how long it has taken me to finally gat a diagnosis

[sam1414]

i am new to this site ,but have found it very intersting and helpful . my son is age nine throughout his life he has been different . it has taken me so long to get the diagnosis of asd.mostly he was classed as naughty or a rude child ,without his school i would still be struggling .why is this so that no one seems to listen to u he looks ok so nothing is wrong , is the attitude i came across the most . has any one else had these experinces ?

[justamom]

Yeah, Sam1414 I have had the same difficulties as you getting a dx... It took a long time for somebody to listen to me, they thougt that because i worked in a special needs school i was coming home and dx'ing my son myself and nobody stopped to say well you recognise the signs.... It was only when my son who is now 12 was left behind his peers in the social sense of things and the gap between NT and AS was apparent did anyone listen to me. We only got to see a dr because my son was depressed at the age of 10....

 

ASD - is a silent disability and yes my son also "looks" ok but things are far different if you take a closer look. Alot of the parents on this forum have had the same difficulties with getting a dx, its a good job we never gave, at times I have wanted to throw the towel in.

 

I have no answer as to why nobody listens to you, it might be not enough "awareness/information" on the subject of AS who knows...

 

 

Glad to have you aboard...

 

Justamom

[Zemanski]

Hi Sam

 

this is often par for the course, I'm afraid - Com was 9 too and in fact was formally assessed almost 3 years before and we were told his only real problem was us!

 

There are several reasons for this:-

 

not enough experienced consultants

 

a reluctance to give a diagnosis that implies funding and support - LEAs are particularly known for this

 

the need to be certain of diagnosis in cases where the presentation is subtle or atypical - girls particularly suffer from this

 

the tendency to focus on 'bad behaviour' rather than the causes of the behaviours which are often due to sensory issues which are not yet included in the diagnostic criteria

 

the fact that some children appear to be able to cope with social demands for longer than others, particularly those who can figure out the rules cognitively or who are able to mask their problems effectively in some environments

 

etc......

 

now you have the diagnosis, even though the frustration at the wait for it is very fresh, you need to look forward now and try to work towards getting the right support

 

Zemanski