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Hi,

 

How does an adult get a diagnosis? What is the procedure?

 

I have been led to believe that for adults it is very difficult, if so, why?

 

sorry, I am kind of new here.

 

T

Edited by Tanya Glass

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Hi i'm doing this now. I think it all go's on where you live as to how hard it is. Iv heard it's only in recent years that it's been recognised in adults. I went to GP twice before getting refered to right person and will be seen end of month.

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Hi i'm doing this now. I think it all go's on where you live as to how hard it is. Iv heard it's only in recent years that it's been recognised in adults. I went to GP twice before getting refered to right person and will be seen end of month.

 

Sorry for being nosey, I am quite new to the forum, for personal reasons I am interested in knowing how one goes about the whole process.

 

So to your local GP and they refer you on? I guess it dpends how difficult it is to diagnose.

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Their are a few on this forum who have been DX as adults. The GP should refer you to the person most qualified to help you. Who you see depends on where you live. They do various test including IQ. I now you go a number of times. Not shore about the rest. When i went to GP i printed of a list from the web showing all the things that can effect someone with AS and highlighted the ones that apply to me . I gave this to the GP this helped.

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You inform your GP of your concerns and worries. He will then refer you to a Psychartist who will undertake interviews and maybe tests

 

jen

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adams mum is right.

 

most local health partnerships will have a board that meet once a month to discuss all psychological referrals.

 

there they will decide who is best qualified to diagnose you. could be a psychiatrist or a psychologist. it reall will vary from area to area.

 

for example i was sent to the learning disabilities clinical psychology department...i don't have a learning disability (it's as) but they were the best qualified in my area.

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Their are a few on this forum who have been DX as adults. The GP should refer you to the person most qualified to help you. Who you see depends on where you live. They do various test including IQ. I now you go a number of times. Not shore about the rest. When i went to GP i printed of a list from the web showing all the things that can effect someone with AS and highlighted the ones that apply to me . I gave this to the GP this helped.

 

That is very helpful thankyou, IQ test, that surprises me, why is that? I am bit confused here, my limited internet research semed to throw up a grey are on what IQ one should expect for someone with an ASD type disorder.

 

Sounds a long process, must be quite difficult to go through.

 

thanks though

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The process is long and involves quite a lot of things like looking at developmental history (you will need to describe, or have someone who knew you as a child to describe your early years and school experiences, etc) to give an overall picture of your development and any unusual things in it - AS is a dvelopmental disorder so there should be signs in childhood.

 

An IQ test is often given not so much to determine IQ (although to have AS you need to be average or above according to the diagnostic criteria, otherwise the most likely diagnosis would be autism - you can have a high IQ and still be autistic rather than AS though, for example if you have difficulties with speech) but to give a picture of strengths and weaknesses in different areas as it is known that people on the autistic spectrum tend to do well in some areas relative to others.

 

There may also be other tests for things like recognition of emotion and motor coordination and possibly quite long questionnaires.

 

different psychologists and experts will use different methods and routines for assessment but most will need to see someone several times before deciding whether and what to diagnose and it may be over months. It can also take several months for the first appointment to come through as there are so few specialists in this area

 

hope that helps

 

Zemanski

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IQ testing.

Not all specialists do it,it's not relied on like it used to be.

 

One of the reasons why it is difficult or impossible for some adults to get a diagnosis,is because they were not able to get the evidence from their childhood years,eg,school,home or their parents/carers might be dead,or alive but unavailable to contact to get information.

The history is an important part in diagnosis,to make sure the GP takes a referral request seriously,ask family/people whom know self well of obvious points of childhood,difficulties and so on,give the list to the GP and ask if they could refer to a pyschologist/pyschiatrist [especially someone who specialises in Autism if possible].

Ask how long it will take to get the appointment as well.

Edited by TuX

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IQ testing.

Not all specialists do it,it's not relied on like it used to be.

 

One of the reasons why it is difficult or impossible for some adults to get a diagnosis,is because they were not able to get the evidence from their childhood years,eg,school,home or their parents/carers might be dead,or alive but unavailable to contact to get information.

The history is an important part in diagnosis,to make sure the GP takes a referral request seriously,ask family/people whom know self well of obvious points of childhood,difficulties and so on,give the list to the GP and ask if they could refer to a pyschologist/pyschiatrist [especially someone who specialises in Autism if possible].

Ask how long it will take to get the appointment as well.

 

Thanks,

 

it's not for me, the DX, when you say childhood, are we looking at specific incidents, you talk of childhood difficulties, how do you tie those in. I mean we all struggle in childhood, we all develop at different rates. I guess you mean ongoing difficulties.

 

Anyway, the GP referal, seems to be the first stage.

 

Can you self diagnose yourself, I notice here one or two people have, I mean is right for me even to think of diagnosing the person close to me.

 

Questions questions, thankyou, everyone here has been most helpful.

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I'm one of those who strongly believes they have Aspergers to a mild degree. But I still veer off from saying I've diagnosed myself, just in case it's something else similar that I've got. Instead I say I'm pretty sure and leave it at that.

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I'm one of those who strongly believes they have Aspergers to a mild degree. But I still veer off from saying I've diagnosed myself, just in case it's something else similar that I've got. Instead I say I'm pretty sure and leave it at that.

 

No I see, that semms a very sensible approach, I have various hang ups from my life which have scarred me, they too look like AS, but they look like many others things too! :)

 

I am actaully very concerned about a person close to me, I am also a nosey ###### and want to know how this works, I am deeply fascinated by human pyschology.

 

I found this trawling through the net.

 

This seems very helpful, I am surprised and pleased that at least the first stage of seeing your GP is quite straight forward

 

T

x

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I'm one of those people who has to know or i drive myself nuts. some don't feel the need to find out for shore.

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I feel pretty sure I have it too but it does not interfer with my life to the extent that I feel I need a diagnosis.but everyone is different. :)

 

ceecee: I'm really sorry to say this as you may be offended, but I've got to say that personally I believe all people are capable of displaying some autistic traits. I don't think that makes them autistic, though. In general terms, people who have diagnosable autism WILL have struggled at some fairly fundamental level to come to terms with their 'difference', and it WILL have interfered in their lives. There may be some who don't need a dx to realise that those compromises existed for them or to find strategies that work around those problems, but i think these will be few and far between...

One of the problems that parents of autistic children have is finding a 'balance' that works for their kids. We operate with the full knowledge that society does NOT embrace them with open arms, but that our children cannot and should not be expected to play by NT rules all the time. It is a very fine line to walk...

One of my greatest fears in the past couple of years has been the continued erosion of the boundaries across all sorts of medical conditions .

People who wake up in a bad mood claim their 'depressed'. They are not. depression is a crippling mental health problem, not a case of the monday morning blues...

ADHD is hugely overdiagnosed, and is fast becoming the global excuse of parents who do not know how to care for their children. REAL ADHD is becoming increasingly stigmatised as a result...

Autism is being used as a description for all sorts of negative behaviour that have nothing to do with the medical condition whatsoever, and people are begining to use it as an excuse for all sorts of behaviours they'd rather not take responsibilty for.

I would suggest that if your self diagnosis doesn't/hasn't/isn't having a significant impact on your life, then it is probably a misdiagnosis.

In closing, I would add that those are my PERSONAL views, and have nothing to do with my 'moderator' role on the forum...

L&P

BD :(

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ceecee: I'm really sorry to say this as you may be offended, but I've got to say that personally I believe all people are capable of displaying some autistic traits. I don't think that makes them autistic, though. In general terms, people who have diagnosable autism WILL have struggled at some fairly fundamental level to come to terms with their 'difference', and it WILL have interfered in their lives. There may be some who don't need a dx to realise that those compromises existed for them or to find strategies that work around those problems, but i think these will be few and far between...

One of the problems that parents of autistic children have is finding a 'balance' that works for their kids. We operate with the full knowledge that society does NOT embrace them with open arms, but that our children cannot and should not be expected to play by NT rules all the time. It is a very fine line to walk...

One of my greatest fears in the past couple of years has been the continued erosion of the boundaries across all sorts of medical conditions .

People who wake up in a bad mood claim their 'depressed'. They are not. depression is a crippling mental health problem, not a case of the monday morning blues...

ADHD is hugely overdiagnosed, and is fast becoming the global excuse of parents who do not know how to care for their children. REAL ADHD is becoming increasingly stigmatised as a result...

Autism is being used as a description for all sorts of negative behaviour that have nothing to do with the medical condition whatsoever, and people are begining to use it as an excuse for all sorts of behaviours they'd rather not take responsibilty for.

I would suggest that if your self diagnosis doesn't/hasn't/isn't having a significant impact on your life, then it is probably a misdiagnosis.

In closing, I would add that those are my PERSONAL views, and have nothing to do with my 'moderator' role on the forum...

L&P

BD :(

 

 

Thanks for your comments, this seems like very valuable advice and worhtwhile information.

 

 

T

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I suppose it depends on how you view it having a significant impact. With myself because no -one told me they had specific concerns and I had no way of knowing what other people were thinking, I thought I was normal. I've only recently found out that paediatricians had asked my mum if she wanted me assessed. But I do struggle. I can't keep a conversation going. I can talk about the impact of Christianity in the medieval world, but not why I'm unhappy. I miss meals because I've forgotten that I need to eat. I get upset because I think people have interrupted me and it's because I send off the wrong cues by pausing in odd places. I can post quite eloquently on the internet, but am often unable to speak to anyone for hours beyond a monosyllabic reply. Even when things are fine. The only ones I can talk to ok are my children and as they don't reply, that's probably why :)

So yes, things have had a significant impact on my life (not mentioning everything, there's lots more). But to my way of thinking I've spent thirty years learning to cope with the way I am and it's only when I really think about it that I realise I'm not an NT.

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Hi Bullet -

 

Thankyou, you've encapsulated exactly the type of thing I was trying to convey... I wasn't saying that any of those things are entirely negative ( I think that 'marching to a different drum' can have it's rewards too) but they ARE significant and they impact directly on how you interact with the world and how in interacts with you... Fundamental stuff...

L&P

BD

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i agree with you baddad,if you have AS or ASD it must interfere with "normal" life ,i dont know anyone who has an ASD child who says it doesnt interfere or effect their lives,even those who consider there child to be mild or borderline still have great issues and concerns about their child being able to live normally and socially,have to say your comment about people being in a bad mood saying they have depression too,depression is a clinical illness which affects the way you live,think,feel,not just being down or grumpy,its totally different.

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Okay,

 

I see, this has been very helpful, giving me a little more understanding. As such, you would not always know someone had Aspergers but there would be enough signs to tell you something was wrong.

 

Normal, as I have said is a horrible word, but then I guess, you have treat it as the majority in a very basic way.

 

I agree too, all people could display autistic traits, I myself no doubt do, in fact everything from manic depression to a bi polor disorder :) In fact that is a very interesting idea.

 

This really helps, I agree with the comment posted by Baddad, this seems a complete common sense approach to the subject.

 

 

T

Edited by Tanya Glass

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the problem with depression, specifically, is that it is both a general usage word meaning 'feeling low' and a medical term refering to feeling and behaving in a way that is clinically identifiable

 

in terms of identifying AS in someone else - you can, but you can only really have a strong suspicion not suggest a diagnosis; if you really think someone has it and it is interfering with their lives then guidance towards seeing a GP at least is probably a good idea.

I have done this on several occasions - pointing out difficulties that the person needs help with - and it has usually led to diagnosis, but I would never presume to label someone myself.

 

Currently my sister in law believes my 6 yr old nephew has ADHD, with my experience I am pretty certain he doesn't but my advice to her has been 'if you're worried go to the GP and ask for referral'

 

This doesn't mean that you can't self-diagnose; my partner, fits the criteria and accepts that he has AS but that is partly down to an ASD specialist having made a very pointed comment at Com's diagnosis. Like Bullet, he has more than just his own feelings to go on and it has significant impact on the way we lead our lives.

 

I have autistic traits myself and at the moment I am in the process of seeking help for anxiety disorder and OCD but it is unlikely that they add up to enough to give me a diagnosis of AS - as baddad says, many of us have autistic traits

 

Zemanski

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I am not offended by peoples comments at all.i would only be too pleased not to have it.It does effect my life to a certain extent.I would like to think it doesn't at all but that is probably not the case.

 

I struggle with communication and emotions.I regularly talk over the top of people because i am unsure of where the break in the conversation is.I will either be extremely over emotional or extremely under emotional when you would expect the opposite.

 

I struggle to take in large amounts of info and am unable to realise how someone might be feeling.I cannot always interrpret what someone is saying.i also do not have the same need to socialise as others and will often try my hardest to get out of social events.(two kids provide the perfect excuse)

 

I talk constantly really fast and often fire off twenty questions in a row at my poor daughter trying to get every detail.

 

I also would stongly suspect i have ocd.The two conditions often run alongside one and other.

 

I have taken about four online tests I know they are only a guidline but on every one I have come up well within the scores for someone on the spectrum.

 

I strongly suspect other family members of having the condition.My own daughter suffered from autistic encephalitus and the genetist we saw at Gt ormond street said it was more than probable there was a genetic element involved,

 

 

I think what i perhaps should have said is that compared to some people I do not think my level of a.s. affects my life as much as it does other people that have it and I do not consider I need a written diagnosis.I am not entirely convinced in my case the positives would out way the negatives.

 

 

I also have the excellent memory that others are talking about in a recent post about a.s. and memory.

 

 

It could well be that I have asperger tendancies and not full blown aspergers(I have always said my a.s. is mild)as my eye contact is perfect and I have no probs with short term memory.If that was the case then great, brilliant.I would be only too pleased. :thumbs::thumbs:

Edited by ceecee

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Ceecee

 

It must be very difficult for you, especially as society sets out a 'norm'

 

My honest advice would be to refer to your local GP - like you said, you would rather not have it, so seems to make perfect sense to eliminate the doubt in your mind. You seem a little cuaght between the difficulties having AS and not having AS, perhaps by resolving that in yourslef, that will provide you with some closure.

 

It's sad you think other family memebers might have, must be quite hard to have that hanging over you.

 

Hope things get better for you,

 

T

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Cee Cee I can identify with many traits that you have posted about yourself but I am not autistic. I talk none stop when I am nervous or feal I have little control in a conversation. I also talk none stop when I am out of cync in a situation.That in my opinion is nerves. I also have an excellent memory - most days- I can recall telephone numbers of hundreds of people without picking up the phone book. I am focused to the point of being driven and this make life difficult for my hubby and would certainly fit in with ASD but again I do not feel that I am. I have problems in shopping centres and any crowded place, often worse than my sons, and for four years never went out alone, but again I don't think I have ASD. Because I believe that there is a great deal more to a dx then having some traits.

 

Sorry but I am really fed up with reading about 'mild' AS right now. It does nothing for those of us who find living with AS blooming difficult.

 

Carole

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One of the things that makes this issue difficult for many people is that there is a grey area between 'NT' (Neuro-Typical) and Autism/Aspergers. There have been some writings about 'Shadow' autism, but relatively little.

 

In my own case, if you ask me the question "Does your recent knowledge of Aspergers folowing your son#'s diagnosis help you to understand your own childhood and adolescence, I would answer an unambiguous 'Yes! it does!'. You can get an insight into my childhood by reading 'Martian in the Playground' by Claire Sainsbury, much of what is written there was already familar to me.

 

As to whether or not I do have Aspergers, I really do not know. I am leaning towards saying no because I am able to deal with day-to-day ife and come out reasonable well without support. But equally I am a little bit wary of a view that says that because I do not have aspergers I am an NT who show some Autistic behaviour. The answer probably lies inbetween.

 

One thing that Tony Attwood observes is that many people with Autism/Aspergers do eventaully learn things in their late teens, twenties and beyond that so-called NT people seem to know almost instinctively at a much ealier age, so on a day-to-day basis differences can be less noticable as the person with Aspergers matures.

 

I am aware I have started to ramble now, I suppose my central point is that the line between NT and Autistic isn't always very clear.

 

 

Simon

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For me,

 

On one level, having had someone diagnose me with AS, I remain very curious, hence why I am here. I don't belive I have AS for the simple reason I had a very damaged upbringing.

 

I know within myself exactly what damage that has cuased and how it has affected me.

 

But, if I lay honesty on the line, yes I would take an AS test, everytime, what have you got to lose? I am not being flippant about the process, because that admittance requires courage and I would imagine is it is a tough expeirence.

 

but for myself, if it is a choice between doubt and confronting yourself, confront yourself everytime.

 

I don't think traits make a disorder, as someone said here, you have to look at the whole picture, family history, upbringing, environment, what type of person you are.

 

On a purely personal level, I do belive that in modern society we have kind of forgone responsbility and as was said here earlier, disorders fill that gap. That is a purely personal view and not a reflection on people here. I relaise there is a vast difference between those who cannot cope and those who can. Quite obviously here you have people/carers/parents who are affected by ASD and need support and on a wider scale a support network in place in order to cope.

 

I don't particularly like crowds, who does, its awful fighting through Saturday Shopping Crowds, leave me in a crowded store and I will want out.

 

Why, becuase I have ASD?

 

No becuase I am quite sensitive and picky about my personal space. It's just the way I am, and I imagine it's the same many people here. There are things we don't like, not becuase we have a disorder but becuase we are all individuals.

 

I've been told I am very good at pretending to be normal, in writing and in person, so just to break that spell I am off to dress up in my giant bumble bee suit and play table tennis with Alice, who has just popped back through the looking glass.

 

If you feel within yourself that you might have something, or you are affected, then diagnosis everytime, difficult call though, could change everything.

Edited by Hidden Gem

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Carole

 

You have my sympathy.I do understand where you are coming from and I also know how difficult it is to be a parent of achild/children on the spectrum.I know because i have been there allbeit for six months and it was hell. >:D<<'> >:D<<'> >:D<<'> Sending some of these.

 

Moss grove

 

I agree with much of your posting.I think there is a lot of grey area in between.I am well aware I am fortunate compared to lots of others.If anyone needs support then they can p.m me and I will do my best to help.

 

Tania Glass

 

Re diagnosis

 

I feel in my particular case that the negatives of me having a diagnosis if I were able to get one outway the positives.

 

I have read of cases one actually in my hometown where a woman because she had a.s. had her children taken away from her.Otheres have lost their jobs.I don't wish for either of those things to happen to me.

 

I am fortunate in that i can try to get round things.

 

 

Baddad

 

I am wel aware of the difference between depression and feeling down.When my daughter was ill and throughout the pregancy of my son and for about a year after his birth i was diagnosed with suffering from depression.

 

The symptoms were as follows.

 

Unable to sleep, kept waking up in the night crying

 

Unable to eat, to the point of losing two stone(this was the only good bit!!!)

 

Unable to think straight.

 

Not wanting to go out answer the phone etc

 

Crying every single day and evening

 

I could go on and on but I think enough said,

 

This is a bit different to feeling down.

 

I had to take anti depressants within hours of my son's birth on dr's advice.My depression i was told was 'depression with a known cause. i.e. my daughters autistic encephalitus.

 

I realise I am very lucky compared to many people here and my heart goes out to all of you who are struggling day in and day out. >:D<<'> >:D<<'> >:D<<'> >:D<<'>

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Hi ceecee -

 

In mentioning Depression i was trying to make a general comment about medical terminology being 'overused' - it was certainly not a comment aimed at anyone specifically...

I'm sure your awareness of depression will mean that you share that perspective (?)

 

I'm certainly NOT making any personal 'judgement calls' - but I do believe that autism is defined as a disability because it is disabling... whether that is a medical or social 'implication' is - in the context of this discussion - irrelevent.

If by those terms someone is in the fortunate situation of having traits that they DON'T find disabling, then they have TRAITS not a disability.

I am really sorry, but I cannot equate my HF son's social isolation/rejection and the self esteem issues that occur as a result with someone who has problems expressing themselves. I could say much more, but will ask instead that we 'agree to differ'

Thanks

BD

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BD

 

I certainly know where you are coming from with having a child who is socially isolated.

 

In that sense having two children on the spectrum is enourmously helpful. Our two eldest boys are genuine best friends with each other and had either of them been an only child, or only had NT siblings they would have found themselves very isolated as neither of them has any 'friends' outside of the household.

 

In terms of what the future may hold it is difficult to tell. To keep putting one foot infront of the other I hang on to the belief that with help and interventions when required our boys will find a way of interacting with the world (or the world will find a way of interacting woth them) where they don't feel marginalised or isolated, so in that sense I am reluctance to embrace the idea that such isolation defines autism as a disability, I think it is the case that it defines society's reaction to people who are different as much as it is a definition our childrens's diability.

 

As to what love, appropriate support and understanding can deliver for our children as they get oplder, watch this space......

 

 

Simon

Edited by mossgrove

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Baddad

 

No probs.i too could say much more but there are people on here whose difficulties are far more important than mine.

 

I hope you find some kind of way forward with your son, From your posts on here i would guess you are an excellent parent that truely cares about his son.Hope things get better for you soon.

 

To be honest you may will be right in that I have traits of a.s. because all though I find my possible a.s. annoying it does not seem to affect my life as much as some others on here e.g. your son

 

>:D<<'> >:D<<'> >:D<<'> Best wishes.I hope things get better for you and your family in the near future.Keep fighting.

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Well thank you

 

I think this thread has exhuasted itself, hasn't it?

 

 

 

 

I am really grateful for this advice, I relaise now I was right to be concerned about someone, perhaps not just on an AS level, but concerned in general.

 

I shall continue to watch this forum with interest.

 

T

Edited by Tanya Glass

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I'm one of the ones that annoyingly talk about mild aspergers and I do so for two reasons. Firstly, because I find it very difficult to talk about my feelings and play them down a lot. Secondly, it's because I am looking at myself from the inside out. It's like asking someone who's been blind since birth what it feels like. It's so hard to describe, because it's part of them. And it's only when I really think about things that I realise how much of a crippling effect things have had on me. I've always known I struggle, but nobody told me it wasn't anything other than me being me. It wasn't until I reached adulthood that my mum saw fit to tell me that several people had suggested I be assessed and not until very recently I found out it was dsome paediatricians who suggested it. With my Ds1 (who is being assessed and monitored) I am looking at him from the outside and so can see things like his communication problems. But do you think that bothers him? Of course not. Because the way his mind works is all he knows.

Edit - to give an example with myself. As a very young child (say three or four) I can remember people asking me to do something and knowing what they wanted and wanting to do it, but being unable to link the thoughts in my mind to doing the act. It was as though there were two separate parts of me, the mind part and the body part and they needed to link up to let me speak or do things and often they wpouldn't. But I never thought of it as a problem, but I bet my parents did.

Edited by Bullet

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