clair

Hi everyone and thanks for responding. First of all I have to say that the school my son is at is a school for kids that are quite academic which is right for him. When I looked at the school it was recognised as being a school for the following. Blind and sight impaired, Autistic Spectrum of Difficulties, and physical disability. They try and get the kids to aim really high and encourage A-levels too. I can see why it is a risk for him to be behaving unpredictably around children with these difficulties. Today I went in as I was told that he could not come home on the taxi as he had been goading a boy that is on his minibus. He would not stop and when asked why he said that he wanted to help pick up the leaves at dinnertime. He apparantly wound the 17 year old up so much that he was close to socking my 11 year old son but did not. My son was saying come on come on and clenching his fists squaring up to him. Once my son was wound up he came out with all sorts of horrible things like he hated people in wheelchairs as they were all thickos and he wanted to be the only lad in the school with ADHD. This is after all what he was used to in mainstream primary. The deputy head teacher spoke to me and said that she has been teaching kids with Autism for twenty plus years and she is trying all sorts to get him included in the lessons, however, she admitted today that he is definatly presenting as very odd and is really struggling to help him with the strategies that she has always succeeded in using. It made me doubt the diagnosis then (as I had to fight for it in the first place) and now I just don't know whether it is me that has been trying to find answers for his bizarre behaviour. When my son is at home and left alone or outside in the garden he is as happy as he ever could be. He even started reverting back to his truck driving behaviour today that he used to do at primary where he makes all the noises of the airbrakes and the reversing beep. My son also when asked to try and explain his behaviour today in front of me, was trying really hard not to smile as he was telling me. No matter how hard he tried a smile kept creeping up on one side of his face. He knew that it was serious but it is as though he can't control it. I would just like to add that he has always been sensiitive to noises and labels in clothes and that the school is supposed to be low arousal although when talking about his issues today he said that the wheelchairs squeak. It is usually my son that makes all of the noise anyway. I know that training in mental health could be making me assume all sorts of things but I just need to know if what I am describing at times can be normal for ASD as all of the other ASD children in the school seem to behave perfectly.

Hi there, I have not posted for a while regarding my 11 year old son. He was diagnosed when he was 7 with ADHD and medicated. A few months back he was diagnosed ASD and still kept the label of ADHD and medication. He managed to access a special school however they do not do "behaviour". He had never been one for going into the classroom in mainstream but we thought that this might change going into smaller classes. He is just the same, only going into the classes when he feels able to. He says that he feels as if someone is stopping him going into the classsrooms, "It is like a wall that everyone else can walk through but I am being told not to" were his words. Yesterday he had a good day and today a bad day. When asked why he managed to go into the classes yesterday he said "someone inside me pushed me in the classroom" . He has been observed talking to the wall by the teacher as if someone is there and my daughter has caught him talking to someone in his room. When asked who he was talking to his reply came after a long pause and a funny look, "You". She had not been in the room. Now it may seem funny being that I am in training to be a mental health nurse and can't work this out. I know about psychosis and took him back to the consultant who thinks it is more anxiety based. He does get a lump in his throat you see. He said that my son should try 5 minutes in the class and then come out so he feels in control. A good idea in theory but it is not happening. The psychiatrist said that after 4 weeks he would put him on Risperidone to take the edge off but has to keep him on his Equasym tablets as he has a report that when he is off them he is uncontrollable which is a fair statement. Does Risperidone work for any of your children? Are psychotic symptoms very common in ASD children? Do ASD only schools manage the not going into the classroom thing? I live in Warwickshire and the LEA tend to send their ASD kids to schools in Coventry. Does anyone have any experience of any of these. Any help would be appreciated.

Smiley, It all depends on how long you have been feeling this way. Is it just bacause of your nan that you are experiencing these symptoms or has it been getting you down for a while. It sounds as if you are having a natural reactive episode to the situation, however, If it has been longer than four weeks then you maybe need some counselling or medication. Sometimes it can be helpful just to see you through the painful situation so that you do not dip down in mood any further. Go and speak with your doctor and tell him what is going on. He may advise that you see how things go for a week or two but it is better to at least start the ball rolling now before any nasty thoughts come into your head. I would say that I hope your nan gets better but I think that may be a little silly so I wish you all the best and hope that the unbearable situation is resolved in the best way possible. I have had severe depression and it is awful so please take note and consider what I have said. I am also a 2nd year student nurse studying mental health if you are wondering how I can write so much on the situation.

All psychiatric wards and hospitals have a duty of care and if you are not happy you should really put in a complaint. I am a student nurse and i know that all formal complaints are taken very seriously and changes are made. You may feel awquard about complaining but the staff really will make sure that your daughter is looked after properly as it is their jobs on the line. Can i just ask why the police are being involved if your daughter is not gillick competant. If she is not capable of making decisions for herself then she should not really be responsible to talk to the police without her next of kin there, surely. All medication and changes in her health should be reported to you as her parent / next of kin, the only time that this would change would be if Social Services took you to court to get parental rights. Even if someone was under section by the way, they would still have to inform you of what was happening. If you tell the staff specifically that you want to be informed every time there is a change this can be written in notes so that someone can ring you and let you know what decisions were made and why. Hope this helps.....don't feel intimidated you and your daughter have rights and they should have provided you with a leaflet explaining what rights you and your daughter have when in hospital.

I have had an issue with my son playing Grand Theft Auto. He acquired a copy with a 2nd hand PS2 and has been absoloutely glued to it, so much so I had to mention to the Clinical Psychologist about it. She said that there were quite a few ASD/ADHD kids that have been known to do this lately. She asked my son why he played it and his reply went like this," Oh its ok, I don't listen to the swearing, I just drive cars and there is a truck in it". I said how I had been trying to steer him towards a different game but to no avail. I just feel bad that he is playing this game at the age of 11 and a half. It does seem to be that they like the vehicles and not the violence after all.

I have had my paperwork through with change of school on it. It is not the school that we want as we want him to go to special school. We are still waiting for confirmation of proper diagnosis of asd and when we have it he should be able to get in at the school we want. The problem I have is that the LEA have used old statement paperwork from year 3 , (now in year 6) which states old information and none of the up to date agreed stuff has been put on it. Do I still need to appeal it or will they change it later? I thought that maybe they were just allocating him a place at any school for the time being until the rest is sorted. I am going to put in a complaint to the health authority as they have been letting my son down since he was 3, he is now 11 and they still can't get it sorted. Thanks for any help in advance

I have a grunter, gets really embarassing at times. He grunted all afternoon yesterday, after he had kicked a coach and told my very religious auntie that "you can go and be boring again now". This was as we said goodbye to her after a coffee at her house.

I get so cross with My G.P. My son is underweight and he says, "he is eating and growing so what is the problem". My reply, "The fact that you can play a tune on his ribs, just like the piano". Nothing fits him anymore and my daughters friend who is anorexic was actually shocked at his body when she saw it. I know his dad is thin and really tall and that he had to have special powder on his food when he was young, but that was because he was living in Canada then. After the recent events in Birmingham with the little girl who died, I have started to worry that someone may report my son being underweight. Its that bad.

My son was diagnosed ADHD first and was medicated. Although we had never been sure what was wrong with him, we had gone back and forth between the ASD or ADHD diagnosis'. The teachers said that he couldn't be ADHD at first when he was medicated as "Children that take Ritalin for ADHD usually are sorted out on medication". When the medication started working at the right dose, all his autistic traits started coming out like not being able to go in to the classroom, too bright, too loud, too smelly. He is now waiting for a diagnosis on this. The ed Psych basically said that he doesn't know how he has been missed, but his ADHD symptoms took over his life, that is why the family could see it but the teachers were only looking for the one lot of symptoms, if you know what I mean. Sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees.

Snap !! I have exactly the same problem with husband.

I would say that the ed psych writes a report to us as parents about our child and then we have to take it to the consultant clinical psychologist who will read it and use it as evidence. She or he will then make a decision along with their own observations. <'>

Does anyone have any idea how much it cost to get a private diagnosis of ASD? I have been told yesterday by the ed psych that it seems my son has nearly all symptoms and he will refer back to the social development team. The only problem is the waiting list yet again, as he has to be re-referred. The ed psych mentioned perhaps going private so do I take this as a hint from him that he will get diagnosed? Ed Psych said that the Social Development Team only meet once a month and they only manage to get through 3 or 4 children a time. I am really cross as my son has already had to wait years to get his ADHD recognised and now they say that it will probably be years before they can sort this one out. The fact that he has always been the same since he was little and that they have ruled out ASD in the past saying it is only traits infuriates me. Now he is on medication to concentrate, he just concentrates on his obsessions now and the school have picked this up. To get into a decent special school that will stick to his statement means that his diagnosis needs changing. We in our area can't access the right support without a diagnosis. Sorry to moan on, I have had a good cry today and now I am Mrs Angry. "watch out CAHMS here I come".

I knew that if I asked on here I would look like a fool as a reply might come. It came today and this time it has been a 12 day turn around for them. That includes the weekends but not the postage LOL. They got it on the 6th and wrote the letter of reply on the 18th. Middle care, lower getting round. Quite happy with that, must have been all of the reports that I sent in with the claim form as they only used that information, oh and the nice photo of my son sat on the train smiling. I only have to reapply when he is 14.

Childs NI number, just leave blank if it is first time claiming. If it is second time then the number would be on any letters you get back from DLA.

Oh you don't want to punish yourself for not realising. All children are different and some children are more classic than others. At the end of the day I should think that everyone would have had a point at which they reached either the conclusion that their child was different or that they couldn't cope and the decisions were made for them. My son was complicated and although I knew that he was late with his milestones he was only borderline and it was only when we couldn't cope that we started to realise something was wrong.

Does anyone have any idea how long DLA are taking to process the forms and give a decision at the moment. Thanks in advance Clair

On my gosh. I am going through exactly the same thing. Son won't spend any time in the class, he is in year 5 and the school have just told me they don't think he will manage in mainstream. The ed psych has been in to see him and now suspects an asd. The bit about sitting in the library hit home with me as that is what my son prefers to do. When they asked him why he wouldn't go in to class (apart from joining in a karate lesson in the hall) he wrote down on a piece of paper that he didn't know why, just that the doctor needed to sort his head out for him and tell the school what is wrong with him.

Hugs to you dear !! I have just got used to breaking down all over the place, the toilet, the shops, the car and more lately the school. People don't realise what you are going through and we all feel like we should keep it in. Well I used to feel this way until I completely broke down and ended up in the local Mental Health unit. It took me a long time to recover, however, It taught me something. Its good to cry as it is your body's release mechanism, the more you store it up the worse you feel and eventually your body gives up as there is no room left for anything else. I have found that it has helped in situations at school as well. I have been sat there listening to "blah blah blah your son's behaviour" from the head. and I have not been able to hold back the tears. Yes I felt like a complete idiot, however, The next day they had suddenly changed their minds that it was naughty behaviour and decided that they need to get ed psych back in to re-assess. Yes carry on crying, it will do you the world of good. (hark at me, trying to keep positive. LOL)

My son had the ed psych going in to school to see him. The teacher said he definately turned up, however, she then said that he should get in touch with me next. The only thing was she had no idea when exactly. I don't know if he has to write a report or will he ring me up to make appointment. What is the norm please from your experience?

My son has no enamel on his teeth and has had to have 5 teeth removed as a result. He is not yet diagnosed but is on his way to being, he is ADHD though. Don't know that much about it either, just be careful and try to get them to brush teeth, that was the advice I was given. Easier said than done though at times.

Hi and thanks for the replies so far. I have been told by the ed psych concerned that he also sits on the panel for asd diagnosis and he sits on the ADHD team at Camhs. My sons teacher phoned this evening after school and said that he will not even as much go into the classroom anymore and that he spends all day obsessively thinking that he is a truck driver. If the teachers try and distract him he hits the roof and tells them that he must finish his job or park his lorry or he will not get paid for it. They are really worried so they asked the school nurse to sit down with him and talk. He says that he knows there is something wrong with his brain that won't let him get on with school work. Apparantly he was holding his head and getting really upset saying that he needed the doctor to find out what was wrong and put it right. I didn't know this when he first came out of school with his sister. He said that he had been good at school so I left it at that. He just doesn't see that he needs to try his work. I have said that if it is ASD then it could be sensory overload, but only a diagnosis will determine that, If not then I need to be looking into OCD.

Hi there, I just duck in and out from time to time. Nice to meet you. Everyone here is great and they have helped me through the hard times, (what am I saying; its always hard !!!!) LOL

Hi everyone, I am confused and need some advice. My son has a statement for ADHD (emotional and behavioural) and is going to be moving to secondary school in a year and a halfs time. School have said that since he has been on his ritalin, hie autistic traits have become more noticable and they think that he could be aspergers aswell as ADD. They say he is not going to manage in mainstream secondary school and that he needs to go to a special school. Does his statement have to be changed like they say? as it already reads like a child with autism for example, low arousal room, supervised play and the list goes on. The amount he gets funded is just under �8000 a year. The educational Psych says that he is going in to school to see him and the school are going to support this diagnosis so I don't have to worry there, It is just the LEA lady said that he would need the statement changing to something else to get into an autism specialist school, otherwise he would have to go to a behaviour place; which would definately not be right for him. Any advice much appreciated.

Oh my !! What you have described Madme is the same as what my son is experiencing. Diagnosis of Adhd first, then put on medication which should have completely resolved the problem, only now school have said they want a reassessment of his diagnosis and statement as the asd traits that he had are getting far worse. They have told me what they think (aspergers) and that they don't think that he is going to cope in mainstream school and told me to write to LEA as well as themselves to ask for a professionals meeting. The funny thing that happened tonight is that I had to go to a meeting for year fives (with a statement) for transition to secondary school. There was the lady I had to write to at the LEA, the new educational psychologist, the parent partnership woman, and the labbs lady that knows him from school, so I set to work. By the end of the meeting the ed Psych said that he would see him by the end of the week as he is based in an office at my son's school. He said he had not met my son but the minute the labbs lady said that he had seen him in the corridor on many occassions, and by the time my sister who is a speech therapist had finished with him, he couldn't wait to get involved. I think by saying how utterly exhausted I was at the whole fighting process and the fact that I was probably going to have to home school him; it worked a treat. Sorry to jump in on this thread but I really needed to tell someone !!

Hi Can anyone just answer a question for my sis in law? Do you get IEP meetings in secondary school? If so How many a year do you have? My sis in law has only her son's statement review this year. I thought you had one every term or is this just primary schools. Any help on this matter would be great. Thanks Clair