Stephanie

Ha ha ha Brook, yes my son decided that his brothers favourite colour was green too.

My son can remember where we went on what date and what we were all wearing. He can also look at something for a short time, maybe a list of 100 words and can then write them all down from memory. I call these his "super hero special powers".

I met with my Community Care Worker the other week so she could introduce herself and let me know what is available to disabled kids in the community etc. She made a comment about the facial characteristics and hair colour of kids on the spectrum. She said that she could spot ASD kids a mile away because they all looked the same, that ASD and Aspergers were different, most had a certain hair and eye colour from the other. I thought at the time that this was rubbish, as most ASD kids I have met look remarkably different. My son is blonde haired and blue eyed yet some other ASD kids I have met have had darker hair and eyes. The only thing I had noticed is how handsome all the ASD kids I have met are, the only negative thing I could see is that some looked a bit pale. Now it is making me wonder, is there a certain "look" that these children are supposed to have?? Could I diagnose between HFA and Aspergers on this theory?? Is this woman just talking rubbish or is there some fact in this??

Do any of your kids have obsessions with colours? My sons favourite colour is blue .. everything has to be blue "because that's my favourite colour". No one else is allowed to even like blue. Also he has an 18 month old brother and has decided that his brother doesn't like orange ... he is not allowed to wear orange, go near anything orange or eat off an orange plate! I am sure this will be quite short lived, most of his obsessions are.

Yeah I can totally relate. My sons diet is very limited, he goes off foods and never eats them again. He doesn't like eating the same thing today as he had yesterday. He is totally against trying anything new. He just used to eat sweet things. Sometimes he has cereal for breakfast, very seldom toast. Usually a yoghurt and 3 jaffa cakes. Lunch is jam sandwiches - and 4 other items in his lunchbox - only 5 things allowed. Drink, yoghurt, mini cheese, some kind of biscuit usually. Dinner is 5 Tuc crackers with dairylea, or sometimes he will have breadsticks, followed by a yoghurt and some grapes or strawberries, a biscuit or cake. There are a few other things he will have on seldom occasions. He loves McD happy meals, the nuggets are the only meat he eats .. once every 2 weeks. He used to eat a lot more junk .. but due to Healthy Eating Week at school, he has cut back on the sweets, cakes, crisps etc. Also, his teeth are very sensitive so that prevents him from eating sugary foods. When he was 3 all he would eat was sweet things, nothing savoury at all. I just had him referred to dietetics - he was getting all the nutrition he needs, even though his diet is very dairy and carb based. They even told me to take him off his multivitamins. We have tried various things, eating together, not talking about food, sticker charts, praise, smelling and touching the food etc etc ... some of it has worked but the results were only temporary. He has an inate fear of trying something new ... and will say "I don't like that" without having tried it. He didn't eat ice cream or ice lollies until he was 4 - I was so pleased when he started. Even if he just has a taste of something different, we see it as such a great step forward. It's slow going, but the more we relax about it, the better he seems to be. Went to a family BBQ on Saturday and his Great Aunty was trying to force smoked salmon and melon down him (I was sitting in the corner rolling my eyes and thinking "good luck lady!") Ha ha. Who gives smoked salmon to a 5 year old anyway? Hopefully they will get better as they get older. Fingers crossed for you.

What a stupid cow. I can only have ill will against people like that ... Well done for having your say!

It all comes down to a lack of education and knowledge. We as parents of ASD kids should be doing all we can to raise awareness of what autism actually is. Sad.

I didn't allow my 5 year old ASD to have the booster, he did have the MMR when he was 16 months but I dont believe it caused his autism, I think his differences started showing before the injection. However ... I have another son who is 18 months and there is no way on this earth, I would let him have the MMR now that I know my eldest has ASD - he is going to have a single injections shortly after I have fully researched them. Some people believe the MMR vaccine doesn't cause autism but it can bring it out in children that are susceptible ... who have it in the family etc etc. I know there is a lot of scaremongery about measles at the moment ... the first child died of measles this year for 14 years (and he was ill with many other things already). First child in 14 years ... how many children have died with common colds in that time - thousands I bet. Just make sure when you make you mind up you go with your own opinion and not be forced to make a decision either way by your health officials, they can be so pressurising.

I just had my say on the Daily Mail website. It really ticks me off when they go shouting about all the statistics, mentioning MMR etc etc ... yet never bother to say what autism actually is ... the symptoms, the problems etc. Yes they are raising awareness of autism but are not explaining what autism is. Anyway rant over, I will continue treating my child as an individual rather than a statistic. If this brings more help and funding then great!

Why not just go with the diagnosis you were given? My son is high functioning and was diagnosed with high functioning autism - mild/moderate .. so I stick with that. You could always go with "autistic" or "on the autistic spectrum" or perhaps say "he's at the higher end of the autistic spectrum which means he's more mildly affected than some". You could bypass it altogether and say "he has problems with communication and social interaction" if you didn't want to mention the A word at all. I think sometimes we expect others to know what autism is ... and they really don't ... they have totally the wrong idea (they usually mention Rainman or talk about kids that can draw pictures from memory). Therefore if you discuss their actual difficulties rather than the label of their diagnosis people digest the information a lot better. And yes, in my opinion you can be mildly autistic ... you usually find them amongst the undiagnosed.

My son loves them ... sooner him than me!!! They taste kind of like tuna with fruit yoghurty stuff mixed in. I noticed they are now doing Eye Q Chews or something too ... and for ?8.99 for 60 chews (compared with ?14.99 for 30 Eye Q Smooth's). I am going to ask for a sample from Equazen. Word to the wise ... Boots often do Eye Q on a buy 2 get one free basis. Oh ... and don't rely on the Omega 3 enriched milk, it doesn't provide enough ... I had it tested by the dieticians.

Yeah we have one of those, by Melissa & Doug ... it cost ?19.99. I think ours was from a Garden Centre with a toy section. Melissa & Doug toys are great, we have loads ... and they are guaranteed not to break etc. and the customer service you receive from this company is brilliant. It is really useful, my son loves his, we are constantly updating it. Another thing M&D make which some kids might find useful ... they make a wooden board with all different kinds of fastenings on it, like laces, buckles, zips, poppers etc ... again, I think it costs ?19.99 or so, but it really helped my son with dressing himself.

Hi Does anyone know how I go about finding out which Doctors do the single vaccinations for measles. I asked at my Doctors Surgery - they are very pro-MMR jabs ... and they just said "oh you won't get them around here" and the subject was abruptly closed. I live in Middlesex/Spelthorne/Surrey ... surely it can't be that much of a tall order. Does anyone know of a website with listings of where you can get the jabs done etc???

Hi Liz No to the MMR - we have ruled it out totally. I am looking into the measles single vaccine, not the other two (rubella, mumps). There is no way on this earth I will let him have the MMR. My eldest didn't have his MMR booster either.

That helped Sheena, I have some hope to cling onto now! Your son must be very patient doing all that counting - wow! My little one is still lining up all the trains side by side and doing the same thing with farm animals - they must all be standing up shoulder to shoulder. I was thinking yesterday about taking the toys away and putting them in the loft - just to stop him. Then I thought about it, he is only just 18 months .. I need to give him longer. I also have the other two areas of concern, he is a fussy eater and walks with his heels hovering the ground, much like my other son. I called and left a message with my HV today (she went through the whole assessment process with me before). I will see what she says. On the other side, he is so unlike my other son as a baby, he is really on the ball with everything. Oh bless he just walked in wearing his new wellies - on the wrong feet and not on properly, he is as proud as punch with them and cant walk without watching them. Ha ha. Paranoia!?!

We have our first one coming up, I just don't think my son will get the hang of what is expected from him. I am more dreading the Mums race!!! Maybe I'll have my ankle in a bandage on that day.

My 5 year old is suffering from sensitive teeth, the Dentist had a look and said there were no cavities but obviously the enamel had worn thin on a few places and every time he had something sugary or sweet, they hurt him. He brushes them twice a day but he does eat a lot of rubbish due to his limited diet. Always has reduced sugar drinks etc. and water at school and at night. The dentist gave him a fluoride mouthwash but it isn't helping. He just uses normal milk teeth toothpaste and then uses the mouthwash ... Aquafresh Mouthwhoosh I think it is called. I heard about fissure sealants but my Dentist didn't mention them, even though I just checked his website and they do them there, but it says between the ages of 6-11. Anyone had similar, used any particular products that helped?? The only saving grace is that he isn't eating sweets anymore! Bless him, he is in agony with them.

Are you putting about 2 cupfuls of Epsom salts in?? Are you rubbing the skin with a flannel so that the salts can penetrate the skin???

Is there something you could offer to "cure him" ... like my son thinks lemon and lime squash makes him better and prevents him from being ill!! He seriously thinks it is medicinal. Like could you offer some kind of placebo (maybe one of the proactive yoghurts) ... "if you eat one of these everyday, the germs won't make you ill and you won't have to wash your hands so often?" ... or go down the route of explaining about good bacteria and bad bacteria and how he is washing all the good bacteria away ...? Maybe trying to rationalise it, getting him to ask people how often they wash their hands, what could happen if his hands get sore and cracked, what would be the worse that could happen if he got ill etc etc. I guess that depends on age and understanding. Other than that, reward charts? Have you seen Paul McKenna do that tapping technique thing to divert the anxiety??? Maybe that? Maybe restrict the actual number of times he is allowed to wash his hands and offer a reward. Did you see that programme "the house of OCD" or something where they cured the woman with an OCD against touching people, and she had a thing about glitter, a real phobia?? They also had a woman who hated germs and brushed her teeth constantly and they made her touch the toilet bowl and that kind of thing. I don't think it works for everyone but one of the women was cured and could touch her son for the first time in years and touch glitter and everything. Also when does a ritual become an OCD?? It might be a shortlived thing?? I don't know if my advice helps, but I thought I would have a go.

No it's not and it gets worse when you read threads like this and realise how many parents have more than one child affected with something on the spectrum. When I had my son and in hospital they said "it's a boy" ... my first thought was "oh no, ASD!" ... however, if he was to go on to be ASD now, I would handle it a lot better than I did with my eldest. I would be more knowing, more understanding and would have the tools in place in knowing how to get him diagnosed early and help him going forwards ... and I certainly wouldn't love him any less!

As for the "voices in their heads" thing, can anyone explain that. You mean like thinking, when we think we hear voices in our heads ... or is there some other interpretation?

Viper, that is exactly what he does, just like that. Even today at his class assembly all the kids were sitting there quietly and he just had to say something I think he said "oh I am 5, you are 5 but he is only 4" ... or he will walk up to kids and tell them something and are like "so?" Do they grow out of it? I hope so .... I remember once sitting on a subway train in New York next to some guy who was talking to himself, and it was a bit scary!

Yes he walks around when doing it too.

I just regret not realising sooner that something was wrong with my son ... then I wouldn't have yelled at him "answer me when I am talking to you", "stop crying and being silly", "why don't you act like normal kids??" ... at the time I thought he was a normal kid. It has been a learning process, I am still learning ... the difference is now that I understand and want to learn. I still do the good siting, good listening, good talking thing from time to time, it helps build his self esteem.

My five year old often talks out loud, usually about his toys - like he will be chuntering on about this toy is 7, this one is 5, this one hasn't had his birthday yet blah blah blah. He also talks a lot out loud when he is playing upstairs on his own. He talks like this without looking at me ... it is just like he is kind of thinking out loud (and he uses good communication skills whilst doing it too - more than he would say in a conversation with another family member). Is this what they call "talking at you" or something else? I say to him "think those things in your head, don't say them out loud unless you are actually talking to someone". I don't think he knows he is doing it. I know he can read to himself without saying anything. Is this an ASD thing or general kids thing??