Why are People Reluctant to Seek a Diagnosis of Autism? - Colourful Teaching For You
Why are People Reluctant to Seek a Diagnosis of Autism?
Why are People Reluctant to Seek a Diagnosis of Autism?

So many people worry about either getting diagnosed or having their child diagnosed with autism because of the stigma they feel that is associated with it. This is even more true for those who have high or mild autism.

So, it is worth getting an autism diagnosis?

No one person can tell you if it’s worth it or not. But I’m going tell you about my experience and let you decide. I’ll be writing about this from both, a parent and a teacher’s perspective. Please note that I’m not a medical professional and you should always consult your doctor for medical advice.

Our Story:

My son went through a horrible ordeal at his first daycare. We didn’t know about it because he was too young to articulate it to us and because when Covid was at its height, parents weren’t allowed in to see what was going on. Being that this was our first experience sending our son to daycare, we didn’t know that there were places that would send videos or pictures to you.

When he first started at the daycare, he was fine but with the immense turnover in teachers, there was no one steady in his life. He’s also tall for his age so they kept forgetting that he was only one going on two years of age and not two going on three. They were forcing him to do things that were beyond his capabilities and he was literally dragged across the room in a video that I saw. I demanded videos and pictures when my son bolted from my arms crying one morning as though he was being physically harmed. I recorded the crying for my husband to hear because I knew that something was wrong and he needed to hear it too. When I saw what he was going through, I had my sister-in-law go to the daycare and pull him out immediately. I paid the extra and refused to send him back.

Thankfully, we found another place with a loving environment. They sent me pictures, updates and so forth. My son was finally safe and happy. However, because of his initial experience, he had a difficult time trusting anyone who wasn’t immediate family, so he didn’t open up to anyone for a while. He also refused to make eye contact and remained fixated on things that were comforting to him. I knew that he could talk a mile a minute and his vocabulary was massive at such a young age. He’d already been assed by his pedestrian who was impressed by his ability to pick up language. Since he was living in his protective shell until he could trust others again, it was thought that he might have mild autism.

When we were initially told about it, it shook our world because we were in the midst of helping our son recover from his trauma at such a young age. I honestly didn’t know what to do. My whole world felt like it was falling apart.

Finally, after much thought and discussing it with others, I decided to proceed because as a teacher, I know how important it is to get your child diagnosed early. It’s easier to get funding, there’s more support offered and children who are provided with support early on can learn how to self regulate and live in society without anyone ever knowing that they have autism. The latter part is not true for children who have low functioning autism but the skills they develop when they start young surpasses what they can do when they’re diagnosed at an older age.

Ultimately, it was stated that my son did not have autism but the agony, worry and even lack of control that I felt over everything was real. It gave me a sense into what many of my students’ parents go through and why many of them choose to wait or live in denial of the diagnosis.

I decided that I didn’t care about the stigma in the end because my son’s wellbeing was far greater than what other people thought. They weren’t going to raise him for me and therefore, they didn’t have a say in anything. My little boy had already been though so much that I wanted to make sure that was going to live a healthy and successful life.

In order to get him assessed, I had to go through the following procedures. Please note that this may be different from region to region, so you’ll need to check with your child’s family doctor.

Actionable Steps For Diagnosis:

#1. Verbal and Written Documentation

I was first told about why my son was suspected of having autism. Then a letter was written for him to be sent to speech therapist in our area.

#2. Speech Therapy

It’s a waiting game to get your child into speech therapy if you go through the public route versus the private route. You have to wait for about a year for the public sector to get back to you. We were okay with waiting because we were focused on showering my son with love and making sure that his past trauma remained in the past. We worked on his self-esteem, self-confidence, and independence so that he could believe in himself again and know that he was loved beyond all measure. He was also very young so we weren’t in a hurry.

Once we booked an appointment, I took my son to see the speech therapist. She asked him a variety of questions, gave him specific commands and played specific games with him. This was all to gauge his comprehension, ability to respond, make eye contact, and engage in different activities. She wasn’t able to see the signs of autism, so she asked me to contact my doctor for the next steps.

#3. The Family Doctor

I called the doctor, who went over the reports that were sent to him by the Speech Therapist. He was unable to see any point in continuing on but I pleaded to see his pediatrician to make sure that we weren’t missing anything as they are the ones who are trained in this area. According to the Speech Therapist, she wasn’t trained to make that diagnosis but his pediatrician could do it.

#4. An Emotional State

Around this time, my mind was reeling and my heart was sobbing because it felt like we were being punched in the gut all because I chose to go back to work after my maternity leave ended. I also didn’t listen to my inner self when I initially sensed something was wrong with the first daycare. In order to keep myself sane, I confided in my family, a close friend and another professional friend. I remember one of them asking me, the following questions.

  • – If you find out that he has autism, would you raise him differently?
  • – Will you change the way you love him?
  • – Will you change the way you teach him?
  • – Will you change the way you play with him?

My answer to each of them was “NO!” The only changes that I would make would be based on what his medical professionals asked me to do, provided that he was happy and it was helping him. Those questions and knowing my answers to them, kept me at ease and allowed me to take a step back from being the emotional parent to being one who needed to put her son’s best interests ahead of her own feelings.

#5. The Pediatrician 

It took about three months after the doctor’s referral for the pediatrician to contact us and another two months before we could see him. It pleased me to note that the pediatrician had already familiarized himself with the notes from the daycare, the speech therapist, and the family doctor prior to our visit. We told him about my son’s history, and showed him pictures and videos of my son with others. He went through a series of questions with me and then with my son based on his extensive list to diagnosis a child with autism. He was unable to see anything beyond some social anxiety and recommended we put our son in either martial arts, sports or another group activity. We tried all three. Marial arts didn’t work out as my son doesn’t like conflict. Soccer was not as exciting but helped him focus and pull him out of his shell but dance is something that really loves so we’ll continue with that.

While this was the end of the road for us, it was quite a learning experience and eye opener into what my students’ parent go through. This little bit alone was a fairly lengthy process.

If you’re going through this, know that it will take time, it’s okay to feel all over the place and it’s important to find your support system because this process takes take a long time. You’ve got this though. If you need any support, feel free to contact me at any time at colourfulteach@gmail.com

You’re also welcome to join us inside ADHD and Autism Self Regulation by CLICKING HERE or on the fallowing image.

Recap:

Let’s recap really quickly. Today, we looked at the following:

  1. The reasons why it’s difficult to get yourself or your child diagnosed with autism.
  2. My family’s background story with autism.
  3. Five steps to looking into getting yourself or your child diagnosed with autism: verbal and written documentation, speech therapy , the family doctor, an emotional state, and the pediatrician.

Free Resources:

If your children are struggling to hand in assignments on time, check out the following video training: 3 Steps to Teach Children How to Overcome Procrastination to Increase Productivity.

In the mean time, if you’re feeling stressed out, overwhelmed and burnout, then I encourage you to check out the following: FREE MASTERCLASS: Systematic Plan to Super Passionate.

Systematic Plan to Super Passionate

Next Steps:

For calm down areas on a budget, for your students who have autism, CLICK HERE.

If you found this video beneficial, would you do me a favor? Share this with your family, your friends, your loved ones, your co-workers or someone who you think could benefit from this. Thank you!

I’ll see you next Friday at 5:30pm PST.

Until I see you next time, remember to create, experience & teach from the heart.

Take care,

Charlotte


Disclaimer: I’m a teacher and a parent. I’m not a medical professional, so please don’t take this as medical advice. The advice that I provide in my videos and online are strategies that I have used in my own class or at home that have worked beautifully. Since mental health is a spectrum, make sure to adapt these strategies for your individual child. Thank you!

Why are People Reluctant to Seek a Diagnosis of Autism?
Tagged on:     

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

error

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)