Diagnosis for a Child

I have now asked the school to make an application for autistic assessment for my 9 year old son. I'm divorced from his father. 

The rep of the school has communicated to me that there are not enough reasons to refer my son for the autistic assessment because he performs fine in school. The rep told me that if we would ask for an assessment for every child that has some traits the system would not be able to support it. Then I told her that my son has a comprehensive list of traits she said that the father doesn't agree with me. I'm divorced from the father. She said that they need to consult both parents and that my son can follow the school curriculum so there are no concerns from their side. She said that the teach spoke to me in error.  Please if you can give me some advice, I would appreciate this. Not only is my son on the spectrum but I won't be able to get even an assessment due to the difference of opinion to the father. Below is the list of traits he demonstrates. 

1. 1. 1. A is very sensitive to loud sounds. Due to this, A doesn't want his hair to be dried with a hairdryer as the noise is too high for him; I vacuum clean at the time that he is not around; and if I am using an electronic mixer, I have to close the kitchen doors so that the noise doesn't reach A He tends to cover his ears when a sportscar or a motorbike pass by not to mention an ambulance or a police car with a syren on.

      2. A is a very picky eater. He loves chicken nuggets and would eat them all the time if he could. He dislikes any liquid foods such as soups and sauces. He only eats very selective food like pasta, noodles, chicken, plain burgers and pepperoni pizza. He will not have any sauces or pickles on his burger. He also his food assembled nicely and well presented on the plate. A dislikes vegetable in general. The only exception is broccoli and from time to time he will eat a carrot. He dislikes any salads, lettuce, tomato, peas, beans etc.

      3. A is quite sensitive to touch and won't like a proper hug but more of a tap on his shoulder.

      4. A has a tendency to produce some veery specific sounds. He has been producing one sound over couple of years, but then changed to a different sound. He also likes mimicking pets.

      5. A tends to be very quiet and play on his own. His younger brother tends to seek to play with A while A's preference is to play on his own. A often tells me that his younger brother is annoying him as he interrupts him in his play. Often A closes the door to his room so that he can play on his own and to prevent any interruptions by his younger brother.

      6. A gets stressed when his younger brother approaches him.

      7. He has very little interest in going outdoors and engaging in any outdoors activities. He has no interest in any of the sports and PE activities. A has been enrolled in a number of clubs including: football, swimming classes, archery etc. Despite the encouragement, he has not been engaged and has dropped out from football and swimming classes. He has been offered to participate in a number of other activities such as tennis and boxing but not been willing to participate in these. His preference is always to stay at home and play at home to going outdoors.

      8. A is obsessed with cars. He is very technical and can explain in detail the mechanics of each part of the car. He predominantly spends his free time in building cars with lego blocks. He loves science and electricity is his favourite and he is interested in a lot of detail and will be able to understand very advanced scientific theories.

      9. He only engages in conversation about very few topics, predominantly this is about cars and a game called Minecraft.

      10. A started speaking at slightly later stage, at around a year and a half and it took him a bit longer to develop his vocabulary.

      11. A has very few friends. While his younger brother tends to invite friends over and asks me to take him to the homes of his friends, A has never asked me to see any of his friends.

      12. A showed limited empathy towards his younger brother. When his younger brother started walking, he had a tendency to push him. There have been many instances where A has pushed, hit, kicked his brother.

      13. A doesn't respond when being called by his name or asked a question. It can take a very long time to gain his attention. Often, I have to come in front of him so he can see me before he will hear the question and provide a response.

      14. A dislikes school. He tells me that school is boring. He dislikes English, P/E and other subjects. He is only interested in maths and science. He tells me that he knows the answers to the experiments in advance of the experiment being conducted.

Hi,

Sorry if this is an obvious question, but have you tried putting all of this in writing to the GP, school, or any other relevant place/person?

I’ve found that letters are usually always way more effective than verbal communication and as you are able to layout all of your sons issues so clearly in writing, I cannot imagine them just ignoring it and doing absolutely nothing in response. If they do, you may need to start writing some strong complaint letters.

Hi,

Sorry if this is an obvious question, but have you tried putting all of this in writing to the GP, school, or any other relevant place/person?

I’ve found that letters are usually always way more effective than verbal communication and as you are able to layout all of your sons issues so clearly in writing, I cannot imagine them just ignoring it and doing absolutely nothing in response. If they do, you may need to start writing some strong complaint letters.

 Thank you. I have been communicating via emails with the school and given a written letter to the GP.

I have now sent a letter to the school to be used for an application for an autistic assessment to the School's Board.

Thanks for everyone's advice and support.