Eva

My son doesn't listen to the words I use when I'm telling him something, just my tone of voice. He interrupts the whole time, telling me not to use that angry voice but a happy voice and to calm down and relax, (it's very irritating to be told by a 5 year old to relax!), and last night he also suggested I take a deep breath. The thing is, whatever I've trying to tell him doesn't get through at all because of his stress over my tone of voice. Sigh. It's pretty hard to speak in a nice pleasant tone when your child has been a little...searching for appropriate word...horror. Eva

In that case, my son is definitely AS as he is anxious about so many things, like the school bell, pooing, not being able to things right the first time, etc. From my (limited) experience, it seems that over here, children are dx AS if they are competent talkers and HFA if they aren't as fluent. (My son incidentally has a slight British accent, enough to be noticed by people! I can't quite figure out which region of Britain his accent's from, sometimes it's sort of Scottish, sometimes Welsh and sometimes an 'educated' news-reader type of accent). (My mum's from East London originally. Could it be an inherited gene thing? Lol). Temple Grandin has always said she's HFA and not AS. There's been a suggestion that Tony Attwood is AS too. Have a good day everyone! Eva

Hi, I know this is getting back to basics, but I've noticed in a lot of literature that the terms AS and HFA are often used interchangeably, or someone has AS if there has been no language delay/disorder, although now some professionals are saying that people with AS can have language delays/disorders. (This is a bit disjointed because boys are fighting and it's only 7.30). I'm wondering where my son fits in. He has SPD, auditory processing problems, is not good socially, rigid in what he talks, his interests come and go, poor fine motor skills, won't poo, can read, has an excellent sense of direction and can direct me using street names to places, loves routines... I'm sure I've missed out heaps. What else is there? (I"ve read the diagnostic criteria but I can relate better when a parent talks about it). Thanks all, Eva

Hi Helen, no I haven't read that book but I'll definitely search for it now! I'm about to start 'The Bookthief' although I should be reading something about how to get your child to poo and not hold on. All the best, Eva I'll happily sponser everyone, (if you could stand living under a conservative, 1950's inspired Government!). [ quote name=helenl53' date='May 7 2006, 07:06 PM' post='95842] Hi Eva Now we know that you are in Oz - will you sponsor us all for a mass emigration TV keeps running ads asking "where the ###### are we" Have you read the book 'Hunna Pappy' - it was written by the mum of one of my cousin in law's clients who live in Adelaide. I am reading it at the moment and it is quite heartwarming. Welcome - the world is a very small place! HelenL

Good questions Stephanie - got me thinking. Yes he can learn 'appropriate' behaviours sometimes, so I need some guidance how to teach them effectively. In regards to social expectations from others and myself, other people do comment on it but I just smile and shrug these days if I don't know them well. I also have to remind myself that socially he's at a 2.5-3 year old level although he's advanced in other areas - very uneven development. Thanks for your reply, Eva

Hi, I've been told the odds are 1 in 20, to have another ASD child. That really makes me think twice. Cheers, Eva

Didn't mean to put that emoticon there or send it twice! Sorry. Eva

Hi everyone, thank you for your warm welcomes!! Well, what a day. First we had my neighbour's son 2nd birthday party and I had to follow my 5 year old son around for the first half hour, telling him what's appropriate behaviour and what's not. He does really annoying things such as kicking toys, trying to push over things and 'crashing'. That's when he falls down in leaves or mud, (I suspect he got that from Thomas the Tank Engine, because the engines crash all the time). Anyway, he got a bit better and at least stopped trying to overturn everything. At kinder there was an excursion to a local park and Joe was totally detached from the other kids. Not that I mind as such, that's him, but how much should social interaction be encouraged? I mean, if he wants to be by himself should I just let him do what he wants, (at the park he just wanted to play the crashing game so I spent a fair bit of time persuading him not to bodysurf in the mud , sigh), or should I try to encourage him to play with others? Joe's fine with a structured game as there is a clear beginning and end, but he has no idea how to relate to other kids. I find it very tiring having to follow him round a lot of the time. I'd really appreciate some thoughts on this matter! Cheers, Eva

Hello! My name's Eva and I'm from Australia. I found this site this morning and it looks so good I just had to join! I have two sons, Joe who's 5 and has HFA/AS (pending dx) and Michael who's 2.5 and is NT. Joe goes to mainstream kindy 3 sessions a week and he does an EI pre-prep programme two days a week (all day too, got to love it!). Next year he's starting school and I'm already stressed just thinking about it. I'm looking forward to posting here! It seems like a very supportive and friendly forum, something that I've been looking for for ages. Regards, Eva