Rachey

Hi I sat my son down and asked him what was wrong with all the socks he was discarding over his bedroom Apparently they were too itchy, too spickey or hurt him when he walked So now, I buy plain seemless socks. He quite likes the ones from Next with the colour block toes and heels as the seems are higher up the feet if that make sense. Rachey

Absolutely He has been so let down by the whole system

Just a thought - but have you considered going to the press? Not just with the school issue, but with the abuse story as well?

Mine doesn't either. He had glandular fever last year and for those 3 weeks he just slept If I asked him, he would say he was tired. He is rarely ill, and the last time he had something nasty was chicken pox. He just asked me what the spots were

Thank you! He isn't coping in mainstream at the moment and is taken out of around 75% of his classes. He has a full time LSA which the school have provided, but he walks around the class a lot, hums, rocks and is generally disruptive. It is our view, and his SENCO's and ed psych's that he needs to go in a mainstream school which have an ASD base. The LEA have pretty much agreed this too but its just waiting for the final decision to be made Rachel

I had a call from the SENCO today to say that a specialist autistic teacher is going to observe and assess my son on Wednesday morning. The SENCO isn't sure why! She thinks it is to do with the revised proposed statement, but do you think it is to decide whether he needs to go to a school with an ASD base or if he can stay in mainstream with support?

I'll definitely ask about CBT on Wednesday when we are meeting CAMHS. When he was first diagnosed with ADHD we were told he should grow out of it, and if he doesn't grow out of it maturity will help him realise what is accepable and unacceptable social behaviour. My husband was happy with this. He doesn't see the ADHD as being a disability as much as the ASD is. I think he is also a bit scared of being responsible for a child who has a form of autism. He also won't talk about it, but does acknowledge it. I should find out more about the school situation this week. Rachel

Hi We haven't been offered any kind of family therapy. I have no idea what CBT is!! My husband is fine with the ADHD diagnosis as he has had 4 years to come to terms with it. I think it is denial about the ASD as he is concerned about Alex's future prospects. There are two main stream schools with ASD units in my area, both have 10 places each (and I am in a big city) and, not surprisingly, both are full. There is a school in the neighboroughing county I am hoping to get him into if the LEA agree, especially as they have an ASD and behaviour base there. His latest CAMHS consultant is much more pro-active, and knows more about the education system than his previous ones. Unfortunately all my experiences with the health professionals concerning Alex have been negative ones, CAMHS included. Alex's caseworker at the LEA is very helpful, which is rare for the LEA. His meds are amazing. The difference is phonemonal. It calms him down so much and you know when they are taking effect as the constant talking stops!

Hi From what I gather, conduct disorder is the oppositional and defiant behaviour which isn't usually apparent with ADHD. It is a behaviour disorder and we deal with it by never directing telling DS to do something and therefore causing a conflict, but either suggesting he does it or making it part of his routine (like putting his plate in the dishwasher when he has finished eating). He is currently on Ritalin and has been under the care of CAMHS since he was 5. The AS/HFA was originally picked up 3 years ago by a specialist ASD nurse who used to run a parenting group I was told I had to attend. DS did not respond to positive praise, 1:1 time chatting, playing etc and she came and assessed him. 3 years ago he was dianogised as "borderline ASD" because ourselves and the school were coping with his behaviour. His consultant assessed him (took 10 minutes) about 3 weeks ago and indicated to me he has AS. But my husband is very reluctant for DS to be labelled so the firm diagnosis won't be made until next week when my husband can make an appointment and it can be explained to him fully. I have known for a long time he is on the spectrum. He doesn't cope at the moment. He is fine if left alone and doing his own thing and misbehaves badly when taken out of the house. He has a full time 1:1 at school without the Statement in place, but his school are struggling with him. The ADHD diagnosis was 4 years ago, came as no surprise to me and that was accepted. But I always "knew" there was something else. Rachey

Thanks Cat I'm going to speak to his SENCO after the holidays about it. He never gets upset about anything, but was really agitated yesterday. If it was a lesson he hated I probably wouldn't mind, but he absolutely loves history Rachey

DS came home from school today in a bit of a state. He had been sent out of history class (which he loves) because he was muttering. He said to help him concentrate he rhymnes words in his head (will start on 'a' and say ant, rant etc). He said someone heard him and thought he was saying things about them, told the teacher and Ds was removed from class. He used to roll his pencil up and down the desk in infant school, but this stopped when all pencils were taken off him, so could it be what he does to replace that? He is 11 if that helps Rachey

Hi Couldn't think of an appropriate title! I am Rachey, have lurked on and off for a while, but felt like a fraud if I posted without my son having a firm diagnosis. I have two children, a son who is 11 and a daughter who is 7. My son has ADHD, Conduct Disorder and Aspergers/High Functioning Autism (unsure exactly what yet until we meet the Constultant again on 6 June - long story involving my husband!) Rachey