krystaltps

I had supressed suspicions about C from about 4-5 months. Being a psych graduate, I worried that he didn't seem "attached" in the supposed normal way that babies demonstrate towards their mothers. I simply blamed myself, but it wasn't until the twinkles came along a year later that my suspicions heightened... because then I had a comparison. He was stubborn and fiercely independent from birth - at 4 months, he would scream to get the spoon so he could feed himself then scream at me because he had fed his eye. At 7 months, he would scream at me because he would let go of my hand and fall. He screamed at me a lot, and seemed to have two emotions - anger and frustration. C reached all of the developmental milestones early, with the exception of smiling, laughing and talking. He never really got the knack of sleeping, and once he started playing, his games involved spinning wheels and lining up tins or cars (rather obsessively). He was also extremely difficult to wean and would not tolerate "bits" in his food until he was 15 months... also ALL meals had to start with pureed carrot or he wouldn't eat anything. He would also start a new thing, then stop. He started talking at 14 months and for a whole day said "cup" "daddy" and "teddy" in the correct context. The next day he shut up and didn't talk again until he could produce sentences. He did this with toilet training: the day before his second birthday he went to the toilet and did so time and time again until bedtime. The next day, he was back in nappies and stayed in them until he was 3 and a half. It was almost like he would try something just to see if he could do it, then decided he couldn't cope with the new thing and reverted back to his old, comfortable ways. Looking back with hindsight, it was clear that C was very different from the twinkles... but I suppose at the time I just accepted it as C's norm, which of course, it is. I am certain that C had AS from birth.

Hmm, never really gave this one much consideration. We use them all over the house (my concession to being environmentally friendly), and have noticed no obvious difference in C... or any of the rest of us. Keep us posted about what you find out though, Mumble.

Oh, I can sympathise. I discovered some on Daisy (my DD's Shih Tzu) about a month ago. We do use the stuff from the pet shop once a month, but seemingly it's not as reliable as the stuff from the vets, especially if the dog (or cat in your case) has a long or thick coat. We had to treat her and Buttons and my sister's two labs. Then I sprayed flea-spray everywhere. Fortunately we are a flea-free zone now.

I'm usually desperate to take them down by Boxing day, but this year (perhaps it's the thought of returning to work) I feel the need to leave them up forever. Alas, they will all be put away on the 2nd - to be replaced with the "happy birthday" banner and balloons for C's birthday on the 3rd. And our tree will sit in a corner of the garden until June, when we finally get around to taking it to the dump. Have to be honest here and admit that last year's tree is still festering behind the shed .

We have a similar problem with C. Although he likes mint, he finds adult toothpaste flavours far too strong and they make his eyes water. We tried everything from sensodyne to natural, and all the fruity flavours made him gag. I was concerned about the low levels of flouride in milk-teeth toothpaste, but was finding that toothbrushing time was becoming a nightmare with the adult paste. When I spoke to our dentist about it he recommended that we keep using the milk teeth toothpaste (as it's perfectly fine for cleaning, just lacks enough flouride) and give C a small amount of flouride supplement in the form of a tablet. He worked out how much C would need to compensate, without giving C too much flouride (too much can stain the teeth, and some areas have flouride added to the water - so all that needs to be taken into account). Perhaps your dentist may be able to help you out.

I just wish I could exercise the dogs on the Wii during winter - now, wouldn't that be a great console?!

Very valid point, Canopus. One of the reasons Nintendo (Wii and DS) is so popular in our house is because Nintendo hold the franchise for Pokemon games.

I know, C and R are the same. C's bedroom is directly above our sitting room and all we can hear is the rapid thumping of little feet as they run furiously on the spot. .

Thanks JsMum. The OT assessment had picked up several sensory issues with C. He craves deep tactile sensations - he likes to get the twinkles to lie on him (this usually causes great hilarity!), and I have been considering getting him a weighted blanket. He also spins.... this is his main stim. He has the usual taste and texture issues with food and has issues with clothing as well. I have heard about the books, but to be honest didn't really bother much about them as I assumed that they would be primarily informative... BUT if they have useful suggestions and fun activities, then I am interested. Maybe it's time to have a look at Amazon... Thanks again....

My boys have the Wii and the PS2 (as well as Nintendo DS's and C's new PSP), and I can honestly say, since the arrival of the Wii last Xmas, the PS2 has been abandoned. You don't really need that much room, with a little practice you do learn to "contain yourself" - C actually does most of his standing or sitting on his bed. Also, if you buy a Gamecube controller, you can play all the old Gamecube games on it, and you can buy these really cheaply in game stores in the pre-owned section. You can also go online on the Wii (if you're wireless) and buy points cards to download games. R downloaded Paper Mario a few weeks ago for the equivalent of �7.50, and we saw it today in the shops for nearly �30. The boys are upstairs on the Wii just now, and the sweat is pouring off R while he plays Mario Olympics (he's running), so it is great exercise, depending on the game. The only down-side is - it's not portable... that's where the DS and the PSP come in handy. But I'm sure JP's not the game-junky that C is. The plus side of the PS2 is that it also doubles ad a DVD player.

Actually, I could really do with a new sofa as our current one has been Beagled (by the handsome little creature in my avatar. He's already demolished the one before this one), but I'm so reluctant to get one as I know he'll Beagle it too. Now, what I need is a Beagle-proof sofa, and I ain't seen any ads for them. If anyone sees such an ad let me know....

Lol, Loubylou. I know, I think we should all try it... people would get used to it eventually! Thanks, we had a lovely Christmas, and C was an angel all day. Hope yours was good too....

Yes! I remember that.... it's funny how we forget after our little-uns have progressed. C used to get really upset about new things (wish he still did in a way, he's so material now), and he always seemed totally overwhelmed at Xmas and his birthday. I remember I used to have to "cycle" his toys. I bought one of those plastic trolley things with the storage box-drawers and I put in his old favourites as well as new toys, the other new toys I'd put away in my wardrobe - C would help with the selection. After about a week, we'd swap some for the things in the wardrobe. We did this for years, and it really helped him with the feeling of being over-whelmed and it helped me by reducing the chaos and mess.

Lol. C's hooked on them - he's waiting to see sale adverts for PSP games! The Xmas money he got is winging it's way to a high street store tomorrow morning (after my lie-in, that is )

Me neither, Bagpuss. Haven't done in a long while. Although, once all the Xmas food has gone and we've got C's birthday out of the way, I will be doing the diet and exercise thing. Need to trim down and tone up for Florida this summer.

Hi, I'm sorry you're having a hard time getting a doctor to listen to you. I know what you're saying about stress, and feeling stressed all the time... I watch it in my son and other family members (including myself) with AS traits. The permanent feeling of being "wound-up", the anxiety that goes along with it and the physical symptoms that arise from that stress on the body. I also know that teaching is not the most stress-free job. And the sleep epilepsy wont be helping the situation either - DS2 has nocturnal seizures and, even if it's only 1 or 2 a night, he is exausted the next dayas he's not getting a proper, undisturbed sleep. It is possible to seek diagnosis privately... I know that some on the forum have done just that. They may be able to give you some advice on how to go about it. I think that, sometimes, it's the best option.

C was (as is traditional) having a very stressful Xmas eve... doing lots of sibling and dog hitting, a fair bit of growling, a rather unfortunate episode of swearing and a chunk of frantic spinning. In short he was fast heading towards meltdown by tea-time when he started rolling about the floor squealing. Nothing I did was calming him down. My sis took him up to his room and the pair of them rolled about on the floor screaming for a good ten minutes (I know, bless her ). They came back downstairs afterwards beaming from ear to ear, and C made it through the rest of Xmas eve incident free. He really was much calmer... all he needed was to vent some of his frustration and energy in a way that suited him. I'm going to try it at work, I think !

That's a really valid point Pearl - C seems blissfully unaware of the mess too - it's only when I point it out and he scans the chaos that he looks at me sheepishly and asks if he should tidy it up. Bless.

Oh Amanda, words just aren't enough.... I'm so very sorry. <'> <'> <'> <'>

C is a bit like this - everywhere he goes he leaves a trail of mess and chaos. With him it's down to a complete lack of organisational skills. Tests have shown his organisational skills to very poor and he can only remember one instruction at a time. He goes upstairs to get something and can't remember what it is by the time he gets to his room, so he empties everything out in the hope of finding what he wants. He then gets side-tracked and ends up doing something else and forgets about the mess. This goes on all the time all over the house, so by the time an hour has gone by, the whole place looks like a bomb-site. However, in the middle of all this chaos there are usually neatly arranged piles of toys, games, books, coins - whatever. He has visual charts to help him get through chores at home and cope with the timetable at school, but this doesn't really help with unstructured activities, such as play.

I know what you mean, Soraya. We always have the in-laws at some point, and FIL always insists on taking a photograph of all three of them together. C hates getting his photograph taken and it usually ends up with C going into full-blown melt-down and DH getting seriously cheesed-off with C, and me hating FIL for putting C through this every year. I usually make sure that santa brings C plenty to keep him occupied (DS, playstation and Wii), so he can escape to his room when he needs to - I tell him just to wander upstairs whenever he feels the need. He still gets stressed, but it helps him to know he has an "opt-out clause". And it means I have an excuse to escape too... "Just need to go check on C".

WHERE? Where can I get angel-chimes, Pearl?

I remember that wrapping paper!! Despite it's thin-ness, we were still only allowed to use one sheet per present. I remember the tree lights (ours had petals around them) used to get so hot they'd melt the tree chocolates if they were hung too close to them, and they used to generate a slightly hot plasticky smell that I if I smell anything like it now it takes me right back to about 4 years of age and sitting under the tree picking at the edges of the (expensive) wrapping paper on my aunt J's present. And...oh, oh, oh.... Angel-Chimes!!! Who remembers Angel-chimes? I loved them:Christmas eve, carols from Kings on the telly, and the angel-chimes chiming blissfully away.

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