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Second opinion?

Weaver76

My son was assessed by a NHS paediatrician and told he didn’t fit the ASD criteria because he is too verbal and can hold a conversation and eye contact. (He can on his terms with familiar people) 

She met my son twice, for 30 minutes, in clinic. Told me she thought he was showing more ADHD than ASD. 

I completely disagree with her, 6 months ago she told me that she was nearly satisfied he fitted the criteria and would almost definitely be diagnosing him as Autistic, But would need to speak with his SALT and Ed Psychologist first. Since then, she has changed her mind. It’s infuriating, they see a different boy to me. He’s incredibly able at masking. 

I have approached my GP to request a second opinion but she says there is nobody in our county! 
What do I do? Continue to push?

Parents

  • You should be entitled to an NHS second opinion, but not so. Heavy sigh! It's not right. Certainly 2 x 30 mins is not enough to diagnose any one either way! I was in there 5 hours after a review of a ton of paperwork.

    All you want is the right diagnosis for your kid. But some NHS assessors haven't caught up with the training yet. Now there could be more behind her decision, for all we know, and you need to press the assessor for clarification as to why they have come to those conclusions.

    But male or female, more subtle presentations of Autism can mask eye contact (generally looking at some other part of the face), and communication difference, not speech delay, is the criteria. Some of us, like me, were even precocious in our linguistic development, albeit that was functionally not socially driven. Yeah, I could sustain an extensive dialogue at 18 months, if I was in the mood.. So those grounds are not valid alone for disqualification from a diagnosis.

    If your assessor has no other reason than that you need a second opinion to be sure. But you may not get one on the NHS, grrrrrr on your behalf.

Reply

  • You should be entitled to an NHS second opinion, but not so. Heavy sigh! It's not right. Certainly 2 x 30 mins is not enough to diagnose any one either way! I was in there 5 hours after a review of a ton of paperwork.

    All you want is the right diagnosis for your kid. But some NHS assessors haven't caught up with the training yet. Now there could be more behind her decision, for all we know, and you need to press the assessor for clarification as to why they have come to those conclusions.

    But male or female, more subtle presentations of Autism can mask eye contact (generally looking at some other part of the face), and communication difference, not speech delay, is the criteria. Some of us, like me, were even precocious in our linguistic development, albeit that was functionally not socially driven. Yeah, I could sustain an extensive dialogue at 18 months, if I was in the mood.. So those grounds are not valid alone for disqualification from a diagnosis.

    If your assessor has no other reason than that you need a second opinion to be sure. But you may not get one on the NHS, grrrrrr on your behalf.

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