Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi all,
My 4 year old son has his first paediatric appointment on Wednesday with suspected asd. I have no idea what to expect! I know it varies depending on area but can anyone give us a clue what to expect? I’m a nervous wreck already, I so want him to get a diagnosis before he starts full time school in sept so he can access the help he requires. I would say he is high functioning or maybe more aspergers.... I don’t know, I just know that we all need help and support as a family to help him and to help us handle him! I don’t know where else to turn if he doesn’t get a diagnosis....
Hello, my 4 year old had his community peaditrician appointment last Thursday. Talked through our concerns and nursery concerns. She said she felt our child has High Functioning Autism and has put him on the waiting list for the Ados test which then gives you an official diagnosis. Down side is where I live (Lincolnshire) there is over a year wait for it. So my little chap will be in year 1 before that happens :Senco is working hard to get him support with his current semi diagnosis and try and get him an EHC in place to help with school.
Thanks for getting back to me, that’s good that your Senco is trying to get the support in place without an official diagnosis. My son is due to start I’m Reception in September... my concern was that nothing could be done without a diagnosis so this gives me hope. He is in nursery which is attached to the school at the moment and they have been brilliant with him I just hope this continues. It’s always such a long wait isn’t it, we were told back in feb that we would wait a year for this first appointment and it has come through quickly so hopefully the next stage will be the same. Can I ask what the Ados test is? I’m relatively new to all this!
ADOS-2 is the usual tool to help diagnose autism in both children and adults (it's copyrighted so you won't find the full details on the web). Sometimes a different tool is used, or none at all. For a four year old, it will probably include asking the child to build something, some kind of imaginative play, describing pictures, describing a social situation like a birthday party. The assessor will probably be looking for non-verbal communication, showing things to other people, unusual play, and social understanding,
I don't think that would usually be with the paediatrician but might be with a child psychologist in the next stage if referred. The paediatrician will be able to check for any other conditions that might be a better description than autism/AS.
Thanks for all the advice, my son, like yours, has always been abit different bless him. If I’m honest Iv had my suspisions since he was about 18 months old. I’m with as well with it being overwhelming. It feels like such a lonely road to be on at times, it’s good to talk to people going through the same thing.
Ahh yes my DS had a blood test after his peaditrician appointment to rule out genetic causes. Thank you for your info on the Ados test. It will be interesting as he is very sweet and compliant with Drs etc!! I would prefer him to be observed at nursery or home where his behaviours/quirks stand out most. We are so low on EP's in our area we don't get that side of things anymore.