[user104658]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

Oh don't... gah, the stress I had when my lad was at school? It's a wonder I'm not bald! Be thankful she has a dx, I got the old ADHD tale and offered ritalin every 6 months :/ No foff with them!

We've had a diagnosis since just before she turned three, essentially self-diagnosed her and pushed for the diagnosis directly through a paediatrician (who did so almost straight away). We were told at the time that it's not the "normal" route that they're willing to go down, which is essentially that a referal has to be made either through a Health Visitor or the child's nursery, and then there's a whole trail of appointments and BS. Meaning that most won't even be seen by anyone qualified to make the call until they are at least 5 or 6, by which point there are usually learned / masking behaviours that make it even harder to get an ASD diagnosis. We have a friend with a 6 and a half year old boy who (in my opinion) has very clear ASD, it was even clearer when he was a toddler, but his mum still can't get an official diagnosis to get him more help.

It's shameful really. People trust the system to make the right call but the truth is, unless you do the research yourself and fight like hell, they make it very hard. Even then, you have to do it confidently and eloquently in order to be taken seriously... my wife basically went in there like "Hello Dr, my daughter IS autistic, please sign a letter to this effect" rather than asking the poor guy's opinion ... I wouldn't mess, to be fair .

But, that ALSO shouldn't be the case - any parent's concerns should be taken seriously, especially those who are unsure and seeking advice. People are just palmed off for months or years. A workmate of mine (who has a son with Aspergers, now aged 21) didn't get a diagnosis until he was nearly 10, by which point he had already had countless educational issues. By that point it's almost impossible to get the best outcome.