Nikki

Della I have pm'd you tonight Have been all though all this load of *!!!****** they are giving you I will try my best to help you make sense of the archaic system - in a nutshell they still beleive autism is child psychosis - many do not understand or recognise it as a seperate issue all comes under the "mentally disabled" heading for them & best not talked about type thing. policy is to medicate not educate - offered to put my son in "care" where he can be "looked after" every day. as they tried to tell me - ha well I had none of that there is great help here - just have to hunt a bit

Hi Lyns My other son who is not on the spectrum had a similar ear infection problems. It actually took 3 lots of antibiotics to get it cleared up - he took them for the 10 days or whatever & then it was fine for a couple of days. As soon as he came off them it started again after just 2 hours of sleep he would wake up shaking his head and crying in pain. Then you would sit with him, get him back to sleep & 2 hours later it was the same. My doctor said it was the ear infection resistant to the antibiotics. He also said when my son laid down the build up of stuff in the ear gets very bad and after about 2 hours it starts putting presuure on the nerves it the ear which causes the pain. When they sit up - pressure is released - its better & then you start the cycle all over again. I would go back & ask for another check up or a referal We switched to anti fungal treatement as an alternative & that seemed to work. I cant remeber the name of it - I did post it here somewhere else ages ago as I did not want to go onto amoxicillin clavulate as I am not happy with the contents of it. They combine this with homeopathic remedies here in France a lot. They said to put a bowl of hot water near the bed with tea tree & eucalyptus drops in too & we kept him sleeping almost upright if possible. We also got a nasal spray to help reduce the build up in the tubes that aggravates too I am so sorry you are having a bad time - keep focused it will get easier - try diferent sleeping positions & it will go I am sure Doctors know so much about autism huh! Nikki

Hi my son was 4 1/2 before he said the first word & that was because we started using pecs it seemed to be the trigger for him. Thats not to say it works for everyone - each child is unique & different But really for us its all about communicating & as long as we have communicatio between us & him that is what helps us all have a better life - less frustration - stress etc Keep giving incentives to communicate - never give up! Nikki

I would be interested this too as my sons school have just suggested we look at starting him on ritalin to help improve his concentration & stop him leaping around in general. I have not read up too much on Ritalin - does anyone know where I can find out some more info? They see this as challenging behaviour but I think the thing would be for them to address the issues of what may be causing / triggering this beahviour at school in the first place by observing him to see where & when this happens etc Although we get some behaviour like this at home its not an issue for us & I am kind of reluctant to start anything until I think we have exhausted other avenues. Any comments really welcome Thanks! Nikki

Hi Malika & Melg We live in France - Brittany - we speak english at home & my son who has autism & is 6 attends a special needs school where only French is spoken. He is only just verbal - started about 15 months ago & now can speak but his communication skills / language skills are at different levels. He took to the school 2 yrs ago like a duck to water & we feel the bi lingual apprach is great for him. He uses pecs so he is hearing the word that accompanies the pictures in both languages but seems very happy - I think his strong routine has helped and that clearly if he was not happy at school / did not understand his needs then we would see an unhappy boy - but this is not the case as he leaps into school every day with great joy!! I think you have to do what you feel is best. I am pleased that someone else here has positive thoughts about this too - I know it has been diffucult for our son but as we are going to be here permanently it is important for him to know both languages cheers Nikki

The new one I have been given is one called Bactrim. However as I live in France the english equivalent may have a different name. It has Sulfamethoxazole in it as well as Trimethoprime. Its made by roche and is white but reminds me a bit of tuti fruti flavour. it apparently helps to control bacterial infections it is a difficult call and you are so right Carol when you read the contra indications on the paperwork it can make you feel quite green. however I feel happier about giving this one. it is to help middleear infections plus other things and I am sure that there must be an equivalent in the uk. my gp said it may not be as good but he has told me if it does not work by wed then he will get me a hospital appt that day to get it checked by the specialist. Ear infections are a plague in babies - once he gets on the move I am sure it will get better - it did with my older son Iif only i could get him to move - he's like a weeble wobbles & sits up but only wants to a bit of bottom shuffling - typical lazy bloke!!! Incidentally I do use lots of aromatherapy alternatives as well too - I think they always definately help. I have a great book about aromatherapy for kids if anyone is interested its by Valerie Worwood and is called Aromatherapy for your child - pink book cheers Nikki

I rang my gp back this evening and explained my thoughts he was very understanding about my views & immediately gave me another prescription for something else. Phew I was delighted - it makes a change not to be thought of as some cranky mother Actually felt good that someone listened to my point of view without trying to dismiss me at the first hurdle Nikki

I am bringing this back to the top of the list again as my gp has today just prescribed this for my son's ear infection. He is now 10 months old & has had an infection for over three weeks and the first two sets of antibiotics did not shift it. I am unsure whether to give it after reading this - does anyone have any new news on this please? Thanks Nikki

I tried to give up tea once - I went on one of those detox diets & at the end of the first day I had a headache so bad I had to go to bed. The next morning it was worse and I felt giddy - so I had a cuppa and bingo - I felt fine!!The detox drink went in the bin. I am at home all day & I do drink too much tea so now for every cup of tea I drink a glass of water or if its cold weather a mug of hot water or fruit tea. Its a really hard addiction - but hey everyone has to have something to keep them going!!!! I tried to give up chocolate once too but life's too short!!! Nikki

My son was nearly 5 when we got him toilet trained. We thought we would start trying around 2 yrs old & then we just gave up after about 8 months ! WE were told to just keep reminding him now and again & he finally decided it was time to put the poo in the toilet when his sister who was 2 1/2 was doing the same. I thinks is so different for every child & sometimes the more you try the more stressed you end up getting. We tried all the things suggested but funny enough we started pecs at around the same time and we used the pictures to show the toilet etc- maybe that helped - who knows??!!! Fortunately my nursery took him as they understood the problem but we did get into a routine of watching him like a hawk. Now he goes into the toilet, lock the door and about 1 minute later he shouts poo at the top of his voice We wnt from 2 sets of nappied to none within a short time frame & now since then we have never had an accident - he never even wears pull ups to bed - one extreme to the other dont give up hope - just chill & try not to worry bye nikki

Hi Everyone I want to say a big thanks for all of you who have taken the time to give some feedback on this. Its amazing how many people feel quite strongly on this when you get started ( just like everything really!) the side of it all that seems to suck is the resources - always comes down to the cash at the end of the day. I am so pleased to say all the others on my course have the same feelings : that early is good :so help can then come along. not one of them has mentioned this forum yet so if any of them need a big boost or morale then i know where to send them!! onwards.. towards the glass of red & the ironing thanks a million again nikki

I would have suggested tipping the pot over his head rather than down his throat. Perhaps the GP would like some info on ASD's which next time you go shove up his nose! aghghgghghhh. what a ........( cant say it but you all know what we think) Nikki

Hi everyone as part of my course on asd's we have been looking at early diagnosis of asd's & if you think this is a good thing. I wonder if anyone has time to spare me a quick thought or 2 on this? I know you are all busy & I would never ask for any in depth or personal info but its good to get feedback from the people whom it affects most. I also know first hand how long it can take to get a diagnosis - it took us almost 2 years for our son. from my view I think that its a good thing( we got it when S was 4) & that it can hopefully( !! ) lead on to getting more help when its really needed. for anyone that had a diagnosis later on in life - do you think an earlier one would have helped you more / made a difference? Thanks so much everyone

Hi Brook I am just starting to study this as part of my course & its making really good reading. I have some other titles of books which seem good on this topic too - if you are interested let me know & I can send you the names of the books It really makes you think & the more you read the more you want to read to find out.... Cheers Nikki

Hi Liz Oh my god!!!!! - I cant beleive that someone else has the door thing like us - I thought we were the only ones it too started when he learnt to walk - a beeline for doors cupboard doors etc just opening & closing all day.that is what made us first recognise the problem and its still the same now eapecially with the supermarket doors when he leaps around going in and out as many times as he can also when we ued to go out for walks when he was a toddler he opened /closed every garden gate on the journey & tried to opne every door he saw it got to the point where I would not go out for a walk unless it was down a lnae or on the beach as it drove me absolutely mad its got better now but at nearly 6 we always get "kick back" to this a lot under times of illness stress or change I wonder what started it all off & why doors - is ith the fact its something they can control - understand? Nikki ps my new house is open plan now - I have minimal doors - phew!!!

My son wont take tablets in any form so I found an excellent multi vitamin, mineral & plant extracts liquid by Logic. I buy it through an online company called Always Natural. It comes in a big bottle & you can measure it out according to the child's weight and add it into their drink. Mine both like the peach flavour one & w have been using it now for about 2 years and it really has made a difference to them both especially my son who has a really poor diet. I tried all the other things like mag B6 etc before hand from Kirkman and mine hated the taste and we ended up throwing them away. This seems to go really well and we also supplent my sons diet with a vanilla flavoured Fish oils which we add into a yoghurt or fruit puree so he cant taste it either! If you need any more info plse pm me! Cheers Nikki

my sory is not so heart rendering as many on this thread but here we are... When I was pregnant with S for the first 17 weeks I was so sick all day every day I only ate porridge for 17 weeks & drunk water No one ever advised me to supplement my diet with any vitamins etc & I remember not even something like taking folic acid as it made me feel worse. I was still keep fit obsessed despite being sick - it helped me forget and I went 6/7 days per week still doing aerobics until I could not I finally quiet when I had too - 13 days before my due date when they told me I needed a c sec as he was breech Before being pregnant I was really really fit - I did weights circuit etc & now I suspect i probably had really high levels of testosterone too I also had a major row with my sister when I was about 8 weeks & that lasted for at least 2 months in a big stressful family bust up. we definately need a poll about this. nikki

I hope anyone out there maybe able to help me find a couple of toys ( ??!!) that we have seen on the baby einstein videos. my son is obsessed with the videos and really watches two things again & again I am not very good at naming them but the first is a liquid motion toy - do you remember the type of ones you would turn upside down and all the liquid runs to the bottom or top & they are in different colours - looks like oils really the other one is one of those ones people had on their deska years ago called kinetic toys I think - some had 5 silver balls on that clicked back and forth, some had dolphins, the universe etc - in metallic I have tried looking on the web but I only can find them for sale on us websites that want to charge me $ 40 to send them to france - more than the cost of the the things i want if anyone comes across them on a uk site please please can you give me a shout if i cant find them for xmas then its his birthday in january so i maybe in luck by then thanks nikki

liz - I just read your message and saw the bit about the duplo aeroplane. We recently bought one for our 5 yr old son and when he plays with it it keeps falling apart ie it does not really stay together ! We even tried to superglue it together and although Samue lis not rough with it - the thing soon fell apart again afer about a week and he cries all the time when it doe so! He now has totally lost interest.We bought lots of duplo lego as he really enjoys it but thid has been a really bad buy ofr us -so if you are going to buy it try it for yourself in the sjop and see what you think. We were very dissapointed and I would hate anyone to have the same sad breakdown we had about it cheers Nikki

my son is 5 1/2 and I was not sure what to get for xmas either. Lat year someone bought us a marble run but because it was a cheapie one ( can I say that) it did not hold together properly and kept falling apart every couple of minutes. After rebuilding it about 20 times and have a screaming meltdown plus tears from Samuel we took it away. It totally spoilt xmas day and made me realise i must check what was in the packets before i let him open them. I felt so sad for him - he was really frustrated that it would not work and spent the day just saying oh dear oh dear again & again. I am trying to get one again for him but this time a more solid one in wood if anyone see one anywhere for sale could they let me know??? if I cant get one I will go for the other things he likes - lego and trains. good old lego never fails . xmas can be so expensive so we now just ask all the family to help put a nominal amount in to the " pot" & then I will get what I think would be ok. I think you can just go mad so It will probably be 1 or 2 books each, a dvd & a nice toy. I think they can be over whelmed by it all & sometimes the small simple things can be good like colouring pens & paper however us parents are easier - the wine always seems to be a good present - never fails to impress me!!!!!!!!

Yup we get them in our place too - you can try the welly boot trick which always works really well & is very humane!! If you can chase them out of where you are hiding and then they usually run along the edge of the room. lay out a welly on the floor & they like to run in it and round the little corner at the bottom & hide. Then you just pick up the welly fold over the top to keep em in & leg it into the garden where you can shake it free! No sad kids & happy mice mind you it's not as much fun as watching my dad chasing one round the room with a tupperware box trying to get it to jump inside!! Nikki

Living in France and drinking lots of red wine helps you to juggle them believe you me!! Especially when it's bedtime see how fast I can do so then! Last night spent the evening juggling 2 out of 3 of them between the toilet and vomiting !!! Roll on sleep time! For me that is

Thanks for your info everyone I got the book my brother is different & Molly is really happy with it - its excellent and has helped make a difference Being 3 she now tells Granny on the phone that Samuel is "tik-stik " & she must give him lots of hugs - how sweet is that!

Hi Everyone Not posted for ages due to juggling kids - A friend of mine has just e mailed me to tell me of a conference which starts on the 17th October - 21st October - it will be online and will give us all a chance to put forward questions to a group of experts I am sure no one will mind me putting up the site name - its called www.autism2005.org All you have to do is log onto the site & register - and you can see the details of all the subjects they will be covering. There are many speakers & lots of familiar names so amybe it will be worthwhile I would be interested to see what everyone thinks & how it goes... Cheers Nikki

I have a boy of 5 who is asd & then a girl of 3 who is nt. We really wanted 3 & I was so worried about how it would be with another as Samuel has many problems. I wnet through all the ideas when pregnant about how it would be with another child if it was a boy or girl and how it would be. I wished for a girl so much & then found out it was a boy and at first I was really depressed about it & had a real feeling of doom as if it was all going to be downhill. Thomas arrived 5 months ago & at the mo seems to be very different from Samuel but only time will tell. I do spend each day watching him though and wondering how is going to be. With Samuel however he did alter after the mmr so I wont give that to Thomas. I think as long as you have enough love and patience to go round then they will all feel wanted and special in their own way. I have to admit that its a juggling act trying to give them all some attention and now the nights and days seem to pass by in a flash! I am always tired and have no time to myself but thats my choice I guess. However school is back so at least I can stop running for 30 seconds each day. I would love another but I know physically I cannot so thats my lot!!!