Kazzen161

Not all things work with all children - but I think visual timetables are one of the things most likely to work with all ASD children. Social stories did not work for one of my sons. Visual timetables are only an aid - eg: if the child cannot brush his teeth, then putting it on a visual timetable will not enable him to do so. Perhaps your son is just not ready for that yet. A visual timetable has helped my other son at school, but he still will not go to some lessons. I doubt he will ever go to French, and he is going to need some support to go to English. His (mainstream) school has been surprised how much they have helped, and can't understand why, as my son can read and use a normal timetable. Karen

I finally found out what T has been awarded - middle care and low mobility, which is fine. They said they only used my form for evidence, so I must have done it OK. Karen

You must start the Tribunal proceedings within the time limit - do not worry about the other stuff going on - you can always cancel the appeal if the LEA change their mind. Is the disagreement resolution an independent agency or the LEA one? I have found that the LEA one can sometimes be used to "suss" you out - to see if you are going to give in or what your strategy is. It should not go against you if you do go (more likely to go against you if you don't, as you may seem unreasonable - ha ha!). If you make it clear that you will not give in until your child is assessed, then the LEA may well give in. It is true that the Panel cannot give a statement if there is not evidence that the School has not done everything it possibly can within its normal resources to meet the child's needs - but schools often don't record incidents/strategies tried. Karen

In Hants (SE) it is about �30 per session, but there can be concessions if you are on benefit. You don't need to go that often after the intial sessions eg: once a month/every six weeks, three times a year. Karen

That's good news - I hope it all goes well. Karen

Depends on where on the spectrum they are, and their age. For Aspergers - anything by Tony Attwood For Autism anything by Rita Jordan. It is always useful to read books written by children/adults who have ASD - I love the one by Kenneth Hall - he was only 11(?) when he wrote it, but it is easy to read and quite funny. Look on the NAS site - they have a publications list which describes each book. Karen

I took amitriptyline for a while, as an anti-depressant. It did help me to sleep. I started on 20mg, but that made me feel like I was drunk - nicely drowsy, a bit wobbly and nothing could upset me. I reduced my dose to 10mg cos I could not look after the kids feeling like that. I would ask about reducing the dose. Karen

My son has been really awful for the last few weeks - very negative, un-co-operative, noisy, etc. He has had a difficult time at school this half-term. Took him for cranial osteopathy on Friday - he really did not want to go - said it is boring, and doesn't do anything, but I made him. The therapist said his system was totally locked. He was there for half an hour. Afterwards the change was amazing - he was co-operative, talking at a normal volume, holding a normal conversation, and seemed really happy. I hope the effects last! Karen

Is also good if you have a colicky baby or a child who has a lot ear infections or glue ear. Two of my sons have had it, and it does seem to calm them down. Karen

IEP's only looked at once a year - that seems far too long - what happens if they get to the end of the year and the targets have not been achieved- what a waste of time. The Code of Practice recomends at lease three times a year (4.28). I'm glad the school are being more helpful now. Karen

Kinesiology is another way to determine intolerances. The therapist found T was intolerant to wheat (which I didn't suspect) and to milk (which I suspected, but which she said would be unlikely!). Karen

I was late sending my form back - well, I had no chance of doing it in the Summer hols! I had three chasing letters, and then the lady asked about it when I rang them about something else - I told her I was "a little bit busy" and would do it when I got the chance. I sent it off the other day, and just got a letter saying if I had not heard in 8 weeks to contact them. I hope I do, cos it runs out in 7 weeks time. You can send Part one back now, and Part 2 in later. It took me 2 full days to fill mine in, and that was copying some bits from the last claim. Karen

That's why it is always best to write a letter to the school summarising every conversation and what was agreed - even better, send it by recorded post so you have a signature of receipt. I was amazed at what was not put on R's record - even the letter from school threatening exclusion was not on his record (I didn't want it to be,so I didn't make a fuss) - but an incident where R was physically removed from the classroom was not even recorded on an incident sheet, let alone recorded on his record. I am recording everything that has happened re: R going to secondary school - he has only been there three weeks, and already I have a small file full of stuff. You can also ask to see the LEA's file on your child - as long as you give them notice (so they can magic away all the awful stuff!!), you can read it on their premises, and ask for photocopies of anything you want. I am sure it would make interesting reading! Karen

I can't offer much advice, as my household is much the same (three boys, two with AS) but.. T used to be vey untidy, but he is now quite tidy. Doesn't always put things in logical places, but his room is fairly tidy now (however he is now 14!). R is only 11, and hasn't got a clue how to tidy up - he needs to be told - pick up the books.....right, now pick up the games..... right, now put the rubbish in the bin, etc. Karen

We avoided a "Thomas the Tank" obssession - partly cos my son was called Thomas, and I didn't want him to be given everything to do with T-the-T, and also because I found it incredibly boring and repetitive to watch, so I always turned it off! Karen

Even at 5 it is good to think of the future - my son can wire up a house, mow my lawn, fix my washing machine, do basic plumbing, use power tools, etc. He hopefully will be able to find a job (we reckon people are so desperate for plumbers, they will put up with his slight oddities!). Some obsessions are less useful eg:knowing all the football statistics for the last ten years, being able to differentiate between different types of pylons. Karen

PS the problem with my son's obsession is that I can't take him to the dump, cos he comes back with more than we go with, and people are always kindly giving him broken things, which he stores in his room, or takes apart and leaves in pieces all over the floor!

My son also likes the fans on bouncy castles - you always find him around the back looking at the fan! He likes electrical things in general - he likes taking things apart, and now (at 14) can usually put them back together again and fix things. When he was younger we would give him broken things to take apart, but he was always very good about not plugging things in. So for obsessions - encourage the good (useful) ones, and shape others into more useful ones (eg: water interest into plumbing), and distract/kill the non-useful ones. Also teach relevant safety aspects from a young age. T also likes ponds, pond pumps, and waterfalls, and he can now make and maintain ponds. Though he has decided he wants to be a plumber! Karen

It also depends if the LEA agree with your "choice" of school. If they insist on naming a different school, you may have to take the LEA to Tribunal. This is why it is very important to check what is specified in the statement - so it backs up your "choice" of school. Karen

T was getting high rate dla when we first applied, but now gets middle rate. The lady who came to "assess" us was very nice, and it was she who suggested some of the things that we coudl apply for. It is always worth applying if you meet the income criteria. egs they give: *needs a lot of personal attention or supervision most of the time *help with getting around *help with communication *special help cos of severe behavioural difficulties look at the web site http://www.familyfundtrust.org.uk/ Karen

The FF are being very slow processing the applications at the moment. We have had two holidays, a trampoline, a TV, and travel expenses. I sent off an application in March for money for a holiday to break up the Summer hols, and money towards a shed so T has somewhere to go away from us all. They took so long (mid July) to send the money that I had trouble finding a holiday, and the shed will not be here til September - oh well... Karen

I think my two son's AS has a genetic origin (their Dad has mild AS traits). Maybe something to do with the immune system too - their Dad has diabetes and alopaecia - both auto-immune diseases. After the MMR, T got a little patch of excsma (sp?), which he'd never had before. Karen

It is quite common for our children to have a limited range of food that they will eat - although different children will eat different things. A lot of them do not like things mixed up together, preferring them to be separate on the plate. My son would never eat veg or fruit, but at the age of 13 he decided he likes lettuce! So never give up hope. I always ask him to try a little taste of new things, but don't push him if he doesn't like it. He has been a lot better since he has started cooking things for himself. Karen

Yes, it is like an addiction (which is why it is usually the foods they eat most which are the problem ones). Some children will eat shampoo or carpets in their quest to get some gluten! We saw a good Doctor locally who has a special interest in diet and autism. My son was 10 then, and he looked for certain signs (eg: black circles under his eyes). He said he could see no strong indication that he was intolerant to gluten or casein, and that it would be hard to change his diet at that age. However, from my own experience I am sure that overloading him with gluten or casein does not do him any good. I have given up cheese, and then recently wheat, and it was hard at first (I was craving them) but after a few weeks it didn't bother me at all. My friend has three children who are coeliac, so she does this all the time. She makes her own cakes and bread. If you find the right gf/cf products they are nice to eat, but some of them are not. Karen

The eye Q capsules are much smaller than the own-brand ones. My son has been taking them for a while, and I was not sure if there was any change but I have now found out he has not actually been taking them for a few weeks, and he has definitely been more hyper. My friends son has started taking them, and he definitley seemed less hyper last time I saw him. Karen