Eva

Thankyou for your suggestions Oracle - I'm going to put them into practise today! I've forgotten about the use of visual cards but it's something I need to reintroduce. What I find very difficult is trying to get Joe to understand that when he does something bad, such as bash his brother over the head with a rake, that he's in trouble for doing THAT. This is what happened yesterday yet Joe was the one who ended up in tears, not understanding that it was his actions that caused me to tell him off. Mind you, when I tell him off I have to use a calm and 'friendly' tone of voice because that's all he's listening too. I wonder if a social story could help, something along the lines of 'if I hurt other people, they get sad...' Has anyone ever used one in this sort of situation, teaching about not hitting, etc? Another issue which is driving me crazy is how Joe speaks to us. He's so demanding and bellows out commands all day. I pull him up on it and prompt him with 'can I have...' . His general behaviour has really deteriorated this week, thank god it's kinder again on Monday . It's good to hear that someone else is going through this Brooke! Let me know if you discover a switch! Wish me luck today, we have one of our dreaded family lunches where my brother's perfect twins will be entertaining everyone with their general cuteness and brilliance . Eva

Hi, how do you get your children to listen to you when you are (trying) to discipline them? I'm at a loss. Joe, who's 5, either keeps on doing whatever he's not meant to be doing with this really insolent look on his face, or else he just doesn't 'hear' me. Oh yeah, for example, if I tell him to get off the kitchen table he'll get off but only to do something else instead, such as knock an object over, throw everything off the table, re-set the washing machine, etc. Sigh. When he and my 2.5 year old get going and are having one of their wild games of chasey or wrestling ( just before bed of course ), then I have no hope of stopping them and it's mayhem here. Advice much appreciated or I'll have to get the Super Nanny out. Eva

Hi, my son Joe talks over us all the time too! When we make him wait his turn, he's so busy waiting for whoever's talking to finish, that he hasn't listened to what the person's said. As for answering questions, that's like getting blood from a stone sometimes! (Funnily enough, it's the same with dh...). Joe likes to dictate 'conversations' - he'll tell us what to ask so he can answer his own question. I think he's working on rhetorical questions for a future in politics. Paula, that's funny what you said about coming in via satellite, hence the delay! As for the Aspie charm, two weeks of school holidays has put an end to that, (this goes for my other son's NT charm as well). I have however rediscovered Riesling during the holidays and it's helped get me through, but that's another story! Eva

Hi, I give my son Movical (mixed with water) and a half teaspoon of Senna with it. That seems to work most of the time...(fish and chips helps too!). Eva

My son's accent is changing a bit now. It's becoming quite clipped, sort of more like an Italian speaking English! His 'a' is like 'u' - he pronounces 'cat' and 'cut' the same way. What region of the Uk would that be from lol? Cheers, Eva

Thanks for all your fantastic ideas! They're great. I'm going to get a slope board and some pen grips to start off with and try and find a Handiwriter. I think Joe might like the idea of lying on his tummy to draw - we'll do some back chaining, definately will give that a go. Elainem,what is the programme Handwriting without Tears? Is it a computer-based one or a course you went to? Flutter you're so right about the gross motor skills. Joe finds it really hard to sit still on a chair, (unless he's absorbed in a task), he swings back on them all the time and fidgets. The OT said to do excercises before he sits down to a task. Thanks once again everyone - now all I have to do is motivate ds to actually do some of these things! He's very resistant to doing this sort of thing at home. Cheers, Eva

Hi, I hate the hot weather too - I suffer in the heat. How hot is it exactly where you are? 24 degrees would be ideal, (but not at night though). Last NYE, it got to 43 degrees. I remember being outside at 7pm thinking that it was a tad warm and why did I feel like I was in an oven? Now though it's winter and it's usually about 13 degrees which I love, but not if it's windy though. Hate the wind too... Eva

Hi all, my son (5.5) is still at the scribbling stage of drawing. Representational drawing doesn't mean anything to him. When it comes to writing, he knows (sort of) how to form letters but he has no control of the pencil, unless someone is supporting his wrist. I'm wondering if drawing and writing will just happen one day, or if it's always going to be a struggle, (time will tell, I know). Does anyone have any suggestions with things I can do to encourage him to try? Or any techniques that might help? We've been to see an OT and we've got lots of exercises to do to help his fine motor control and upper body strength, but getting him to do them is another story!! Cheers, Eva

My son (5) will sometimes pretend to be an animal and will crawl around roaring like a tiger, but that's pretty rare. He's now into pretending that our car is Venus (Fireman Sam) and he's Fireman Joe and dh is Station Officer Steele, etc. I suspect though he's reenacting what he's seen. The other night he told me an amazing imaginary story about our planned trip to the snow and he's getting the idea of telling stories now.... Put him in front of unstructured games and he doesn't really know what to do though. (He'll crumble up playdough instead of making anything). I wonder if that's why he has trouble conversing, because conversations, especially with other kids, are so unstructured. Eva

This is really funny. Where do the accents come from? Maybe it's from tv, heard at some crucial moment in their development and once heard, never forgotten. But then, surely the accent spoken by the parents is heard more? I'm curious to know what eventually happens. Do the accents go, to be replaced by another or does it stay with them? Anyone knows? Oh good, dh just come home with take away, yay! Cheers, Eva

It's fantastic your son had a great time! I want to marry that manager! (I have to ask. what exactly is the wristband? I've never heard of that - sounds great). Cheers, Eva

Hi! Sorry for spelling your name wrong! Nice to meet you. I live in Thornbury which is now dubbed 'inner-city' by real estate agents but that's pushing it a bit. I've been to Sydney a few times, I know Lane Cove, Narremburn, (that's where my grandparents lived), Manly, Bad Moral beach, and Chatswood. In fact I went over in April for a relative's birthday and everytime I go I'm amazed at how tropical Sydney really is. (And how fast people drive over there. Melbournians are slower but more aggressive and mean-spirited on the road). I found this site a couple of months ago - stumbled across it really. It's great, I've learnt heaps. And the people are very supportive and welcoming. I have a look at a Queensland forum from time to time too. Do you know that one? A friend of ours spent a year in Katoomba (probably spelt that wrong) and he seems a bit scarred from the experience. Better go and dish up the boys' dinner. I made meatballs and am feeling very virtuous. See ya, Eva

Hi Halleycomet. I'm in Melbourne and I was thinking the other day how cold it's getting! I reckon it's colder now than at the same time as last year. Where about in Sydney do you live? Eva

My son walks and skips around our living room, humming tunelessly. He does this when he's happy and I think he's having his best thoughts then. I read ages ago that the poet Yeats used to skip along, humming to hismself and waving his arms about. Eva

Thanks everyone! I had a look at the link Daisy and it looks like a very nice place. I'll have to visit one day although I'm a bit worried I won't be able to understand anyone. Baddad, I have seen 'Red Dwarf' but can't remember if I've seen 'Auf Wiedersen, Pet'. I think I might be confusing it with 'Dad's Army'. Here is a list of shows of great British tv shows I've grown up with: The Liver Birds, Man About The House, Robin's Nest, The Two Ronnies, The Good Life and all the other ones with Penelope Keith in them, the one with Judy Dench in and what's -his-name, Doctor Who, All Creatures Great and Small and the list goes on. So with that background, I can pick a London accent and a northern accent, but that's about it. A friend of ours comes from Manchester and for a year I thought a friend of his was called Curly, but his name was actually Kelly. Cheers, Eva

Hi, I've often thought of moving to the UK because my son has a British accent - and after repeated viewings of Fireman Sam I've detected a bit of a Welsh intonation creeping in. I'm trying to encourage him to use that 'oi' sounds more, lol! Cheers, Eva

Hi everyone, after having watched the same Fireman Sam dvd over and over and over, I finally actually tuned in and realised it's from Wales. So now I know what a Welsh accent sounds like! I find it really interesting that for such a small island, there are so many different accents, (my son for some reason has a bit of a British accent!). Now could someone tell me where a Geordie (forgive spelling) and a Skowser (spelling) comes from?? Too roo, Eva

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Hi, I've a question about Epsom salts. I sprinkle some in the boys' bath but it seems to make them hyper sometimes and they take forever to settle down. I thought the opposite was meant to happen!! Does anyone know why that is? What are some other things that people use in the bath for their children to help them relax? (Besides lavendar, I hate that stuff!). Thanks, Eva

Hi, I get that feeling too, whenever I've spent too much time with NT kids. Even though my other son is NT (so far anyway, he's 2.5), at home we've all seemed to have absorbed j's eccentricities, but normal here is not normal out in the real world! (Damn it!). Eva

Hi, I thought the Kenneth Hall book was great. Another fantastic book is by Luke Jackon, 'Freaks, geeks and Aspergers'. I love his line, "different is cool!". Cheers, Eva

Hi, I've found that we tend to take on our son's eccentricities, such as copying lines from films and being far more literal in our speech. It's fascinating the theory that parents of AS children mirror some of the behaviour of their kids. Dh and I have been reflecting a lot on our own behaviour and he has realised that so much of his personality suggests AS traits (finally!). I've also realised that the reason why I hate loud music is because it really rattles and upsets me and that I don't cope well with crowds because I get very anxious and a headache... The other day I saw ds outside humming to himself and skipping round in circles and dh was waving his arms about and talking to himself too. Talk about an eye-opener! Have a good day everyone, nearly dinner time here. Eva

Thanks for that link. It was very interesting. I had a look at one of the other links, about autistic mice, and in the article it mentioned that people with autism often have enlarged heads. Has anyone heard of that before? Cheers, Eva

Hi, I'm new here too, I only joined up the other day. My son is 5 and has AS. This is a great forum! Eva

J's meltdowns can last for ages as well and after them I'm shattered. He follows me around crying and I can't escape. I wonder if your son is being bullied at school, or there's a new teacher, or someone critisiced him... the list goes on doesn't it. Hope you had that glass of wine. (I NEED wine these days). Hugs, Eva PS: What's Calpol? We don't have it where I live but maybe it's something I should have in the cupboard!!