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Flora

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Everything posted by Flora

  1. Hiya Nicky, Are you sure it is all sensory issues? The reason I ask that is that with problems related to sensory issues the reaons for the behaviour/action isn't immediately apparent and often the child can't verbalise it. Your son sounds like he's got an urge to be in front, be first and that he gets impulses,that he hasn't yet learned to control, in order to facilitate this. He also has the added incentive of wondering round the school looking for you because he knows you are there somewhere. I'm not saying that he isn't suffering from some sensory problems as well, just pointing out that from what you've said he appears to be reacting to an impulse rather than a reflex and that maybe if you and the school addressed those impulses first then see what happens. Gosh, sorry this is so badly worded because I haven't been up long and my coffee hasn't kicked in yet! Flora xx
  2. Flora

    FOR SUZE...

    Yummy suze, that chilly fizzy rose sounds very very nice indeed! I'm on a budget this week after a flurry of christmas shopping so I got myself a bottle of Peroni! Very nice, but not as nice as the fizzy stuff. Floz XX
  3. Wasn't sure whehter this was an education topic or not, but I think it's as good here as anywhere else. Bill hasn't eaten at the table with anyone for around 2 years or more. A mixture of reasons I think ranging from teenage stuff, funny about food, depression, etc. Although I think these may have been contributory factors it was defo mainly a psychological thing because he had no problem with this when he was younger, and was quite happy to sit at the table with someone else in pizza hut! Eating at the table with others is one of the things on his school IEP. I don't think he's quite managed it at school yet (although there are certain boy he's happy to allow to sit at his own table), but tonight he came home from school and quite happily, effortlessly (and without seeming to be aware of it) sat down with me and Ben and had is evening meal! I know it's a bit of a small thing especially for a lad who will be 15 in a week, but for me it's another huge sign that he is well and trully on the road to recovery from his break down and ensuing regression. I have no doubt that it's all down to the school and the confidence and hope he's gaining from being in the right environment. I haven't even mentioned it to him, I just accepted that it was happening and really enjoyed the moment. Flora
  4. Flora

    FOR SUZE...

    I had no idea what I was going to read when I read that title and clicked on the thread Floz
  5. Hannibal Lector..... Serial killer/psychopath or OCD?
  6. Not autism, but my brother has a 20 yo daughter who is severely physically a mentally disabled. Some boys were teasing his youngest son at school with 'your sister's a spacka, and you've got a spacka's car' (motibility), so he went over and thumped one of them and ended up being suspended. I'm not saying that he shouldn't have been disciplined for his reaction, but my brother had to go and have several meetings at the school before the teachers 'got it', that he had been severely provoked and the other boys should have been equally disciplined (which they were not!). If they had been teasing him because his sister was black, they would probably have been arrested! Flora
  7. Never mind the first paragraph.... even the title put me off I wonder if the theme tune form Little House on the Prairie was playing when they were running down the hill ick Flo'
  8. It's interesting isn't it the different responses and the different things we see in it? The thing is, if the video was covering hf/AS then you can't always spot the autism. To me, the subtlety of the autism was the best part of it, that they didn't make it obvious and hopefully it means with a follow up of literature to go with the clip, that they are aiming to teach youngsters to stop and think about their own perceptions of people. That's if there is anything to follow it up and contextualise it of course (I do hope so!). I think they were trying to portray the autism through the lad's literal response (I'm not a baby and I don't wear nappies). I do think it was overly brutal, but hopefully they will cover different types of bullying in different videos. Lots of 'ifs' aren't there? Flora
  9. I wasn't bothered by the sterotyping. The other kids who played the 'bullies', looked like average teenagers... ie I've seen worse and I've seen better. I was trying to think about what Bill would have done in that situation and he would have either ignored them and kept walking, or if he had replied I would think it would have been 'yeah, ok' (with the raised eyes) or he would have corrected them in much the same way as the actor did. I think they've tried to use shock tactics by making the beating really bad... However, unless you've been on the receiving end or witnessed physical bullying it's hard to make a judgment on that. In short, it's very evokative, but whether it evokes the response they want it to is another matter. Like most negative campaigns I would imagine that people will think it's awful (the bullying), but whether it will be succesful as a learning experience remains to be seen. Very sad, and sadly very realistic. Flora
  10. Hi, I'll try not to waffle too much here. Basically I won my tribunal for an AS special school against and EBD school for many reasons, but I'll list here some of the key points: For the AS specific school: - TEACCH is used throughout the whole school - They have an extended day time tabled for life skills etc - there is an appropriate peer group for him to access because it's AS specific - the building is modified and designed for children with sensory issues (ie, curtained walls, carpeted floors, low ceilings, proper lighting etc) - he wanted to go Against the EBD school: - They didn't use TEACCH at all - No extended curriculum - Not an appropriate peer group because of the wide range of needs encompassed by EBD. - The ethos of the school was to provide a highly stimulating learning environment which would be absolutely awful for anyone with severe sensory difficulties (Bill actually walked out of the school after 5 minutes when he visited) - My independent EP did a risk assessment, along with the HT of the school, and they both agreed that he would not be safe there without TWO dedicated TA's. - the distance meant he would have to go resi, which is fine (he is resi at his school now), but they did not offer any extension to the curriculum to encompass the resi time. As for the residential question: The panel at my hearing decided that Bill didn't need a residential placement; however they did think he needed an EXTENDED day, which could not be provided locally, hence the practical need for residesi. This is very important because many deserving cases lose their tribunal over this technicality if the two schools on the table can meet the child's needs. If you can't prove the need for resi (and it's very hard to do this), then you have to prove that no other local school can provide what is in your child's statement. Sorry, this is a very potted version (and there is much more to it), but I've tried to cherry pick the key points and avoid waffling. Flora
  11. Flora

    Finally

    I know what you mean. Actually, my car is dreadful. I haven't actually cleared it out since the spring, and when I opened the passenger door the other day a crisp packet tumbled out and blew away...
  12. Flora

    Finally

    Isn't it awful the amount of money we have to spend on cars? I hate spending money on my car, but I'd hate to be without it more. Flora
  13. I bought Dawn French's book 'Dear Fatty' as a present for someone and had a little dip into it last night. It's not your usual autobiography because she's written it via a series of 'letters' to various people. If anyone passes this in a book shop just take a peak at her letters to Madonna, they are hillarious (written in country bumpkin style).... chastising her for her constant refusal to come on the F&S show and the paltry excuses she comes up with (one of which was giving birth to Lourdes and another because she was starring in Evita)... Flora
  14. I've more or less bought everything, I just need to spend a day wrapping it all up and making a list of anything I've forgotten. I also need to go round the house looking for any things I bought earlier and hidden and forgot about (I did that last year... found a couple of presents in Feb that I'd hidden so well even I couldn't find them !) Flora
  15. Flora

    And finally....

    porn spammers? Sounds like a type of fast food
  16. My son with AS is doing French, and learning Japanese! I think like most things to do with autism, you really really can't generalise. Flora
  17. Flora

    And finally....

    Thanks Simon... nicely put. Flora
  18. Some people will never be happy will they? No matter how many concessions or changes the admin and mods make to running the forum, there will always be those who don't like something about it. Flora
  19. Caroline, mod's are only human. How many people would be willing to give up their right to post and have an opinion in exchange for moderating the forum? Even if there were several volunteers in this category, the fact that they were once active on the forum means they are still going to be open to accusations of favouritism/bias etc. If mods were recruited who had never been an active member prior to being mod, then the accusations would be 'well you don't understand'. . That's not the case as I understand it. I can only speak for myself of course; I didn't stand down because I was 'unable to be in both camps'. I stood down because being a mod equates to being a human dart board. As an oridinary member if someone has an issue with me, at least they can't blame the management team anymore, which is exactly what happened yesterday! On a more personal note, the fact I'm no longer a mod means that those who do have issue with the mods in general will no longer be able to hide behind that as an excuse for having a pop at me... or put it another way.... if they have issue with me then they can't use my mod status as an excuse for being 'offended' by my very existence. Yes, but it shouldn't be. They should be allowed to express an opinion (with the mod hat off) without it reflecting on the forum management as a whole, or on their ability/suitability as a mod. Flora
  20. Very succintly put Suze. Straight to the point without all the waffle. Floz <'>
  21. Everyone has a different experience of how they feel post confirmation of dx (I say confirmation because adults who seek dx aren't going to be hit by any surprises... so it's rather a confirmation as oppose to a revelation). I've spent my time since dx (nearly 2 years ago!) trying to prove to myself that it's not true , very unsuccesfully I might add The hardest part is telling other people. I've hardly told anybody. My closest friends know because they were with me when I was assessed (it was actually my best friend who pushed me to go for dx). My mum now knows although it took her until just a couple of months ago to accept it. Whatever emotions you are going through SG, hope that eventually the confirmation will lead to enpowerment. Flora X
  22. Flora

    And finally....

    Thank you to all who posted/pm'd messages of support. Just to clarify a few things. First off this wasn't an 'I'm leaving' thread and it wasn't a 'stroppy decision' that I chose to step down. I stepped down because when an internet forum starts to influence how you feel when you're not on the internet then you need to remove yourself from the cause; this happened to me several weeks ago but I stuck around, promising myself that if it happened again I would take action, which is exactly what happened yesterday. I'm glad I had the opportunity to moderate, but I'm hugely relieved now not to be doing it Do not underestimate the mods on this forum... at times it's like sitting in on a war council, with all the diplomacy and tactical decisions that go with it (many of which go against your natural human instincts ) I'm not leaving the forum but my only real input here now when I find the time to come online is supporting people who are going through tribunal and keeping in touch with friends (some of which overlap ) Flora
  23. Speaking as a member now . I joined the forum nearly 3 1/2 years ago. It was called Krism but as I didn't even notice the changeover that isn't significant to me. It was extremely friendly, welcoming and as I had found it in a time of desperation it was also hugely helpful and supportive. 3 years later, I believe all those elements still exist. A very small handful of members have very publically left the forum. Most of them have done it as a public way of garnering sympathy and also as a manipulative way of making others look bad (this is backed up by the fact that most of them came back!). They are probably the same sort of people who storm out of the room during an argument and expect the other person to come running after them There is a very small number of members (tiny in comparison to the size of the membership, but fairly active) who do not post in, what I would describe as, good faith. They post things knowing for a fact that some people are going to be needled/upset/offended etc, or they post topics that they know will eventually lead to all of those things. It is that element that are causing/have caused the aggravation. Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on which way you look at it) the majority of the members do not know why this is happening and so they are confused and uncomfortable. If those people would let it lie, ie if they would just give up and stop trying to manipulate the forum into what they seem to want it to be, and just let it be what it is, then there's a chance that the good humour might return and nobody will feel like they are ducking and diving or having to switch off the pc just to avoid rising to the bait! When I joined this forum I didn't even know what a statement was. Within 3 years I went from not knowing what a statement was to winning a very big tribunal for all parts of the statement and fabulous school for my son. Maybe I would have got there in the end without the forum. However, it would have taken me longer and I would have done it without the support from people who understood, had been there and knew the system from a 'users' pov. I've said this before and I'll say it again; there's a wealth of experience and knowledge within the membership of this forum that you couldn't put a price on; don't be so quick to undermine it. Flora
  24. Flora

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY ~

    No... last year I was 21 Flo' X
  25. Gosh this forum is coming in for a bashing today isn't it???? Hey guys, reality check... We don't have to walk 50 miles for fresh water; our kids aren't riving around in agony with horrible parasites; We all have enough food to eat and put the central heating on when it gets too cold or sit in the shade when it gets too hot; need I go on? We are all in many many ways extremely fortunate so lets stop complaining about TRIVIA. Anyway.... I'm off to get ready for a lovely birthday night (once I've removed the knife from my back Flora
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