'You know they're different': Mum waits 7 years for son's autism diagnosis

Ms Hunter's 10-year-old son, Zayne, had been to occupational therapists and paediatricians since he was three, but he was "masking" his symptoms, making diagnosis challenging.

"When you go through this process with your kids, you know they're different, but if the educators don't see it, then you wouldn't get a diagnosis. So that can be super tricky," Ms Hunter told ACM.

The mum-of-three is calling for more paediatric resources in the Central West, so other families don't have to wait years for a proper diagnosis.

She is also calling for more understanding in primary schools while children and families go through the sometimes-lengthy process of securing a diagnosis.

Ms Hunter's calls for help come amid a paediatrics crisis, with some Central West families hanging on wait-lists in excess of two years before they can access a specialist.

Children are missing out on years of learning while they wait for proper diagnoses of issues including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and autism.

The long waits have even been linked to an increase in regional youth crime.

The Hunter family moved to Condobolin from the Illawarra three years ago, and when they moved, Zayne was already on the wait list to see a paediatrician in the Illawara.

He eventually got in to see the paediatrician, however they said "no, he's OK".

"But when he was 3.5 I did a developmental assessment, but at that point, the educators, they didn't see that he had any issues with socialising," Ms Hunter said.

Zayne's teacher said he should see an occupational therapist due to his behaviour in class. He finally got in to see one, but they didn't diagnose him, either.

"You feel, as a parent, you're just talking about all the negative stuff of your kids, even though I've been seeing it ... If you don't have clinicians that are neurodiverse lens focused or trained, they're not going to pick up on things," Ms Hunter said.

After a long wait time, it was Royal Far West in Manly, Sydney that finally diagnosed Zayne with autism spectrum disorder level 2 and found he was three years behind with his learning. The Hunter family took time off work to travel to Sydney for the process.

Ms Hunter wishes there had been a clinic closer to home, and said many families wouldn't have the means to travel to Sydney for a diagnosis.

She also wishes the process hadn't been so hard on Zayne in the meantime. One of the schools he had been to hadn't understood his needs and this added an extra layer of challenge.

"He wasn't able to access his sensory aids and fidget books, and fidget toys," Ms Hunter said.

"The teacher didn't think it was important ... [his sensory aids] were right up the front of the class and he was getting bullied. So for a young kid, that's gone into the next stage - he was uncomfortable.

"Where all the other years he had teachers that implemented all these things that I had asked for [who] wouldn't make a big thing of it."

Royal Far West is asking for funding from the state government to build a paediatric clinic in Dubbo.

Ms Hunter said something like this would really have helped Zayne.

"The first visit we went down [to Manly], you're so nervous ... like you're saying [to yourself], he's going to mask everything so they won't see it, but they picked up on stuff without me even saying anything," she said.

She would like to see more autism training in schools for teachers.

"In South Australia they dedicate one teacher per school to be autism trained. Definitely in NSW I'd love to see that," she said.

She is also calling for free testing for parents of children diagnosed with autism if they wish, so they might find out whether they also have a diagnosis.

"You go through this process for your child and then you're like, oh, that's me. That's me. And yet to go get assessed yourself costs a lot of money," Ms Hunter said.