Hello, my son 11 has just been diagnosed with aspergers

[Anonymous]

#4068

Early on when my son was 2/3 i took him to be checked out as his speech wasnt as it should be for a boy his age. He was assigned a speech and language therapist at the time and was given a placement in a special speech and language nursery. After finishing nursery he attended mainstrem school with a special unit in it for speech and language. He was also in the care of an educational psycologist and paeodiatician at this time. A record of special needs was opened due to the his difficulties with speech and language. I have reports from all the different people who were involved with him which i believe show signs of autism. A few years ago the appropriate bodies decided that because his speech was coming on that he no longer required a record of special needs as the criterior for this record was changing and they said that his needs were not in fitting with the new criterior to keep a record open. His record of needs was closed. My son is going into high school this year. As such i have been expressing concerns to his teachers for the past few years that i felt that he needed extra supervison and help interacting with other children. Last year i asked his paeodiatrician to assess him for autism, which she did and concluded that he did not show all of the relevent signs (said that although we told her he was infatuated with only one specific toy, she did not see this when she attended the school, possibly because he isnt allowed his toy at school, and didnt ask him anything in relation to it). I accepted this as i thought she knew what she was talking about. However i still wasnt satisfied and recently asked for him to me re-assessed as i have fears of him going into high school with no help. She diagnosed with Aspergers just before christmas. I am angry that given he has been seen by these professionals for so long that it has taken this long to pick this up. Looking back at early reports i feel that someone should have flagged the possiblitity of aspergers alot earlier on. Should i have done more, have always felt that i was the one holding him back because they were all saying that he was coming along just fine. Mad rant over. I am awaiting on appointments now with social workers and eductional authorities to determine his needs. Should i be asking an independent person to assess his needs as well as the local authority? My heads just muddled atm, unsure of what to expect or to ask.ThanksJojo

[Anonymous]

#5501

Hi Jojo, Sounds like you've been having a battle on your hands! It is often very difficult to get a diagnosis, especially if all the 'tell tail' signs are not obvious, however, well done for pursuing! It's good that you now have a team of professionals working on his needs, however in my opinion, I would assess what both your son wants and what you want.Once you know these things, you can be totally clear of what you want from your local authority and it may be easier to not get lost in all the options... This year will be one of change for your son, therefore it is important that the transition into secondary school starts soon - by that I mean, getting him prepared for the change and how his routine etc will be different from what it is now. By giving your son as much time as possible to get used to the changes, this will hopefully equip him when September comes around. The most important thing is that he is ready for the changes and he has strategies in place to cope if things become difficult. These things can be worked out between the two of you, giving you the control - rather than having to wait on the local authority. Make sure you both have the say in what provisions your son gets, and ensure that the authority works with you all the way.Hope that is a starting point at least - good luck!

[Anonymous]

#5502

Thanks alot for the advise Jemma. I feel that the tell tail signs were there from an early age, but i stupidly let the professionals tell me that it was just a moderate language difficulty he had, without really challenging it. Could kick myself now. Trying not to let it get to me :(, and concentrate on moving forward. It was mainly because i was scared of my son being bullied once he goes to high school that i asked for an assessments to be done. Just want him to be happy healthy boy/man. We are waiting on a meeting with his school to discuss an IEP or co-ordinated support plan. Start getting things in place as early as possible. I will make sure we are prepared before the meeting so that we make sure all bases are covered from the offset.Thanks again

[Anonymous]

#5503

Hi Jojo, It sounds like you have had a bit of a nightmare. I am glad you finally got a diagnosis though & hope that you will now get all the help you deserve. Don't beat yourself up about not hounding the professionals, we are taught that they know best & we trust them, you didn't do anything wrong on your part.hugsHelen

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