Newly diagnosed and awaiting diagnosis

Hi there.

My son is 5 years old and has been recently assessed by the educational psychologist as having moderate general learning difficulties. I am unsure fully what this means, except that it's not something specific like dyslexia. I was just wondering, are the terms difficulties and disabilitiea the same, or are they completely different?

My son is also being assessed as possibly being on the autistic spectrum. We are waiting for a letter through with the outcome. The consultant paediatrician said that she can understand why we feel that he is. She said that he does meet the criteria however he does have quite good non verbal skills. Can someone who is potentially mildly on the autistic spectrum still have good nonverbal communication skills?

My sons learning ability is that he is behind his peer group however he is doing extremely well. He learns particularly well by rote learning and has a good memory.

[Notgivingin]

Hi, my daughter has a moderate general global learning disability and autism. The general means it’s all areas rather than specific I believe. The difference between difficulties and disability is probably about impact on day to day life. I always refer to my daughters as a disability as it does impact her. Re the autism - she’s not non-verbal - she’s quite articulate. The reason they say it’s a spectrum is because it effects different people in different ways - so yes- someone can have autism and be verbal.

Great news that your son is learning. My daughter has an amazing long term memory but short term is poor because she struggles to process all types of info - hence the general and global. Glad he’s being taught in a way that works for him.

[Gus56]

Hello

I would say that the terms "disabilities " and "difficulties" mean the same. As the previous reply says, people with a diagnosis of autism are all individuals and it is possible for an autistic person to have good non verbal communication skills which will support him in his education and beyond. I hope that helps.

[Head_cook]

Hi, things have changed so much now since my son was diagnosed. But it used to be that you needed a concrete diagnosis as that had the power of opening doors for help ie education, benefits, support plans. If you don’t have it in black & white you used to struggle.

My advice is - Be proactive and be insistent, those that shout the loudest gets I’m afraid in terms of support. If you don’t ask you don’t get. No one will advocate for your child like a mother will.

[Head_cook in reply to Head_cook]

PS unfortunately it’s funding and it’s getting tighter

[Harry_mencap]

I Learning Disability is described as a reduce intellectual ability and as I have a Learning Disability is takes time for me to learn things but I always get there eventuality. If you need any support please call our Menap helpline on 0808 808 1111. They will assist you further. Hope that's helpful.