Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru	National Assembly for Wales
Bil Awtistiaeth (Cymru) drafft	Draft Autism (Wales) Bill
Llythyr Ymgynghori DAB02	Consultation Letter DAB02
Ymateb gan Dienw	Evidence from Anonymous

I thank you wholeheartily for taking the time to support Autism which is a subject very close to my heart.  I have a young son who has a diagnosis. He is obviously Autistic and his diagnostic path was straight forward and smooth. The flip side of this is that I also have a grandson who is currently being assessed. Unfortunately I have had to educate his school to look out for the more subtle signs of autism due to his very high functioning abilities.  He is the less obvious extremely able, charismatic child who gets missed. He is now 5years old and on his second school. The first saw him as a disruptive, naughty child at the age of 3 and failed to look at the reasons for the behaviour. The second school is where my own son attends. This is an extremely inclusive, accommodating school, recognising and accepting that all children are different. This school because of its ethos doesn't have any 'issues' with his behaviour although they have implemented a 'happy home school book' and he also attends some nurture classes to assist in his social skills, but they are insistent that there are no issues even though not all children have these strategies in place. He has been under a community paediatrician for approximately 2 years due to behaviour difficulties. our last appointment culminated in an extreme meltdown with him kicking and hitting the doctor as well as myself and his mum. The paediatrician agrees that he has autistic traits and is supporting a referral for diagnosis. This is still long way from receiving a diagnosis as the school has to initiate the referral. What I am trying to say is that schools are not trained sufficiently in recognising the subtle signs of autism. During a teachers training at university only approximately 30 minutes of lecture is dedicated to autism and other associated conditions. It is insufficient and it should be specified how this can be changed. It is also unrealistic to expect teachers to collate all the evidence to support a referral to the current pathway. Children with autism often hold it together in school only to explode outside the school gates and it is here that schools think it's the parenting and outside influences that are the problem. I also think the list of professionals should include a paediatrician for children. 

If you wish to discuss this further, I'd be more than happy to meet with you.