1. No, DS was diagnosed at 5 with high functioning autism, later they wanted to tack on an ADHD dx.
2. Yes, subtle symptoms from early infancy, more obvious as he grew. Esp after age 2.
3. The process took a couple of months to allow for various testing and finally a group test with experts in different areas. Bingo, diagnosis.

I'm still not sure it was a good thing having a dx. I knew kids like my son when I was in school, undiagnosed, who fared a bit better without the label. It DID make it easier for me to respond appropriately to his difficulties, though, and as a parent that's huge.

My SS18 has never been diagnosed, but he has a LOT of the symptoms of it. His parents don't want to think he might have it, and sometimes I wonder if he does have it or if he's just an ass. He's overly concerned for his hearing. If the radio is loud in the car, he will tell us to turn it down. He has to do things in a certain order. One day, one of the other kids was in the bathroom as they were getting ready for school. I told him to go make his lunch while he was waiting. He kept saying, "but I have to go to the bathroom," and he would not move or do anything else. He literally stood in front of it with his nose just inches away from the door until the other kid was finished. He talks in a monotone all the time. He uses big words. In the 8 years I have lived with him, he has never once had a friend over, gone to a friend's house, or had one phone call. Every waking hour of every day he is not in school, he is sitting on my couch playing games on his laptop. He has a bouncy walk. He has not voluntarily gone outside in 5 years - yes, I've kept track of it. He doesn't understand sarcasm. If someone falls, he will laugh, but if he falls and someone laughs, he will get very angry. He has no empathy, none.

My SS was given a number of diagnoses leading up to the most recent which is Asperger's. ADD/ ADHD/ Dyspraxia/ Autism/ Asperger's.

I am told the older the child is when assessed the more accurate they can be. Additionally the more honest you are about what is wrong with him and when he reached his milestones the better it is, in helping the Drs with a diagnosis.

It is EXCEPTIONALLY helpful if you don't have a crazy BM who makes up symptoms in the mix.

Good luck!

Apologies I missed the other questions.

1. Yes
2. No we thought it was verbal apraxia
3. We had too much interference so it took 3 years. Normal time frame is within a few days of being assessed.

A few days???? Wow, I wish we had your resources in our area!!!!

1. Yes. It didn't help that BM had primary custody and doctor-shopped until she could find one that would prescribe Adderall for SSthen5. 5 freakin years old and on heavy meds. Therapy and parenting took too long and was too much effort, she preferred shoving pills down his throat.
2. Yes, Aspergers was suspected because of his repetitive behaviors, the tics and "noises" he made, the way he would get so deep into imaginary things.
3. It took years, really....still going through the process. The wait for any state or federal sponsered programs is weeks if not months. Went through a couple of different therapists that were useless. Went through a couple of different doctors that were overmedicating him. IEP programs for school. Tests galore. Waiting for test results. Applications for programs and discounted meds. It's never-ending