How long might we expect to wait to see these experts?

ScooterMctooter

This discussion was created from comments split from: Ask an Educational Psychologist.

ScooterMctooter

Hi Hannah,
My 4 year old son has just started in reception. The school have identified him as having emotional, social and behavourial problems. He has sensory issues and cannot stand crowds or noise and hides under the table and tries to avoid the big playground. He hits, bites and slaps the other children (particularly girls) when they annoy him or get in his face. The school have provided half an hour of 1 to 1 with him at lunchtimes and have referred him to the ed pysch - we have seen the GP and with statements from the childminder and the school he has referred us to the paediatrician. He has said he does not think he has autism since he can engage (albeit negatively). He has no other learning difficulties and is bright and articulate - when he lashes out he says that he "cannot stop himself". The situation however seems to be getting worse and worse since he has started school. His teacher is brilliant and is working overtime to try and resolve these issues so I cannot complain at all. My questions really relate to how long we might expect to wait to see any of these experts and what I can do in the meantime? - should I offer to pay for a private ed pysch assessment to speed things up? Currently he has a lot of friends and is popular at school (surprisingly!) and naturally I don't want the other children to get fed up with his behaviour. I may also have the option to go part time at work if the situation is critical and I wonder if I picked him up from school every day (with his 7 year old sister) if this would be more beneficial for him than going to the childminder - I just wondered if you had an opinion on this (more downtime etc after a long day and less need for social interaction)
Your thoughts greatly appreciated

EducationalPsychologist

Hi ScooterMctooter
Parents often wonder what they can do while they wait to see professionals. It is difficult to answer because there needs to be a clear understanding of your son's needs in order to ensure the right strategies are put in place. The behaviours you describe can indeed indicate sensory processing and autism difficulties... The behaviours are not themselves a condition, rather they highlight that a child is trying to cope with a situation, environment or interaction that makes them feel stressed, anxious, scared, etc. There are all sorts of difficulties that children experience that can lead them to behave negatively, including being cognitively gifted! That's why assessment is so important sows can understand and then plan the best support. I cannot say how long you will be waiting for referrals as different services and local authorities operate in different ways. The main difference seeking an independent psychologist is the quicker time scale and usually more thorough and in depth assessment, as they do not have time constraints working independently. My advice would be to get a clear understanding of his needs before making any big life changes. In the meantime ensure you have some quality time with him each week and tell him what he does that makes you happy, proud, etc. Try for three positives per day. If you do want to find a private psychologist, try www.achippp.org.uk