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Thanks for all your replies. I can see the benefits as you mentioned especially for the school system. I suppose I was thinking that if my son is borderline I won't push them on this side of things.. unless I didn't feel he was coping at preschool or school but if he was definately AS or ASD then I would obviously go with the experts.

Our son is starting speech therapy and I know there are concerns regards ASD also. If he is doing well at preschool and improving and is on the mild end of the spectrum would I be wrong not to push for a full diagnosis. Would I not be doing the best for him by adopting this approach? My thinking is that if he is on the mild side and is improving with age and coping well currently - then the diagnosis may not add much - just something for him to feel labelled with if you see what I mean?? Thanks for any thoughts.

If your child attends mainstream school is there a type of school that may suit them best?Have you any advice when choosing a school. My son is under assessment. We are not sure if he has a speech problem or if it is ASD related and next year will be a telling time for him (he is 3). However, I need to choose a school for him this septmeber without really knowing what his needs will be by school age (if any additional ones). I have seen some schools which are traditional (formal, church schools, more structure and order etc) and some which are very informal (trying to put descisons to the child and adopting different strategies for various small groups rather than teaching everyone the same way, alot more creative) and some in between. I don't know if a formal approach is better is my son does has ASD or whether it may be too rigid for him or if the creative, more informal school may confuse him if he was on the spectrum. He is not routine led, doesn't have meltdowns, is pretty quiet in groups but can get over exitable ant times!, He does have friends at preschool but is very shy in groups and often doesn't talk much in this kind of setting. Although he is getting more confident recently. I am keen for a school to bring out his confidence and social skills. He is bright so feel he will pick up the learning part fairly well. Any thoughts appreciated!!

what factors were important for you when choosing your childs school? In terms of education, special needs provision, school size and facilities. I'm going to look around some schools with various styles - some large, others smaller village schools. My son is attending SALT and we are not sure whether his social skills will increase as his language gets better but I am planning for him maybe needing extra support. Also, any good question to ask when I look around the schools. Thanks for any info.

I know children with ASD/Aspergers can have good imaginative play - esp aspergers. I just wondered to what extent this play was developed. i.e. would a child make big shifts like pretending cars were lions, or train track was sharks? Would they easily be able to take on a number of roles off their own initiative i.e. doctor, cook, animals, other people etc? Would they be able to join in with other peoples imaginary games? or would it be more copying other peoples games and re-playing them? or copying scenes from the TV etc. Thanks for anyone who can clarify !!

Thanks sarahjane. I do need to clarify as in my mind I'm thinking he's moved on alot and if they are positive also I'm thinking he may be just a slow starter but I'm not sure too be honest so I need to chat with them to find out what they are actually thinking.

NB should have read the preschool were initially negative!!!! quote name='star' date='Jun 9 2006, 02:41 PM' post='102335'] Thanks for your replies. I think you are right in that I need to get to the bottom of things before school (starts 2007) as we need to choose by this October so I need to know if he has any extra needs well before them. The SALT should help -when that happens! It's weird though as the preschool initially weren't negative. I thought they were abit too heavy handed about dealing with it and all we heard for the first term was problem based and now all we hear is positive. I suppose it is good!! but also I need to know what is specifically going on, why they have changed their tune completely and whether he needs help over and above his peers. If it wasn't for the preschools initial concerns then I wouldn't be worried about my son really but now they have mentioned something I can see how he is "different" in some ways - however he is difficult about 20% and pretty good the rest so I would have just thought it part and part of being 3 if concerns hadn't been raised. Now it makes me question stuff and it seems that the preschool has backtracked in some way. I think I will go in a have a frank discussion with them at the next meeting rather than all this nicey nicey stuff!

Thanks for your replies. I think you are right in that I need to get to the bottom of things before school (starts 2007) as we need to choose by this October so I need to know if he has any extra needs well before them. The SALT should help -when that happens! It's weird though as the preschool initially weren't negative. I thought they were abit too heavy handed about dealing with it and all we heard for the first term was problem based and now all we hear is positive. I suppose it is good!! but also I need to know what is specifically going on, why they have changed their tune completely and whether he needs help over and above his peers. If it wasn't for the preschools initial concerns then I wouldn't be worried about my son really but now they have mentioned something I can see how he is "different" in some ways - however he is difficult about 20% and pretty good the rest so I would have just thought it part and part of being 3 if concerns hadn't been raised. Now it makes me question stuff and it seems that the preschool has backtracked in some way. I think I will go in a have a frank discussion with them at the next meeting rather than all this nicey nicey stuff!

Our playgroup noted some concerns about my son - eye contact, bit clumsy, mixing with others (aged 2 1/2 when he started). They refered to First visiting team who have been a few times and he has been refered to SALT (for language clarity issues rather than lack of speech). At first the preschool were hinting at ASD type behaviours (although it has never been voiced directly) but over the past few months and special needs visits no one has really discussed what his needs are. Basically he doesn't mix as well with others but he is improving and now has a friend and plays more with the children. His eye contact is fine with adults although not as good with peers. The preschool say he is coming on leaps and bounds, the first visiting team seem to be saying that he is mixing but not being that verbal with his peers yet - more non verbal interaction (which they said is not atypical for his age anyway - he's 3 1/4). Basically I seem unsure what is going on and whether they think he is just shy in groups or has a problem. It all seems abit odd to me as they are just telling me he is doing really well but if he is doing well why are the special needs people still coming in!!! I've got to think of schools soon and am not sure whether he has any needs I should cater for or not! Anyone got any ideas? I will have to question them more at the next meeting but I'm not really sure where all these meetings are leading to!

Just wondered if your ASD baby pointed as a baby or not? If they did, what age did they point? Thanks

Thanks Jen. Think I will ask the school again about the situation now I have had time to think about it. How does your child have the funding for an adult to be available at the times he needs a quiet area? as I imagine it could happen at any time during the day which would be difficult for schools to plan around to get adult help?

Thanks. So, really they should be an adult available. How would schools get funding for that? As there is never normally an adult on tap all the time to do this so I can't see how a school could actually manage it?

Thanks Simon. Interesting to hear your different point of view. The area he was in was actually a small, cosy type area in the corner of the hall. In this school all the classrooms come out to the main hall so I suppose it wasn't as bad as being in the corridor or anything so maybe it was abit like a chillout place in some ways. I was thinking also that the boy with him was probably there to make sure he didn't wander off... so maybe the class members take turns in going out with him to look out for him when he needs space. Maybe it isn't sure a bad thing then?

Thanks. I didn't think it seemed right. Do you know how schools should deal with this situation? I really felt for the boy as he can't be getting the most out of his education being stuck outside and like you, would be upset if it was my son - which made me think it mustn't be the right strategy.

Thanks. That is what I felt.... it just doesn't seem right to me either. My son is not DX and may not be as it looks like he could have language clarity issues at the moment and his social development is coming on alot. However, I can't rule out ASD yet as he is only 3 and I think the next year will prove important and the SALT referal we are waiting for. So, I am looking around school with this in mind. This particular school seems good generally but I would feel unhappy about them sitting my son outside a class on his own. Do you know what they would do in other school in this instance??

I looked around a local primary school (mainstream) last week and there was a boy (about 7 i'd say) sitting outside his classroom with another little boy. I asked the woman showing me around whether he was being disaplined and she said no, he has ASD and certain lessons he finds too noisy and he can't cope and distrupts the other children - so he sits out for a while and then goes back in. She said the other boy was probably there to keep him company. He had some books with him but think he was just sitting there to be honest rather than working!! She said he was very bright and kept up with the work and was fine at breaks and lunchtimes. Anyway, I wondered what you thought about this and whether it is a good thing? I know they have a SENCO who works with special needs children so he will be getting extra attention but does this sound OK i.e. would you be happy for your child to wait outside the classroom at certain points or would you look at a different environment for him??

Does anyone know a good book explaining how to use this techniqe? thanks!

Thanks. That is what I was wondering. I thought it was unusual in autism but more common in aspergers to have imaginative play. What age did he start getting interested in imaginative play?

Thanks for your reply. I'd heard that imaginative play was limited or non existant. Do you know if this differs between AS and autism. I'm not sure if children with aspergers show more imagination than those with more classic autism? Not sure if you know the difference?

Thanks. Has India got a diagnosis? I'm not sure if there is a difference between autistm and aspergers with imaginative play (at a young age)?

Thanks. I'll have a search for that thread!!

Do children with aspergers show much imaginative play? If so, is it supposed to be different from that of other children there age? or slower to develop? or less involved/more restricted (i.e. would they they pretend a piece of lego is some food, or that they are another person (mummy, another child, teacher etc)) , have pretend cafes and shops etc etc ... Any information from parents of similar aged or slightly older children would be a big help. Thanks...

my son is being assessed as the preschool is concerned and they mentioned eye contact, being very active and not sharing toys very well. just wondered what you noticed about your AS children at a young age. did they like routine/not like new places? did they play imaginatively? what was there eye contact like? were they aggressive at all or have bad tantrums? thanks for any thoughts? i know all are different but it would help me to learn any common traits. thank you.

could anyone tell me what traits you might notice in a 2 year old (2 3/4) or what you may notice in retrespect from birth? my son looks like he is going to have a general assessment as there are concerns about his eye contact. I just wondered if anyone could offer me any feedback concerning your own children. Things to look out for etc if aspergers could be a factor? thanks so much for any help.