Should I think about pushing for a diagnoses? Will this label him for life?

jbw

This discussion was created from comments split from: Hello my name is Hannah and I'm an educational psychologist.

jbw

Hi, my 7 year old son had an assessment on Thursday by an educational psychologist at school. She said she thinks he has autism due to lots of different things that she saw in the assessment. I haven't had her report yet but expect to get it in a couple of weeks. My partner says that until my son is diagnosed formally there is no point in changing anything to help him. The educational psychologist said that she will be coming back to work with my son. I would like to know what the next step is... I know I should wait for the report but... The future that I thought we had has just changed on a huge scale! Should I think about pushing for a diagnoses to help him? Will this label him for life and be a disadvantage in the future? But if I don't push to have him diagnosed will he get the help in school that he needs? Sorry for the 20 questions

EducationalPsychologist

Hello jbw,
Your questions and concerns are not uncommon. For me, a label is just a word. What is important is understanding a child's strengths and difficulties. If a child has autism, they will have social-communication difficulties regardless of whether or not they are diagnosed. It is a lot to take in and I suggest you look at www.autism.org.uk as there is lots of useful information, especially with regards to what interventions can be helpful. Always remember your child is first and foremost an individual, who will have many strengths too... don't lose sight of this