I have a 12 yr old son,who has learning difficulties,still dont know whats wrong.?

Question

he was tested for autism and all that the doctors n every1 involved could only say he was on the autistic spectrum somwhere,and he has very severe learning problems and severe anxiaty..tell me somthing i dont know,i just want to know whats wrong with him as it seems you have to fight to get any answers and it comes down to funding,where i live although they wont admit it..

he's epileptic,dyslecsic/dyspractic,partialy deaf and also has selective mutism, any advice on what else i could do in the way of finding out.?

Answer 1

Hi Nita.

I will try to assist you. learning difficulties covers a wide variety of conditions.You should have been referred to a child psychologist.With his compound disabilities he should be getting social and health care back up.

1. Disability living allowance for him at High Care High Mobility.

2. Carers allowance for you.

3 Tax credits

4 Respite care for you.

5 Contact your local MENCAP they will give you more assistance and even go with you to the appointments.

www.mencap.org.uk

Answer 2

Wow loads of great answers on here for you. I wont and don't feel the need to add to them. Rather I would like to give you some encouragement for now and for the future. My son is 12 and is un-diagnosed but special needs.  He goes to a special needs school where they are very good at brining out the best in him. The classes are very small with only 7 or 8 in the class with a teacher and TA. I am not keen on the governments stance on inclusion and believe that children with special needs should have there own space, if not for them but for other children who can move on faster than others with SN. I found the best way of moving forward was to get a  statement. Once this is in place any questions about funding are null and void as all of his needs have to be met in full, thats the law and it cant be fudged.  Good luck and stay with it....

Answer 3

DON'T PANIC!

You need to get him assessed by social services and your family GP also needsd to be involved, I understand that a child phscologist will need to make assessments. He needs to attend a special school (if he isn't already doing so) where they have proper trained teachers to deal with his problems. I know a little boy who has similar difficulties as you described, they put him originally in mainstream school, but he kept getting into alsorts of trouble (including getting expelled). When he eventually got a place at a special scool, there were instant improvements, and he couldn't be a nicer young kid now.

Answer 4

It sounds like he has lots of issues, that may be why they are having trouble saying the root of everything is Autism.  Seizure disorder (epilepsy) can cause some of the issues you talk about, like anxiety and dyspraxia.  Selective mutism is it's own ball of wax.  I'm confused bo you saying the doctor's diagnosis comes down to funding- I'm not sure what you mean by this.  

I would suggest going to a children's hospital or developmental clinic in a major city.  You might also check into a university that has a good research component.  I assume your child is getting special ervices in school already.  A diagnosis is important, but it's even more important that some intervention is done.  As long as people are working with him and moving him along, that's the most important thing.

Answer 5

I'm sure you've already done this through your son's school but speaking to the Educational Psychologist directly may help or even going to an Educational Psychologist for different assessments. Not all Ed Psychs test children using the same assessments so it might be worth reading through the psychologists report and finding out what scales they used and then looking at what other assessments are available. My Mum is an Educational Psychologist so I know that a lot of psychologists use assessments that they are used to and not necessarially the best one to assess the individual child they are assessing - although i'm not saying this is what has happened in your son's case.

All the best xx

Answer 6

See an educational psychologist. Insist on a referal.