Hello all, Welcome and Thank you for making the time to read.
Firstly I’d like to introduce myself, my name is Jay, I have 4 beautiful children (3 boys,1 girl). I strongly believe all my children and I are on the spectrum of autism. My 3rd son Jayden, he is 3 and has finally been diagnosed with autism. The whole assessment process did not take nowhere near as long as I assumed it would, I was told it could vary between months to years but the first initial assessment took place in October 2018 and I had him diagnosed in January 2019. The first stage of Jayden’s diagnosis started with him being referred to S.A.L.T (speech & language therapy)http://directory.islington.gov.uk/kb5/islington/directory/service.page?id=bAHkWBsN2os through his nursery teacher at age 2 due to his speech delay. His nursery teacher had noticed that Jayden had a speech delay, his vocabulary varied between 20-30 words, she asked me if she can refer him to S.A.L.T, I agreed and highlighted I had suspected autism from before age 1 but had been observing him, her response threw me off , I felt patronized, her exact words were, “Jayden does not have autism, I teach him and I would know if he had it, children with autism don’t play with children but Jayden does, also you shouldn’t read stuff of the internet as when i’m ill with a cold I would diagnose myself as dying”. I left her to her conclusion and awaited the Speech and Language appointment. During that appointment I highlighted that I had suspected autism, Jayden had shown some autistic traits whilst at the appointment so he was referred to S.C.T Social Communication Team. http://directory.islington.gov.uk/kb5/islington/directory/service.page?id=Sn2_5eWpiqY
I had received Jayden’s report from his speech and language assessment in early July 2018, I also had an appointment booked in October 2018 for his initial assessment for autism. During the assessment which took place in October 2018 I was asked some questions about my pregnancy and Jayden’s early years, they had also done a play session to rule out some factors. After that appointment I was told about future appointments I would have but wasn’t given the dates. Roughly around mid November 2018 I had a call from the Occupational Therapist to confirm future appointed dates, the first appointment was made for December and the next made for January 2019, one at Jayden’s primary school and the last one at The Northern Medical Center in Holloway (London) https://www.northernmedicalcentre.co.uk/ with the possibility of a diagnosis.
Jayden one evening after school, don’t ask why but he did and does stuff like this!
On December 13th 2018, Myself, the Occupational Therapist and Speech and Language Therapist met for our appointment at the school for (speech therapy). During the appointment I was asked more detailed questions on behalf of Jayden’s background, well-being, behaviors and sensory issues, half way through the appointment both Therapist took turns on assessing Jayden at play while in class while one stayed asking questions. The duration of that session took about 1.5 hours. It was highlighted to me that I should definitely have a diagnosis by the next scheduled appointment.
January 9th 2019 had finally arrived, I anticipated this date as it meant a lot to be able to have Jayden possibly diagnosed. (Not saying it’s the result I wanted but I had already accepted Jayden was autistic and would have appealed any decision that had disagreed with mine.) Anyways I attended with Jayden only and was seen quite prompt, the two Therapist I had met with on the previous appointment was present alongside the psychologist. I was told to sit and observe but not to interact with Jayden but to engage with him briefly if he came over to me. The process started with the Occupational Therapist and the Speech and Language Therapist choosing a bunch of toys to set out for Jayden to be assessed with by play, they kept switching toys during the assessment. The last part of the assessment had involved food, I was asked to bring a few small snacks which Jayden would usually eat and a drink. Jayden showed no interest in the food they when they introduced it to him during the assessment, his interest was fully on the toys he had been playing with during the assessment and kept on getting frustrated. The Psychologist had observed the whole process and took notes, during the end process she asked me a few questions.
I was left in the room for 10 minutes while the Therapist had a private discussion in another room, when they returned they took Jayden to get weighed and measured. When we returned back into he assessment room I had sat with the Psychologist and the Speech and Language Therapist to briefly explain the assessment process was completed and they have a diagnosis, they told me Jayden has got ASC (Autism Spectrum Condition), they explained it used to be known as ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), they stated it is found to be genetic hence the change of disorder to condition, I was given a letter to get post diagnosis help and attend workshops, I was also informed that I should wait 4/6 weeks to receive Jayden’s report from the assessment.
I plan on writing many blogs on experiences and tips which has helped myself and others, I’m willing to answer questions or give guidance to anyone in need. I’m currently in the process of setting up some funding and workshops. Thanks again for reading and I’ll be adding and updating the site on a regular basis. Bye for now.
Autism awareness 