Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners
What's the best way to get my 6 year old assessed for ASD?
My son was born at 28 weeks, 1.2 kgs & is high risk for ADHD & ASD. He was 2 before he even started to talk, but has now caught up. He was 2 before he started to walk & still has issues with coordination, balance & spatial awareness. He was diagnosed with ADHD by our paediatrician some time ago & started trialling meds at age 5. Ritalin helps manage his adhd. He's been assessed as having SPD. There are still issues with his behaviour. I've been dealing with DV by child since age 3 (much reduced now); regular meltdowns; fixations on batteries, mopping, vaccuuming etc. The paediatrician says he won't get an asd diagnosis as his eye contact is too good, he refuses to look at videos of my boy's aggressive behaviour as he says it's not medical. I'm not working atm, so cost is an issue. Where do I go to get him assessed. Am I better off seeing a child psychiatrist or psychologist? In particular, no one can tell me what to do when I'm dealing with aggressive behaviour.
