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ClaireAnderson

Needing a 2nd opinion on Asperger's diagnosis

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My eldest son (aged 6) was diagnosed with Asperger's last week. There were certain elements in the diagnosis process that my husband and I are not happy with. Can anyone recommend another ASD Psychiatrist we can approach for a second opinion? We are happy to travel anywhere within the UK.

 

Thanks!

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Hi Claire and welcome to the forum

 

Is it the diagnosis of Aspergers that you disagree with? Would you be able to be a little more specific as to what it was about the diagnostic process you are unhappy about? I would think that you are within your rights to request a second opinion especially if you feel that the diagnosis was not the result of a thorough and/or professionally conducted testing process.

 

Lynda :)

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Can I ask which professionals have seen your son so far either via school [ie. educational psychologist], or via the NHS [ie. developmental paediatrician].

 

Can I also ask why a psychiatrist is involved? Is that via CAHMS?

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Hi Claire and welcome to the forum

 

Is it the diagnosis of Aspergers that you disagree with? Would you be able to be a little more specific as to what it was about the diagnostic process you are unhappy about? I would think that you are within your rights to request a second opinion especially if you feel that the diagnosis was not the result of a thorough and/or professionally conducted testing process.

 

Lynda :)

 

 

Hi Lynda

 

My son has been through the "staged intervention" process in Scotland and is currently Stage 3. He was referred to Speech and Language Therapy at nursery school then this went to stage two when the educational psychologist was brought in 18 months ago in Primary One. On her observations my son progressed to Stage 3 which, by law, is a referral to CAMHS and in his case, to see a Child Psychiatrist who specialises in ASD diagnosis.

 

The Psychiatrist went on sick leave just as we received an appointment and we saw a locum. This visit was most unsatisfactory and we were not told how the process was going to move forward. She neglected to provide us with a report and advice on the next stage of the diagnois which we have learned retrospectively, is a requirement of the process. For example, our son was observed at school by a Mental Health Pracitioner from CAMHS without us being aware of this. There has also been a change in management at his school and a temporary head and assistant head teacher are in place and we have had just one review meeting this school year when last year we had five. The previous assistant head teacher was very well rehearsed in Staged Intervention and keep us up to date with details and sadly this hasn't happened since she retired.

 

The educational psychologist has been particularly poor. At the diagnosis meeting she had to constantly refer to her notes which were taken over a year ago (some of the information in these notes was irrelevant, such as my son holding his pencil in a "claw", he no longer does this) and thankfully, the speech therapist who had observed my son at school two days beforehand was able to feedback on my son's progress (The ASD outreach team have been working with him at school for 12 months) which essentially, changed the Psychiatrist's diagnosis from Childhood Autism at the start of the meeting to Aspeger's.

 

I feel that if the Speech therapist hadn't been present we would have recevied a very different diagnosis

 

There have been other minor blips along the way but these are the most significant.

 

Thanks for replying

Claire

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Hi claire welcome to the forum, have you tried the NAS , they have a list of physchs throughout the country, x

 

Hi, had a quick look last night but was wondering if anyone here had had good experiences with a specific Psych consultant. I will have another look tonight. Thanks x

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This website should be useful http://www.achippp.o...ry#regionsearch

 

Search under Scotland.

 

I have used independent professionals in the past, but they are all south england.

 

This is another organisation http://www.bps.org.u...nd-psychologist

 

You need to search on the "expert witness" link as those are the professionals that assess for educational tribunals and are used to preparing 'expert witness' reports. These professionals will not be cheap, but will carry out a thorough assessment which will identify needs and quantify and specify how those needs should be met in school. If you have concerns about the diagnosis, I would speak to them about that. I think the only different between a diagnosis of ASD or Aspergers is going to be the language side of things, so you might need an independent SALT if you think that is needed.

 

Occupational therapist is another professional that has alot to contribute, especially if your son has sensory issues or dyspraxia.

 

In my experience if either the school or GP has referred you to a professional, it has always helped to find out who you are going to see, and write, or speak with them and them write in a letter or take one with you to the appointment.

 

What you want in the letter is what you want them to do - which is usually carry out "standardised assessments" of your child so that you get a baseline reading from which to measure progress and to ensure that their strengths and weaknesses are identified.

 

Aspergers is now under the umbrella of ASD diagnosis. For a child to receive a diagnosis of Aspergers they are supposed to have typical language development up until the age of 3. And receiving a diagnosis of Aspergers can sometimes mean that SALT services try to discharge the child because they can 'speak', whereas standardised assessments will identify SALT needs [usually a speech disorder, or language and communication/interaction difficulties], which are lifelong as they are part of the lifelong diagnosis.

 

Find out as much information about how the SEN process works in Scotland so that he gets the provision, support and therapy he needs and the right school placement.

Edited by Sally44

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Hi Claire

 

It may also be worthwhile contacting the Scottish Diagnostic and Assessment Service which is offered by Scottish Autism. They do provide specialist diagnostic services and Scottish Autism also have a Helpline number. I have contacted the service myself for advice and have found them to be very helpful.

 

www.scottishautism.org will bring up all the information about Scottish Autism and the services they provide.

 

Lynda :)

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Hi Claire

 

There are a few of us who are on here from various parts of Scotland. Don't know what part of the country you are in but feel free to PM me if you'd like.

 

Lynda :)

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