Hello

[Ajay]

Hi, I have been lurking for a few months. Mainly because we had not had an offical diagnoses for our 3 year old dd and I didn't feel I could jump in and say anything.

 

We saw the consultant and other specialists earlier this week, and confirmed she is on the autistic spectrum.

 

I am relieved in a way, because I knew deep down that it was something like that. (I am an NNEB and had worked with children for a long time)

 

We adopted her when she was a baby, and there are further complications as well as the ASD.

 

They think she should have a blood test to look at her chromosones for mental health issues and learning disability as well as running a test on attachment, and all this has unsettled me as I had come to terms with the ASD beforehand, but had not expected this too.

[call me jaded]

Hi Ajay and welcome.

 

Just to say that on our part of the spectrum additional tests are still ongoing at 16 years and this is not uncommon for children with SLD - especially if you have a geneticist who is taking an interest. The testing is becoming more sophisticated but still everything is within normal tolerances. I used to find it very unsettling too but this changed when I realised that whatever was found would not actually affect what we were doing in any significant way. You do have to get all the big tests out of the way first though and going into those results consultations is extremely tough. Hang on and you'll get there.

[Kathryn]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

 

K x

[Karen A]

Hi Ajay and Welcome to the Forum.

I have Ben who is 12.

 

Ben was diagnosed with AS just over a year ago.

He was only given a final diagnosis after further assessments.I was mentally very unwell in the first three years of Ben's life.CAMHS psychotherapists and psychiatrists [six in total] spent three years debating regarding whether Ben had AS or attachment disorder.They never really did completely agree despite being colleagues in the same team.

 

The vast majority of children who fulfil the criteria for ASD diagnosis have no life history of trauma or loss that would indicate that Attachment Disorder is a likely alternative diagnosis.

So there are very few cases that are as complicated as yours and ours.

When I last researched the topic a dual diagnosis of attachment disorder and ASD was not allowed within the diagnostic criteria.

 

We spent three years on a roller coaster.Ben had weekly psychotherapy as did my husband and myself.

Three years on Ben is doing very well.The psychotherapy helped him an awful lot.Strangely he was only offered the psychotherapy because it was thought that he had attachment disorder.It is not usually offered to people with ASD.

The psychotherapy also helped my husband and myself although it was the hardest thing we ever did.However I think things were complicated in our case by the fact that Ben was our child and my illness was considered the main contributory factor in his attachment disorder.

As an adoptive parent I would think that although you have to pick up the difficulties that come with a child with a traumatic history at least you do not carry the guilt of having caused it.

 

On the other hand we had a clear coherent history for our son.It must be very complicated if this is not the case.

 

I will be thinking of you in all of the assessments to come in the months ahead. <'>

 

Karen.