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Concerned our high functioning child will not be diagnosed as autistic because his traits aren’t severe.

NAS78326

Hi,

As parents we are in the middle of having our 7 year old boy assessed for autism. In the last consultation they are happy to continue to assess him but aren’t sure if he is on the spectrum, this is because they only spoke to him and watched his interactions for an hour, whereas at home there are so more signs of definite autism.

We are wondering if anyone else has experienced doctors not believing your child is autistic because they are high functioning and if there’s any way to have them tested for longer than a short doctor’s appointment, other than going private which we cannot afford.

Thank you in advance for any help you can give us.

Parents

  • My goodness I could have written this 3 years ago. We received diagnosis yesterday got my 10 year old and the relief is immense. We, like you saw all of the signs and behaviours but he masks so well that many scoff at the mere thought or suggestion that he may have ASD. My favourite (not) line is “aren’t we all a bit on the spectrum?”- literally boils my blood. Anyway my point is, you are the ones that are living through it and the professionals are just that-they are able to pick up on the smallest of cues and gave such a systematic and skilled approach. Never in a million years did I think they would recognise any traits in him but here we are. 
    We (my husband and I) had a 1hr appt with the psychiatrist, we completed numerous questionnaires, as did school and then my son had 1hr appointment with a specialist occupational therapist. We were assessed by clinical partners (nhs arm). It took us a long time to get here and had to go through the system including cbt for anxiety and anger management which was not right for him but gave us referral to CAMHS. 
    good luck with your journey, believe in what you see and trust that the assessments can be effective. The nice guidelines outline what you should expect from assessment and the professionals involved. 

Reply

  • My goodness I could have written this 3 years ago. We received diagnosis yesterday got my 10 year old and the relief is immense. We, like you saw all of the signs and behaviours but he masks so well that many scoff at the mere thought or suggestion that he may have ASD. My favourite (not) line is “aren’t we all a bit on the spectrum?”- literally boils my blood. Anyway my point is, you are the ones that are living through it and the professionals are just that-they are able to pick up on the smallest of cues and gave such a systematic and skilled approach. Never in a million years did I think they would recognise any traits in him but here we are. 
    We (my husband and I) had a 1hr appt with the psychiatrist, we completed numerous questionnaires, as did school and then my son had 1hr appointment with a specialist occupational therapist. We were assessed by clinical partners (nhs arm). It took us a long time to get here and had to go through the system including cbt for anxiety and anger management which was not right for him but gave us referral to CAMHS. 
    good luck with your journey, believe in what you see and trust that the assessments can be effective. The nice guidelines outline what you should expect from assessment and the professionals involved. 

Children
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