Autism diagnosis is this wait unreasonable

Question

We took our son (age 2yr 8mth) to Dr's on 8th May as we were concerned about his lack of speech, he said he wanted a hearing test but was showing red flags for autism, went to hearing test on 1st July and his hearing is fine, paediatrician said she was concerned and wants to do a development assessment, I phoned 3 days ago and again today, was told by rather arsey secretary would be getting appointment soon but "there is a waiting list you know". What should I do is this an unreasonable amount of time, I thought the earlier the better so why are we still waiting.

Answer 1

i have autism, autism is a range of different thinks (ASD) autistic spectrum disorder which it is called i have asperges syndrome well its weird coz i dont coz wen i was a baby i was late talking but everything else of the symptons i have my docter said i should use the info from that im only 14 lol but i also have adhd dont worry about it know its harder when hes older coz theres more studying and things if you want anymore help just email me  sammie x

Answer 2

In my experience as special Educational need coordinator most parents in my setting have to wait about one-two months for an appointment for development assessments. I would ring again beginning of September if you dont hear anything-if they still say nothing then go see your GP and see if they'll call on your behalf.

Unfortunately there is a lot of chidlren needing these appointments and not enough qualified doctors to do them. The test can tak a while and then the doctor talks to the parents so they cant fit loads of appointments into a day.

Answer 3

Call them back & ask them " is it a money problem ? ". If you're really desperate & want to get things moving then you could always pay for a private consultation.

Good Luck. X ;-)

Answer 4

Ange..it was a little different for us because Thomas was nearly three and a half and because my doctor thought i was just over reacting that there was something wrong with Thomas (my health visitor was shocked because he was showing all signs of autism)basically he was sent for assessment within a few weeks of being refereed, then he got an appointment for a 6 week course ..within two weeks he was formally diagnosed with severe autism as you know Thomas is 10 now and still nonverbal, i;m not sure what poster said it does matter about how long it takes is wrong of course it does you cannot cure autism but it can be improved with the right help and support and the sooner the better, i would call the National Autistic Society and ask their advice on this they will help you as they have done me a few time  

Answer 5

my mate has daughter age 5 and she is autistc it took a while to get her diagnosis now she gets loads of support and is also under gt ormonrd st hosptial 2 and her speech has come along loads she likes routine and get upset if something goes wrong like she colours over the lines... her other daughter is 7 and has adhd aswell as brodline autism..have u tied googgling autism and looking for support groups or advice  

Answer 6

hi, my son is 3 and hes been waiting since february , hes had 2 hearing test , one done in feb and the other one done 2 day , hes passed both , but he wont speak just high pitched tones , ive been told could be xmas before he gets his done , hes waiting for an appiontment at the child develement centre ,im in glasgow scotland , if u fancy a chat please feel free to email me , tree xx

Answer 7

Try another doctor. BUT, if your son is autistic, then the date of the test really isn't going to change that fact. You may just have to be patient. Good luck and God bless!!