purplehaze

I think the problem is children progress in different ways and times. Your daughter is 4 and can follow a 3word level which may seem fine but what is her expressive language like? A lot of children have difficulties with preposition (in, on, under etc). So if you believe your daughter has problems (language disorder etc) you need to make sure things get checked regularly because if it's sutble it will be harder to diagnose. Alot of children with ASD/language delay need picture/visual clues to be able to name things and may not be able to name if asked to explain an object but then again alot of NT children are the same and I think that will be your barrier. You may need to let time tell, but let the professionals keep assessing and observing. The problem with diagnosing earlier rather than later is you need to see a gap between the child and their peers. I work with children who are going to start school in September and are only on the 1 word level so you deffinately know they need support but for the children who have sutble delays it is still important for me to work with them to keep that delay from growing. ASD children can have written expressive delays my son (14 ASD) struggles with writing and can not make anything up or express himself through writing. Sorry, I don't think I have actually helped you, but keep posting and I will try to support youX

These are free on do2learn are these not what you want? http://www.do2learn.com/picturecards/print...p_toileting.htm Although photos can be better as they will show exactly where (your bathroom) and who (your child) etc

I'm suprised the police did anything, I was told to phone the police when my sons behaviour was so agressive and I did once when he jumped out of his bedroom window. They were no help at all. In fact they didn't even want to speak to him (by the time they came he was back home) and they sounded quite wary of the ASD and the unknown. I think they thought if they went up stairs to talk to him he would grap hold of them with one of his many arms and gobble them up in his huge grotesque gapping mouth which was dripping with green slime (just incase your not sure what the heck i'm going on about, I think the police think ASD means your some sort of alien).

Hello my 14yr old son is EXACTLY the same and I feel for you. I am a single parent of 2 with my son and a 16yr old daughter and it is so hard. I do believe it is made worse when hormones kick in. My son use to be like this when he was younger and then gradually it calmed down and wasnt as often but now its started again but a lot harder as he is bigger. He has pulled his bedroom door off, punched holes in doors/walls, hit/pushed me/sister and most of all throws things at me or just wrecks things. After he is very calm. Does this sound like your son? I have been recently looking for support and there doesnt seem to be much around. However I work with children with SEN and have more contacts than others may have and I have been given a number of someone who is supose to be very helpful from the NAS so I will let you know if this turns into any useful support. I am considering social services but im not sure! I too am looking for a single lovely caring man who can work wonders with ASD children Sorry I havent helped much but i'm deffinately here to listen

my son use to be passive at school and when he went up to secondary it all changed. He became agressive and has high levels of anxiety and is now worse at school. However it was this change that helped get the statement which is helping to calm and support him.

My son use to be like this when he was little but now he is older his ASD behaviour is seen at home, school and when we are out. The problem is now he is older people just think he is a yob. When we have to see GP, EP etc he withdraws into himself and has high levels of anxiety. My son is a runner he will run away from scary situations.

hello, ROUTINE & CONSISTENCY & IGNORING the behaviour you do not want. I have a 14yr old son with ASD and when he is having a meltdown all I can do is get through it and wait for it to be over. If I talk to him during the meltdown or try to touch him it makes it 100 times worse! After the meltdown he is very calm and I can use this time to talk about what happened and what strategies he can use next time. But however when next time comes he isn't able to think about anything we may have talked about and that is the problem really because he cannot think during a meltdown. The best ideas and techniques are to AVOID the meltdowns. You need to know what sets them off. My son hates certain voices and tones of voices which can begin to set him off. The word NO is a red flag deffinately and it's a word children need to learn but you need to use it carefully and sensitively. Words such as first & then and simple words are very useful e.g first say goodbye then we go home. Visual boards/timetables etc will really benefit most children whether they have ASD or not. It can be very hard but things can also get better my sons behaviour although he still gets agressive, throws things at me, hurts himself etc it has changed over time he understands more now and so do I. He physically just cannot control his emotions during meltdowns and after he is sorry. Social stories have also been very helpful you could try to write a story about saying goodbye etc I use powerpoint now my son is older and e-mail them to him (this has been very useful because he doesn't have to worry about facial expressions, eyecontact etc so he can concentrate on the social story/e-mail etc. I use photos of him and write stories about different things. Does the nursery use visual clues and schedules, if it's a real problem saying goodbye if she could take of a velcro picture card to follow the routine or saying goodbye etc may help. Your daughter if ASD may not know she is going to come back to nursery if she leaves after saying goodbye, she may be worried about the unknown-what is going to happen when she leaves. It is usually the unknown with my son that brings his anxiety levels up. Hope I have helped keep posting for support X

Hello, I am a early years practitioner and work with children with SEN including ASD & SAL. When working through SAL programmes I will ask children to carryout different instructions to see what word understanding level they are at. e.g. if you have a brick, spoon, cup, doll etc and say where's the doll and the child points or picks up the doll that is one word level. if you ask them to put the spoon in the cup thats 2 word level because the child is hearing spoon & cup. However to be on this level the child needs to know prepasition (in, on etc). When doing this with children you have to make sure you do not use eye pointing or hand gestures to the objects because the children may just be reading your body langauge etc. My son is 14 and has ASD and it's his non-verbal learning that he struggles with, although it's completely different tests at this age, he just doesn't understand long verbal instructions or what certain words mean. Hope this helps X

Hi Westie, sorry to hear you haven't been feeling good. I completely understand how you feel it's kind of a relief but grieve at the same time, it takes time to adjust even if you always knew like I did. Just keep reminded yourself it's better to get the diagnoses so early because you will have all the right support put in place for you especially for school (fingers crossed) X

I love this idea my kids & me play this with film lines and love it

Hello Lee, welcome to the site. You will get lots of support and advice on this site. I have a 14 yr old son who has an autisitc spectrum disorder.X

Hello and welcome to the site. This website has an aspergers assessment test but be warned it may not be suitable for more subtle AS behaviours but it may give you a rough idea. http://www.autismresearchcentre.com/tests/default.asp This also has advice http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=255&a=3341

Hi I have just caught this thread. My local autism society sent me a e-bulletin and it said autism awareness week 2008 is 10th-16th May???????

Welcome to the site Alan. look forward to chatting. X PS I have a 14yr old son with ASD

Hello welcome to the site <'>

Hello and welcome mumofthree, I can understand how you are feeling and this is the right place to 'go no' so don't worry about it. Firstly your diagnoses is a bit wooly have you had it in writing what your sons difficulties are. Second:what support is your son getting at school, is he on school action plus, is he statemented etc. Your son does sound similar in some ways to mine who has ASD (14yrs), he can be very silly at times and still has the terrible 2's which turn into meltdowns from hell. My son also refused to go to school and suffers with high levels of anxiety which is now stated on his statement so he gets support at school and things are gradually turning around. My sons behaviour also was noticed once he moved schools due to the size/changes etc. My son also chews which may be stimming or anxiety. My son also has learning disabilities and thats why he was diagnosed with ASD rather than AS so your son is probably higher functioning/AS IMO. I know what you mean about being obessed but it's because as parents we know our children when they need support so we will fight for it, just go with your gut instinct. Keep posting so we can support you. X

Hello welcome to the site, look forward to chatting to you. I have a son (14) who has ASD and a daughter (NT) who is 17. X

Welcome to the site julie1. I have a son who is 14 with ASD. I look forward to chatting. X

My son was not DX until he was 12 although when he was 6 I was told he had delays emotionally/socially but was given no support at all. I have had to fight all the way and always knew it was ASD, as I work with children with SEN including ASD.

Just found this one and I need it today. Had a bad day with my son-meltdown is not the word it doesn't sound extreme enough So here goes.....AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH He hurled loads of things at me bruised arm Hole in doors and walls Biting himself

I'm sorry your going through this, and know it is hard. My son (14) is having problems with his hormones and behaviour more than usual. IMO you need support and I think you should phone CAMHS. My son struggles and I think it sounds like your daughter is also because they want to fit in and be 'normal' but they don't know how to. You do need to talk to the police and social services about the investigation, can I ask how old your daughter is. Keep posting so we can support you. X

Hello, you have been given some good advice and exclusions should be formal, informal as stated are ilegal. If a child is sent home/excluded it means the school are not coping with their behaviour/meeting their needs. Children can only be excluded for 45 days (or something like this 4?). My son has only just finished 4 whole weeks at school and before this was excluded every week and on some ocassions sent home to cool off. Parent partnership sorted this out for me. My son is 14 and has a statement, but his first RSA was turned down because the school did not do enough, so you need to make sure the school are putting enough support into place at school action plus level, which means you should have the EP giving the school support. You need to push for an emergency appointment ASAP IMHO. Goodluck and keep posting X

Hello Emma, welcome to the site.X

Welcome to the site Caroline, I have 2 teenage children, daughter 17 and son 14 who has ASD. It can be a hard road ahead but between us all i'm sure we will inform you and support you. Keep posting and I look forward to chatting. X

Hello, Firstly no one will think your a bad mum and a lot of parents with ASD children go through this feeling. I have a son with ASD who is 14 and his behaviour can be horrible, he has ripped his bedroom door off the hinges, put holes in doors, jumped out of his bedroom window, thrown things at me etc etc. I'm afraid I haven't got the right answer but I can tell you it is part of the ASD wanting things their way and not seeing how others feel. Try and keep calm, ignore and praise all the good stuff. Have you any support/professionals involved? Is there anyone who could offer behaviour management? Just keep posting on here and we can support you X