Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello
I wonder if anyone can help me? My 9-year old son's teacher recently suggested he see a specialist due to his inability to handle social situations, friendships etc. She hinted he may have ASD, although high-functioning. He is very bright, and in terms of learning, there are no problems. He currently attends a public school.
We are thinking of going down the private route but had a few questions:
- would a clincial or an educational psychologist be more helpful?
- would any diagnosis be purely private, i.e. would he have to disclose it in future school / university / job applications?
- would a psychologist also provide strategies to build up his (and our) skills in the areas where he needs help?
Thanks for any help or insight into the above.
Hi NAS24461,
Some families do choose to take the private route to access a diagnosis, however I think caution is wise.
It is possible that a diagnosis from a private psychologist may not be recognised or accepted by other services or professionals in the same way that a diagnosis from a recognised and established NHS service does. Having a private diagnosis in this way may therefore hinder you in accessing other important avenues of support or services for your child in the future. Therefore, it may be wise to pursue a diagnosis through the usual ‘official’ channels, such as going to your GP and requesting a referral for your child to CAMHS for an Autism assessment.
My other concerns about private psychologists is that, as they are in private practice, they may not be as up to date in assessment or diagnosing processes as NHS professionals who have to regularly maintain their continued professional development in these areas. In addition, private psychologists may also not have regular interaction with any peers, unlike NHS professionals who tend to work in multi-disciplinary teams and therefore have the expertise, advice and opinion of other health professionals at their constant disposal. In the NHS the process of a diagnosis is usually undertaken as a team, which includes paediatricians, psychologists and learning specialists, and therefore a diagnosis does not rely solely on the opinion of one single individual, which in time you may feel to be a much more reassuring process for you, his parents, than accepting the opinion of one solitary private practitioner only?
If you do go through with an NHS diagnosis there are also important (statutory) processes which have to take place, such as receiving a post diagnosis follow up appointment, and next step planning which should help to identify and refer your son to any other services he may need, such a Speech and Language Therapy etc. With a private psychologist these statutory pathways do not exist and there is no requirement for them to do anything other than the specific service that you have agreed to pay them to provide.
I think there are some fantastic private psychologists out there, but sometimes I think, even though it is undoubtedly a very long, saddening and frustrating process, it can sometimes be wise to engage with the ‘official system’ nonetheless?
If you do decide to go private you need a Clinical Psychologist for a diagnosis, as Educational Psychologists tend to instead focus on things like learning difficulties, how a diagnosis impacts upon an individual child’s ability to learn, and they can offer strategies as to how best to manage a diagnosis and identify suitable educational needs and school settings too. Often a Educational Psychologist is called into a school when a child (who already has a diagnosis from a Clinical Psychologist) is struggling to manage or needs strategies in school.
With regards to disclosing a diagnosis, I believe this is largely private and up to the individual whether they disclose or not, however, my current understanding is that there are certain situations which require disclosure, for example, a diagnosis may stop your son from pursuing a career in the armed forces or similar. I don’t personally know of any other situations where disclosure is compulsory, but I think it likely they do exist. However, if your son is on the spectrum, you may find that disclosing really helps him to access the support he may really need in life, at school, in the work place; and therefore it can be in his best interest to disclose rather than, for example, seeing a diagnosis as something ‘shameful’ which must be kept secret or hidden.
Whether you decide to go for an ASD assessment is, of course, entirely your own personal decision. However, I would add that, for high functioning individuals in particular, sometimes the magnitude of their difficulties doesn’t always fully present until they hit their teens, when more sophisticated methods of communication, social interaction and other relational skills all start to become very important holistically (relationally, educationally, and personally) far more so than when they are in still in Primary school. So, you may want to consider the potential benefits of pursuing a diagnosis now in preparation for your son’s potential future needs (when at high school etc.)
Best of luck.
PS, If you need further information to enable you to consider whether a diagnosis of ASD may be applicable to your son, I would highly recommend reading 'A complete guide to Asperger's Syndrome' by Tony Attwood.
scw2007 said:I think our primary concern (or rather my husband's) was that any diagnosis would have to be declared in all types of applications which could then lead to discrimination (whatever the law says) from less enlightened institutions/employers.
I have grappled with this issue. One of my thoughts is that an autistic person does not really want to work for a less enlightened employer. Bad employers can make extremely bad environments for autistic people and should be avoided like the plague.
The official reason for them to ask about any disabilities is so that they can make sure that they are providing the right adjustments and so that they can monitor the numbers to demonstrate that they are not discriminating against disabled people.
All declarations of ASD are optional.
My lovely best friend has been fighting discrimination by his employer over his ADHD/ASD.
It's nasty but he's heading towards winning and if they don't back down it will be very embarrassing for them.
AngelDust, thank you so much for your considered and detailed response. It is of great value. I think our primary concern (or rather my husband's) was that any diagnosis would have to be declared in all types of applications which could then lead to discrimination (whatever the law says) from less enlightened institutions/employers. However, equally of course we could say well perhaps any discrimination indicates that may not be the right environment for my son.
My husband has since talked to the SEN teacher and (together with your reply) we have decided to go through official channels. Thanks again.