chris54

I am a hoarder who is marred to a hoarder. For my wife it is books, it is extremely unusual for a week to go by without her buying at least 2 or 3 books. Ever so often we have to have a clear out just to make room for the new books. Fortunately a lot of these books come from secondhand shops so they don't cost to much. With me I just collect, I build up collections. I go though phases of different things. I have never thought of it as OCD as as much as I get great pleasure from acquiring, I can chose not to. I go to these big warehouse type places that are full of antique / bric a brac. I like to handle and contemplate ownership but am able, most of the time, to walk away. We just don't have any room left in our house for more. One of my fantasies would be to have a antique/bric a brac shop, this would enable me to have ownership of all these things passing through my hands. This compulsion to hoard / own, may go back to my early childhood. There were 5 of us kids and my mother fostered, (back in them days there weren't the controls, there are now, SS were just happy to find somewhere for the children to sleep for the night, and my mum just couldn't say no) it was not at all unusual to find that my brother and me would be sharing our bedroom with 2 strangers. Our possessions and to some extent even our cloths were seen as communal property to be used by whoever needed/wanted to use them. So maybe that's why I surround myself with My things. Come to think of it I find it extremely hard to throw away old worn out cloths, even when the are of no use what so ever. But as I said I can choose so in my opinion its nothing to do with OCD.

Although its a job to get my son to clean his teeth, he is not the slightest bit worried by the dentist, He has had a few filling done with no bother at all. All I can remember about my early experiences of the dentist is that as a NHS patient you went on a Saturday, you went along without appointments and waited you turn. Fillings were done without any form of pain relief. If you needed an extraction you went on a weekday. In my late teens,early twenties, I went regular to the dentist, I now realise that a lot of the treatment was probably unnecessary by today's standard, But then they (NHS) were payed by the filling or extraction so the more they did the better for their bank balance. Also hygiene, he would have 2 or even 3 patents on the go at the same time moving from room to room, doing a bit on one then moving on to the next one. There have been long gaps when I have not seen a dentist. Am desperately trying to hang on to the last few teeth I have left. Dentist is already talking dentures.

I think that we are going to have to accept the the term meltdown means different things to different people. It is like saying you are in pain. One persons twinge, is another persons heart attack.

DLA can be awarded for a fixed term, or for indefinite periods. It is usual to award it to children like my son for fixed term. Often ending at 12 and 16. His present award ends in a few weeks when he will be 12, the new award takes him up 16. Each claim is looked at in isolation, with no reference to what may have been awarded before. So from that point of view it was a completely new claim, and all that that involves. This is why it is important to a keep copy of any claim for future reference. It seemed to me to be easier to fill in the form this time around, not sure if it was the form or that I'm getting better at filling them in. It may also be that I am now always reading care plans etc at work and am into the sort of way things should be worded. It is not easy to write about your own child in a dispassionate way but that is what is required. I do it online over a few weeks, so can ponder, and reword it. But this time I got right to the end and when I asked for a paper copy there was a problem with the DWP computer and I lost most of what Id put, fortunately I had printed of copies as I went along, but still had to fill in most of the form again. We get lower rate mobility, and middle rate care, which is as much as we could expect. You only get high rate mobility if for what ever reason you cant walk, and higher rate care you if you need care both night and day. But this does mean that we also get the disabled premium on the child tax credit. So all in all it make a big difference to what is coming in to the house hold. What it means is we have been able to build up a financial cushion for future unknowns. An indefinite award will be reviewed periodically, and may be updated as a persons circumstances change. I think that there are changes in the pipe line which will affect adult claiming DLA more than children.

As I said I thing the term Meltdown is over used.

I think one point that seems to be over looked, and that is, according to the news report. He only entered the water after the police arrived. One must ask the question if they had not been there would he have entered the water, and if he did there where trained lifeguards on duty at the time. So why were the police called? Having said that, I don't think there can be any doubt, in hind sight at least, that the action by the policy after the "rescue" was a little OTT to say the least.

Got the letter today, sons DLA has been renewed, up untill October 2016.

Some of that takes my back. I went to a small, by today's standers, secondary modern which had, just renamed its self a comprehensive. There were 3 streams, A,B,C. In what we now refer to as years 10 & 11, C stream were the no hopers who were only at school because the government had newly raised the school leaving age to 16. The A stream did GCEs in English and Maths, the rest was CSEs. So to do a GCE in either English or Maths you had to be good at both. If you were outstanding at any subject, the school would enter you at GCE level but you had to pay the entrance fee. My parents payed for me to do GCE in Woodwork and Engineering Drawing. I passed both. (The examination board that was used, you passed or failed, nothing in between, and if you did fail, you never know by how much.) I think I may have got Maths and Science give the chance but there was only so much my parents could afford. There was no question of staying on at school post 16, That was only for the Grammar school kids. If you did manage to Pass your 11plus and win a scholarship, you then had to find a Grammar school that would take you. Grammar schools then were independent Fee paying school that would also take children funded by the LA. Two of my sisters passed their 11 plus but were not accepted by the local Grammar school, they came from the wrong sort of family?. So Basically, in order to have even the faints chance of going to university, first you had to pass your 11 plus, then find a Grammar school that would take you. As at the age of 11 I could not read or write, only realising in much later life that I am dyslexic, (It hadn't been invented when I was a child, I was Just thick). No chance for me. No one I know ever gave the Idea of going to university a thought. At the time I left school, there were jobs for every one, at least where I lived, even the C stream kids who left School on their 16 birthday walked straight into jobs. I applied for and got an apprenticeship, a proper old fashioned 4 year apprenticeship. It was with the local electricity board. They took on 135 apprentices the year I joined. Much of the selection process was based on a series of test they set you. I did well gaining distinctions in the engineering subjects I took. But I never capitalised on this, I still had the feeling that I was not clever enough to do more. My educational experiences have left me with some strong views, I am totally opposed to any form of selective education for one thing.

Surely you mean this is what could course a meltdown.

Just thinking when I was little, it was Cowboys and Indians, the western films on the telly. We just used our hand as a make believe gun.

Simple answer, No. I know from My time working in childcare, there was a general feeling that toy guns should be discourages, Banned at a lot of settings but that didn't stop the children pretending that whatever was at hand was a gun. With my son it is/was traffic lights, and just recently Locks (Door locks?)

One of the problems with a Normal dentist is that because of the way in which NHS patients are funded, they are under pressure and don't have time. I get told to "Make him clean his teeth properly". ya right. The special coating will probably be fluoride, Last time son got a prescription for some high fluoride tooth past. One advantage, or is that disadvantage of being an NHS patient is that at our dentist you get seen by one of the locums, next time son goes he will be seeing a new one. They stay for a year or two then move on.

I assumed he was being uncooperative with his cares, if not why did they called the police. He was not lost as he was by the pool. If his carers were there to hand a card over, they would be there to tell the police, whether the police act on this information is another thing. As this was a school trip I can only assume they were professional carers and one of them would be taking charge of the situation and liaising with the pool staff and then the police when they turned up. For what ever reason it was left to the police to approach this boy at which point he entered the water.

As good as they are I don't think an Alert Card would have made much difference in a case like this. He was uncooperative with his carers, then the police. So would have been unlikely to have handed police a card and waited for them to read it. Not knowing any of the background, it is hard to say what could or should have been done differently. I assumed that a risk assessment was done before the visit, and that it was thought that adequate arrangement where in place for any likely eventuality's. Obviously there were not. As they always say, lessons were, we hope, learnt.

Did his English homework in his handwriting class. Suppose if hes got to wright something, it might as well be something useful. One less for me to worry about.

Prejudice of any type by anyone towards anyone.

People who make arrangement to be somewhere and never turn up.(Or let you know why)

A good question, What is a meltdown. A true answer would be catastrophic failure of a system from where there is no recovery. Put into human emotional terms it must be when you loose all control of you emotions, this could involve violent out busts or being in a crumpled heap on the floor. You may recognise what is happening to yourself but you are unable to do anything about it. It is my opinion that the term "Meltdown" is over used.

This is very true but what we must not forget is the many, many thousands of unknown, unsuccessful people that have Aspergers. Also Aspergers/ High Functioning Autism is just the tip of the iceberg. Me must also remember the rest of the Autistic community.

Iv just reread the article, I said that he entered the water after the police where holding his jacket. Obviously I cant know but first where were his carers while this was going on, why weren't they the ones closes to him and talking to him, If the water was chest deep, there is not an immediate risk of drowning. I would hope that the school have had their own investigation as to what went wrong that left them needing to call on the help of the police. If the police where called there must have been some time when he was stood next to the pool before they arrived. Having got him out of the pool, was the reason the police over reacted that they must have been soaking wet as well and well p----d off. I hope it is not normal police policy to handcuff someone they have just saved from drowning.

People who park their car half on the pavement. The LAs who insisting that there is a good network of cycle paths, when in fact they tend to stop and start away from were anyone want to be and most are not more than 18 inches wide, and combined cycle/ foot paths. Cyclists who on these combined paths think that pedestrians should jump out of their way as they whizz by. Other motorist who don't recognise my as a superior driver People who ask what gets on my ti-.

I see at work, what is in my opinion, that some staff will to readily step in and use physical restraint on a resident when they are being disruptive. We are all trained in how to defuse situations, and how to use forms of self defence, and also how and when to use physical intervention. It is not to be used for the convenience of the staff, "Johnny wont go to his bedroom" sort of situation. As inconvenient as it may be to others in a situation like this one we would be expected to leave the individual in the swimming pool untill they decided to come out of their own accord. We are told that Physical intervention/restraint should only be use as a last resort if the person or others are being put at risk. With some residents physical restrain will only escalate a situation. I do all I can to avoid any form of physical intervention. On a purely selfish reason, it involves a mounting of paper work afterwards. But of course if I was on the other end I would want that person out of there as soon as possible and I would call the police and I would expect them to do something.

Sally, one of the reasons my LA have blocked the Free School is that it would have shown a need for the school. My LA at least, is doing all it can to reduce the number of children in special schools. This is purely on a cost basis. As it stood it was likely that the free school would have been something like 400% over subscribed. There is a demand, but we just get repeatedly told by the LA that there is adequate provision. This provision is in mainstream school, the way the LA want to go.

I have just sent my son an email with the information he needs to do his history homework. Even thought he is sat just feet away. He is now sat there doing it, with no argument.

At primary, they would set homework, but each day there was a sort period that anyone who had not done there homework could do it in class, with TA/Teacher support. At the free school I have referred to in another post, they do not intend to set any homework, Not sure how this will work when it comes to do some of the GCSE courses, they say they will run. My son at the moment is to ready to say he cant do something. When it is that he doesn't want to do it. He is capable of a lot, we just need to convince him of that. Here's a little story from when he was younger. Maths homework. He needed to add 5 and 6 together. "I can't do it" Is said "Use your fingers" "I cant" "Why not" "I haven't got eleven fingers"