Hi there, new here and confused.

[kezzaroo]

Hi my names Kerry and at the moment we are struggling to get a diagnosis for my 9 year old son.

 

We have just got back from our first appointment with a child psychologist, previous to this we have had a few in depth appointments with the nurse practitioner at cahms who took history and detailed information about M's issues.

 

M's main issues are at school, problems with communicating and anger issues. It is assumed he is somewhere on the autistic spectrum, sometimes he will refuse to talk, today he got angry that we were talking about him and told us to shut up before leaving the room. When he will communicate it is on his terms only. He has been excluded from school who seem to be really struggling with him, a couple of weeks ago it took the school 45 minutes to find him after he had been told off at something to do with football, he was excluded for this.

 

We didn't really gain any knowledge from the psychologist that we didn't have before, he said some signs indicate autism while others don't. So we are waiting for other agencies to become involved; best is one and the other I think was lasks but I can't find anything on google about that so maybe I heard wrong.

 

Sorry for the jumble of information, it just feels like we're not getting anywhere right now.

 

Thanks for reading.

Kerry.

[karmadestiny]

Hi Kerry welcome to the forum...It can be a very confusing and scary place to be when you're not sure what you're dealing with and how to make things right for your child who is clearly also finding thing dificult to cope with or understand...There is alot of information in regards to Autism etc on the net but sometimes it can really overwhelm you...Normally you could have asked your G.p to send your son to see a peadiatrician who would be a specialist in child developement, they are usually good at being able to help you put the puzzle together, but since Cahms are already involved that may not be posible for the time being...Kerry remember one thing, that you will have to keep on their backs and keep asking and pushing them for the diagnosis, otherwise it can takes years...but meanwhile you must ask them to at least give you something to work on, they know of his behaviour so they should be able to help you implement certain strategies meanwhile...Try and look at his diet, is he intolerent or allergic to foods such as, colours, dairy, wheat, or high intake of sugar...try and see if you can cut down on certain things afew days at a time and see if it makes any difference to behaviour...keep a diary, it will give you a clearer picture of what you've tried what works, what doesn't...also ask for information leaflets on the conditions they have mentioned and see if he has any similarities...As his parents you know him better, your gut instinct will always tell you if you're going in the right direction or not...Don't ever be afraid of asking questions, or being seen as an over protective parent...We have wonderful people on this forum who are here to support one another whatever the condition...you're not alone anymore;)...keep us posted on how you're getting along...take care

[darkshine]

Hi

[trekster]

Hi and welcome

 

i started to notice something was 'different' about me when i was about 7. It is possible your son is aware he is different and is totally confused by the world in general. Angry depression is common in autism which sounds like what your son is experiencing (the angry depression at least).

 

If you can try and involve him in conversations about him (or discuss how to get him a diagnosis when hes not there).

Did you connect well with the Nurse Practioner? if so could they send you some background information on Autism? Good to know what their level of expertise is so you have some idea of the possible outcomes.

 

In the meantime the "you need to know" campaign could have some ideas of what could help;

http://www.autism.org.uk/youneedtoknow

 

It is great you are trying to find ways to help your son, my family bar a few have never accepted my diagnosis. My verbal ability disguises the disabilities that i have unless you know what to look for.

 

Do the signs that are *not* autism indicate something else? Apart from secondary depression which IMHO is his anger.