Getting on the diagnosis treadmil...

So, where do/did you start?

I've had my question marks about our son for a while but we kept wanting to give him time to come out of his shell. However as he just gets further and further behind other children his age it seems time to maybe get him some help.

We're moving to the US soon so we'll have to do this over there with their system but I'd still like to hear how you got the ball rolling with your child. Do you go to a GP for pead referral then they refer you on to relevent services such as speech therapist? Or can you just go see a speechie?

My heart is breaking. I want to go back to the land of denial :cry: I'm still really hopeful his speech & behaviour issues will resolve with age but it's looking less & less likely.

My son (an 08-er as well, born in January) has a severe global language delay and we have been seeing a speechie since Sept. As much as it broke my heart to admit that he wasnt "socially normal" its been an amazing turnaround for him! We did not need a referral to see a private speech pathologist but we do pay for everything ourselves. Apparently public system can see you waiting years for a place in therapy and we just did not feel we could wait that long. You could probably get an assessment done by a speechie here and take it with you to the US.

If there are other issues (we have them with our Ds too) then a paed referral is the starting point and they help you figure out where to go from there.

:hug: Your doing the right thing, even if it means having to crawl out of the land of denial. It hurts but it truly does make a huge difference!

Thank you Freya. I feel guilty that other children his age are already getting help. But then I think my son is borderline so I guess its not been obvious if he really needed help or not.

Might see if we can get a speech pathologist appointment soon- good idea. I think I really need some sort of professional opinion & discussion. I think he has some sensory issues too but maybe the total picture can wait.

Welcome to denial hun, I have lived there quite happily and some days would like to go back LOL
An OT is a great place to start as well, you don't need a referral but you can get it cheaper if you get a plan from your GP. I have found OT and speech great for DS.
Good luck.

Dont feel bad he's gone this long without help; I only sought help because I finally listened to my mothers intuition otherwise R would still be chugging along in misery. His daycarers even told me his speech was FINE but when I went to the speechie, totally bloody opposite was true. I just figured I thought he was bad because I had to deal with him everyday you know?

I think that's why I feel bad- my intuition (and early childhood training!!) was telling me it wasn't right but my H kept saying it was just him (quiet) and he was fine etc. And I wanted to believe that. He doesnt have enough indicators of something more serious such as autism so I guess I tried to brush it off. Since my H had some time off with our new baby and joined us at playgroup etc hes seen other children our son's age and realised how significantly different he is and I think we've been brought back to reality.

Thanks for listening and offering advice and support :)

My Dh went through the same thing too, we even had heated arguements about it on numerous occasions until he finally looked at him objectively instead of as our son (and reflecting on us) and realised he needed help. Its a guy thing I think, they see it as failure on their part and they dont really cope with it.

Feel free to pm me for a chat if you ever need it. We seem to be in similar places right now so would be going through similar things; I know the support of the girls on here with special needs kids have been a HUGE help to me while Ive been sorting it all out.

We have a speech pathologist coming to do an assessment on Friday. I think a hearing test will be the follow up. See how we go.

I think you've done the right thing beginning the investigations now, Meow, instead of waiting till you get to the States. I hope this Friday goes well and the speechie may be able to point you in the right direction for your son :hug:

I hope the assessment goes well.

Thanks :) I booked a hearing test for next week too!

Good idea :D

I can recommend a great child psychiatrist in Malvern. We tried the public route but it was taken so long and we were getting anywhere. Once we were past the safety net it was only $20ish per session. We saw her once together, then once me and DS, once DS alone, then 2x 2hr sessions of child development history (me & DH), then DS kinder visit, and then 2 sessions (first one we got the diagnosis & went over that), and second was giving us advice about where to head etc.

Thanks Yael. I may hit you up for the recommendation when we move back :)

Well- speech pathologist says he has a significant social communication delay. Along with other indicators she suspects (but can't diagnose obviously) that he may be on the autistic spectrum. We'll follow up with a pediatrician in the states after we move.