Just found this site it's very useful, so I thought I'd come and introduce "us"
We're in Oxfordshire (anyone else around this area?), but recently relocated from the Netherlands. I'm English, OH is Dutch.
My DS, nickname Pootle (8), is the only one with an official Aspergers diagnosis, but I'm utterly convinced that I have Aspergers and strongly suspect my OH of having it too (he admits he has ASD/Asperger tendencies). The jury is out on DD (6), we've been advised by psychiatrists who have watched her interacting with Pootle that she displays some Aspie traits and behaviours, but she seems to be doing OK at school both academically and socially so we're not concerned.
Pootle is a very intelligent lad with a gifted IQ, he knows and understands to some extent, about his Aspergers and we've always tried to make it into a positive thing. People that make the effort to know him describe him as sensitive and a lovely child, but he's often judged on first impressions, which are sometimes not very positive if he is stimming, or having a meltdown . He knows that his brain works in different ways than most NT's and that he can use that to his advantage in life. It breaks my heart when he tells me that it is so busy and noisy in his head the whole time, I get this too and after a completely awful last year I'm currently getting into meditation/mindfulness with the hope of trying Pootle with it if it helps me).
Unfortunately Pootle struggles at school, he desperately wants friends, but finds it very hard. His year group are very good with him (girls especially) and seem to make allowances for his Aspergers, but other kids don't understand his behaviours (stimming, lack of social cues etc) and he gets teased and bullied, which usually lands him in a heap of trouble by the way he reacts to it . His last teacher had an excellent rapport with him, and despite the school dragging its heels, his teacher took his own initiative and made some headway. The school SENco is busy with Pootle and an autistic services co ordinator has come in several times and offered some tips, which Pootle found mainly insulting ("babyish" cards to hand to teachers telling them he was about to have a meltdown and needed to be excused). I'm still busy trying to get he best help for him.
If Pootle could he would escape into Minecraft, and similar games 24/7 on his ipad, in fact it's a bit of a problem, and seems to lead to many meltdowns. Meltdowns can be a big problem, I am never sure how best to help him, and he can be quite physical and cause pain (he's very tall and quite strong for his age and has floored me a couple times)
Pootle has quite a few issues with sensory overloads, as well as labels etc - he can't cope with situations like the lunch hall and he finds a busy classroom quite challenging too. In additional he has poor motor skills, which makes sports hard (boy can he run though!), and sleep issues (requires very little sleep/has difficulty dropping off).
Hoping to be able to get some good info here, and help others
Dr. G-nome
