Dr Srinivas Gada 2020-03-01 Person 5 5 0

We took our 11 year old son to see Dr Gada in Oxford from Wales. He had previously had intensive input from many NHS & Educational professionals, but no in one was able to say what the root cause of his challenging behaviour was. ASD and ADHD had been ruled out by them. School staff only viewed him as a naughty child who chose to behave the way he did and he was on the verge of being excluded from school on a permanent basis. Our GP refused to refer him for an Occupational Therapist assessment for his sensory issues, so we had no choice but to get him assessed privately. This highlighted his severe sensory processing difficulties and then we needed a paediatrician to diagnose his issues. We were extremely lucky to find Dr Gada after an extensive internet search to try and find the exact right person for our son to see. Dr Gada fully met that criteria for us. Right from the first phone call to his knowledgeable secretaries everything was easy. There was no hassle when we said if would be difficult for us to get a GP referral and we were advised to send over any documents we had for Dr Gada to review and then he would inform us if he felt he was the right person for our son. Within two days after reviewing well over 40 separate documents, Dr Gada invited us for an appointment to confirm or exclude ASD. This surprised us as we had already been told it was not ASD. When travelling up to the appointment, we just didn’t know what to expect, but going on all the testimonials of Dr Gada being lovely & welcoming helped ease our concerns. When we finally met he put us at ease straight away, coming out to the waiting area to find us and invite us in to his office. The consultation was very relaxed for the whole duration and our son was kept at the focus of everything. Not only did Dr Gada confirm and diagnose that our son has ASD he explained to us how he knew that information and demonstrated to us the evidence in a way that we were able to completely understand. The relief was immediate and overwhelming. After wondering and waiting for the past 6 years and being passed from NHS professional to Educational ones, we now knew how to help our son. We were asked by Dr Gada why we had waited so long to get help and it was because we had been advised that we had no choice but to wait as we had been wrongly informed that a private diagnosis would not be recognised in our area. So far it has not been challenged, but Dr Gada has encouraged us to ask anyone who challenges his diagnosis to call him directly, this was very reassuring and took the onus from us trying to explain and justify his decision. To say that we are grateful and thankful to Dr Gada would be a huge understatement, I only wish we had gone with our ‘gut feeling’ when we first knew something wasn’t right and seen him then. I would strongly encourage others in our position to act upon your parental instincts and just see Dr Gada as soon as you’re able to, don’t wait and don’t be fobbed off. We are now entering a new chapter of our sons life in a way where we are able to help him fully and try to reduce his fears and anxieties confidently thanks to Dr Gada’s help.