chriss

I gave it to my son when he was 3, but it left him with a sort of hangover, so he was very difficult to manage the next day. A nurse friend of mine said it is a bit like drinking alcohol - you might feel ok the next day if you sleep long enough. It did make him sleepy but he still got up very early. Have you ever tried melatonin?

I think my son gets migraines too. I told his paediatrician about them and he said he wouldn,t like to diagnose migraines while he was so young (he was 6 then) and said they are probably stress headaches. He gets one nearly every half-term about 4 weeks in, so it is obviously a build up of stress that causes them. He usually wakes up with them and is sometimes sick. Then he spends 2 or 3 days lying on the sofa with his head under a pillow. Then he is much calmer afterwards as he has had a break from school. When this happens he looks absolutely awful, he won't eat and I can't take him anywhere. Why your child's school aren't helping him more is a mystery to me. Is there a school nurse you could speak to? I agree that a note from your GP might make them more considerate.

Hi, I know things must feel pretty hard right now but recognising there is a problem is the first step to solving or helping to solve that problem. You will understand your son so much better in the months to come because his problems have been noticed early on. xxx

we can't cross roads at pedestrian crossings unless the green man is showing - even if it is obviously safe to do so.

oops! What do you do when you post the same thing twice?

My son has aspergers but not dyspraxia. However, he struggles to write tidily because of his hypermobile fingers. They really are super bendy so it takes more effort for him to control a pen. He gets narky about doing homework because his fingers get really tired. He has no problem with fullstops, punctuation marks etc as once he has learnt the rules of grammer he has no problem remembering them.

This is all so familiar. The constant wakefulness and crying. And the constant finger of blame. I know my son was autistic from birth. Like jb1964's child he slept less than an adult and it was all broken sleep. I had mouth ulcers and styes in my eyes and a constant cold I was so run down. I also had to deal with everyone telling me what I was doing wrong. People who have children who sleep well think they are experts and tend to look down on us knackered people. It's as if they think we choose to be awake all night or we exaggerate how bad it is. I was told to try controlled crying by the sleep clinic nurse and she wouldn't believe me when I told her it made things worse. Now that I know why he is the way he is it is really annoying to hear theories that once again blame the parents.

This speech therapist wants shooting! Can you e-mail her this thread? As has already been said autistic people do all three of these things but often inappropriately. Eye contact may be flitting or go on too long. Affection may be too much, a hug may feel like it will break a rib, or it could be to a virtual stranger. And speech can be repetitive, monotonal, pedantic and the person may take everything literally and not understand idioms. Really you should complain about your speech therapist to your PCT. as they are getting paid a lot of money to upset you, when really they should be one of your childs main sources of help. Incidently, I have had a run in with an equally ignorant ed Psych. It makes me wonder if these people keep up to date with medical science as autism wise they are stuck in the 1970's.

Since I gave up smoking 5 years ago; I don't have a horrible cough in the morning. I sleep better. I am richer. My house is nicer- less smelly and cleaner looking. I smell nicer. I go to the dry cleaners less often. My sense of taste is far better. My sense of smell is better too. My son sees me as a non-smoker and doesn't believe I would ever have done something as daft as smoking. I get more done as I don't punctuate my life with fag breaks. I'm no longer paranoid about having fag breath. I love the look on peoples faces when they offer me a cig and I say "no thanks"because when I used to know them I was a smoker and they can't believe I quit. I can run further. Honestly after 8 days you have done most of the hard work and with every day you'll miss cigs less and less. I never thought there would come a day when I wouldn't miss cigarettes but it has been years now and I never think of them, and I feel sorry for people who are stuck in the routine of handing over a fiver every single day for something they are addicted to. Having said all this if the end of the world is ever truly nigh. I'm going to get me a packet of marlboro red for old times sake. And leave this life coughing spluttering and feeling sick probably!

I breast fed for 2 years 3 months. I couldn't get him off! He used me as a dummy, basically, and that became tied up with his awful sleeping habits. If you are only getting 3 hours of broken sleep a night but breastfeeding helps settle them, then you will do it. It was a nightmare at first and I was really sore but he would gag every time I tried him with a bottle. Even now he won't put things in his mouth and only uses teaspoons to eat food. I read somewhere that it is harder to wean autistic kids off the breast, bottles and dummies as they are so inflexible and creatures of habit. By the way , I lost some weight the first year I fed him, then nothing the second year, then piled on 3 stones when I stopped feeding him. To this day my metabolism hasn't recovered and neither has my figure!

I know of someone who only found out they had aspergers when their Doctor mentioned it when they were 17 ,thinking he was fully aware of it. His parents thought they were helping him by not telling him - they weren't.

I read a piece about Hans Asperger where he said that asd children are more likely to obey general rules that everyone has to follow e.g"everyone in this family must do x" rather than specific commands e.g"you must...." and I thought this might help you - particularly as he has 2 younger brothers you could say "all the children in this house must stay in their rooms at night " . They do get better as they get older usually!

Hi, How long does it take for a DLA renewal to go through? I know they say 11 weeks but is it really that long? I'm getting totally stressed about it! And is it more likely to stay the same than be reduced or rejected? Thanks everyone.

I too feel very cynical about this. I can imagine my son's head teacher rubbing her hands with glee, thinking how she is going to spend the money - and it isn't on autism,as she doesn't acknowledge it if she doesn't have to. And most of the time she doesn't have to. I know the school gets funds for special needs but I don' t know what they are spent on- as he gets nothing to help him, not even class teachers with more than a basic understanding of autism. There is a huge need for more funding but also it is SO important that funds are spent wisely.

My son is the same. He is "the perfect pupil" at school but very hard work afterwards. I have had problems walking home from school because as soon as he passes the school gates it is as if a switch has been flicked inside him and he can let all his frustrations out at last. It is not just the pressure of conforming all day, but also his annoyance with other children who aren't doing what they are supposed to do and are breaking the rules, that causes the problem. In a way it is a coping stategy for him but like you say it is not much fun for close family who bear the brunt of it. It is also near impossible to get help - I've seen the ed psych 3 times but all he says is that he is doing well in school and he doesn't see what could help him in school. I don't know what help to ask for quite honestly. I hate the implication that it is a failing on my part as a mother that he behaves so badly for me and a credit to the school that he behaves well there!