Advice needed please

Getting assessed for your dyspraxia, getting help, disability allowance etc.

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sarahjo19
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Advice needed please

Post by sarahjo19 »

Hi I am new to the forum but would like some help/advice on what to do.

My son is 18 and although not diagnosed yet, we are looking at paying for an assessment as the GP will only refer him through the mental health route which I don't want him to go through.

Alarm bells have been triggered as he has been working for the last year part time in a shop and now 4 girls have made complaints against him saying he creeps them out and has been too touchy feely with them. He is now suspended pending a disaplinary hearing at the end of this week. To say we are all devasted this has happened is an understatement. He said that he thought he was being friendly and just could not read the signs that he was making them feel uncomfortable. It has since come to light the he cannot read body language, he struggles in social situations and doesn't know where he fits in either socially or within our family. I have always suspected there is a problem somewhere as he wet the bed until he was 11, is quite immature, is very figety, loud, slams doors, flat footed, could never work out that he had done something wrong or needed to apologise for something. Although he has a great set of friends and is quite social with them, has been on holiday and festivals with them, has never had a girlfriend and invades personal space on a regular basis. Although he passed his 11 plus, he struggled at school, not motivation, no concentration and so came away with low GCSE grades. He was asked to leave 6th form as he was not working as he should have been and then went to college where he seems to be getting on better but this I think is because it is mainly computer based and music which he is interested in and very good at. I have informed his work that we belive he might be dyspraxic but are resigned to the fact that he will get the sack which he is very upset about. Can anyone give me some advice as to where to go next please? I am so worried and just want to help him.
ALADDIN
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Re: Advice needed please

Post by ALADDIN »

Hi sarahjo19,

I think he symptoms are a signpost towards aspergers/aspergers traits/ASD (autistic spectrum disorder)/high functioning autism (including dyspraxia), as opposed to dyspraxia, but he may have dyspraxia as well.

A majority of people with aspergers have dyspraxia
Last edited by ALADDIN on Tue Nov 27, 2012 12:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
AlleyCat
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Re: Advice needed please

Post by AlleyCat »

I agree with Aladdin- I think your son quite possibly has both dyspraxia and asperger syndrome. Being flat footed, fidgety, loud and slamming doors makes me think of dyspraxia. On the other hand, not knowing where he has gone wrong socially and unknowingly behaving in a way which has caused female staff at work to feel uncomfortable are things which make me think he could also have asperger syndrome. You might be interested in watching this video, as it highlights quite well how someone on the autistic spectrum (which aspergers is on the higher end of) could be oblivious to the impact of his behaviour on someone else, even to the point of being accused of harassment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsRdpPMA ... ature=plcp

If you want to go private for an assessment, it's important that you find someone who is qualified- you can do this by searching on the British Psychological Society's website:

http://www.bps.org.uk/bpslegacy/dcp

I'm not sure what the cost of the assessment might be, as it's several years since I was assessed as having dyspraxia, but I've heard recently that it could be about £500.

I think it's a real shame that this wasn't picked up on when your son was at school, as he hasn't received the support he should have had. He must have had the potential to have done well academically if he managed to pass the 11 plus.
ALADDIN
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Re: Advice needed please

Post by ALADDIN »

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html

See,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_Spectrum_Quotient


Your son can do the test, for the Autism Spectrum Quotient, If the score is 32 ore more, he probably has a clinically significant level of AS.

If your son has a score less than 26 or significant less than 26, ASD can be probably ruled out.

The test is not concrete, there needs to be a psychological chat (an ADOS test) and ideally a chat with parent(s).
Willr0490
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Re: Advice needed please

Post by Willr0490 »

That does sound like Dyspraxia and Asperger Syndrome.
joy
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Re: Advice needed please

Post by joy »

Sounds like your son does have developmental delay (NDD) but as this comes under a lose umbrella term that overlaps into many areas including Dyslexia ,Dyspraxia Autism and Aspergers Syndrome,ADD,ADHD .
My son has a friend who has never been diagnosed with a form of autism, although the school brought it up on several occasions but his parents refused to take it any further and he was never given a diagnosis.
He never makes eye contact with anyone and my son who is his only friend took him on a works night out and all the girls that were out with him thought he was really creepy,he doesn't have any friends apart from my son and he s now approaching 27 and still cant get a job because its difficult for people to accept him,has difficulty in processing things and situations and when at school when given homework wouldn't understand that he had to have the work in several days later and did nothing.The school said to his parents that he should be in a more specialised school but they refused to acknowledge it.
I would suggest you pay a visit to your GP and take it from there
ALADDIN
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Re: Advice needed please

Post by ALADDIN »

I am surprised, I believe the secondary school should have indicated conditions such as dyspraxia, ASD(aspergers).

He is 18 years, not late 20s, 30s. People in their late 20s and 30s are very likely, to have been diagnosed, beyond childhood.

The awareness of neuro-diverse conditions is still weak but, I think private schools are less likely to diagnose and support ND conditions, but there are variations.
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