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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

  • I'm a young adult who is still looking to be diagnosed and I was receiving mental health 'support' from CAMHS for 4 years before I turned 18. They completely missed it, my therapist even dismissed my severe issues with social interaction as being 'quirky'. 

    Schools also knew that I struggled, but they just assumed that I was a bit shy and awkward. I only realised because I happened to speak to an autism researcher in my uni, and I ended up doing the autism quotient and getting a really high score, which led me down the rabbit hole. 

    Unfortunately, the NHS is not very effective when it comes to diagnosing and providing support for more subtle issues that aren't immediately visible. 

    Thankfully, my GP agreed to refer me for an assessment so we'll see how that goes.

    In general I would suggest doing your own research first (being a psych student helped me with that) and making sure that you're able to identify your child's specific traits and behaviours that are cause for concern, because a lot of the time, doctors can't put the pieces together, you have to do it for them

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  • I'm a young adult who is still looking to be diagnosed and I was receiving mental health 'support' from CAMHS for 4 years before I turned 18. They completely missed it, my therapist even dismissed my severe issues with social interaction as being 'quirky'. 

    Schools also knew that I struggled, but they just assumed that I was a bit shy and awkward. I only realised because I happened to speak to an autism researcher in my uni, and I ended up doing the autism quotient and getting a really high score, which led me down the rabbit hole. 

    Unfortunately, the NHS is not very effective when it comes to diagnosing and providing support for more subtle issues that aren't immediately visible. 

    Thankfully, my GP agreed to refer me for an assessment so we'll see how that goes.

    In general I would suggest doing your own research first (being a psych student helped me with that) and making sure that you're able to identify your child's specific traits and behaviours that are cause for concern, because a lot of the time, doctors can't put the pieces together, you have to do it for them

Children
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