flipper

I never seem to be able to find the FF nuggets at Tesco, or the breadcrumbs for that matter, and we do have a couple of big stores nearby. Black Farmer sausages we've tried, but he's pretty rigid about what he eats, and had got in the routine of the Sainsburys FF range and the Black Farmer ones do look very different! I've seen the Enchildas you refer to - mand indeed they are quite tasty, but C wouldn't even look at something like that (he's only 5 so they are outside what he would consider "normal"!) Phil

As you all probably know, Sainburys FreeFrom Nuggets/Sausages etc were withdrawn in December as they were found to contain milk protein. Like many of you, we seriously rely on these for our fussy eater, so the last month has been a nightmare! I've been in touch with Sainsburys and they tell me that due to "problems" these are not likely to be back in stock until March. Argh! Does anyone know of other GF nuggets anywhere? Also having major issues trying to find GF breadcrumbs to try and make our own! Phil

What browser are you using? The latest versions of IE (7) and Firefox (3) should block most pop-ups. I use AVG anti-virus, and used to use Avast, both are free and seem to work OK. Phil

My eldest (age 11) has one - she saved up various birthday/pocket money etc to get it and absolutely adores it - and I've rarely seen anything cause so much of a stir as this did when I bought it into the house. For the most part it's excellent. Because it runs Linux it's surprisingly quick - I'd expect the Windows ones to feel a bit sluggish - unless you buy the top spec one with the faster processor, but then you're paying as much as you would for a normal laptop (which you can get for about �300 now). She only really uses it for web stuff, though it comes with Open Office so she can do docs/spreadsheets etc if she want to. The 7" screen is very small - you can get them with 9" screens which would be better I think - but again, she doesn't have an issue with it, and the screen is very sharp. The only issue we've had is with the wireless. That may be down to my dodgy router which does play up, but I've heard reports from some friends that they had problems too (one of my friends has 4 (!) and one of them had to be rebuilt with a different version of Linux as it was so fussy). Don't let that put you off, though. Other than that, everything just worked, right out of the box (even the wireless worked straight off, it just sometimes refuses to connect). Overall I think it's a great little machine - but look around and you'll see there are others now. Acer's equivalent is called the "One" and is getting very good reviews. HP do one (more expensive I think) and Dell will be releasing one very soon. Beware, though, that there are even cheaper versions available in various electronic outlets which don't seem to be getting such good reviews as they come with much less memory. Ultimately, it's about what you want it to do - I'd never have one to replace my normal laptop, but I'd happilly have one (or some) for casual internet use with the ability to more if you need it occasionally. And they are very portable compared to a normal laptop. Phil

For us the "try or not try" was a no-brainer. Unlike many possible "interventions" there doesn't seem to be any real downside to rtying GF/DF diet - except for the inconvenience and additional cost of the food (as GF is more expensive). In a nutshell, though, I'd say: 1. Get the urine test done before you do any dietary changes - Sunderland ARU will then tell you whether they think either GF, DF or both would be beneficial (and, obviously, will tell you if they think you shouldn't try!) 2. If they say to give it a try, then do so - but be prepared for a possible long wait before you see any improvement. DF improvements tend to be seen within a few weeks, GF improvements vary but seem to be in stages - a bit of improvement after a few weeks, then nothing for 6 or more months, but then possibly a big improvement after that. 3. After 6-9 months get another urine test. If, after all that, you don't get on with it, nothing lost, you can go back as you were. If, like us and many, you believe you see improvements (for us it has been a dramatic improvement in communication skills) then you've done the right thing! Phil

We put in the request for a statutory assessment in November07, and have just received the revised proposed statement (and we're in Hertfordshire - if we can get it, anyone can!) The school were supportive, but didn't want to request the assessment- told us we should do it. So... go for it! Phil

It certainly sounds (as Baddad says) like your son has managed to rotate teh desktop - some new screens support having the screen in "portrait" mode rather than the familiar "landscape" (i.e. TV-like) mode. However, when it's in the wrong mode it's very difficult to use the mouse as up goes sideways... so here's how to reset the screen using the keyboard! Hold down the Windows key and press R In the box type DESK.CPL and press Enter Press the TAB key 5 times until there is a dotted line around the word "Themes" Use the RIGHT ARROW key until the SETTINGS tab is selected Hold down the ALT key and press V Now this is where I have to guess... you've probably got the GENERAL tab selected - press TAB until there's a dotted line around the word GENERAL There should be a tab called ROTATION (hopefully), use the RIGHT ARROW key until you've selected that, then use the TAB key to highlight the section you want to change - it's probably a radio button which says something like "Normal" and the press ENTER. Hopefully that'll get you back to where you should be... Phil

No surprise, but despite repeated readings of C's proposed statement we can't find anything actually quantified - certainly no "hours" and no 1:1 support. The only thing quantified is "up to" 10 Speech Therapy sessions - which might not even be actual therapy but monitoring! I've downloaded the Afasic guide and the ACE guide and they are helpful, but having never actually seen a "proper" statement it's difficult to be really sure what's missing and what we need to ask. We've asked for a meeting, but she called today indicating that requesting a meeting is delaying the final statement which she "really ought to be issuing very soon" according to the guidelines... I'm sure this was just a none to subtle attempt to sway us into an easy acceptance (and we should be grateful we're getting a statement at all, eh?) If anyone can share similar tales/advice we'd love to hear it... Thanks Phil

Yes, it does appear to be lacking in actual hours stated - only speech therapy seems to have been quantified. Of course, we're not experts on what the statement should contain so it's not always obvious what you're getting. We've requested a meeting which will give us more time to study it a bit closer. Phil

We're in Herts too and had heard all the same stories... However, we requested an assessment in November 2007 and received the proposed statement just over a week ago, so it's not as hopeless as it may appear. We also attended a morning session where the statement process was explained and the Head of the assessment team assured us that this had been badly misunderstood (indicating that "exceptional" related to, for example, a child whose needs suddenly change, perhaps as a result of an accident which leaves them needing oxygen or similar). I've no idea if we just got lucky with the timing (putting in our request after IPSEA had contacted Herts) or whether the process really is working better than it's perceived. Of course, whether the proposed statement is right is another matter... we're still trying to decipher it... Phil

Advanced warning: techy geeky suff follows! When a server goes "down" it could be for a number of reasons. It could be a hardware failure - perhaps in the power supply or on a disk; it could be a "service" that has stopped (services control many functions, like providing Web Pages, allowing you to log on, access to the network etc); it could be the server "blue screened" (if it's a Windows Server - I can't recall the Linux equivalent - Kernal Panic perhaps) where some part of the Operating System gets screwed and kills the Operating System (if you used Windows before XP you will have seen the "Blue Screen of Death" if something went badly wrong, it's much less common these days); it could be that there is a problem with the network - so the server could be quite happy but unable to "talk" to the rest of the world... and so on. In other words, a Server Crash is a very generic term for "something went wrong"! Depending on how bady wrong (whether it's just one web server or whether the whole data centre has suffered a power failure) will determine how serious/stressed/panicky the tech guys look - unless they are true professionals who don't get stressed by anything and see these things as a challenge, but there aren't many of us left (ahem)... And I can't remember the last time anyone brought me a Chocolate Orange (or anything, come to that ) Hope that's all clear! Phil

I can't believe that can be just an accident and it's very disappointing that the dinner lady didn't do more - it certainly should have been reported in my opinion. I think you have to take this up with the school ASAP. Phil

Re: GF - what Baddad said, speak to Sunderland first, very helpful. We found that, in general, health professionals etc are very sceptical of the effects of a GF/CF diet and basically told us not to bother. But we did - and at our recent visit to the specialist he noticed some noticable improvements in C (particularly in speech), but we decided not to mention that we'd gone GF as he'd been so against it. Re: Omega 3 - we tried all the Eye-Q stuff but couldn't get C to take any of them (although we did think when our girls were on it that their overall behaviour improved - they are NT but boisterous!); he now has a standard vitamin supplement which has a small amount of Omega 3 in. I'd like him to have a higher dose (as I don't think it does any harm and *might* be good) but if he won't take it then it's not worth buying! Phil

We had a follow-up appt yesterday for C - 9 months after his diagnosis (it was supposed to be 6 months but they're very busy). Apart from the slight concern that his notes had gone AWOL it went OK but at the end we were asked if we wanted another appointment or not. He asked if we'd rather just get in touch if we had any concerns (which we'd probably then have to wait months for the appt) or whether we wanted to come back in 12 months time. We chose the 12 month option (which will probably be more like 18...), but it left us wondering whether we would essentially be left to our own devices unless we asked for help as we'd assumed that there would be regular monitoring of C to see if anything had changed. (As it happens he thinks C is making good progress as he now reponds when called and is very sociable and quite chatty which he wasn't last year. We think this may be down to the GF diet, but we know they are very anti-that so didn't mention it). How often do you see the CDC? Phil

Sorry, Mumble, I gave you the wrong link - looks like they are being a bit naughty! 7Zip is supposed to be free... Probably too late now, but the proper link is http://www.7-zip.org/ Phil

You probably had a program called Winzip, but strictly speaking it's not free to use (though it carries on working after the trial period with a nag screen every time you start). You could try 7zip ( http://www.7zipsoft.info/uk/ ) which is free to use and does the same thing. Phil

I think it is just the nature of forums like this - as another example I belong to various tech forums where you tend to see more posts about problems with equipment than you about people who have no problems; to an outsider it might seem that a particular camera (for example) is riddled with faults where in reality the number of people with problems compared to the number of cameras sold overall is most likely only a tiny minority. I also think that sometimes it is difficult to know how to reply to a good post - there are only so many "that's great" posts that you can read whereas when someone needs help it's easier to offer an opinion. Of course that doesn't mean no one should post positive experiences, it must be helpful for everyone to hear that things can and do go well and it's not all doom and gloom. Phil

I think a chat room could be very useful and would be happy to volunteer as a part time mod if required Phil

I'll give a second vote to K9 Web Protector- it's free and simple to use and works pretty well. Certainly a recommendation. Phil

Hi That doesn't mimic our experience - but everyone is likely to be different. From what I recall reading, the more major the reaction in the early stages, the better! This, apparently, is an indicator that there is a form of addiction taking place - so I'd say that (hard though it is) it's probably a very positive response. However, I've recall also that after a few weeks things settle down (perhaps returning to near-normal) for some months before gluten is finally expelled from the body's stores. TBH, I'd give Paul Shattock and his team a call to see if these are typical (or, at least, not unusual) symptoms - he can give you guidance if you wondering whether to continue, and can also answer your other questions about fruit etc. Phil

In truth, I've no idea. Have you phoned Sunderland and spoken to Paul Shattock or any of the other researchers there? They are surely best placed to advise. Phil

Absolutely, 100% hoax. Best thing to do with anything like this is to immediately go to Google and type in the name of the warning (Life Is Beautiful) followed by hoax and see what you get... Snopes.com is a very good resource - they are the urban-myth debunking site - but you will also see hits from the likes of Symantec, McAfee, CA, Sophos etc - all of whom will have the hoax information available. These hoaxes work by feeding on panic - thus you (with all good intent) post to forums and send multiple emails, which only serves to overload corporate email systems and networks - thus achieving its aim of causing disruption! Fiorelli is absolutely right in her assumption not to open unexpected attachments, though. In general, virus warnings should come either from your company IT department, or very occasionally as alerts from a trusted source (usually someone working in IT!). Most importantly - you should have an up-to-date anti-virus package on your machine! (End of preaching, sorry - working in IT I do see a lot of this). Phil

I'm no expert (no medical background) but the wonders of the internet lead me to netdoctor.co.uk and a search for movicol there doesn't indicate and gluten in it (as far as I can tell). However, as in all things, you should see your doctor. Sunderland Uni recommend you see your doctor before starting a new diet - though we didn't, we'd already started before we saw him - and in your case I'd say it'd be a very good idea to see the doc once you have the urine test results, but before you make any major changes. Phil

I have to admit I expected not to like it; I'd heard it had a distinctive taste... but for me, I can't taste any difference, though my daughter can and won't be fooled if we tell her otherwise, so I guess some people have more sensitive taste/smell than others. Have you tried rice milk? That's reasonably pleasant, with none of the odd taste of soya. Phil

If it's casein that;s the problem then goats milk/cheese will be much better but if it's lactose then goats milk/cheese is no better at all! (As well as lactofree milk, you can buy lactase - the enzyme - in capsule form which you take 5 minutes before you eat, or also as drops which you put into ordinary milk and leave overnight - both work really well for lactose intolerance) Are the crumpets "pikelets"? If so, they taste fine, they're just a little on the skinny side, so eating 4 at once is a little too easy... Phil