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New diagnosis of ASD for my 10 yr old son. Feeling lost.

maggiemoo03

My son has just been diagnosed with ASD.  He's 10.  I feel pretty overwhelmed with it all and am not even sure how to talk to him about it.  They told me in the meeting that i will be invited to a workshop when they have a space. probably in a couple of months.  I'm unsure where to go from here.  Even though he now has the diagnosis i am thinking what has actually changed?  He starts secondary school in September and  i am really worried about that and how he will cope.  I asked about whether this means he will get a statement for school but they said not all chidren with ASD do.  I'm not sure what this means or who i talk to about these things.  I am unable to let him play outside as he is vulnerable and so he is constantly stuck indoors which i feel bad about.  I was hoping that he would have things available for him such as groups who do social activities etc where they understand his needs but none of this has been discussed.  I am also worried about when he gets to secondary, they said he may mature by then but what if he isn't capable of going to and from school by himself?  Right now i can't imagine him being able to do that.  Sorry for all the questions but any advice anyone can give me would be hugely apreciated.  Thank you. x

  • I presume you  know what school he's going to go to by now. Regarding school worries, I  would start by contacting the SENCO their and explaining the recent diagnosis and your concerns and asking them how they can help.

    You could also speak to your local Information Advice and Support service who will offer you free independent advice about schooling issues. www.iassnetwork.org.uk/about-us

    You could also try and find out if there are any local support groups in your area, here might be a good place to start. www.autism.org.uk/.../community.aspx, or your current SENCO might know what's happening locally.

    Sorry, that's a list of things to do, which isn't maybe what you want, but a diagnosis should be signposting you to support services and it sounds like it isn't at the moment, which must be very frustrating.

  • Former Member
    Former Member

    Welcome to the community,

    It is normal to feel lost at this point - there are lots of similar posts on the forum as people have massive difficulty in working out what to do next. The diagnosis does not change him, it just gives your more information or clues about what to do with him. Parenting of an autistic child needs to be slightly different - more positive encouragement, more consistent and fair application of rules at home, less shouting and confusion. In the right environment he can thrive. If the environment is wrong (either at school or at home) then he will struggle.

    There is lots to read about autism (explore the NAS website and explore the past posts on the forum - note that the search boxes are separate) and there are some good videos on the internet. I would check out "Born Naughty" which Channel 4 made about families looking for diagnosis and also "The A Word" which is currently on the BBC.