Published on 12, July, 2020
My Son is 4 and is currently under various specialists for suspected ADHD and Autism.
Can anyone tell me how long it took for the overall diagnosis? We’ve been lucky and have had paediatrician appointments and were due to go to another appointment next month. My son is also under a Speech Therapist, Specialist Nursery Nurse, Child Therapy, we’ve been asked to take part in the Webster Stratton course and were more than willing to we’ll do anything to help our little one. But nobody is saying how long all the assessments are going to take. I’ve heard it can take years. We’re having all these appointments and they just seem to be going nowhere.
My sons ADHD is pretty severe he has no road safety, he runs off becomes overwhelmed very easily. Both the Autism and ADHD are making life hard for him he’s not mixing with other children and has his own 1-1 support in nursery.
I’m just so worried for the future I had a pretty bad time at school with bullying and I keep thinking people are going to be mean to him and single him out when he does go to full time school or worrying how he will cope as he can only do 3 hours a day in nursery he would no way cope with a full day. Things just seem so overwhelming I just can’t stop worrying about him.
Hi NAS66396,
I'm sorry to hear that you've been worrying about your son's diagnosis/future. We know that this can be a very overwhelming time for a parent.
You may find it useful to contact our Parent to Parent service who offers emotional support to parents and carers of children or adults with autism. This service is confidential and run by trained parent volunteers who are all parents themselves of a child or adult with autism .
You contact the team on 0808 800 4106. Please leave a message and the team will call you back as soon as possible at a time that suits you, including evenings and weekends. Alternatively you can use contact the team via web form: https://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/parent-to-parent/enquiry.aspx
You may like to contact our Autism Helpline team who can provide you with information and advice such as the diagnosis timeline. You can contact the team via telephone on 0808 800 4104 (Monday to Thursday 10am to 4pm, Friday 9am to 3pm). Please note that the Helpline is experiencing a high volume of calls and it may take a couple of attempts before you get through to speak to an advisor. Alternatively, should you prefer to send a message, you can do so via their webform:
https://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/main/questions.aspx
I hope this helps,
ChloeMod.
My name is Natasha.
While I cannot give you an answer, I can offer support as I am going through the same type of issue with my son. He is 2ys 3mths and we are currently jumping through every medical hoop as you are and the frustration is mounting.
Currently my son has just met with a paediatrics consultant and we've been told there is a 6mth waiting list for speech and language therapy so have paid for private assistance while we wait.
My son also has no awareness of danger and will run off into roads, in front of swings, bikes, towards dogs he doesn't know etc....I resonate with your worries and hope you get the answer you need. I have gotten to the point where I have anxiety dreams about awful things happening to my son, but I've learnt that there is nothing I can control here. Even if our sons were deemed 'normal', there is a chance they could be bullied, unfortunately kids are awful to each other at times.
So, I would just say what has been said to me and all we can do is provide them with a loving home, support system and ensure WE as parents are doing everything we can - which you obviously are and take comfort in that.
It's easy to get caught up in the what if's but I have pushed myself to take a step back and just love and enjoy the moment I have with my son, because I don't want to look back in 10 years and not remember the times when they were small and joyful.
Sorry, I couldn't help you but I hope you know you're not in this alone.