Nikki

Hi Viper where abouts wil you be in France - if you are near us we would welcome you both for a drink Hope you have a great time - weather is still really hot here!

Hi Elaine the way I get my son to take it as it is really revolting is to mix it into a fruit compote. I am not sure ofyou can get them in shops in the uk but I am sure you can. They sell them here in France & I mix a teaspoon in with a strawberry one & as the flavour is so intense of the compote he has as yet not noticed. Been doing it for about a year now & I have to say it really keep Samuel calm. I tried it once - cor it was dire!!!! Nikki

Hi Everyone Have not been posting for a while as am 37 weeks & due to go into hospital next tuesday for arrival of no 3 . Getting nervous now as am keeping crossed that all goes ok - my french is not bad but susepct I might not remember the technical bits !!!!!!! I am looking for a good book to help explain to Molly about Samuel's asd. She is almost 3 & we are getting to the tricky stage where she cant understand why he does not always want to be with her or pushes away or alternatively hugs her until she is squashed. I would like like a nice little simple book she can read to help her understand so anyone who has read one like this I would love a recommendation Have been reading many posts of late and want to say this forum is great - I never would have survived the last year without all your input! Thanks Nikki

ok hi again just reading this is sending my bp sky high. hope you got the link for the french site on autism - it really is invaluable. it goes into much depth on rights etc & also there is plenty of info in french to print off about asd's the fact that your local office for child ed psy know nothing is their lookout - what a load of tosh. So if they have no one then again amke sure they write & say they cant help you then ask them for a referal. your next step is to approach the region as a whole, not your local area. Find out about your commission for special ed in your dept - write to them direct the french site has a list of regional education groups in all areas. look under that & there will be one for your region - they can help e mail the contacts on the site to find out who can help you go further. Use the lawyer to your advantage. Make sure you let them all know you are prepared to make a stand. I cannot beleive in the whole department there is no assistance - that is a load of ******** they think that if they tell you that then they get off the hook then lets see who can really call the shots. they are contravening the law - remain calm & document everything they say or do. Always take someone with you to every meeting - someone independant who can verify what is said. I am sure someone nearby you must offer translation services or classes in french who would I am sure welcome the extra "donations" to translate on your behalf. That is what we did. Right I am off to find more info lets liase again & see whats the score no one messes with us parents!!!!! They wont even have a hope of winning this war Nikki

Hi Den I have sent you this reply but wanted to post on here to so everyone can see my answer / approach GGGGRRRRRRR! I am so sorry to hear of the problems you have encountered. I think that the school clearly has no idea or is not prepared to try. As a first port of call I suggest you ask the school to write you a letter stating the facts if the meeting ie what they said. Then they can well & truly be hung out to dry. Did you have anyone else there independent to back your story up? Firstly I am not sure of what you have done so far ? this would be my approach. Make an immediate appt with your gp. Explain your daughters problems / diagnosis & take any previous paperwork you have to back it up. Ask you gp for an urgent referral to your regional child psychologist . Our local one is called the Centre Medico Psychologique pour enfants et adolescents (cmpi) - it will also be in your local tel directory I think so find out even where it is before you go to your gp so you can be one up on knowing where it is etc Once there you can explain & get them to agree the diagnosis. You can explain that the school will not accommodate her & ask if they have a special needs school in your sector.? Then they can make arrangements for her to be tested etc to determine how her education should be conducted in future ?ie should she go there full / part time. If she can go to the local school there is the opportunity for your child to have an aide scholaire to work with them each day at school on a one to one basis. This is what we have for our son when he attends the village school. This can be organised in conjunction with the child psy / school. Make sure you say this is available & ask / push for it if needed. They will organise a meeting to discuss what they feel is ideal & then together an application ca be made the Commission Departementale De l?Education Speciale in your region for an aide scholaire if this is appropriate. It takes a few months but if you are awarded one then they work just with your child. After the first meeting it will be several rounds of assessments etc but once all the bods have their input they can then agree the way forward. Your gp will have to do a bit., the psy t etc etc Through all this you will be appointed e representative to help ? make sure you get a bi lingual one if you can - they do exist You may also be entitled to an Allocation Education Speciale once your child needs have been diagnosed. This is really a disability benefit monthly which comes via your social security / medical company. Again it is form filling but they can asses what scale your child is on & how much you are entitled to each month. Believe you me it is worth getting. You tell them all your needs etc & then they categorise you etc. In France you child has the right to an education regardless of their needs and if there are no facilities in your area ( which I find not possible) then you certainly must consider the future there & maybe a move would be best. I cant believe they can do nothing after all the help we get ? Samuel has a private taxi also to school each day & its all funded under our medical / disability rights Maybe a visit to the consul website for british people in France may prove helpful. I will send you the link & the link for autism France which gives your childs rights etc. I know it is all in French but you can print off stuff & throw it at all the authorities to get help. Let me know how it goes ? its not all like that here believe you me. If you want any paperwork / names I will try my best to help Good luck & call me anytime Nikki

Hi All This is the first book that i read when Samuel was diagnosed and I found it really good Would recommend it to everyone to read - very easy to understand & not to wordy! If anyone has any other good suggestions for books please let me know! thanks Nikki

Esther Brilliant That french is better than mine & I haave been here struggling for 2 years!! Linz hope you have a good holiday in France I am sure it will be good onwards with plain pasta again tonight....... Nikki

My son is the same - plain pasta with a bit of butter & no sauce & thats it.!!! Glad others are the same - we should invest in a pasta company!!!!!!!! sometimes its chips & we are going through a phase of scrambled egg being popular this week do not worry if that is all he eats - as long as he is happy. I still keep putting new things in seperate bits on Samuels plate in the hope he will try them but as yet no joy. It seems to be all about textures rather than tastes for my son - squidgy food is best it seems! maybe pasta with a sauce on the side so its there to be tried ?? if you do like me & then add butter maybe you can slowly change this to a plain white sauce & then add on something else?I have tried so many recipies & failed now that I just stick to waht he likes & then maybe one day he may venture into something else??? Nikki

If anyone is interested in looking at alternatives to the vaccinations then I have just contacted a company in Edinburgh who have been very helpful. They provide alternatives in homoeopathic form to the usual vaccinations and I thought it would be a good idea to let everyone know in case anyone is interested particularly re the mmr etc. Not sure if I can publisise the website on this forum but here it goes: www.glovers-health.co.uk. If you e mail them telling them what you are looking for then they will contact you back. I am waiting on details now to be sent to me in France so it may take a bit of time for me but for some of you it may even be easier to telephone them.I am going to order some for my daughter Molly so will keep you all posted over coming time as to how it goes etc. They even have alternatives suggested for Samuel such as secretin but as yet I dont know much about this ... just waiting on the info they send Hope this info may help anyone who has concerns like me!

Thanks Mike - I am sure that it would not be a bad idea to give it a go but bacause we live in France I may try to get a book with ideas for cooking things as we are quite limited with suppliers who do foods like this . We do have a bio shop near us so I may see what they offer. The trouble is Samuel lives on cereal of all sorts, french bread & dairylea, youghuts and pasta for tea or egg and chips so I fear this could be a nightmare of epidemic proportions !! BUt saying that I must try everything to help I think. Certainly the EYe Q fish oil has made him calmer so I think if I can slowly try to make a change it may help you never know. My trouble is that it has taken me so long to get him happy to eat the things he does now instead of baby food ! I have tried the very expensive supplements route such as extra vit b 6 & magnesium etc without success so it kinda disheartens you a bit.

I was actually thinking about trying out both types of diet on my son (one at a time ) to see if it made any difference to his behaviour.Has anyone had any good experiences of using these types of diets / seen any great changes???? I am really sceptial ( is that how you spell it!!) about all these sorts of things as Samuel has such a limited list of likes anyway & if I try out one or both of these it will decrease the list even further! Before I start out I thought it would be useful if anyone else had any experiences of these so let me know people Bonsoir

Hi Elaine We bought the Eye Q - vanilla one from Boots as well I divide it up and hide it in yoghurts, chocolate mousses or fruit purees as they all can mask the flavour really well. My son has been taking it now for 6 weeks and doing it this way he has not clicked on as yet!!! The vanilla one is definately the best flavour and I think he has been much better since taking it so I am going to keep on with it for now good luck Nikki

Hi Everyone I am after some feedback from any of you that have tried supplements such as Vitamins B6 / Magnesium etc with children. I must admit I read all the info and there seems to be so many suggestions as to what to try that I would like to see if anyone has tried anything that they feel helps. I know each child is different and maybe someone has asked this question before but I really would like any advice. I seem to spend my days coming across questions to put to you all & and so far all the feedback I have had from the forum has really been of a great help. Thanks Nikki

Hi babyeggs mum! I only just found this forum a couple of weeks ago and already its been invaluable to me! my son is 4 and I only just got a diagnosis last friday Welcome! You will find lots of support here - I think its great Nikki

We have got some for Samuel & so far he has been taking it for 2 weeks. We got the liquid as we knew he would not take the tablets but he hates the taste!! To hide it I now put 3 lots of 5ml each day in things like yoghurts, fruit purees etc which are quite heavily flavoured and disguise it well! It says it takes about 12 weeks before you can really build up levels and see results so we are going to persevere. How ever we have no side effcts tummy wise yet so I am hopeful we can carry on with it. If anyone else is giving this to their children it would be great to hear from them as to how they are doing I cant say that anything outstanding has changed yet but we have to be patient and review it at the end of the 12 weeks

Hi my name is Nikki & we live in Brittany in France! I picked up on this site from raising kids and I think its fantastic. We moved here just about 2 years ago from Jersey as we were fed up with no one being able to give us any help with our son. Samuel is 4 now & is just undergoing various meetings at a specialist school where he can start in september. They beleive ( as we always have ) that he has problems - he has never spoken and at last someone will help us to make his life better. Its hard being alone in another country where sometimes language can be a barrier and I have plenty of questions that I will probably ask you all over the coming weeks ! I hope this is ok! I will let you know how the medical profession seeks to help him here compared to ideas where you all are and maybe I can get some ideas to make life easier. I look forward to chatting to you all Nikki