Hi all,
My daughter ten is recently diagnosed with ASD.
We originally approached the school because of her erratic emotionality, lack of focus, avoidance of mental effort, “spaciness” and extreme sensitivity to criticism. We thought she might have been inattentive ADHD.
An observation by a clinical psychologist visiting the school recommended an autism assessment. Sge said that our duather did not exhibit any impulsivity
After the ASD diagnosis arrived, we had her assessed by an educational psychologist to see if she had any hidden learning difficulties that we were not aware of. This assessment revealed that she was above average intelligence that that lack of focus was not because of a deficiency in her cognitive abilities.
So I am not sure how to help her with focus. An ADHD child gets special interventions in the classroom to help them focus, would get extended time for assessments and crucial focus-inducing medicine to help him/her focus. However if the lack of lack of focus comes from autism, the child does not get the medicine and has to just get on with it. I have seen how crucial the ADHD medicine is and it has transformed the lives of friends’ kids and I feel that autistic kids with focus issues are getting set up to fail.
Am I right in my thinking or is there something I am not realising?
