Deedee

Hi bluefish does your mum read at all?? I found my poor mum really struggled to understand M when he was younger and often got cross and embarassed about his behaviour.Sooo I started her off slowly,with just a leaflet or two then a book,then most of my library lol..now finally at the age of 9 she seems to finally 'get it'. :rolleyes:and realises why he does what he does. It'll take a lot of patience on your side and hers but you'll get there..my dad on the other hand is a total head in the sand fingers in the ears type !!

Madme I think you should be extremely proud of your son and how he has dealt with it I'd find it hard not to go in there too but just keep a close eye on how things progress, it may be that now he's stood up to her and she's seen he won't let her get away with it she'll leave him alone *fingers crossed*

Well the cynic in me says its either about cash or results...it is in my school anyway!! When M's primary came in the bottom lot of SATS results for the whole country I started looking more closely at the figures the school had given for SEN pupils etc.. I discovered apparently that something like 51% of our seemingly normal school population actually had SEN's...as I said I'm a TOTAL cynic where their figures are concerned,apparently our borough dishes out more cash for SEN pupils

Thats just ludicrous.. I have a meeting with our MP at the Carers centre next week I'll be bringing this to his attention.

Madme thats awful... A lot of our kids have very low self esteem so she's not exactly going to help things with comments like that.I think you are entirely justified in complaining..I would..very strongly!!

Hiya all not been around much lately due to M being totally off the wall...all have now agreed he needs 'Autism specific' school but struggling to find a suitable one! I have 3 shortlisted 2 of which have possible spaces but wondered if anyone can advise if their kids go there already.I know its a long shot but after so many years of him suffering I need to get this right!!! We've got an emergency review beginning of March so there's not much time I want to be able to name a school then. If you can PM me I'll tell you which schools we are looking at *mods I hope this is allowed if not please let me know* He's year 4 so its primary we are looking at..NO bases within mainstream as things have deteriorated too much for a mainstream placement in any form now..and preferably one with a high school attached.Thanks in advance

Just popping in to post this.I read in yesterdays Mail the book was being released.Its called A Friend Like Henry by Nuala Gardner and the dvd is also out now for those who missed it on TV (or like me want to see it again). Some of the proceeds from the book are also going to NAS

Hi Michelle DS2's dimple is about an inch above the normal two dimples and in line with the spine rather than on his tailbone.Please don't worry about the statement about paralysis etc this refers to untreated open spinabifida, which in this day and age thankfully rarely occurs, at least in the western world... R's dimple is like a little hole which you can't see the bottom of he had it scanned and checked til he was 5 to see if it was tethered (attached to nerves etc) but was given the all clear...only to develop severe scoliosis at the age of 8 due to tethering!!!!!

WHOA!!!!!! DS 2 has the dimple too.....this is getting spooky.... He's suspected of having spina bifida occulta due to his scoliosis(curvature of the spine) and other probs relating to his general 'twistiness He deffo has Aspie traits as does my eldest boy.We are trying to get an MRI for M arranged but as our GP is a total * * we are still waiting but it would be weird if this did show up in him.Thanks for the link Anyone else with dimples????

<'> Hope you all have a great day This isn't that far from me but have way too much aggro going on at the moment to make the trip.. maybe next time hope those who go have a really wonderful time and we all want a full blow by blow account when you get home!!!!!

Good one J Michelle, we lurch from being promised the earth to everything going t*ts up in a very short space of time here much the same as everyone else I'm afraid!!! Our local Guardian had a 2 page spread proclaiming how our borough is leading the way in specialist ASD bases etc but I can't get my son a place in one as most places are occupied from out of borough and most of our kids have to struggle in mainstream.... I do have a meeting tomorrow though with our local MP and will be taking that with me to *discuss* with him

Hi Hedders M has always struggled with processing language both understanding and processing what he hears then trying to find the right language and order of words to answer with.Our speech therapy started really slow and repetetive with very basic things like under,in front,behind etc..Later we worked on simple commands like 'M take cup',always starting each sentence with M's name and when he took the cup lots of praise and 'well done m take cup' repeating everything..lots!! I still do this now so everyone round here thinks I'm a total fruitloop lol but it works for us I made games with simple pictures and again repeated everything over and over even when M totally ignored me... We use visual prompts also so if M gets too stressed to use words he can still communicate but these are used more to 'organise' him now rather than for speech (he's nearly 9 now). He often 'loses' speech but I think this is also part of ASD two step forward and one back...but keep at it our kids are capable of learning and acheiving things I never thought M would speak,read,write but in his own way he does all these things

M's speech was pretty much non-existent at 4,he communicated mainly through grunts and headbutts or the occasional foot grind on mine or stamp...I was blessed though to have the most wonderful SALT for the past 5 years who has worked tirelessly with him.M still muddles words all the time eg 'my breathed worn out cos my engines thirsty' but we get the gist The more excited/stressy he gets the more muddled it becomes but at times he speaks reasonably well too We did have a classic when his tutor was here the other day when I told her he had said to me..'when you're old and I'm a dad i'm gonna get a dog' she said great speaking M to which he replied 'when you're old you can't see me no more cos you'll be slow and your dog will be dead!!!!!' PS I'm officially in shock as my SALT has been promoted to head the whole boro's SALT provision and is leaving us I have lost such a dear friend BUT hope she kicks butt in her new role and goes on to help many others

Hi di Its such a mix of emotions when you finally hear it confirmed isn't it..Well done on persisting for Dan's sake as 'hopefully' now you will get more support for him as well as for you and the family <'> Everything started to fall into place for us once we had a dx,its still a battle at times but its such a help to have that to wave at people when needed!!! Best of luck Dee XX

Well we have much the same probs with M's lunch...I had to do an emergency strawberry run just this morning as he has a box cut up for break and some for lunch..every day 365 days a year ..or else We currently have a problem as the capri sun makers have changed the packaging and I am hunting down the last few packs he'll drink in all the supermarkets,quite what I'll do when we run out is beyond me....and now to top it all off flamin' Robinsons orange squash have done the same thing...new label and new improved drinks

Hi Bullet I read your post and it brought back memories of my own son he too had this sort of profile (when he was finally assessed at 6 !!) Sadly at age 3 though we were given no info by the professionals so being a bit naive still to the ways of ASD we 'chose' to persue a mainstream education..much now to my regret...He is now nearly 9 and was when he was 6 on the 99th centile for visual perception and way down on the 17th for language..these have now dropped to around 1/4 of what they were and still falling due to now not being able to change schools...Well done on making the right choice for your DS <'>

Hi Pingu Never been to the Lakes but a few peeps on another forum I frequent have and they say its lovely. Our holiday plans are much like yours due to the boys different probs with mobility etc...I have a lovely Kevlar army helmet you can borrow if you like If you do the diet there are a few shops there that are helpful (will dig out info if needed) and Haven sites are generally pretty good with our boys For example letting my eldest (16) go into the ballpit with M to stop any kamikaze stunts!!! The first thing I generally pack is the playstation and the portable dvd player just in case of bad weather...M doesn't 'do' the entertainment so most evenings are very loooong. Hope you have a great time <'>

Well done Hev I always think it gives you such a boost having your hair done...my 'regular' hairdresser( where I manage to get to once a year if I'm lucky) always says I should go more often to help me relax lol,it's one of those dive in and grab a seat jobbies I don't dare book anything as I'd never end up getting there!!I was gonna hilight mine but when I inspected it I've got so many new grey hairs I needn't bother anymore

Thanks everyone for your great advice as always I have a *little meeting* with our acting Head booked for Monday I did have a reception comittee waiting for me the next morning to make sure he was ok, which is always a bonus...the staff generally run off or start shuffling lots of interesting papers when they see me coming,can't think why??? We haven't dared mention the 'S' word again yet so no idea wether he will even entertain the thought of going again yet supported or not,will keep you posted..

<'> No prob Di I think there's quite a few AS parents here who can advise further on the criteria different docs use for DX .When you first start at CAMHS I think they just collect info to start more than actually doing anything! We were under them for almost 2 years before we got a firm dx as we were passed round 4 different docs..we seemed to go through every test known to man as well lol ... Once dx we were then cast adrift but now been rereferred and getting much better support this time round although still no therapy as such just trying out new strategies (well I like to humour our Psych as she's so nice but they're mainly things we've already tried!!!!) Its just a relief to be able to talk to someone who actually 'gets' it for a change,she understands M pretty well and she kicks butt at the school

LOL I know what you mean about the flexible bits my DS2 bends in ways I'm sure he's not supposed to.Pingu you might remember when I said before to get his little back checked just in case I also mentioned my boys feet and legs.We started with lifts to help with the aches and pains but now have a lightweight splint for days when he's really achy and its worked really well Might be something to question the doc about in case it/they may help?? My DS gets similar pains but we were told the more flexible he was the less pain he would get,although BECAUSE he's flexible thats why he's twisting more... We also had a gait analysis done by the OT which then devised a physioplan for us.Have they given you any exercises to do with him? Glad to see Shaunas doing better too <'>

M + Coke = ROCKETFUEL We don't 'do' fizzies here for any of the boys as M can sniff it out at a thousand paces..then the ears go red then its lookout for blastoff...literally !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hope you managed to get some rest Hev <'>

Hi Di Now our doc at CAMHS said they can't dx M with Aspergers as he has a speech and language disorder so it has to be dx as Autism,as people with Aspergers are really confident fluent speakers with no speech problems Wish they'd all sing from the same hymnsheet!!!

<'> Hi Liz so sorry you didn't have any joy with the SALT today.I can't believe the difference in the provision from one LEA to another....I am just so damn lucky with that bit (it's just everything else here is c*ap but I'm working on that) In our borough there is a real shortage of SALTs to work in the Bases attached to mainstreams and in the special schools..one ASD base has had no SALT for 2 years!! Ours comes under the mainstream team totally weird way of doing things eh?????

<'> Oh no I'm really sorry to hear that SG I hope everything settles down for you all soon <'> Hopefully Hev's just gone for a walk to get away from it all for a bit (I can remember doing the self same thing to my hubby a while back...just upped and went round to the local park and dawdled around for a bit to calm down!!!) Dee X