big mamma

Hi koala, My daughter is almost 3 and was recently given a formal diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder. although I still have 'black' days when i really worry about the future mostly I am trying to concentrate on the here and now and taking each day as it comes. Although she's very hard work I try and remember every day how very special she is look forward to hearing more from you.

Welcome Ollie's Mum. Hope you find the forum as helpful as I do.

Hi Loraine, My daughter was formally diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder last month, aged 2 1/2. The only thing they did say is that they wouldn't give a more specific diagnosis at this stage eg. Asperger's Syndrome (although all the signs point to this) as she is so young. To be honest with you had I taken her for assessment at 18 months I think she would have been diagnosed then as well as her problems / cleverness were apparent even then. I know what you mean about them being labelled at such an early age but to me I look at the diagnosis as ammunition in my no doubt lifelong fight to get her the support she needs. If we had just ignored the difficulties and blamed it on shyness etc. we would have been currently wondering what the hell we would do about nursery placements etc. Because we have sought help, her entry into a nursery environment has been carefully planned and staged in a manner she can cope with. Also I think it has made it easier for other family members / friends to accept her somewhat bizzare behaviour now that her problems have a name.

hello Kay, Welcome to the forum. I know exactly how you feel but once you know what you're dealing with things are lot less scary. I don't know what help ( if any ) you're getting at the moment but I've had tremendous support from my early intervention worker. Don't know what's on offer in your area but I'm sure your Health Visitor could point you in the right direction. Let us know how it goes.

Well done all !! :

Hi Carol J I was a bit more clued up by the time I got round to giving junior the single measles and rubella jabs. Because of the bad reactions she had suffered after her first set of jabs ( 2,3 & 4 months ) I followed the advice of Dr John McKenna and gave vitamin C in powdered form for I think 3 days before and 3 days after jabs as well as junior echinicea in liquid form. There was no apparent reaction to either vaccine at the time.

Hi Matthew, There are ways to help boost your child's immune system to help her system cope with the jabs. If you go into your local health store you can get some powdered Vitamin C and Junior Echinicea to use as a dietary supplement , Every little helps !

Hear Hear !

Welcome Sam - hope you find this forum as useful as I do

Gita, I have decided not to proceed with any further immunisations for my daughter but this is mainly because of bad reactions she has had to previous ones. I have to admit that there is a part of me that is worried about her catching the diseases but I feel that as long as I keep her as healthy then her immune system will cope and hopefully strengthen as a result. Type post vaccination syndrome into your search engine for an alternative point of view to the government. Or look at http://www.thinktwice.com/

Wendy, Have a look at the following website : www.thinktwice.com It gives a completely different standpoint on vaccinations and it's worth seeing both sides of the coin

Junior didn't roll over until she was about 14 months old. she started crawling around the same time and I do remember it looked a bit odd but can't remember why. She did use to love going on a swing until about age 2 and now she screams if you put her on it as she prefers to push it!

Hi Caroline, I also had PSD whilst pregnant with Junior and was on crutches for 5 months. It must be really difficult for you trying to keep up with a toddler as well - at least I only had myself to look after! I'm sure you'll be back on your feet quite quickly once baba has arrived - not that you'll have much of an option!! Take care and put your feet up whenever you can.

Hello, I have been an avid reader of this website since being told my daughter displays a lot of the 'symptons' of high functioning autism / aspergers syndrome. It has been a mine of information during what was initially a very frightening time. Junior is only 2 but it's fair to say there have been a lot of behaviours since birth which have seemed very different. We are currently waiting on an assessment at a local child centre and have been promised speech therapy sessions - not because she can't talk but because she finds it so hard to communicate. Will keep you posted and again thanks for all the advice.