mossgrove

Welcome to the forum Katherine. You will find plenty of advice and support here, there are several people here who been through some of the same things as you. Simon

Sounds like a good move. I really hope it works out for you. Simon

Hi Bid I am sorry that I didn't catch up with this thread when it was first posted. I hope the operation goes well. Simon

Hi Paula Lovely to see you back here again, and it is really good to hear that things are going so well after all the trials and tribulations that you have been through. Simon

Great news, she has come such a long way in the last few years. Simon x

Hi I would be surprised if the reasons are budgetary as melatonin is such an inexpensive drug.Would it be worth having another chat with your GP? Simon

Merry Christmas everyone Simon

Have a good break! Simon

My son (13, Aspergers) can be quite fussy about what he eats. We tend to find that the less in control he feels with the rest of his life the more he needs to restrict/control his diet in order to reduce the amount on uncertainty in his life. When he s feeling hapier/stronger he is more able to try new things. I hope that made sense! Simon

Hi Adam I am sorry that you find yourself in this situation and the lack of understanding on the part of your ex-wife must me making thinsgs even harder for you. You have certainly come to the right place to get support with coming to terms with your diagnosis. There are pleny of us here who who understand what you will be feeling. That said we are not all that experienced on the specific legal aspects of what you are having to deal with. There is another forum (Not autism-related) where you may well have more luck on the legal aspects of getting unsupervised access to your daughter as well as some pointers on how you may be able to resolve the situation more amicably. I suggest you post a question similar to your first posting on this thread on the forum at http://www.wikivorce.com as there will be people there who can help you. Simon

Sorry to hear you have been having such a hard time, but it's good to have you back. Simon

We have been quite lucky here with only a little snow. It has been raining most of the day so the snow is pretty much gone now. Simon

Hi Jenni Nice introduction! I hope you enjoy meting all the people here. Simon

Melatonin was a godsend for us. DS used to be awake at midnight begging us to help him sleep and now he gets to sleep without any real dificulty. Melatonin can be had as a syrup or you can crush the tablets/open up the capsules and mix them with a drink. Simon

Welcome back to the forum! I am also doing a Masters at Sheffield Hallam (Applied Statistics) but it is by distance learning so I only visit occasionally. Simon

Hi Jules I edited you post to take the comments put of the quote box. To someone on the spectrum the world can be a confusing and scary place at times. Many people, especially with Aqspergers, will become incredibly knowledgable about specific subject area or 'Special Interest' as being able to speak about something when they they feel knowledgable and in control is a lot easier than talking about subjecta they are not familiar with. Trains are a popular special interest because of the wealth of factual information that is out there, and being knowledgable about specific films may well fall into the same category especially if the discussion surrounds names, places and dates concerned with the making of the film rather than it's emotional content. Simon

I think it is really hard for any parent to let their child out into the big wide world, whether that child has additional needs or not. Add Autism/Aspergers into the mix and it is easy to understand how parents can be over-protective and I am sure that applies to me as well. I wish everyone luck in strling the right balance! Simon

I didn't say any of those things! Simon

I am coming fairly late to this topic but I would like to add a couple of things as the father of a child who has very similar issues around going out plus three other children (One of the others is on the spectrum but has fewer issues around going out) - An Autistic child may never enjoy some family activities in the way that other children do, and getting angry or frustrated with them is completely understandable but ultimately unproductive. - Sometimes we have to use strategies like Gameboys, books or laptops to allow J to opt out of the parts of the activity he cannot cope with and sometimes one parent has to stay with J and the other parent goes with the others. - We have applied to Social Services for Direct Payments to help with the cost of care for J while we both take the other children out. It is taking ages for this application to work it' way through the system but they haven't turned us down yet! Ultimately there are no easy answers to this. The outside world can be an overwhelming and scary place to an Autistic child in a way that many of us will never fully understand, but we do try and take him out when we can because being able to cope in the wider world is a skill he will need as he gets older so there are times when we do challenge him to do more. Ultimately all you can do is reach your own judgments about where to draw the line. Simon

Have a great break! Simon

Welcome back! Simon

It is a bit of a postcode lottery I am afraid. We have four children Boy (12) - Aspergers and ASD Boy (10) - ASD Girl (8) - NT Boy (6) - under assessment but probably ADHD We have been quite lucky with support. DLA for twe eldest boys SALT for both boys via their Special Schools Regular meetings with CAMHS In process of arranging counselling for daughter as it isn't an easy household for er to grow up in. Have applied to Social Services for Direct Payments to facilitate care for ASD children while we do things woth the pthers (Going very slowly!) Limited OT input for eldest son but this is proving a struggle as OT service is sevelrely overstretched. Local Authority run playschemes for children with special needs (not just ASD) in the summer. There is a local autistic charity that does organise eventsfor Autistic Children and their families but we have not had much contact with them recently. Simon

Simon Baron-Cohen has a theory that Autism represents 'extreme maleness'. Not in a testosterone-fueled macho way but in the sense that men are in general better at what he calls 'sytemising' and women are better at emotions, and the theory goes that many people with autism can do 'sytemising' to an exceptional extent while barely being able to do the emotional stuff at all. This refers to patterns of behaviour. There is no suggestion that women with Autism are biologically less female than other women. Simon

Long time no speak! I hope you get the result you want. Simon

Hi Tally Your counsellor may have met some people with AS but does he have any professional experience. Both of his reasons for thinking you may not have AS seem to be based on a kind of received wisdom rather than understanding. There are people on the Autism Spectrum who can make god eye contact and your counsellor should have known this. Similarly people with Autism/Asperger's can often understand very complex relationships given space and processing time to sit and work it all out, accessing this insight in the heat of the moment can be all but impossible, hence the impression of insensitivity that can be created sometimes. If you are concerned about your diagnosis you need to discuss this with a real autism expert not a self-appointed one! Simon