An Inverness woman who battled the authorities for 10 years to have her son diagnosed with autism, now fears history is being repeated with her grandson.
Sylvia MacKenzie’s 15-year-old son Kobe Sutherland was not diagnosed until he was 12, despite exhibiting developmental issues at an early age.
Now the 48-year-old, of Walker Crescent, Culloden, claims her four-year-old grandson Kayson MacKenzie has similar traits, and the same misjudgments are being made by health and education professionals.
Kayson’s father, Jason MacKenzie, said his boy was observed by a paediatrician at Raigmore Hospital in September 2014, but no follow-up appointment was made.
In the following months, the youngster was observed by several doctors and in February last year he was eventually referred to The Pines, autism support centre in Drummond Road for a full assessment.
Mrs MacKenzie said her grandson is regularly having problems in school and claims she was recently told by a staff member that this was down to parenting and that there was “no way he was autistic”.
She added: “My son wants him to go straight to Yorkhill children’s hospital, where Kobe was eventually diagnosed, but we have been told we have to get a first opinion up here. I am not confident about it at all. It’s happening all over again right under my nose. What I went through with Kobe was a huge misjustice. There’s a huge problem in Inverness. They don’t spend enough time with the child – only 30 minutes to an hour to observe them and that’s not good enough. And they only do full autism assessments once a week.”
Mrs MacKenzie received a letter of apology from NHS Highland last year following a ruling by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman concerning her son, Kobe.
She first reported concerns about her child when he was two, and again when he was four.
Community paediatricians carried out two formal assessments for autism, but no diagnosis was given. For the next nine years, Kobe continued to exhibit developmental problems and was in contact with health professionals and social workers.
Mrs MacKenzie then sought an independent psychologist’s assessment which concluded that NHS Highland had failed to conduct appropriate assessments up to that point. In 2013, medics at Yorkhill Children’s Hospital in Glasgow finally diagnosed her son with autism.
An NHS spokesman said: “Work is under way in Highland to improve waiting times for diagnosis.”