Nora Report post Posted January 12, 2010 Hi again, I have found out that the person recommended to me to do the private dx of my son is Head of Department of Paediatric Psychology at our nearest big city hospital. I was told that he also does the NHS dx. I appreciate everyone's advice to go down the NHS route as this carries more weight and I fully intend to that as well. But we could be in this guy's office within a very short time. Surely his dx would mean something to the necessary powers? It would help us enormously to know that we were on the right or wrong track. Thanks again, Nora X Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kathryn Report post Posted January 12, 2010 Hi Nora, I was going to share my experience on the other thread but though you had enough info to be going on with! We din't initially seek an NHS diagnosis for my daughter but went down the private route, mainly for speed as you are thinking of doing. My daughter was 15, spiralling into depression and struggling at school. The school didn't want to know because on paper she was still doing OK. By then the signs of ASD were pretty clear to us - we had had years to think about it. She was privately assessed by a developmental neuropsychologist specialising in ASD and communication disorders. She also worked at one of the main London teaching hospitals and in her earlier carreer she was a teacher and then an educational psychologist, so we were confident that she knew her stuff and we weren't disappointed. Her assessment was thorough and her report was excellent: because of her experience of the education system, she knew exactly how to word it so that carry weight when we were fighting for support, and in building a strong case for tribunal. I think some fairly dismissive things have been said about private assessments on the other thread and to say that private assessments can be "bought" (i.e. that you can pay someone to say anything you want) is hugely insulting to professionals who carry out both private and NHS work with integrity. Whilst it's true that some reports aren't worth the paper they're written on and there are no doubt some "bad eggs" who give other private assessments a bad name, it's wrong to tar them all with the same brush. If you've done your research and are sure that the professional is well respected in their field (I think it does help if they have a foot in the NHS as well), I would be inclined to go for it. LEA's should take account of private assessments: SEN tribunals certainly do. Any LEA who blatantly ignores a private professional report simply because it is private is probably hell bent anyway on being obstructive to anything the parent comes up with. I'd agree though that it's a good idea to back up any private assessment by seeking out an NHS assessment as well. This is what we did some months later - my daughter got an NHS referral to an consultant psychiatrist who worked at a well known centre for ASD research. We never regretted the route we took. We still experienced a lot of difficulty in trying to get support for my daughter, but I think we would have done anyway, given our circumstances. Having a clear diagnosis from two well respected experts strengthened our position. I hope that's helpful K x Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nora Report post Posted January 12, 2010 Thanks K, This guy specialises in: Aspergers Autism (including nutritional aspects of autism) Children's behaviour and development Family relationships and their effects on children Attachment and security issues in children Attachment disorders and problems caused by disturbed attachments Hyperactivity ADHD He's Head of the Department of Paediatric Psychology at big city hospital so I cannot imagine that he's reached this position and is now handing out dx's to anyone that pays! Thanks for sharing your experience with me. Nora X Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Karen A Report post Posted January 12, 2010 Hi Nora. If the psychologist does private and NHS work it may well be worth asking if he/she could do a referral back to the NHS team if a diagnosis follows assessments. A few years ago our elder son had a period of anxiety and panic attacks.As we were known to CAMHS already they were able to do an internal referral.Our son was seen much sooner than he would have been had we waited for the GP to make a decision. I realised this morning that if your son is in year 5 or 6 there is some urgency in the need to start the assessment process.It does make a difference when approaching secondary schools if you have some documented evidence of SEN if not a Statement. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
justine1 Report post Posted January 12, 2010 Hi Nora. If the psychologist does private and NHS work it may well be worth asking if he/she could do a referral back to the NHS team if a diagnosis follows assessments. A few years ago our elder son had a period of anxiety and panic attacks.As we were known to CAMHS already they were able to do an internal referral.Our son was seen much sooner than he would have been had we waited for the GP to make a decision. I realised this morning that if your son is in year 5 or 6 there is some urgency in the need to start the assessment process.It does make a difference when approaching secondary schools if you have some documented evidence of SEN if not a Statement. Hi I agree with Karen.I am new to all this but I know if my son were the age of your son I would also seek a private dx if that was the qicker option,I dont think cost would come into it,if as a mum you feel its worth it then it is. My son is 6 and when I took him to the GP she said that if I left it another year he would be well off the rails,so the sooner we get these things sorted the better. Good luck! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nora Report post Posted January 12, 2010 Many thanks, I feel we are doing the right thing. I will let you know how it goes. Nora X Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
babnye1 Report post Posted January 14, 2010 Karen, can I ask who you saw? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Karen A Report post Posted January 15, 2010 Karen, can I ask who you saw? Hi.Ben was seeing a CAMHS Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist.My husband and myself were seeing another CAMHS Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist.It is complicated however at the time [two years ago] it was thought that Ben did not have AS but rather something like attachment disorder.So ourselves and Ben were offered therapy due to that diagnosis. Our elder son then suffered a period of anxiety and panic attacks due to bullying at school.As we were already known to CAMHS the psychotherapists were able to talk to a psychologist who also worked for CAMHS.He saw our elder son for a brief period and supported transition to secondary school.The referal was within CAMHS but we did not need to wait for our GP to refer our elder son. Karen. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites