pingu

Certainly is. ill have a please. double, no make that triple. in fact ask the barman to cork the bottle and leave it with me.

Bagpuss some of this is similar to what we went through. The school insisted that he was ok, but i still had to stay with him for 20 of the 22 months he was in nursery. . ggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrr cant find any peanuts btw, will salt n vinigar crisps do?

Hi there, <'> Im in the first stages of writing a book. The idea has been growing since K was Dx 3 yrs ago. I now know how i want it to be set out, but am stuggling a bit. I have wrote chapters 1-4, but the more i go on, the more i am thinking that im doing it wrong. You see i have started writing from the time before he was diagnosed. so im writing as though its the first time im going through everything, school, personality dagnosis etc. but i keep having to "skip" to the next timescale. For example christmas is wrote as a 'flashback'. As i dont write books for a living, and because i dont read an awful lot, im worried its not going to make sense. A couple of you <'> you know who you are <'> have already kindly agreed to read through chapter one. And your opinions have been noted With thanks But i could really use another couple of volunteers. Any critisisims will be taken and used positivl. I just need to know (initially) if you can follow it. (Mum said she couldn't) I jump around a bit with the story, and that is what worries me. Ive been sat here staring at a blank screen for the last 2 hours trying to find a way to bring things forward a bit, so i can start chapter 5 at the time he went to nursery. Any ideas/suggestions/help. would be great. If its any easier and the mods dont mind, then i have no problem with sharing chapter one on this thread with all of you, but i will wait to see the response before posting, Im hoping the book (when completed) will be helpful to others like us, and im hoping it will give an insight to what families go through to get the condition recognised. anyway ill stop babbling and see what you think. thanks shaz ******************************************************************************** ******************** Thanks for your replies. Im going to add chapter one here. Not sure if im doing the right thing. but here goes. Myworld. Chapter 1 Prefix I heard it before I opened my eyes, even before the alarm hammered home some ridiculous hour My subconscious already giving help to the conscious.. Fully awake now I had to admit it was loud, It was audible over the sound of the alarm. It was the first thing that flashed across my mind, RAIN, it hadn?t rained for ages, but this was one downpour which usually ended in news broadcasts and waders, it was chucking it down And in the millisecond it took my brain to register what this now meant, a thousand things crashed to the forefront of my mind. Switching off that damn alarm was one of them. I had taken a chance with the alarm, I didn't think I would get away with it. But I had. A quick check on the sleeping figures assured me that I had disturbed no one. As I stared at my reflection a few minutes later, I thought it was a good job I hadn?t woken up the kids, they wouldn?t recognise me.. I didn?t recognise myself. My eyes were swollen, the left one looked bloodshot. My hair seemed to have grown greyer overnight so that now it looked like the streaks had been put there professionally. I knew it would be this way, I needed time to compose myself. I had hoped that sleep would make things clearer, that I would 'feel better'.'Things are always better in the morning right? That's what I told myself as sleep finally took me at sometime around 3 am. Looking in the mirror now, I didnt feel composed yet. Making my way downstairs my mind kept trying to flash back to the previous night. Like stills from a camera, my family in different poses, but no smiles lit up their faces. Ignoring the thoughts I made my way downstairs all the time pushing the images away, I couldn't deal with them not yet. The kitchen showed evidence of last night?s activities, ignoring the mess as though it didn?t exist I gripped the work surface, breathing like it was something new. I tried to concentrate - on happy thoughts. Focus! I could hear the ticking of the clock I hadn't realised it made a noise, I hadn't heard it before. I could hear a bird outside, chirping freely, perfectly happy to be up before first light. I imagined the birds' parents, telling the early bird to get back to the nest, it was still dark outside, to early to be awake. That's how I felt. I sympathised with the birds parents. I breathed out slowly. I hadn't realised I had been holding my breath whilst I daydreamed about the birds, the happy thoughts. I made a coffee, strong, 2 sugars. I looked around me. And as if seeing my kitchen for the first time that morning I realised I had to get out of the house. The beach behind my eyes was now threatening an imminent tide. The rain which had been so heavy upon my waking had now reduced to a fine drizzle. It was only when I was seated on the garden swing did I allow the tide to come in. At first they were sobs, from deep within me. I heaved and shook. I hadn?t realised I felt this bad. I heard a wheeze from within my chest, evidence that I was smoking way to many cigarettes. The wheeze distracted the panic rising within me, and the sobs became a steady flow of tears. The first light of the day broke as my thoughts finally won. The pictures which I had pushed away earlier were now playing a slideshow with working sound and colour. My rational mind tried to make sense of what had happened the night before, my irrational mind wanted to continue looking at the pictures like they were pages in the latest family album. My rational mind won. But not entirely, the pictures now played like a film in the background. It played out the entire night::- whilst I tried to make sense of it. Scene one. Steve had gone for a bath around 6, he couldn?t find the bathplug. It had been going missing for the last couple of weeks. Liam joked that we must have a ghost. He was obsessed with ghosts and all things paranormal. And at first we thought he might be hiding it just to prove his theory. Yesterday I had found it on Kieran?s bed and the week before Shauna located it in the kitchen. Last night though, it was nowhere to be found. Steve had joked that we had a bathplug thief. But at 7pm the joking had stopped. Liam had found the bathplug tucked inside Kieran's pillow and had dutifully returned it to us. That is where the problem had started I took another intake of breath as I forced myself to carry on with the events?? Scene two. Kieran following us around in the search for the plug, his blanket tucked under his arm, his own plug held into position at the corner of his mouth, chewing on the rubber teat rather than sucking on it, His placid manner and his silence moved around with us as we frantically searched. At the point where Liam had made the discovery things seemed to speed up, and by the time I had blinked the picture in front of me had changed. Confusion kicked into the list of feelings as I forced myself to remember ?? Scene three. Kieran was on top of Liam, wrestling the bathplug from him. Screams filled the air , it took me a second to realise that the screams were coming from Kieran, who now had the upper hand and had knelt on Liam?s face to get a better grip on the string attached to the plug. Now it was Liam screaming as he realised that Kieran wasn?t playing,. With one last attempt Kieran pulled the plug free of his brothers? hand. The screaming stopped momentarily but started again the second Liam snatched the plug back from Kieran. I got off the swing and walked amongst the weeds at the top of the garden. I?d had hopes for the garden. 4 years ago when we moved here. The full garden looked like a jungle back then. We had worked hard and managed to get the weeds cut back enough to give the kids some playing room. We were left however with a ?no man?s land? about double the size of our living room. Walking amongst the brambles, I didn?t care that my legs were getting scratched, or that that my slippers were wet and muddy, the rain was still falling, I fought the urge to go back inside and instead allowed my mind to continue. Scene four Liam running down the stairs ? Kieran hot on his heals, screaming. No words emerged from him just horrible screams like he had become a wild animal who had been badly injured. There was another struggle in the kitchen as Liam finally handed the plug over, Kieran lunged at Steve. Expecting it, Steve grabbed Kieran's hands and held him calmly. This seemed to have a negative effect and the screams became howls. Steve let go of Kieran. Steve looked at me, despair in his eyes, I looked at him confusion in mine. Confusion meets despair ?what the hell?? I watched the sun, it was trying to shine through the sea of grey and loosing its battle, the result left a pattern in the sky that could have been a rainbow had it been the right shape. It was whilst staring at this beautiful pattern that I forced the last chunk of last night?s memory to the forefront of my mind. The tears started again as I remembered. ?. Scene five. Kieran curled up into a ball, his blanket now beneath him. His dummy was still at the corner of his mouth, only now it hung there. It occurred to me that all the time he had been screaming, he never lost the dummy. His howls had reduced to quiet sobs. His face and upper body were red and blotchy, a rash of welts led a merry dance across his back. I knelt beside him. Tried to reach out to him. He made no move. "Kieran" silence "What's up K"? More silence I didn't really expect an answer, he hadn't spoke a coherent word in the two years since he had been born I picked him from the floor. His body tensed but he didn't fight me. I wanted to hold him tight, to reassure him that everything was going to be ok. But I knew that it wouldn't be possible to do that not yet. Steve came to my side and stroked his face "what was that about spud"? he said gently. Liam and Shauna had escaped upstairs. I was torn between Kieran and them. Now I had hold of him, he wouldn?t let me put him down. The dummy was back in use, and as he chewed the rubber his eyes searched the work surface. It had taken Steve and me two hours to restore the house to order. Kieran slept fitfully from about 9pm. Shauna and Liam were unusually good until they went to bed at 9.30, I think they too were shocked at what they had seen and heard. I felt utterly useless, I know Steve did too. It was so out of character for him to behave like this, he?d had his moments in the past, he screamed as loud as the next kid if he didn?t get his own way. But this was something else. this was like raw grief, I had taken something so precious from him. Was he attached to the bathplug? Attached enough to act as though I had ripped his heart out? Lighting a cigarette as the sun finally broke. I smiled as I remembered Steve's first words after we had finally sat down with a cup of coffee. "Never did get my bath did I"? I had laughed at the comment, but the emotion attached to laughing seemed to encourage every other emotion in my body, I found myself loosing the plot soon after. Steve held me until I'd pulled myself together, he apologised for bringing up the subject of the bath again, I told him not to be daft, we both knew it wasn't that.. I made fresh coffee then we had talked. "I've never seen him so upset" he said, sipping his coffee. I wrapped my hands around my own mug " I know"..but...... "But what"? "Why"? "Why what"? "Why all that over a bathplug," what's it all about. I could have understood it if it was his blanket".? I let the silence say the rest. He knew what his blanket meant to him. He?d had it since he was a baby, Shauna had it before him and Liam before her, it was well worn but had been cosy once. Now it was thin and holey but much treasured. He went nowhere without it. "What should we do" Steve asked, his face mirrored my own confusion "Short term or long term"? Short. We can worry about the long term another day. he sipped more coffee "Do you mean the bathplug or his behaviour"? "Both?" His answer meant we sat for a further hour discussing what was happening to our family. We discussed everything we thought was a worry at present and the best way to deal with them. There on the list was Kieran's increasing anger, the mad rages that had obviously been responsible for tonight's outburst, by the time we had turned off the light we had made a list. Walking back towards the house I mentally checked that list again. 1) Temper tantrums 2) Not talking yet 3) Very clingy 4) Fussy eater 5) Odd behaviour (wanting the bathplug, and his recent love of the washing machine) We had agreed after making the list, to monitor his behaviour. We would give him the bathplug, more out of curiosity for its use, than for any other reason. I had laid the bathplug at the side of his pillow before going to bed. I?d looked at his small frame, wondered how something so quiet and still in sleep could cause so much mayhem in his waking hours. Then I lay for ages, trying to say goodbye to a day which had started so right. And ended so wrong

Ill have another with you. lol We started kieran on the advice of the health visitor. because he wasnt talking and hated other kids. looking back now i cant understand why i agreed to it?? shaz

Hello there everyone. Im taking a break from my "book" as i have a bit of brain freeze going on. Writing about the past seems to have stirred things up and now my brains having a meltdown. so im wondering if anyone fancies joining me for a beer / wine or spirit. soft drinks are also available. Im having them all. lol. Whilst we are sharing beverages here, could i start the ball rolling on the conversation side of things, and ask when your children/ yourself/ your loved one connected to ASD. Started Nursery / preeschool. You see, we were advised to start K early and he actually started very early. so im trying to ponder when is the norm to start nursery, and if anyone started their children early becuase of early problems. I.E language / social skills etc. Drinks are on me........ shaz

Welcome suzanne. I hope you get the answers you are seeking. This is a great place. If im truthful im no good when it comes to meeting real people too. but here its great, theres no pressure. post when you need to, and you will always get a staight honest no nonsense answer. take care of yourself. welcome again shaz <'>

awwwwwwwwwww soooooooooooo cute.

<'> thanks hun. And thanks for your pm's too. (you know who you are. <'>

Absolute classic. I once asked kieran where his hands were. As he ate a yougurt (he had his hands under the table). - he replied. On the end of the spoon. Another time, another boy was riding his scooter - kieran yelled loudly. OI HE'S WEARING MY SCOOTER!

Hi there. Apologies if im in the wrong section again. Just wondering if anyone knows how i can search out all the posts i have written from ages ago. or did they get lost with the "changing of the board". just been on the view posts bit but it only shows recent posts. thruth is i have been trying to write a book for the last couple of years and am now at a point where i can caontine with it, (in the right frame of mind at least). so i wanted to look back on something visual to see if it would help with my research. OH nearly forgot. would it be ok for me to mention this site......???? Moderator question ?? lol. I am not intending to mention anyone by name, but i am hoping to include what a help this site is. and has been. Im not sure how good it will be, i could do with a couple (few) volunteers to have a read of the first couple of pages. I really could do with an honest opinion. I keep asking steve to tell me what he thinks, but i think he is telling me what i want to hear instead of been honest. i dont want to continue if its rubbish and not interesting. Thanks guys (and gals). Please pm me if you would like to help,. Much appriciated shaz

Hi cat. I am going back up today (to the school) so i will ask her what they call the programme. when i asked yesterday how it was going to work on someone like kieran, who doesnt understand emotions, and cant really "feel" she just said. it hadnt been used for kids with autism YET. usually its for anger management. ???? shaz

Course you can photocopy it. i wrote it for k's statement, but if anyone else can get some help from it then please feel free. shaz

he'd start thinking 'too hard' about his heartbeat and get stressed that he wasn't breathing correctly and that his heart was racing, and so on - i.e. it would have totally the wrong effect. this sums up how i think K will react to be honest. but i am willing for them to try. more to see what does actually happen. We regularly use relaxation after a bad meltdown, but thats the only time he's in the mood because he has exhausted himself. I havent as yet managed to get him to calm down during the day. even after a meltdown, after we have done the heartbeat thing (which has to be done in his room whilst talking about colours) and he has calmed down mentally, he is still very physically active, usually going off for a good stim. Ill be curious to see what happens. shaz

Hi again. I was asked to go to the school today to meet with senco and this other lady who sort of works between home and school ?? anyway they ask me to be there for 8.30. = no chance. lol. i arrive just after 9, to be told the senco woundnt be able to make it because she has an appointment, which is ok i know shes been unwell so ianyway this lady asks me to go back tomorow instead, in my placid (BIDING MY TIME) MOOD i said that would be fine. (gives me another day to gather my point together). anyway. what im trying to get at is that she showed me a programme on the computer which they are intending to use on K, and was very enthusiastic to its "success rate", im wondering if you have any opinions, Its basically a programe which shows your heartbeat via a little thing attached to your finger, on the screen is the heart reading (squiggly lines) and little charts of various colours - the idea is the "subject" coinciously thinks about their heartbeat, they have to breath out for five seconds and then breath in for 5, and so on, She explained it puts your body back in sync and makes you less stressed. then went on to say that when you are relaxed the program gets you to think of a happy feeling and how it made you feel, (all the time remembering that breathing in and out thing) Basically its a form of relaxation. They think it will work for kieran (to enable him to "focus for the day") Id like to gather some opinions before i give my own. but here are the aims of the programme in brief just to clarify: 1) gets you to think about your breathing 2) by breathing 5 in and 5 out, it releases hormones which make you happy 3) by been happy and stress free you work better 4) used for anger management and relaxation mostly do you think this programme will work on k? Given the fact that we have, - by the time we get to the school gates on a morning, been up since 6am going through his routines and meltdown his worries and fears and everything else he has to do on a morning. sp by the time school time rolls around he is ready for the class. - im dubious. for many many reasons, but i would like your views first please shaz

Thanks kathryn. i totally agree. thanks for the link by the way - im gathering everything i can find to fight this one out - our journey towards all this has been absolute hell and we are that close and suddenly they throw another final obstacle in your way. like i say im biding my time shaz.

hi jomica I agree with every word you have written, in fact you have summed it up. Thats exactly the way i feel, and you would have thought that PP would have backed me up on the fact that ist is useless, BUT i was wrong. After a sleepless night the other night, i went through all i had to scrutinise the way it was wrote, and from all the advice it said to make sure everything was in there that needed to be. so in good faith we rand the Parent partnership people, who are USUALLY very nice. the same lady as always came to see us yesterday and made me feel about an inch tall, after telling me that i was ........... "reading to much detail" into it. and ........ the LEA's write the statement in a ""very standadized" way. and....... "he's very lucky to have a statement all all, coz she sat in on the board when decicions were made and hes ""ONLY borderline" !!! and The only thing i could get her to agree with was to put his diagnosis of dyspraxia on the statement, which they had missed off all together. and then told me that by wanting it adding I have delayed the statement by 2 weeks. Oh and get on this. Even though the ed psych, school, myself and the GP have all noted that he would benifit from some speech and language therapy. its not on the provisions. the reason????? Its classed as medical so school cant help. Now sorry for sounding daft here, but isnt speech and understanding of language one thing you need in order to get through a normal mainstream school, why wont they help him with it?? Maybe i am asking to much... whinge over. 1-0 to the LEA Ill bide my time. shaz

hi sorry to hear about the meltdowns, They are horrible for all concerned, i cant help feeling sorry for k when he has one because he hates them as much as we do. I dont know if this is common, someone else may have experience with this but K has 3 types of meltdown. I have described them below in case it helps anyone else going through the same thing. Slow / delayed meltdown? this is what we tend to see after school and is caused by him complying to the school routine. Whilst worrying about the taps and the toilets, his caretaker and all the other stuff about school he is not sure of He tries hard to please all day so as the day wears on, Kieran tries to keep control of himself and his thoughts to the best of his ability and not get into trouble, although he does still get into trouble sometimes and this only adds to the building frustration. Depending on what sort of a day he has at school depends on what sort of a night we can expect at home. A slow meltdown can vary in intensity, from a brief rant and rave when he comes through the door to a full blown fit where things get thrown and people and objects alike get kicked and screamed at. we believe that this type of meltdown is a release of the days stress. Gradual meltdown This is different to the above in that it is understanding not circumstance which make it happen. And the end result is very different. This is what we call his worry meltdowns. It manifests with worry, and constant questions about that particular worry. He will be insecure and want constant reassurance and if that reassurance cannot be given that is where the meltdown happens. For example we once woke up to find that we had no water, unfortunately Kieran was the first to the taps and discovered this before anyone else woke up. Initially he was frightened, then panic set in, he wanted me to tell him that the water would come back the next time he turned the tap on. I couldn?t guarantee this so I wouldn?t promise him like he wanted me to. And he was so distraught and confused he went on to get a full body rash was sweating and hyperventilating whilst remaining silent for the duration of the water shortage. Once the water came back on, he checked the taps constantly to make sure they were ok, Instant meltdown ?There are many examples I could use to describe the severity of these meltdowns, there is no build up, no warning, these just happen out of the blue for various reasons. Sometimes we get the same reaction if we say ?No? to him, if he has requested a biscuit at tea time for example, but mostly we are still unclear as to what sets him off. It can happen in any setting especially if over stressed, .The severity of these meltdowns is extreme, and usually requires a lot of work to calm him down. He is dangerous in this mood as he will pick up and throw anything that is within reach and become totally destructive. Afterwards he cries and then gets angry because he doesn?t like crying as it gives him a headache. And so it starts again. When this type of instantaneous meltdown occurs we take him for ?time out?, (if possible) and talk to him about all the different colours he can see, all the things he is interested in. we also get him to feel his heartbeat as a way for him to recognise when he needs to take a break and calm down. This works for some of the time, and he often seems relieved for it to be over. These meltdowns sometimes happen after an initial slow or gradual meltdown so can be very unpredictable hope that helps. shaz

Hi Me again. Right i have sat here all day and gone through it a million times, and i know im missing something obvious but still cant put my finger on it. Annie - that wasnt the link i meant, but usefull all the same. i have printed that out too. Flora - its nice to know im not alone. i think (after all i have read today) that the main thing bothering me is tems like "Opportunities for small group teaching etc etc and Access to 5 hours mid day support etc etc. theres just no explanation there. Heres another one "Ongoing advice and support from behavioural support services" - who are they? we didnt know we had any support??? and all over the statement and in all reports it says he would benifit from a speach and language therapist (at band 3 - whatever that means) yet on the provisions bit. speech and language are never mentioned. I just think its a bit basic. not specific and not once explaining the hours and stratagies which are going to make it work. -..........taking in mind that since he started back at school he has not managed a full day. and most of what they are proposing will take place on an afternoon. the school also recommended one afternoon per week in a social skills group, yet social skills are nowhere to be mentioned as one of the things to address im well confused, so please bear with me, i have a feeling its going to be a long night. <'> shaz

I think im stuck on the fact they say what he needs, but then fail to explain how hes going to get it?

Hi Everyone. We FINALLY got K's proposed statement through thiss morning, but its got me totally lost. i have been going through it and getting what info i can from previous topics and posts, but there is something i cant put my finger on that is bothering me about it. it mentions all what k needs. eg. "develop attention control" and "develop language skills" but has no advice on how they are going to do that. It does mention in part 3 (Educational provision to meet needs and objectives) that k needs to be provided with 13 or so recomendations to achieve the objectives. but these recomendations are confusing me. i know im not making much sense, i think ill go and read some more of "checking the proposed statement" which i printed via a link from this site (thanks to whoever that was - my brains turned to mush and is no longer capable of thought) im going to get a drink, and come back in a bit to try and explain what i mean. <hugs> to all shaz

Yes thats right 90 Mins. After 6 weeks i was dreading the return to school thing. but kieran accepted early on that he had to go, and barely mentioned it all through the holidays. hubby and I thought that he was fine about it and we wouldnt have a repeat of last years problems (and the year before... and the year before that etc....) So around comes Monday the 3rd of sept. the day before he starts back, and hell has broken loose of the burning pits and is now throwing balls of "kieran tantrum" all around us. needless to say he didnt go to school on tuesday. he had been awake all night been sick and was exhausted from the previous nights outburts of meltdowns. wednesday didnt go any better and i couldnt even get him to look at his school clothes, so i went to see his teacher, and test the water as to what their reactions was going to be. And as it happened, they were ok. She said to get him there if i could and we would start him slowly at first and then build him up from there. anyway by friday i had managed to get him there for 90 minutes, but he had definatly had enough by break time. Monday we will try until after break. fingers crossed. THe GOOD NEWS, is We had a call yesterday to say his statement has been approved and we are now awaiting the proposed statement in the post. !!! YEAHhhhhhhhhhhhh. Anyone fancy a celebration drink???? or is it too early to start celebrating??? shaz

<'> <'> What an awful thing to happen. We have (over the years - and spread equally between the three of them) Had similar mishaps at school, which the 'first aid officer' has deemed "non-urgent". I once picked K up from school and he was in a right pickle. His face was bruised, his legs were cut, his left hip was grazed & very bruised and his left elbow was a mess, even though the office staff has tried to put a plaster onto the elbow it no means covered all of the injury. But the moment i saw him a thousand things flew through my mind. Like... What Happened? Why wasnt i imformed? Hes alergic to plasters ! Hell he HATES plasters ! The stress he must have gone through as they sruggled that plaster onto his skin !!!! The fact that it now has to come off before his arm swells up !!!!! I was LIVID I had previously asked them not to put plasters on him as both the sensory issues and the allergic reaction to micropore just makes everything worse. Even more so when i had to peel it off his very sore arm later that night. But back to the actuall fall - He was running in the playground at dinner time, when another boy PURPOSLY tripped him, as he landed he skidded onto his left hand side before banging his face on the gravel playgound. And the First Aid officer thought he was fine to stay at school. I went up the next day afetr assessing all the injuries he had actually got and slammed my opinions against those of the senco. I wont repeat what i said, but she agreed to call me next time. It was horrendous and he still has a lump on his elbow because he would'nt let me near it to clean it as the injury and plaster were too much. so he has a piece of playground still in there. I hope you have a happy ending. Take care shaz

Hi everyone. I dont know if you remember jess. (the cute looking black and white cat that homed with us before the holiday) Well we got back off holiday to find she had hung around for us, so i did the decent thing and forced her in the cat basket for a trip to the vets. it turned out that she was already chipped and the owners were contacted. I was dreading them picking her up as the kids have grown to love her. anyway that same night the real owners called round with some history before collecting her. they said that she is a year old, nutured and vaccinated, they bought her and her sister but "jess" didnt come back one night, they said the other cat had been pining for her missing sibling and was grateful that we had looked after her. the kids were gutted but i could stop them taking her, which they did. i was mopping tears when the phone rang to ask if we could have her after all as she was going crazy at the owners house. the sister cat was attacking her and she was so nervous that she wouldnt let anyone near her. they brought her back and she has now well and truely made her home here. We have to change the ownership but then she will be ours. Horrrayyyyyy. My only concern now is that for as much as he likes the cat, kieran has started to bully the poor animal. he kicked her today and then insisted it was an accident. he has also been asking lots of questions about weather or not the cat minds been bullied and if its fair.. i tell him its not and try and get him to respect the poor animal, and he does for a while full of loves and kisses, but then his mood changes and he goes for her. After all we have been through with this poor cat and looking at her now all curled up in the comfort and security of the chair, she belongs here, but im scared he will hurt her. So good news is... the cat choose us and we can keep her, bad news is kieran tries to do things to her to see what her reaction is. hmmmmm. take care shaz

Hi Bd I took the easy step and disconnected the cd drive and the dvd is now working. but thanks for your advice i will try that when i feel brave. cheers hun x

Hi technie people. I was wondering if you could explain how to get my new dvd+rw ram drive to work. We have already placed the drive into the computer and it powers up when we switch the computer on. Inside is connected via the IDE Cable which is also connected to the original CD RW drive. (im almost sure its been installed right) Anyway when we initally powered up it recognised the new harddrive and asked to install so we did. Asked for reboot which we did. and now neither of the drives are working. it doesnt show up on the computer at all. So please could someone tell me where we went wrong, and how to get it working, i feel like its something so small, like something that needs to be done, but i cant put my finger on what that is. Thankyou wonderful people. shaz