ohalrightthen

Hi I am looking for support groups in the Aberdeenshire area on a weekend to attend with my son aged 6. I live near Peterhead. Any ideas?

Hi I am new to this forum. I have already been on this journey with my 6 year old son for almost 14 months now. This all seems to be a common theme I must say. My son H is still awaiting an official diagnosis for Aspergers (now classified under ASD) and more recently also ADHD. He attends a mainstream provision in Scotland and accesses a wrap around at another school for three mornings per week. We have continuing issues of him coping in the classroom due to things such as background noise, high levels of excitement and energy and even when the teacher raises her voice to another pupil. To try and get the teaching staff to understand my son is an understatement, but less about how I feel and allow me to share my experiences and look at potential solutions. I have tried the following things which may or may not help: He has an unused classroom which they have put lego and things that "focus" him in so that in times of anxiety he can be taken somewhere to chill out. I have also purchased an Alpha and Theta waves soft music CD which I also have at home so that they can play it and see if this calms him and almost drowns out the background noise. Lately they have been allowing him to leave a little earlier to avoid the school hometime rush where he gets so frustrated he kicks off or cannot co-ordinate himself to even put his jacket on and collect his bag. At home we are trying to de-sensitise him with things he seems comfortable with. He likes rock music so at the end of a frustrating day at school we often put ACDC or Aerosmith on and all dance around the house with him as he feels this noise allows him to drown out the everyday background noise irritations and provides him with temporary relief. I also on the way to school allow him to have a screaming session with me in the car to as he says, "get rid of his bad energy". The wrap around seems to provide him with a small group of pupils in a more relaxed setting with some good routine. This setting and the care and attention of the staff who want to work and understand him I feel are the most effective people in his life. His Taxi driver Margaret who takes him to this provision is also a brilliant help as she works in a library and every day takes out a book on his focal topic "star wars" which allows him to then as he travels absorb himself into hid world and thus relieves his anxiety and takes away the car noise focus. I am trying not to create rigid routines at home as much as I used to do as real life is not like this and changes constantly. He seems to be getting better at adapting, so I am thinking that as he grows older his skills of adaptation will get better. One major thing I found he really thrives in is swimming and in particular in diving and being underwater (where presumably noise is thwarted or muffled to a large extent). To this end I have enrolled at a local swimming pool where I can take him on a one to one or with just one friend, where he can play and feel that people are not judging him. Also I have volunteered at his local Youth Club on a friday night at the school where he has the issues of sensory overload. It is a great way for him to play in a setting with his school friends in high noise and excitement but in a good way, and funnily enough he copes fantastically well. Lately he has told me he gets embarassed with me being there so as the club is split into two hourly sessions of craft and then sport, we have agreed I go into the one he is not in and visa versa. The fact that he knows I am always in the building and that he can leave the room and walk round to see me in one of the classrooms is enough for him to have enough confidence to cope with the session, which to date has been fantastically positive. By making friends here this means his class friends see H as we see him, which is a beautiful and talented, kind and caring little boy. I also allow his class friends (some of whom have been frightened by him through his aggresive outbursts) to ask me questions and tell me about H and how they feel. I can then explain that he does not mean to behave like this and suggest ways they can help him stay calm in the class and help him by talking about his focal topic of interest. One girls mum came up to me the other day and said her little girl is not frightened anymore of my son, which is great. Hope this all helps. To the girl who does not want to wear earmuffs - like one direction who wear in ear pieces when they are singing, there are lots of skin coloured ones which you can be fitted for. This may be a good way of shutting off the noise and also being accepted by your peers. If you have something that all professional singers have then this would actually be cool and fashionable. I was a professional singer and they take a little getting used to but then you can put music through them or just use them as noise blockers. Have a word with your music teacher to see if they can get some made for you through their music budget - this may be possible! Good luck.