Jill

This is us, accept it (subtext - or bogoff)

prison

It's a crazy NT theory. This is the theory: If we move things round, people will have to browse round the shop to find the item that they want, as it is not where it was previously kept. This way they will see other items on their way round the shop & buy them. As shop owner I will make more money. This is what really happens: It is lunch break - half an hour is available, so item needs to be purchased quickly. A quick run into the shop, straight to the shelf where item is kept. Aaaaaarrgh, they've flipping moved it. Mad rush round all the shop, getting hot, bothered and more and more angry. Finally find the item - what the flamin eck is it doing there? Race to the till to pay. Double Aaaaaargh, big queue. Can't wait - no time now. Place item on nearest available flat service & run back to work, having bought nothing. Shop owner profit reduced.

I don't want to be the middle man in an argument between husband & wife , but I have to say that The Boy goes to a special school & I would heartily recommend it. Only you know your DD, but if you think she would benefit from going to a particular school then I reckon you are probably right. When The Boy started he hardly spoke & had no concept of numbers, letters etc etc. He now says tons more, we get unprompted speech (unheard of before), he knows his numbers, he knows all the alphabet, he can write his name, his behaviour has improved, he's showing interest in using the loo.......... I could go on and on - it's all positive. It is hard, no-one wants their child to go to a "special" school, but for us I am 100% sure it was the right choice for our Boy.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...9/nautism09.xml I don't know anything about Retts, but this is quite a well written piece I thought - interesting & not sensational

Mirror

Hi Luigi! I think TheNeil paid for a private dx and he's a Yorkshire lad. I'm not sure though, having read some of the threads on this site, whether a dx is worthwhile. Now I am probably talking out of my be-hind here as I am NT so what do I know? But it always seems quite an upsetting experience with lack of knowledge from the people doing the dx, plus a reluctance sometimes by people to subsequently accept the dx. It really doesn't make a difference to who you are, although I do understand that having that piece of paper confirming it could help your peace of mind. It's just that I don't think I've read one good report of the adult dx process so you will need to prepare yourself for a less than enjoyable experience should you decide to pursue this. PS I think Smiley's got a point BTW. You've expressed yourself very well in this thread - perhaps if you wrote down for your wife how you feel that would help her to understand?

Bid, that sounds awful. I wish I could pop round for a sympathy cup of tea and biscuits. What a total he sounds. It goes to show what a woeful lack of knowledge there is out there about ASD / AS in the professional world (and I use the term professional in its loosest possible way) Did you perchance turn up in your nighty with gravy and custard stains down the front?

I'd go for another opinion. It seems to me that these "professionals" are basing their dx on the fact that your son is sociable hence cannot be on the spectrum. Hogwash. The fact that they use a statement like this demonstrates - to me - how little they know. You see, it's not about whether your child is or isn't sociable, it's about whether they have "difficulties" with sociable behaviour / how appropriate their sociable behaviour is. For example, The Boy is very sociable. He loves hugs and kisses. The trouble is that he will happily hug and kiss a complete stranger in the street. So his sociable behaviour is inappropriate. I also do some buddy reading at a local school with a lad with Aspergers. He is sociable with me & has been since the very first day we met - to the point where I have to ask him to move away a little as he has no concept of personal space, virtually ends up sitting on my knee & has no qualms about where he touches (not in a sexual way you understand, he just needs to be shown what is appropriate and inappropriate touching). BTW don't think you are a fraud for being here without a dx, you are not on your own & you are very welcome to join us, if you think you can cope with some of the barmpots on here.

I think I'd go along with Lisa's suggestion - a quiet word rather than a more formal letter. Just because I agree with you reuby, I don't think the caretaker meant anything by it. Yes it was a poor joke & what a pillock for doing that with any child, but he does seem truly sorry for doing it. He's tried to make amends albeit inappropriately with a hug and probably feels terrible about it. I doubt he's going to be daft enough to do anything like it again. However, a quiet word to ask that people in the school generally are made aware of your lad's difficulties wouldn't go amiss. At the end of the day, something positive has come out of this. The relationship between your son & the TA will have been strengthened, you know that the TA can deal with a difficult situation & turn it into a positive (instead of being scared your son has been helped to handle it well) and the daft caretaker will think twice before being such a pillock with ANY child.

This is a toughie & it really is down to the individual child & what you know will suit them best (but you obviously already know that). We decided special school. The Boy is mid spectrum, non verbal (apart from a few stock phrases), not toilet trained and has no real sense of danger. However, he does have some social skills & does enjoy interaction with other kids. We spent most of the latter part of last year going round and visiting various schools. We went to 2 mainstream, 1 autism specific, one autistic unit in a mainstream school and 2 generic special schools. In the end we plumped for one of the generic special schools. Mainly because they used PECs (which The Boy is familiar with) over 50% of the pupils there were on the spectrum (so the teachers obviously had experience) but there was clear evidence of good interaction between the kids at play time and in classes. Also, this sounds a bit bizarre but bear with me, all the kids were pretty much physically able. The other generic special had a larger number of children who looked quite frail and / or had physical disabilities & we did worry about their safety with our rumbuctious Boy let amongst them. The result? Well, he's been going to the school we chose for 3 weeks now, settled well, loves it to bits & was voted star of the week on his first week. So I guess what I am saying is you need to list what it is that you need from a school / what you think would suit your son best & then go and visit as many as you can. That's what we did & it worked well for us. Good Luck.

64 secs on first go. This is BRILL! Thankyou for giving me something else to distract me during work

Oooh Smiley, I wish you lived near me. I'd go out with you every day - sounds like you have a GREAT time. I love bizarre days like that

Well I got 14! Is there a term for being almost exactly opposite to AS??? Does that make me an TNT (typical neuro typical)

Glad things are looking up TN. Long may it continue! <'> Bagpuss - your sig line is just sooooooo true.