Late or impossible ! diagnosis for my 17 yr son any advise out there ? — Scope | Disability forum
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Late or impossible ! diagnosis for my 17 yr son any advise out there ?

rangoboy
rangoboy Community member Posts: 6 Listener
Hi, just wondering if anyone else is out there trying to support there child through collage with out ( but needed diagnosis of autism) is it too late for him ! Any advise welcome at this point :) 

Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,039 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi,

    It's never too late for a diagnosis of ASD, you can be diagnosed at any age. My daughter was 17 when she was diagnosed and i fought for 14 years for her. She now gets all the support she needs and has started a special needs college. The college she was attending at the time referred her and supported us all the way through.

    You need to speak to his GP or the college he's at and they will refer him.
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • rangoboy
    rangoboy Community member Posts: 6 Listener
    Hi , thank you I’m so glad you were able to get the support. 
    Our gp is consistently telling us that it’s impossible to get it at this age and the collage are not being helpful at all . 
    They have said that without a diagnosis support can not be initiated and that he needs to attend and get grades or they are going to kick him out  !
    i have tried for many years but it appears that because he’s not at the severe end of the spectrum no body cares ! 
    Hes 17 and only got through primary and secondary due to the support he was given but now he’s started collage there’s no support he’s not coping at all ! I don’t feel like I can be the parent. The teacher that supporter and the Carer .. I feel like I’m going mad if not that battered . 
  • April2018mom
    April2018mom Posts: 2,882 Disability Gamechanger
    Have you contacted the NAS for advice and support? Contact the autism helpline on 0808 800 4104 or use this online enquiry form to contact them https://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/main/form.aspx
    You might find this article on diagnosis pathways helpful to read  
    https://www.autism.org.uk/about/diagnosis/children.aspx
    Talk with your GP about a referral. Ask them to signpost you to autism services within your county or area for your son. 
  • kami24
    kami24 Community member Posts: 402 Pioneering
    My mum has thought I have had autism since i was about 12. she noticed then my abnormal behaviour as hormone changes etc made it more obvious. It is very difficult to get an autistic diagnosis when you are older though especially if it is harder to spot like it is in women or if you have additional issues which may overlook the autism 
  • rangoboy
    rangoboy Community member Posts: 6 Listener
     thank you everyone.. I’m really appreciate all of the helpful comments .
    I have spoken with autism line and also teens in crisis.. my son has been to the docs independently and tried to communicate his problems but this hasn’t worked out .. he only talks about what he wants to and with a limited time of 4 mins !  cannot vocalise his worries .
    my frustration is that the doc is treating him like an adult ( fully functioning adult) the numbers and information given to him just goes straight over his head !
    i have now managed to get a docs appointment for us both to go together .. hopefully fingers crossed somebody will listen .. And my son will tolerate being spoken about !
    Thank you everyone for the supportive comments  
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,039 Disability Gamechanger
    Is the appointment with the same GP that said that it's impossible to get a diagnosis at that age? If it was then this GP obviously has no understanding of what ASD is and if it was me then i'd be seeing a different GP.

    Your college is correct, it's very difficult to get support with a diagnosis. Does he have an EHCP? (Educational healthcare plan)?
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • rangoboy
    rangoboy Community member Posts: 6 Listener
    No he’s never been given any plan .. he scrapped through primary and secondary school .. literally support given just for him to get through his sats and GCSEs .. I have had a meeting with collage explaining everything  from birth - now ..
    anxiety is controlling him at the moment but he seems determined to succeed.. ( although no work is being submitted due to his organisational skills). I’m really at a loose end.
    would it be bad to just let him deal with it alone and see what happens ? That way maybe someone will have to listen ! My concern however is that once He is told that they don’t want him he will retreat back to his bedroom  and the cycle will start all over again ! 
  • dolfrog
    dolfrog Community member Posts: 441 Pioneering
    Hi  @rangaboy

    What you have described could also be the Temporal type of Auditory Processing Disorder, a listening disability which can also be one of he multiple issues which can combine to be part of autism.
    the Temporal type of Auditory processing Disorder is about not being able to process the gaps between the sounds that the ears hear, which can includew the gasp between words in rapid speech. Those of us who have this type of Auditory processing Disorder do tend to have poor self organisational skiills as our working memories are so focused on running our alternative compensating skills and abilities, coping strategies, that we need to use to work around our information processing limitations. We can also have poor auditory memories, and completely forget what someone has said almost immediately after they have said. Following multiple  verbal instructions can also be a problem. We can have a very good long term memory but it may take a long time for us to access, process, and understand the information in our long term memories. . 
    Much of the anxiety and stress is cause by others not understanding out neurological differences and not communicating to our alternative strengths.
    Hopefully you will be able to get a diagnosis of all his issues.
  • rangoboy
    rangoboy Community member Posts: 6 Listener
    Thank you.. dolfrog 
    I had never heard of this before! so therefore have researched auditory processing disorder and oh my !!
    the information I have found is very insightful and I cannot believe how much my son fits into many of these difficulties.. it’s very hard when you are so emotionally attached to someone with these problems  and been living with them for 17 years , it’s hard sometimes to see the constant challenges, battles etc when you live with it every day ! ( as it becomes normal) 
    Thank you , reading just a small amount around this disorder really has helped me to begin to see his troubles and anxiety’s from a completely different perspective. 
    Currently he is still attending collage ( in his mind) but I know that this will not last as the collage whant  100 percent from him. 
    I have been told to contact teens in crisis and make another docs appointment . 
    In the meantime however we are trying to do a complete timeline from birth - now ( together so that we can try and learn together what his strengths and weakness are as a person . 
    Again I cannot thank you all enough for all the support.
    Hopefully today  will be a happy day :) 


  • dolfrog
    dolfrog Community member Posts: 441 Pioneering
    Hi @rangoboy

    You might like to have a look at some of my Auditory Processing Disorder related web pages that i have created at Evernote  
    The Four Types of Auditory Processing Disorder 
    Some International Auditory Processing Disorder Research Papers 
    Some Audiology PubMed Research Paper Collections 
    My Zotero Auditory Processing Disorders Research Paper Group 
    and What is Dyslexia? 

    It took me over a decade to put these collections together lol, 
    I hope they can provide some information, explanations, and help to understand the issues.

  • Chloe_Scope
    Chloe_Scope Posts: 10,586 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @rangoboy, just wanted to check in to see how things were going. :)
    Scope

  • rangoboy
    rangoboy Community member Posts: 6 Listener
    Hi chloe , 
    thank you for asking ! 
    Things are still really tough .. we are not getting much help from the gps .. however collage have put him onto a lower course and are being helpful as far as support is going. 
    His behaviour has changed a lot through us having a lot more understanding and really talking together .. the sensory noises seem to be his main issue at the moment ! 
    The last two nights have resulted in him putting his head through the wall in his bedroom and punching himself in the face ( all because of a clock ! ) we are trying are very hardest to work with him through it all but it’s very difficult when you have other children .. 
    hopefully .. fingers crossed things can only get better .. baby steps I suppose .. we are taking every day as it comes .. :) 
    gp appointment 9.20 am tomorrow.. ( again) but not hopefull !! 

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