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1.1 How do I get a diagnosis?
1.2 Diagnosis – Now what?
1.1 How do I get a diagnosis? | (Back to Top) |
Generally within Haringey, if an autistic spectrum disorder is suspected, your GP or community health clinic, health worker, speech and language therapist or educational psychologist will refer you to the local Child Development Centre at St Ann's Hospital, St Ann's Road, N15. Here a multi-disciplinary team will examine your child and a diagnosis will be formed. The report that they draw up is your diagnosis even though it may be couched in tentative language like ‘appears to be' ‘has signs of' ‘may be'etc.
Going directly to St Ann's can have its advantages as they are reasonably fast and it may also more quickly open the services of the St Ann's based ‘Social Skills Group' run by the Speech and Language Therapy dept for autistic children or children with a social-communication disorder, and it may propel you more quickly towards the Early Intervention Panel who allocate specialist pre-school places, and get you a place on an Earlybird scheme. At a time when every week can feel like months, and every wasted month can feel like years, speed can matter.
At St Ann's Child Development Centre (CDC), there is now a Family Resource Room with on line facilities and reading matter to help you research your child's difficulties.
However, the first choice of where you go for diagnosis is actually yours, not your GPs, so if you wish to go somewhere else where autism diagnosis is more of a speciality, you could request your GP to refer you to other well-known establishments such as Harper House, or St Guy's Hospital or the Maudsley for diagnosis. The waiting lists vary but can be long. Some establishments only take national (ie GP/health service) referrals, some also take private referrals.
If you find that an indefinite diagnosis which indicates autistic tendencies but does not actually come out and say ‘autistic spectrum disorder' is preventing you from accessing appropriate support for your child, then push for a second opinion from an unrelated outlet and ask for support from your GP, from Autism London or the NAS in getting the second opinion. (Remember no-one likes to have their diagnoses queried and the giver of the first diagnosis is unlikely to support you in your quest for a second diagnosis. ) At least one parent has recently asked her GP for a referral to the Royal Free Hospital for a second opinion after receiving a diagnosis she disagreed with.
Some useful addresses:
1.2 Diagnosis - Now what? | (Back to Top) |
There are a number of Haringey authorities who may now enter your child's life
to provide support. All are over-stretched and you may at times feel like you
need to become a lobbyist more than a parent to get the right help, but don't
give up, the help can be there if you keep at them long and hard enough.
Within the borough there has been a huge improvement in provision for autism within the past year, particularly for pre-schoolers, as authorities come to recognise the benefits of early intervention. So hopefully following diagnosis, your child will be offered much more help than has previously been available.
Essentially the main areas of state-funded provision and responsibility are divided between three authorities as follows:-
Following chapters give more information on all these authorities and the
available provision. In addition to state provision, there are a number of
local parents' support groups, all of whom may be able to help with advice and
support. They are listed in the Local Support Groups section. It is especially
worth contacting a group called Resources for Autism in Finchley (Tel: 8458 3259/8445 5088) who run a new
parents' 4 day introductory course to autism (cost £40) covering behaviour, intervention,
diet, statementing and much more every two months.