had appointment at camhs

[rainbow queen]

had first appointment today on with camhs about my son but i was just present

felt it went well-and he took all my notes off me to read and we did discuss aspergers-i told him how everyone else is saying it isnt ect......and he told me not to worry about that,or about school as they do not always pick it up ect,,,,

going back in april with my son

he even said he would talk to the other folk about him having another ados test again as he was only young last time

 

i just wanted to know is there an actually test for aspergers that i could ask for as well-or will that all come under the ados test? <'>

 

feeling slightly better about things now -but as i ve felt like this before then got passed off again im not going get my hopes up to high-

[think ive become very distrustfull in all this ]

[Brook]

rainbow queen,

 

I was thinking of you today and wondering how your appointment went.

 

It sounds as if it was quite positive, maybe this is going to be a step in the right direction.

 

Brook <'>

[phasmid]

I am pleased you have come away feeling it went well and, more to the point, that they have listened to you. That alone is important. They are obviously going to make up their own mind on this. Will keep my fingers crossed for you.

[Tez]

It all sounds very positive. Glad they're keeping an open mind despite the school's reservations. Fingers crossed it all works out.

[Suze]

..............told you what a nice chap he is...........really glad he listened to you.When we saw him we went on our own first then took ds along later.The camhs team sent a questionaire to school, and we filled one in at home.We also did a sensory dysfunction questionaire aswell.We found the meeting when he observed our son quite crucial.They had him for about an hour and did social stories with him and chatted about his interests and school.They also really noted what we said about him which I think is the most valuable thing any clinician can do.In his notes they mentioned about our ds not understanding certain emotions and having a one track mind when talking about his interests.They also observed pedantic speech , lack of eye contact etc.So when you go with your son I,m sure they,ll look at all these things.I,m just really glad today went so positively been thinking about you all day looking to see if you,d posted, take care see you soon Suzex.

[JenRose]

im sure there is a test for aspergers, its quite new though, i cant remember the name of it.

 

I will ask M,s specialist as he is due to phone in a couple of days, he told me that the ADOS is not suitable for Aspergers or High Functioning as its basically a set of questions and boxes that they have to tick and as we all know with AS kids sometimes they will give the answer they think gets them off the hook and having to talk more as M did, he actually told them that he understood that he annoyed other kids when in fact he doesnt understand its just that the week in question me and his dad had spent ages trying to make him see how his actions affected other children.

 

i will add though that not all CAMHS have the up to date tests, i know ours certainly didnt, check on the NAS website as im sure i could have see it on there once.

 

Jen

[jb1964]

Hi RQ,

 

Glad it went well for you and that you're feeling a bit more upbeat about it all.

 

When my daughter was assessed through CAHMS they completed the following assessments:

 

Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman 1995)

Fear survey scheduled for Children-Revised (Ollendick et al.1983)

Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (Spence 1994)

Culture free self esteem scale

Eating Attitute Test

Behaviour and Social Communication Checklist (Gill berg 1995)

Checklist for Asperger's syndrome (Atwood 1998)

Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Shelia E. Henderson & David A. Sugden)

Short Sensory Profile (Winnie Dunn)

The Perceived efficacy and goal setting system

 

Don't know if this helps.

[rainbow queen]

hi everyone

ive wrote down those u have listed in last post do u think i should send a letter about this asking if they use this ?

as i also thought the ados test wasnt clear enough to show up my sons probs like jen rose says its not really for aspergers -shall i mention this too

maybe i should write in a letter before i take my son to next appointment???

[jb1964]

Hi RQ,

 

I'd definitely ask at your next appointment what assessments they are going to do.

 

From what I've read from different posts it seems that different authorities have different procedures - but I'm sure they will know what procedures/assessments they are going to follow (or should do!).

 

Personally I think the more they carry out the better - my daughter was assessed over quite a long time and they saw her at both home and their unit for days at a time. Although at the time I thought it was a lengthy process and kept thinking what more do they want.

 

Afterwards I was glad this had happened - as the consultant explained that diagnosing a child and giving them a label for the rest of your life is something that has to be thorough assessed - it cannot be done over a 2hr appointment - obviously I am now starting to understand just how complex AS is.

 

You should perhaps keep a diary of any relevant notes that happen over the next few weeks before your next appointment.

 

Good luck,

Jb