bid
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Posts posted by bid
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Sorry Wheeler, posted in the wrong thread!
Bid
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Thank you for your reply
When my son had his assessment, he completed a sent form first, then had a face to face meeting with a psycologist with me present, and she just asked lots of questions. Was the same for you, i have no family around from my childhood to say how i was, will this make a differnce
My mum had paperwork to fill in about my childhood and development that was sent in with my questionnaires, and then she also attended my clinic appointment.
Bid
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Welcome to the forum
I was diagnosed at CLASS too, when I was 41.
Bid
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Oh well done!!
<'> Bid
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Lovely, lovely lad! Shed a tear or two myself.
Whole series has been a hoot...some wonderful characters, especially Mr Drew the Deputy Head.
We live near Harlow.
Bid
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"What is pi? Where did it come from??"
Bid
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Welcome to the forum
In many ways you are very like my dad. He had a successful academic career as a lecturer in special needs and social work, but had always been seen as extremely eccentric which did cause difficulties professionally and personally, although my parents were married for over 50 years.
It was when he started reading about ASD after my eldest son was diagnosed that he began to recognise himself and his difficulties. I have always said that I'm sure the railway fanatic Tony Attwood mentions meeting on a train in the foreward to his Guide to AS was probably my dad!!
For my dad and the rest of us, this was enough to help us all have a better understanding of him and his life. So he never felt the need to pursue a dx, although at the end of his life he was identified as having what was termed 'mild autism' during mental health assessments. He was also extremely close to my son and a huge support to us as we went throught the dx process with him.
At the suggestion of my younger son's paediatrician I was assessed for AS myself, and was diagnosed when I was 41.
I think Justine makes very good points in her post.
Bid
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Oh dear!!
Leeds, I have a formal dx of AS from a very well-respected clinic specialising in adult dx...
BUT I don't wear my underwear/night clothes all day, I'm a very laughy person, I don't speak in a monotone and I have been in charge of the family finances for the last 20 odd years because I'm better at it than my DH and I check the balances online every day, etc, etc, etc!!
Please go back and re-read the section of your diagnostic report that you quoted in an earlier post...the specialist is answering the precise question you are asking in this thread!!
it is due to her difficulties in abstract thinking and central coherence that I feel she struggles to see the wider picture as to why she meets the criteria and instead, FOCUSES ON SPECIFIC DETAILS, WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT, BE CONSISTENT WITH DIAGNOSIS.Bid
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Well, I think your highlighted section answers your question for you!!
Things like poor hygiene, wearing night clothes, etc, are very much secondary, and as your highlighted quote says, they may or may not be consistent with dx. You could equally say that being excessively neat and being obsessed with hygiene are traits of AS. Your difficulties with abstract thinking and central coherance, and the focussing on tiny details, are far more characteristic of autism than hygiene and clothes preferences, which will always differ from individual to individual.
You have a formal dx, from a very well-respected centre...so I think you can feel confident that you do have AS
<'> Bid
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Well, to be honest, I don't really know where you have got some of your ideas from!!
Why on earth do you think it is an AS trait to spend the day in your nightwear?? Or that everyone with AS has poor standards of hygiene?? Or only speaks in a monotone??
To be completely honest, to me this seems like an odd mish-mash of stuff you've read, maybe on-line??
I think you are over-analysing the whole thing about initiating conversations/not socialising.
I'm not quite clear...do you have a formal dx of AS? If you do, and you had a thorough assessment by someone experienced in adult dx, then I think you can be confident that you do have AS.
Bid
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I've looked at various posts in General Discussion and have come to the conclusion that maybe I don't have Asperger's.
I can laugh at funny tv/radio programmes. Sometimes I can look people in the eye. I don't have a monotone voice. I will admit to havin meltdowns, but they're very few and far between. It's not as if I don't want to go out, it's just that I can't be bothered. I don't have the facial charactersitics that the research team, led by Professor Kritina Aldridge, at the University of Missouri, suggest that people with Autism have.
I can make small talk with people, if I have to - I don't find making small talk really difficult, a such. I might have told the clinical psychologist, who assessed me, a little white lie re: making small talk. I can talk to people and once I get started, sometimes I can't stop. I may not need a reason to talk to someone, which I told the psychologist I did, but I might have trouble keeping the conversation going, unless me and the other person are talking about a subject that I'm interested in.
I've been led to believe that Aspies don't bother to ask people how they are, what they do for jobs - that they don't show much interest in other people. But I do. Ergo, how can I be an Aspie?
I have a formal, NHS dx of AS...and I laugh (alot), I'm often jolly and bouncey, I love clothes, make-up, jewellery and SHOES, I've been married for 18 years, I have 4 kids, I work in a full-time, responsible job leading a small team...
Oh, and the only facial characteristic I have is a bit of a large nose...but that's my dad's fault!
Maybe I don't have AS either!!
The only thing that worries me, is that you say you lied to the psychologist...why would you do that?
Bid
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Well, in my experience, people with autism can be beautiful, plain or downright fugly...in other words, exactly like the rest of the human race!!
And no, we don't have 'special, beautiful eyes' either!!
My own thoughts are that this is a mix of two things really: I think there can be a certain autistic 'expression', which has more to do with a lack of eye contact, etc. And then the rest is down to fond parents, 'cos we all think our own kids are garjuss, and quite rightly so!
There are facial characteristics for things like Fragile X, which presents with autistic characteristics, but that's a very specific chromosomal abnormality.
Bid
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No worries
Bid
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Oh dear, I'm a woman!
For me my dx meant I realised I wasn't dysfunctional, inadequate and abnormal as I had felt for the majority of my life, I was just autistic. So I guess, making sense of who I am.
Around the time of my dx, although not as a result of it, I had 9 months of counselling, with a counsellor who was experienced at working with people with AS. This was hugely beneficial.
After my dx I was also assessed for sensory integration disorder, which again put much of my previous life experience into perspective. For example, I have prosopagnosia, but before I had no idea why I perceive faces the way I do, or have problems recognising my children, etc.
I haven't really needed any further support. I work at a residential special school, so my team has a good understanding of autism, plus my husband is a teacher at a special school too. So my life is centred around special needs...I imagine if I worked in another career things might be very different.
Bid
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Hi and welcome
I am 45, married and got my dx when I was 41. I also have an adult son who has AS, ADHD and Dyspraxia.
Bid
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You can also find independent schools that specialise in things like dyslexia, dyspraxia, etc, without going for the full-on HFA/AS specialist placements.
They tend to have fees within the norm for independent 'mainstream' schools, whereas independent special schools for HFA/AS have funding bands that far exceed what any individual could afford, hence the need for LA/SS funding dependent on a Statement and funding agreement, etc.
Years ago I knew of someone who sent their son who had dyspraxia to such a small independent school and they were very pleased with things. We also looked at another such school when my son was a very little boy, and would have loved to have sent himn there but just couldn't afford it.
Just another area to look at. I would start with googling Gabbitas, as they hold information on all varieties of independent schools.
Bid
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I find mine disappear from view when I put clothes on.
K x
Well, after 4 babies, my tum looks like it needs ironing! But I don't care...people are more attracted to a happy, positive personality than a strecth-mark-free bod in my experience
Bid
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Hi bb1976,
I think the best advice is to try your to remain as calm as possible in your interaction with CAMHS.
However badly you feel they are treating you, if they are making serious allegations against you, you need to present yourself as a calm, rational and responsible adult. However justified you feel, this will not be achieved by accusing them of incompetence in an emotional way.
Your advocate should be helping you put together your case in a calm, professional manner, backing it up where you can with written evidence, etc.
I do hope you find the help your family needs very soon.
Bid
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I advise any one and every one to stay away from camhs they have messed up big time with my son and now to cover there tracks i am being accused of having a personality dissorder and making my son ill they are full of there own importance when actually they know not alot but refuse to send you to someone that can actually help!!!
Actually, my son had two fantastic consultants at CAMHS from the age of 6 to 16, who helped all of us hugely, including his siblings.
I'm sorry you have had a bad experience, but please don't tell 'everyone' they should stay away from CAMHS!
Bid
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Hi Brian,
I'm an adult with AS. I found I couldn't manage the multi-tasking involved in driving a manual, but had no problems learning in an automatic.
There seems to be a really silly prejudice against automatics. What matters is becoming independent, so I would say encourage people to consider an automatic rather than struggling on with a manual, which can really undermine confidence. I found I was getting dreadful headaches just through stress when I was learning in a manual, but was on top of the world after my first lesson in an automatic.
I would also suggest considering visual aids. For example, I needed an actual map of the town where I learnt to drive, as just driving round it wasn't enough for me to learn the various routes. I needed to be able to see them on paper to understand and learn them.
Bid
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It seems a bit of a generalisation to me
I've worked with children and young people across the spectrum for nearly 7 years, and I can only think of two with profound autism who I never saw laugh.
Of those people in my own life with AS, I only know of one who I would describe as 'dour'...best quote: 'Your comments are quite humourous really!'
Bid
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Well, I laugh, a lot!
Bid
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Good luck!
Bid
Asperger's teens, hormones and school refusal
in General Discussion
Posted · Edited by bid · Report reply
Hi Esty
My son was out of school for 6 months when he was 14/15, not as a school refuser but signed off on medical grounds because he had a breakdown.
He was very unwell and regressed into his autism, but I still perservered with a visual daily timetable for him, detailing what time he had to get up, what time slots he could go on the computer, meals and bedtime. Of course, he didn't follow it perfectly and we had good and bad days, but it was there as a non-negotiable part of his daily life. I also did my best to get him out of the house once a week. After 3 months he had 4 hours of home tuition a week in two subjects, which he was expected to do.
I agree with the other posters: if he can cope with Air Cadets, then it would suggest that he can cope with some kind of structured teaching too.
I do know how very hard it can be with a young person at home. But you are still the adult in the family dynamics. Whatever he does in the future, and certainly if he joins the RAF, he will be expected to follow routines and do as he is told. As your son isn't unwell, then I also think he should be expected to be responsible for certain chores, and it is never too early to build on independent living skills such as doing his washing, making a simple lunch and so on.
Good luck.