AndreaA

Thanks all. Will take into consideration and keep looking I think. There is so much to take into consideration. I think the important thing is to include him in the decision. Thanks agian.

Hi, My son has ASD and is four. I have a younger child of 3 too. Can anyone offer advice of a suitable dog companion for us all please. I took them to the nearby Greyhound Rescue yesterday and we spent 3 wonderful hours walking their dogs. Surprisingly the boys were not overwhelmed or put off by the size and reacted in a calm manner. I would not usually go for these dogs because of the size. S has SPD too so triggers can make him run off and it is awful in supermarkets or shopping in general. I read about working dogs for children with autism. Has anyone had an experiences with this? I am looking into this with my eyes open and want to take time finding the right dog for us as a family but also to increase his ability to cope in certain environments if he has a focus and something that can make him feel grounded. Sorry to go on and on. I have rung round rescue centres and the general concensus so far seems to be labs or greyhounds. What do you think and has anyone had experiences with taking on a dog? Many many thanks.

Help! We received a diagnosis 3 months ago for ASD and finally have seen the Educ. Psych. today. She said she feels S needs one to one help especially when he starts Primary. She has suggested that I write to the Council to request a statement and I should do this asap. I have the support of the nursery staff as well as his therapist. I am at a loss as to what to put in the letter to the Council. I am usually quite articulate but when it comes to talking about my son I find it hard to talk negatively. Any suggestions as to how this should be done would be gratefully received please. Many thanks. Andrea.

Thanks for that. I am lucky(!) we have a occupational speech and language therapist on board now although only seen her once. I have started visual timetable cards which seem to be working. I am keeping a diary too which the nursery are filling in too. I have hopefully found a lovely school for him but we shall see if we are lucky getting him in. It only has 15 to a class so will make the transition a lot easier. I wrote that in the remarks section of the council's app form. I am going to try and push for a statement as in all schools I visited they all advised we went in with one. Not easy but will push for one. Interestingly though of all the schools S visited the one we chose was the only one he cried about when it was time to leave. He didn't want to go. Positive sign! Thanks again.

Sounds like I need to get him tested for gluten and dairy tolerance. He has always drunk so much. When I moved him to solids he was terrible. Slight lump would be projectile vomitted across the room. Sometimes out of his nose too which upset me so much. He now won't drink a cup of milk unless it has hot chocolate powder in and won't settle for the cheaper versions either. He knows!!! Breakfast is without milk unless it is Ready Brek. He drinks bottles and bottles of juice during the day and constantly going to the toilet. Gets distressed if he can't have his drink so I don't attempt to cut this down. It is all so daunting and I have a lot to learn. I met a lovely lady yesterday whilst picking up a wristlink off freecycle who has experience working with ASD children. She has told me to get in touch if I need advice too. There are some lovely people around who have been so helpful. Thank you all for your advice. It has helped.

Hi, We have an appointment with the Educ. Psych on 7 December. I am currently filling in a daily diary sheet which I am linking with the nursery so when she comes out I can show her why we need to consider statementing. The only problem I can see is that he feels very safe in the nursery as he has been attending the last 2 years and formed good relationships with the staff there. It is familiar to him. It did however still cause problems when I increased the days he spent there! What will he be like at school. I have had a meeting with his key worker at the nursery and we are working together to do lots of visual aids to make the transition slightly more bearable. They are not sure what IEP to put in place as he is very good at most things. It is his social skills that are lacking i.e. standing to close to other children and flapping hands (a bit upsetting for the other children sometimes), crying or refusing to change activity, fooling around as he has learnt this gets a laugh out of the other children. Sometimes not asking for the toilet. We seem to go through phases of this. He will be dry for so long and then go through 2 weeks of constantly wetting. He does not like to poo on the toilet but will try to hide and go in his pants! I worry when he goes to primary school that unless someone helps him he will fall so far behind and get lost in the system. His other great worrying trait is bolting off when we are out walking. I have just been to get a wristlink for him but dreading using this. I am hoping to turn it into a game i.e. he is the tow truck and he has to tow Mummy up the road. To get him motivated we tell him to get his rocket launches working. He will respond to this rather than to me asking him to go up the stairs to do something. I am going to push for a statement as the schools I have found for him are mainstream and smaller class sizes which will be a better transition for him and I feel he would cope with. Unfortunately they are just outside my catchment although they do accept from where we live. I need to list the strengths and benefits of this school for my son to the Council when submitting the app. Unfortunately I cannot rely on the statement process as this could take up to 6 months and no guarnatee we will get it. I just feel this school is the best to help him anyway regardless. They also have experience of dealing with children on the spectrum which is beneficial. Thank you for your responses. It is nice to know I am not alone and certainly not neurotic as some would have me believe! Andrea

Help. My son was diagnosed in September as having ASD. I have just received his report. He is only 4 and we are in our last year of nursery so have the joy of looking for a suitable school etc. The education psych is coming out in December to see him in the nursery setting. I increased his hours at nursery to help him for when he goes to school next year. He now attends 5 x 2 1/2 hour sessions a week. It has taken this first term for him to feel settled in that he doesn't have tantrums going to school. Now I have the joy of the tantrums coming home. He doesn't want anything to come to an end whether it is school, playing with his favourite toy, watching a programme on tv or listening to a song on his c.d. We go into meltdown. I am coping with this but finding bedtime hard. He goes to bed ok but insists on a light on as he is scared of the dark. He will wake several times during the night and always ends up in my bed. He still wears nappies and manages to saturate them at night so I do have to change him before I go to bed. He insists on a drink for the night and if I don't leave one for him he gets very upset. He drinks so much. Any ideas on a suitable bedtime light. Someone mentioned a nightlight with stars projected on the ceiling as its soothing. It needs to be something that stays on all night due to his fear of the dark. He shares a bedroom with his younger brother and frequently wakes him up. Any ideas gratefuly received. Thanks. Ang.