Hi!
Has anyone had experience with an autistic daughter being missed by educational services?
We have had our suspicions for a number of years. She is now nearly 7. We have spoken with school who have basically described a completely different child from ours. For years we have prepared her for situations, given her scripts for lots of social situations and dealt with lots of meltdowns and anxieties. She is a very social little girl and can hold a good conversation but she either veers towards the adults and controls the conversation or can only manage her interactions with other children for a limited time before demanding leave or having a meltdown. She is desperate to be part of social activities and situations but is completely wracked with anxiety over these. She really struggles with transitions and cannot handle the ending of situations. I know that autism manifests it's self different in girls and is often missed.
I suppose I am looking for there experiences of autism in their girls where there are very good at masking in situations such as school?
9 Replies
The best thing I can tell you is don’t rely on the schools judgement and don’t wait around for them to agree to do an assessment.
Schools are great at picking up obvious cases if the child hasn’t been diagnosed prior to starting school. They are terrible and identifying kids who mask and girls generally fall into that category. They also have extremely limited funds for assessments and long wait lists so it’s best not to wait for them to agree with you.
If you think your daughter is on the spectrum contact a specialist diagnostic clinic in your area. Yes it will cost, but it’s worth it.
Girls are often left undiagnosed until they are in their teens because they present differently and are better at masking symptoms.
My daughter was diagnosed age 6. Only because my son has autism too and I was aware of subtle signs and already linked in to services who were able to guide me.
Seek an assessment if you are worried. School educators are not experts in this field. Do not rely on their word.
I was diagnosed at age 27, and only because ei work in special education now
It is so hard to get diagnosed
As I'm going through similar myself right now with my 9 year old girl, I highly recommend getting a mental health care plan for her (you'll get 6 Medicare subsidised sessions to start with) and seeing a psychologist to start with. Bring this up with the psych as they will likely be able to help you start the path to diagnosis or at least point you in the right direction. You may also need a referral to a paediatrician to start off with.
School won't care as long as shes obedient. And thats what autistic girls do best.
Could not agree more ^^^^^
My daughter was diagnosed last year at the age of 9 after her school told me "there's no way she's autistic". I was diagnosed at the same time (age 43).
We are masters at masking!!!!
I’m not sure why you started this with autism being missed by educational services. It is not a teachers job to identify autism that is for a psychiatrist to determine.
If you suspect she is autistic then take her in for a full psychometric assessment.
However and I’m sure lots of parents will comment on here about their autistic daughters, autism in girls is not at common as it is in boys.
Sounds like she has anxiety, have you taken her to a psychologist ? They could teach her and you lots of different strategies to deal with her behaviours.
Your child could be presenting very differently at school. As someone who works in education, if the school had concerns they would be raised but it is not the teachers responsibility or qualification to diagnose a child. Go with your gut and see a paediatrician to have an assessment done.