Diagnosis for a Child

Hi, 

I also live in the same area as you.  Last year when my son was 8, I spoke to the GP about autistic traits that my son was demonstrating.  I think I had become more aware of it because of lockdown & home schooling.  I had written the information down that concerned me on a template that I found online.  As far as I can remember the GP made the referral to CAMHS, they wrote to me to say they will not be accepting the referral and to ask the school to make a referral to the community paediatric team.  When I discussed this with the school, they did not have any concerns with my son's behaviour and when the SEN teacher observed him in class, she also said there were no issues.  However I was having lots of issues at home, as well as with my older son, who I now suspect may be high functioning autistic.  The SEN teacher kind of fobbed me off and said to behave as though my son is autistic and it's not always helpful to have a label.  My boys are at a local private school, I'm not sure if this would have been handled better if they were at a comprehensive school.  

So a year on, I have taken things into my own hands and arranged a private assessment, because I feel an official diagnosis would actually be really helpful.  I know that even if they had accepted the referral, it could have taken a couple of years to be assessed.  My neighbour had an ADHD assessment for her daughter with the help of school quite quickly however is still waiting for and ASD assessment. 

Many of the private companies I contacted were not taking on new referrals however I did find one who are based in Sevenoaks / Sidcup area.  They are extremely helpful and the wait is a few months, also comes with a big price tag which I know is not always an option.  You might want to contact them for further information or look on the website - Connect Blue.  

It really isn't easy and I feel for you as I was really confused and didn't know who to turn to.  If you need any more information, I'm happy to help.

Reading this is so depressing. What on Earth is going on when even the process of getting a referral for an assessment is so difficult?! It’s crazy. 
In my own son’s case (and this is several years ago now) his autism wasn’t flagged up by the school probably because he had Selective Mutism and they focussed on that and never mentioned autism until I eventually ‘woke up’ to it myself and raised the possibility with them. We ended up with Camhs who dawdled and dithered and then I phoned the NAS helpline (which annoyingly doesn’t exist anymore!) and they suggested going back to my GP and asking for a referral to the Community something or other (community paediatric ?! I can’t remember!) and they diagnosed my son after only 2 appointments. Looking back he was OBVIOUSLY autistic and it’s crazy he didn’t get diagnosed until he was 10. 
Anyway - we got there in the end - but it should have been quicker and easier. By the sound of what’s written above it’s even harder now. 
The truth is that services in the U.K. are increasingly useless. Underfunding over a period of years is the main reason. 
That’s what you get with Tory Governments - they always have a negative impact on public services - and especially services for vulnerable people. I wish people in the U.K. would wake up and stop voting for them. 

Reading this is so depressing. What on Earth is going on when even the process of getting a referral for an assessment is so difficult?! It’s crazy. 
In my own son’s case (and this is several years ago now) his autism wasn’t flagged up by the school probably because he had Selective Mutism and they focussed on that and never mentioned autism until I eventually ‘woke up’ to it myself and raised the possibility with them. We ended up with Camhs who dawdled and dithered and then I phoned the NAS helpline (which annoyingly doesn’t exist anymore!) and they suggested going back to my GP and asking for a referral to the Community something or other (community paediatric ?! I can’t remember!) and they diagnosed my son after only 2 appointments. Looking back he was OBVIOUSLY autistic and it’s crazy he didn’t get diagnosed until he was 10. 
Anyway - we got there in the end - but it should have been quicker and easier. By the sound of what’s written above it’s even harder now. 
The truth is that services in the U.K. are increasingly useless. Underfunding over a period of years is the main reason. 
That’s what you get with Tory Governments - they always have a negative impact on public services - and especially services for vulnerable people. I wish people in the U.K. would wake up and stop voting for them.