Child with possible aspergers

[kateshady]

Hi

Firstly I'm not a doctor but one of the children I mind displays behaviours & after much thought & researching the net I think he *may* have aspergers.

The parents told me they were seeing a doctor but they didnt think anything wrong.

My question is how would you pass your concern to the parent? I think they are in denial or just do not realised how different their child is & I dont think they would take it well.

School have set behaviour charts etc which I continue at my setting but they dont & I think they can be a bit guilty of lazy parenting. Which we all can at one time or another but this child needs you to be very consistant.

Should I just make observations & give them a copy mentioning my concerns or just mention it over a friendly chat? Or shall I just leave it & manage his behaviour & pass on any tips/routines that I develop & hope they continue them at home. Like I said I'm not a doctor & I could be totally wrong.

I thought the Dr would have wanted to hear from me with observations as this child is full time & it was quarterly they met but they havent & school seem to be just trying to manage the behaviour. I know school wrote to this doctor but I dont know what was said & the parents dont always seem to feel its important to inform me of whats going on.

This child is great & sometimes just amazes me with there intelligence & memory but I want to help them manage their behaviour & the way its thought about by parents/school etc & I dont want them labelled as naughty or difficult.

Any experience of this?
Thanks

[gigglinggoblin]

How old is the child? Bit confused if you have them full time and they go to school, are they nursery age? First steps to getting a diagnosis or help is gp or school nurse, they can refer to whatever services there are in the area. Problem is (especialy with the cuts) there might be very little in the way of services, there certainly are in our area and if parent isnt going to push it then they are less likely to get anything. Also if the behaviour isnt problematic they are less likely to refer anywhere or suggest putting a label on a child. I would suggest asking parents permission to liaise with school and see what if anything they are doing. Make lots of observations about how he copes socially, anything quirky (doesnt have to be negative, a lot of quirks can be really joyful!), stuff about his routine and how he likes things to be. Even if they dont want to do anything now at some point in his future it might be really useful to have that sort of stuff as a record.

[kateshady]

Sorry, just to clarify they are 7 & are with me before & after school till 6pm everyday & everyday during the holidays 7.30 - 6pm.

I agree with not wanting to have the child labelled. I think I will wait until we start the new school year & see how the new teacher is & the ask the parent if I can liase with the school.

Many Thanks