Gail66

As I expected - a variety of replies... It's good that some people have found it helpful whether they have AS/ASD or not. I don't know enough about AS/ASD to comment on whether it's good or bad but I think it has helped me to understand a little how my 5yo son's mind may work which can only be a good thing IMO

I live with my partner Michael and 2 children. My daughter F is 7 and my son K is 5, he was diagnosed with AS a couple of months ago. K has always had unique interests - mostly number and letter oriented - and he has always been "a handful" We didn't think there was a specific reason behind it though. He was referred to the community paediatrician by the school shortly after he started in September 2009. We had 1 appt with K there and then another appt without him to discuss his diagnosis. The doc said that there was a long waiting list for the local clinic she wanted to refer us to so they had asked for him to see other specialists in order to clarify his diagnosis and hopefully diagnose him without the need for a referral to the clinic which might take a while to even get an appt. So then he saw a speech and language therapist although he doesn't have any problems with his speech she wanted to see how he used speech and how well he was able to do this. She thought him very eloquent for his age but saw his poor attention span and particular use of language as a cause for concern. We saw the paediatrician again to discuss the speech therapist's findings and that is when we got his diagnosis confirmed as AS. I saw it as a relief in a way but my partner was knocked sideways by it. We're still trying to find out as much as we can hence joining this forum and seeing what advice and support there is out there... Our main problem was disciplining K but since the diagnosis we've got a new understanding of his behaviour and things have improved alot Cheers Gail

I'm still new to everything AS coz my 5yo son was only diagnosed a couple of months ago. I've managed to get a copy of this book from the library and read it quickly (for me ) and found it very interesting to see what it might be like inside the mind of someone with AS. Now I'm really interested to know what anyone else who has read it thinks of it but especially peeps with AS. Cheers Gail

I can see how this would bother you Bodie, especially feeling hurt on your son's behalf. As 2 out of the 6 kids are on the autistic spectrum is it worth talking to the school about arranging a meeting with the parents of the other children to explain about ASD/Aspergers and also how this affects your son and the other child? I dunno if this is possible but was just an idea

I was going to explain his condition to them by trying to find a book that he could read or I could read to them (my daughter can't read so is being assessed for dyslexia and still needs to be read to) and telling them to ask any questions they had about it and if we didn't have an answer then we would find out for them. I was going to wait to see if she did have dyslexia though so that I could tell them about both things at the same time and neither of them felt left out if you see what I mean. After your posts I now understand that I need to talk to my son about this too. I don't think he wants to sit with her all the time and this is the only chance they get to see each other during school time. As I mentioned before they spend both break times and their playtime during the lunch hour on seperate playgrounds and they definitely don't use her to "help" with him otherwise she would tell us I have a meeting with the headteacher tomorrow so I will ask about other kids laughing at or with him. I genuinely believe it's with him though coz he thinks he's a comedian and loves programs like You've Been Framed, Harry Hill's TV Burp, The Simpsons, Bear Behaving Badly, Little Howard's Big Question which all involve joke telling or slapstick or both. Also thanks for all the replies it has been a big help <'>

It's truncated my sub-heading it should say "she said it's coz peeps laugh at him and she doesn't want them to laugh at her" When she told me about this situation my first reaction was that I felt a bit ashamed of her attitude but then I thought this was a bit harsh coz she is only 7. He is very demanding and most people find him too much sometimes - me, my other half, my parents who often have him at the weekends - so it's obvious that his sister can feel like this too. He was only diagnosed 4/5 weeks ago and the paediatrician said that we might not want to make him aware of it until he's a bit older but I think that we need to say something so that his sister understands more and can be more caring for him at school. He is a bit of a comedian so I assume that's why other kids laugh at him. It doesn't bother him at all so I don't really see this as an issue. I don't want to lay too much responsibility on my daughter either but they only see each other in the dining room - they play on different playgrounds coz she is KS2 and he is KS1 so they don't see each other at break times. It would just mean her letting him sit near her when they're eating if he wants to - she told my mum that sometimes she moves table to avoid him which is what I didn't like really. Any advice about this situation would be really appreciated

How have they used this to bully you Charlotte? I'm only asking so that I can understand more

What differences have you noticed?

Why do you have to be careful who you tell Charlotte?

I live near a town called Swadlincote in Derbyshire, what about you? How old are you Charlotte and how long have you been diagnosed? In some ways, getting a diagnosis was a relief but it's coming to terms with how it will change all our lives (hopefully mostly for the better )

I just wanted to say hello coz I'm new to all this - my son was only diagnosed about a month ago so still coming to terms with what it all means...