Suze

Hi welcome xx..........how old is your son ?.......what breed of dog ?..........have you had a dog before /any previous experience ? ...........ok its gonna help if your pup is socialised and given KC recommeded training classes.If your son is older it would be fab if he could go along to the classes and learn how to help train and teach the pup.Are you using a dog crate for your pup ??............this will help as the pup will benefit from having a quiet chill out place.Don,t force them together your son may not like the pup till it is a well behaved adult dog.The better behaved and trained you pup is the more confident your son will feel around it.Its also ok the split areas up and have puppy free zones and vice versa,its important to lay those ground rules now and stick to them.

Things may have changed (I,m going back 10 yrs now ), but when my son was 8 we requested an emergency review .This is when the statement is reviewed and all active parties must be present for it, the statement is reviewed and can be changed accordingly.When was his statement issued ?Usually a review will take place once a yr .

I would be very concerned like you , the specialist school sound like they are back tracking now on the placement.How has R coped in primary ?..........what level of support did he have ?.........if you can get the right mainstream high school some placements can work really well.Its difficult as all our kids manifest their difficulties differently.My son was at a high school with over 2000 pupils.However he went as part of the AS resource unit there.He was disapplied from some subjects,did his homework at school with help, was excused from assemblies, and registration , had a key worker, support in most classes, which were smaller target classes aswell.He was very settled there.One thing that worries me is how able you think your son will be and become as an adult.I,m glad my son went to his high school, they focused on him gaining independence and being able to work independently and they pushed him to do things out of his comfort zone.He left 2 yrs ago and is a very pleasant young lad , he has his own car , has gone to college successfully (he had some support for his dyslexia there ) and is now working .At some point if our kids are able they go out into the neurotypical world on their own, I guess the decision is , is your son capable of doing that yet within a mainstream school , some schools have amazing support, but it means alot if your son is happy , good luck cmuir its not an easy descion the move to high school we looked at 4 schools in total .best wishes suzex

I don,t feel comfortable about this.I cannot understand why the media likes to harp on about Aspergers and Autism.There is no difference between a couple where one partner has AS,.............. and another couple,............... where both could be considered neuro typical.All relationships are unique and no couple are ever like another.Diana can I ask you are you married to someone who has a dx ?

Thankyou so much, that is a lovely thing to say , it means alot

Hi there Amelia , welcome to the forum.It s true over time those with ASD can develop coping stratergies.My son as a child was hugely effected by noise ........now it no longer bothers him as much.Seeing your gp for a referral is usually the first step to a diagnosis.There are also lots of adult girlies on here who have sort a diagnosis as an adult themselves and I,m sure they will be along soon to give you some advice aswell xx

Hi claire welcome to the forum, have you tried the NAS , they have a list of physchs throughout the country, x

I,m a fan of Olga too, I thought I had a pretty good understanding of my son till I read her book xx

have you tied using an i pod with your own stuff on when you shop .

Its nice to learn a little more about you Alex, it can sometimes be a breakdown that leads to a diagnosis, this happened in my sons case at school when pressure stress and anxiety became too much , and school referred him to a physchiatrist.Personally I hope you are no longer self medicating and are now recieving advice from your GP.

No I don,t believe the behaviour you describe is symptomatic of autism.My experience is that those with a diagnosis of Aspergers tend to prefer to adhere to rules and guidelines.My son has AS and he is a very gentle character, most, in fact all those that I have contact and friendships with who are diagnosed with Aspergers are considerate lovely people.I think if you like using this forum Alex the best thing to do is be a little bit more considerate in your style of posting.You can come across as very derogatory and condescending particulary in your direct references to other users on this forum.Folks on here are very friendly and here to help if you give them the chance .

I think you like to bait people , however there are better ways to conduct a lively debate or discussion.To enjoy upsetting people will not win you any friends on this forum.I suggest you take a look at your behaviour and if you wish to remain here treat others with respect. There are better ways of trying to understand others , and you are not doing it in a methodical and efficient manner at all.

Alex I,m not sure the point you are trying to make here .It seems you are deliberately baiting people, I cannot see any reason to aloow this discussion?.........to continue.

I though the whole point of prison was the loss of freedom /human rights. .........so is it not a moot point........of course the european court of human rights would disagree.

Oh Jeanne thats great to hear , really glad it was positive xxxx

Good luck Jeanne, hoping its a settled visit for you all, will be thinking of you xxx

Maybe the forum should band together and give you a big boot up the jacksy to get you moving/motivated again............its such a shame as there is a life for you out there obviously that you can enjoy and feel comfortable in, its just the initial move forward away from your current comfort zones and constraints that are holding you back.I had no idea you were into all that renactment stuff it sounds really cool, all the making stuff etc you should be working on film costumes and stuff they need folks like you !.......

It does,nt sound like you are weird at all, your just not conventional, and don,t fit a certain stereotype.But there is a huge part of the population that are like this and actively so .There is a niche in society where being yourself will never be a issue.What strikes me is how obviously talented you are in certain areas and how you focusing on this may get you confidence and self esteem back.But your a grown adult and I,m sure everything I,m saying you know already.....my youngest son has long hair.........my eldest AS son flaps and shouts...(touretttes ).......to me you would,nt be that unusual.... are you having any CBT OR therapy .......you should,nt be scared of living x

Whats is weird though?.........you don,t come across as weird,.........what are you doing that makes you think you are weird?.....do you have good manners, say please and thankyou........thats all you need, and the ability to say sorry (a tough one for my son as he always believes he is right ....and he usually is !!)........maybe your issue is more to do with confidence.Try not to worry about what other people think ........what line of work is your cousin helping you with ?

This seems to be a familiar story for alot of adults who recieve a diagnosis, that while the dx answers alot of questions it also brings with it , its own issues and acceptance.As a parent when my son was dx I blamed myself , and then analyised myself aswell, as I recognised alot of my sons issues in myself.I ended up seeing a pschycologist and have been on anti ds ever since...........if I have tried to tell my son anything while he was growing up it was simply to be himself and not conform to an ideal model.I allowed him to stim,, shut himself away when he needed too, and be in the world when he wanted.The only thing we disagreed on was school.........he hated it. if I could encourage you in any way skimrande it would be to allow yourself to be you and not let society hold you back.

I t makes you wonder the impact of a diagnosis on an individual Mel.Wether its better to be dx as a child and grow into adult hood knowing of your dx, or if its better to get through childhood and then recieve a dx when you have maybe learned stratergies and ways to cope.(if that is possible )

Do you feel recieving your diagnosis had a negative effect on your emotional state , has getting it debilitated you further....how were you as a child/adolescent ?

I guess you will have a hard time proving to the job centre that Aspergers is the reason if you have had full time jobs before.Maybe it is a culmination of things..........do you claim DLA ?

To go back to the original post by Skimrande.........what sort of services and support are you referring to ?Educational?......social worker ?.........social groups ?