shortie

it was SALT who first suggested ASD with my DD but dx was by a muliple professional panel which included SALT but also pead consultant ,clinical phsycologist,OT,play therapist!!

Same response here,dx 9mths ago now but i felt just the same,you'll have alot of bad days but also alot of good ones!!I'm just thankful that i can come on here anytime and read posts and know i'm not alone!!

I would definately carry on and i also recommend Hanens "More than words"manual!! I did the actual course back in january for my DD,and its great,you can get it on amazon for about �32,i know its alot but i covers alot of things!At the time she was only using hand gestures but the improvment over the 13wk course was great and the book was the best thing to keep refering back too!!DD can now say phrases of 3-4words to let me know what she wants but also uses pecs and makaton!!so keep your chin up,it can get better!!!

I'm a single parent twice over,was married yeeears ago and had 3 girls but divorced him for cheating although we do get on ok now!! Then met youngest DD's dad and the same day i found out i was pregnant i also found out he'd been seeing his ex for months aswell!!!he didn't see DD until she was three months old(mychoice)turned up when he felt like it so told him to off!!he turned up again when she was 1yr and for 2yrs it was ok,we were even having a relationship again that was ok!!then DD was dx and things went up in the air,he started acting weird and i knew he was seeing someone else, he made out it was someone he used to talk to about DD and it just happened!! yeah ok! but i do remember something my doctor said to me years ago...."its better to have one happy parent,than two unhappy ones"and i do think he's got a point,its hard on my own but i'm less stressed these days, only got one "baby" to look after instead of two!!!!

Hi hedders! my daughter was also 2.5yrs when she was refered to pead!!i was lucky that she was seen very quickly and diagnosed exactly 6mths after being refered.she had all the same traits as your dd,its really important that they get the right support as early as possible so i would ask for an assesment when you see pead! we're all here to help,

<'> I'm a single mum and dd's dad also as,i think if ur hubby is anything like my ex he doesnt realise how ur hurting but the sooner he can move out the better for u so u can get on with ur life,i always thought my ex was just plain selfish and wanted me to do everything for him and to be honest he still rings me first when hes got a problem etc but u need to be strong and let him sort things himself for ur sake and his!!its hard but u'll be fine i'm sure and we're all here for u

I think i've changed my attitude alot since having dd,i get excited over the tiniest things aswell.DD started answering yes a few mths ago when i asked her if she was ok! i cried my eyes out and rang everyone,she's started saying no aswell now!! although my biggest acheivement last wk was getting her to eat some broccoli(did mash it in some potato,but she still eat it)shes on iron for 3mths as her levels are really low,so trying everything possible to help,hard work tho,VERY bad eater!!So well done

I've read lots of medical books over the past few mths and alot of them also say a high percentage of autistic children are very attractive,my dd also has long eyelashes,her eyes are so dark its hard to see her pupils and always having people comment she should be a model!!

my DD's the same,hand dryers,lawnmower,washing machine,some traffic eg lorries,buses,hairdryers and a non mecanical one is birds in the garden,as soon as she hears one squawking or singing she covers her ears straight away!!!

DD,s speech is mainly ecolalia,a few months ago she started slurring words that she could say really well,then she was ok again now she singsthe word or really longs it out eg biscuit is buiiiisciut!! i think they can just go through fazes!!

my DD loves watching Dora the explorer who speaks english and spanish,she knows more of the spanish words than english and counts to 10 in spanish,yet her speech is mainly ecolalia she seems to understand the spanish better!

before my DD's dx,i read every book on ASD that i could find and i must say alot of professionals commented on the fact that for some reason the majority of ASD children are very beautiful children! i'm always having comments from people that my DD should be a model,which would be very interesting if she was having a major meltdown like she did in the supermarket today,a women behind commented to another customer that she needed a slapped a**! well i don't know if it was the weather that got to me today as i usually let comments like that go over my head but today i was like the excorsist and i wont repeat what i said but she was very white by the time i finished with her my DD is mixed race with nearly black hair,gorgeous olive skin and the darkest eyes i've ever seen,her ASD friend at pre school is blonde haired,ice blue eyes so the theary on eye and hair colour is rubbish in my opinion!!

i'm another in the same boat,only people who even offer to help with DD to give me a break are my older DD's,i'm a single mum amd DD's father thinks coming to see her for an hour on sunday is him doing his fatherly duty!!!to be honest he wouldn't have a clue where to start anyway!! I don't like asking my other girls too often because they've got their own lives to lead(ages 21,18,15)so it can be really hard work!!

Hi Amelia,i'm also quite new to the ASD world,few days ago i went on the NASwebsite and looked up the Help courses,there isnt any in my area at the mo bur i registered for them to let me know when one comes up!The following day a man from NAS rang me to say as soon as one comes up in my region he will ring to let me know,thought u could do same as me!!hope this helps

Thanks Bullet! the teacher who showed me around today said the same thing,there a main stream shool with a language unit about 10mins away from where i live,she said that if special school can help her improve in the next year theres no reason she cant go there anyway as alot of children do this.I just wanted another parents opinion,get tired of all the professionals sometimes although i know there only doing there job they dont know her like i obviously do

DD was dx in april with ASD,since last october she's been having play therapy on wed morning,speech therapy on fri morning(2hrs each)After her dx i was told she is entilted to 5 sessions a wk like any NT child but still waiting for Ed pychologist to acess her to give opinion to where they think she should go,as where she is at mo cant offer more than they are now.SALT are tring to persuade me to try her in"NORMAL" pre-school where she goes now but she cant handle big groups and there will be abt 30 kids,i feel their trying to put me off letting her go to special school because they say if shes with more severe children it might make her regress but she doesnt interact with the other children at SALT now so i dont agree with that! W ENT TO LOOK AT SPECIAL SCHOOL TODAY AND I THINK ITS GREAT!!! They use symbol sceduals,makaton, its very structured and routine which is what she needs and only 8 in a class,they can offer her 4 sessions a wk so do u think i should go with my instincts and push for special school,i just feel like i'm expected to go with what they say but shes my DD

name: Julie age: 39 condition:DD,3yrs old ASD hobbies:going out with friends,not very often now tho,reading,sewing Fav food:roast dinner or chinese worst food:sweet corn animals:none unless u count my 4 daughters on a bad day ! Fav TV:C.S.I, holby, casualty lost

i'm a single mum on I.S. went to one of these work focus things last sept,talked about what sort of job i would like to do when i went back to work,which i was planning to do when DD was 3 in feb,well lady from job centre rang me at end of Jan to tell me of a job that was coming up,iexplained DD might be autistic (she wasn't dx till april)and staight away she she said"dont worry,will put a note on computer,u wont be contacted again but if u want any help later,maybe when DD goes to school just give me a ring"and that was that,i do know single mums of NT children are expected to go bk to work when youngest child is 9yrs.

my DD started "spinning" as soon as she could walk,and i always thought it was just something she liked doing,didn't know back then it was an autistic trait,she only does it now though if shes anxious,she also flaps her hands but again mainly if shes excited or upset and to be honest its never bothered me,i definatly wouldn't try and stop her!!Her new thing at the mo is flicking light switches on and off,we have our own private disco quite often!

Had DD's DLA letter today she's been awarded high rate care,and it took less than 4wks to be awarded!!!her SALT told me to apply for carers allowance aswell so posted that yesterday. Going to take her and buy new shoes etc tomorrow and a little treat as she had nice back pay amount aswell!!oh and a big supply of nappies,the more she drinks when its hot the more she wee's!!just thought i'd let u all know as i'm really pleased

got DD's DLA today,shes been awarded high rate,and it took less than 4wks to sort out so i'm really pleased

sent DD's DLA application on 4th of may,got a letter saying they recieved it on 8th may,then had phone call on friday26th asking about DD's sleep and was told she's definately been awarded,will get letter in 7-10 days,just not sure what rate yet but i was really shocked at how quick they were as i've heard alot of mums saying they wait months,will keep u all updated when i get letter <'>

halaylooya!!!been having withdraw symtoms glad we're all back together again everyone,really rely on all of u to keep me sane and smiling

hi Amelia,cant help u with ECAP,not got aclue what that is(DD newly dx,not sure of all the things available myself yet) but more than words i can help with,finished the course last month,a wk before my DD'S DX!! i found it really helpful as its all abt communication and how to understand your child better.My DD's speech is mainly ecolalia so learning abt visual helpers was great and it does help,we use photos i've took rather than symbols,u learn what level their at and so on,DD is at what they call the requester stage and she's a visual learner(probably why shes obsessed with tv) but the best thing for me was meeting other familys who are going thru the same thing,i only know 1 other mum at DD's SALT session and being single mum,not really got much support,hope u find it as useful as i did!!

i know how u feel,my DD goes to bed no problem,how long she lasts is another story tho!!she normally wakes between 1&2 and thinks its time to get up,normally take her downstairs as other 3 DD's need their sleep,usually up for about 3hrs but comes back to bed with me and still gets up at 6 no matter what so by 3 in afternoon i'm shattered aswell but she's still bouncing around as usual!!!