Autism diagnosed

Today we went to child psychiatry again. There have been problems with Bence for a long time, but so far we have been anywhere, not diagnosed anywhere. Today we finally came home with a diagnosis.

Anyway, it sounds a bit scary that we had to go to psychiatry, but here in Hungary, psychiatrists give diagnoses to children if they have any illness or backwardness.

So we’ve been told several times that Bence has qualities suggestive of autism, but no one knew for sure. And of course, professionals do not dare to say this for sure at such a young age, because at this time it is still very difficult to establish.

What if a child is told to have autism and it turns out later isn't true? I don’t see this as drastic because time matters to these kids. The sooner they receive the appropriate developmental therapy for them, the greater the chance that they will not be accompanied by autism for the rest of their lives. So we may be afraid to say this and waste valuable years, or we may say it in the knowledge that we may be wrong. Which version is worse? If over time it turns out that your child has been misdiagnosed as autistic, or if they are diagnosed late and have more difficulty developing? I think the second version is worse.

I was referred to a highly respected psychiatrist who was not afraid to make the diagnosis. They said that if this doctor says Bence is autistic then I can be sure he's really autistic, if he says he's not, then I can be sure he's not autistic. It is very difficult to make an appointment with this doctor, you have to wait at least 3 months.

We went to him for the first time in early April, but then we came home without a diagnosis. Because the truth is that although Bence does have the habits and symptoms of autism, the disease is not very clear to him. This is actually good because if it can’t be stated clearly right away, it means that his autism is very mild. The doctor said we had to go back to him because he wanted to examine Bence with another doctor, and I received a very long (65 pages) questionnaire that I had to fill out. So today was the second study and finally the doctor said he thinks Bence’s difficulties are caused by the autism spectrum disorder. But he also added that Bence is apparently developing well (compared to himself) so the situation isn’t too serious.

So with this diagnosis, Bence will now be able to get the therapy he needs and I will also receive financial support from the state.

I have to deal with these now because nothing is going easy here. To go to offices to arrange papers, to go to an expert committee to request therapies.

It may sound strange, but I'm glad. I’m glad I finally not only heard “there’s something wrong with the kid, but I don’t know what it is” like before. I feel like we’ve found a way out of a maze. It may be a long way, but at least we know where to go.