralled every day to the point that she didn't attend school for the last month, to problems sleeping, major meltdowns (one which ended up in A and E, bad idea on reflection but we were frightened!)...........how has this been masked for so long? We are in a terrible state as a family, walking on eggshells, life being put on hold as our daughter won't do a lot of things, a 7 year old boy who is petrified and despite CAMHS being involved have now been told everything will take months.............
Hi GillsD,
I'm sorry to hear about your current situation. I've posted some links below which may be useful to you.
To find out if your son/daughter has autism/Asperger's syndrome they would need to go for a formal diagnostic assessment. This section provides further information on getting a diagnosis:
http://www.autism.org.uk/about/diagnosis/children.aspx
You can search for services in your area on the Autism Services Directory:
www.autismdirectory.org.uk This includes services such as: support groups, social groups, advocacy, befriending, residential settings, outreach and respite.
You may also want to contact your local social services, if you are not already receiving help from them. Please take a look at the following articles for further information on getting help from Social Services:
(Child England and Wales)
www.autism.org.uk/17378
(Adult England and Wales)
www.autism.org.uk/17377
(Child and Adult Scotland)http://www.autism.org.uk/living-with-autism/benefits-and-community-care/care-and-benefits-for-parents-and-carers/care-support-for-children-with-autism/social-services-getting-help-for-children-and-adults-scotland.aspx
Services provided by the National Autistic Society may also help, you can read more here:
www.autism.org.uk/en-gb/our-services.aspx
Our Autism Helpline may also be able to help. Advisers can talk through the different types of support and search for services in your area, if you would like to call.
The Helpline is open Monday to Friday, 10am – 4pm on 0845 070 4004.
Please see the following link for further information: www.autism.org.uk/Our-services/Advice-and-support/Autism-Helpline.aspx