mossgrove

I was worried about the length of time too. Both father and son have famously short attention spans, but the time passed very quickly and there is too much happening to get bored. Simon

Saw the 2D version a few weeks ago with my Asperger's Son (12) who loved it, we are going back to see the 3D version tonight! It's true that the plot has a few holes in it, but if you like your all-action special effects movies then this is as good as it gets. As a rough guide, if you enjoyed Independence Day the definitely go, if you found the ridiculous plot in independence day annoying then you might want to give it a miss. Simon

This should help you wait.... http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00q9...The_Blockheads/ "a love affair with Nina in the back of my Cortina, a seasoned-up hyena couldn't have been more obscener". Simon

Welcome back to the forum! There are not may still here from the really early days. I think many of us parents, whether we choose to seek a diagnosis or not, have learned a lot about ourselves as well as about our children! I am really glad to see things are going so well for you! Simon

Don't buy an Eglu, they are way to expensive, buy a bog standard chicken coop instead! We have been keeping chickens since the spring but a standard coop from eBay or similar is all you need unless you are really pushed for space. Theres no nicer breakfast than eggs that were laid that morning! Foxes haven't been an issue so far but you do need to be sure that you lock them away at night. As far as ethics go it is a bit different for me as I haven't eaten meat for so long that meat doesn't appeal to me anyway and veggie food is much easier to find than it was 20 years ago. I would certainly never be able to eat our chickens as they are pets too. But if I decided to eat meat again I would find it easier to keep male chickens in humane conditions and then eat them (even if I would have to be a complete wuss and get someone to do the necessary for me) than I would to buy battery farmed chicken from a supermarket. Even infamous carnivores like Hugh Fearnley-whatshisname find battery chicken keeping abhorrent. Simon

I've been Veggie for 20 years now and couldn't bring myself to watch it! Simon

I seldom drink these days, but always seem to get alchohol-based gifts. It does cone in handy when we have people round though! Simon

Sally I am so sorry to hear your sad news. I lost my mother three years ago this month, and it still hurts, but it does get better with time. Simon

I am even later! A very belated happy birthday from me too! Simon

Don't be too hard on yourself. it can take a long time to get your head around all that is involved in having a child on the spectrum. Sometimes having a good cry is exactly the right thing to do. Simon

It doesnt sound like there is enough interest for a Sub-forum but there have been some "Where is everybody from" threads ove the years so is probably worth starting one in the 'Meet and Greet' forum and see who responds, especially as we have had loads of new members since the last one. If there is sufficient interest it can be 'pinned' so it stays at the top as lomg as I can work out how to do it!. Simon

I think I heard a whooshing noise as that one went sailing over my head! Merry Christmas! Simon

I m sorry you are going throufg such a hard time at the moment. When our son (AS, 12) is at his worst we rely on some advice someone gave us that "There is always a reason, even if it doesn't seem rational" It most cases ths holds true and we can get to the bottom of it by talking to him when things are calm. To give an illustration two years ago he was stressed, agressive and confrontational with siblings and parents. Asking hom directly was fruitless as he was unable to say why he was behaving so badly. After many coversations in his calmer moments we realised he had overheard a conversation where we had discussed the possibility of a trip to Lapland for Christmas. It was never a serious proposal for all kinds of reasons so the conversationhad moved on and been forgotten. He had convinced himself that he was in imminent danger of dying in a plane crash and in this constant state of fear he had no tolerance for anything and agressive, controlling behavious resulted. He would never have been able to understand and articulate what the problem was if we had asked him the direct question. Is there any posssibility that your son thinks that if he behaves incredibly badly he won't have to back to school? Hopefully the involvement of an expert with your son will enable you to get to the root cause of these behaviours (If there is one) and deal with any issues that arise.It certainly sounds as if he is having a hard time too. I wish you the best of luck! Simon

It would be interesting to see what IPSEA make of it. AFAIK an LEA cannot legally decline to meet a childs needs on 'efficiency' grounds. Simon

I should have added that the ONLY thing that should matter is what your childs needs are. The LEA has a duty to meet them and are they not allowed to vary the provision purely on cost gorounds. Simon

Generally it is cheaper to fund a TA than it is to fund an independent Special School place. Many mainstream schools are happy with the arrangement as given half a chance they will treat the full time TA as an additional pair of hands to do all sorts of other duties. Simon

Wonderful News. It gives me hope for the future! Simon

An LEA will only fund a place at an independent school if you can show that there is no provision within the LEA that will meet their needs. There is no statutory right to a place at an independent school, and if you are advancing the argument that your child would cope at a mainstream independent school but would not cope at a mainstream LEA school you need to be absolutely clear about your arguments for this as the LEA would not want to pay for something that they will argue they can provide at one of theor own schools, and they will not be guided on this by a simple expression of preference. If you have not visited the proposed independent school and do not have any supporting reports from specialists saying that he requires that environment then you have your work cut out, as the LEA are likely to decline your request. If you can get the Educational Psychologist on board about a need for structure, small class sizes etc. then you may have more chance. Simon

I don't think this is as straightforward as that. There ia an inconsistency between arguing for the appropriate support to be made available and taking issue with any suggestion that Asperergers might be a disadvantage. I don't think 'sufferer' is the best word to choose, but the article is a good one overall. Simon

Hi Mel We have four children too, two on the Autistic Spectrum. You have come to the right place! Simon

Fancheck is a popular application. If as you say it was a virus, there would be warnings issued and updates available from all major vendors of anti-virus software, and from facebook themselves. Not a single one of the main anti-virus websites regards it worthy of a mention, there are simply a lot of 'viral' emails and forum postings doing the rounds. If warnings are issued from reputable sites that situation may change, but in the meantime Please do not post unattributable and unsubstantiated warnings about viruses. This may sound rude and harsh but false warnings have been circulating for years about all sorts of viruses and do far more harm than good. Simon

More information here: http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/2009/09/14...on-facebook.htm Simon

There have been a number of internet rumors/viral emails circulating about whether fancheck is a virus, but it isn't. It is an add-on application to Facebook. What is definiely happening is that people panicking when warned about the fancheck 'virus' and being being lured to dodgy websites that promise to 'fix the fancheck virus' , but these sites end up tricking users into downloading software that does wreck their PC. You may wish to uninstall the application if you have it, but do not google for tools that claim to remove the virus. Running anti-virus software and keeping it up to date is the best option. Simon

It is definitely worth specifying that the LSA should have skills experience in dealing with people with Autism, but bear in mind that someone with minimal knowledge, an open mind and willingness to learn is much better thatsomeone who has dealt with one Autistic child in the past and now thinks they know it all. It is also absolutely important to ensure that the amount of support is specified and that it should be 1:1. There are schools who have argued that a child has full-time support because there us an LSA in the classroom at all times, even if the LSA has little or no involvement with the child with an ASD. Simon

When I joined I was the 5th member, so it has grown a little since then! Simon