Help need some advice

[sean]

Our little boy is 4 years old and we have been told that he has aspergers but has to go to panel as he doesnt show traits all the time. He attends and Observation and Assesment unit local to us we currently live in south west Wales. We have the oppertunity to move back nearer our family, this would be in the norfolk area. Our main concern is our son's education at present he has neither a full diagnosis nor a statement but we have been told today that as it stands we would not be getting a SEN for his eduaction side of things has he is reaching all levels at present.

We was wondering if anyone has proir knowledge of either moving during the diagnosis process or of the ASD support in the South Norfolk area.

 

thanks in advance for any advice anyone may offer

 

Sean

[coolblue]

Don't know anything about Norfolk, I'm afraid, but would point out that at 4 your son is very young. Many young children show developmental delays that resemble autistic characteristics, so understandably, there's often a reluctance to diagnose or offer extra educational support, because as the child grows older the diagnosis might then not apply or the educational support might not be needed. And taking away a diagnosis or statement that was no longer needed could cause a lot of grief.

 

If your son is suspected of having AS, especially if the traits are variable, it's unlikely he would get a diagnosis at that age, and if he is meeting the educational targets for a child of his age, the LA would have no reason to put him on the SEN register, never mind make a statutory assessment.

 

Just guessing, but as the parent of a child who met the criteria for AS at 4, but didn't by 7, and then got a diagnosis of an ASD at 10, my advice would be to get your son's visual and auditory processing looked at. You might have to track down an optometrist and audiologist familiar with developmental disorders. Also, make sure he's assessed by a speech therapist. My son was very prone to ear infections at that age, and recurring episodes of fluid in the middle ear has long been suspected as a cause for the language delays and variable behaviour of children on the spectrum.

 

I'm not saying that your boy doesn't have a developmental disorder, nor that he doesn't have AS (whatever that turns out to be) just that you are unlikely to get a diagnosis or a statement if he has variable traits and is meeting educational targets.

 

I think the way to go would be to keep a very careful eye on the situation, keep a diary, and especially keep a check on his educational progress - what skills he has achieved. Some schools have a tendency to say 'doing fine' because the child might be meeting his or her individual targets, but still be way behind other children of their age.

 

Hope this helps.

 

cb