Suze

Shall go out now and buy Telegraph, What is TES website?

Hi lku.So sorry to hear of all the problems you are having.I,ve been through a similar situation to you.Requesting the statement be done yourself is a good idea.We did the same as I had little faith in the school at the time.The parent partnership are a brilliant help aswell.It sounds as though things have deteriorated quite rapidy at school.Do you have any ideas what triggers your sons agression and anger?My son also gets angry and needs to be left alone in a quiet place.People looking at him when he feels stressed can also make him explode.On a more positive note two tears ago we were advised home ed was the best option.Today my son is Statemented and doing well at the same school with a really kind techer.Ther are still problems to deal withbut hopefully they have more of an understanding of ASD now.Hope you can get some help for your boys soon.

Hi Nellie yes I got the hang of the smiles and I,m smiling all over yipeeeeeeee!

Hi everyone.The question what causes ASD is an interesting one, and something I have pondered on a lot since my sons dx.Upon looking at the family for a genetic link several candidates sprung to mind.Also the pregnancy/birth theory could also be the culprit as it was plagued with many disasters and medical interventions.I read a book about Autism and the author(can,t remember name) had studied the many suspected causes,she concluded that a gene leaves babies "vunerable",and triggers such as illness, difficult birth, MMR,genetics etc, can bring on the onset of ASD.The way it was written in the book made sense even if I,m not.I wonder if we will ever really know the cause.

Yes think I know what I did sorry for the ramblings.Bye again.

WOW! I did it I got a smiley cool face just not sure how I did it though , shall continue to fiddle.

Help it,s me again, can,t figure out how to get the smiley faces too work!Shall keep pressing buttons till I figure it out . img

Hi everybody.I,ve been posting away for over a week, did,nt realise I should have introduced myself, sorry.I have 3 kids the eldest is 9 and is an ASPIE.Also has dyslexia and dyspraxia.DX last year after having a tough time at school.Now statemented and getting the help he needs.Completely obsessed with tractors,fussy eater, hates smells,loves routine does,nt get jokes.But makes me laugh with his brilliant voice impersonations.Have really loved reading all the posts,the batcave had me in stitches.The support on here is brilliant glad to have found you all.xxxxx. )

Hi Kathryn, I really feel for you at the moment.A year ago we were in a similar situation.We rejected the initial statement of 5hrs playground assistance and were prepared to go to tribunal, all of a sudden a meeting was arranged with the LEA and we thrashed out a deal over coffee and biscuits(there is a hint of sarcasm in there and also a little bit of disbelief that a meeting of all things could be arranged and conversation between parties could take place, it could be that simple if the powers that be would allow it !!!!) I really hope you don,t have to go to tribunal our kids should have the help they need and deserve without having to beg or shout or plead for it,stay strong and don,t give up.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thanks, for the links Nellie.After reading them I think I,ll talk to the Autism team Monday am and ask them to advise the school I don,t want the explanation of As to be misunderstood. Still have,nt decieded if telling them is the right thing to do though.Thanks x.

Hi my son has AS DX a year ago.He knows he has it.Dilemma is do his classmates need to know?Currently lots of name calling going on and my son is displaying more AS traits so is probably appearring different.He has a LSA in class so they know he has special needs, also Dyslexic and Dyspraxic.Autism team in next week at long last could they help?School think it would help if class knew.Also many other sen kids in school all have lots of support from other kids and no teasing.Quite a caring school, also my son is 9.Any advice?

Hi Beverley,like you we made a parental request for stat assess.It sounds at the moment that they have only agreed to assess.Once all assessments are in it will go to a panel meeting and then they will deciede wether or not to give a statement.It helped us to get as many health proffessional as possible to assess are son , we had 5 seperate reports in total all outlining the many difficulties my son had.If the lea agree to give a statement and you don,t agree with it, we were initally offered 5hours you can reject it and ask for more.We did and got 12hrs.Good people to help you through this are the parent partnership, and also get a copy of the sen code of practice.You probably knew that already though.Good luck.

Hi Pim , so sorry things are so bad at the moment, I,ve just had a cr*p day with my AS son who is 9yrs.He is being provoked at school, lots of name calling and chose today to explode.I don,t have a lot of experience with preschools as my son was only diagnosed last year.It sounds asthough he is finding preschool Quite stressful which always makes the AS symptons worse.Have you had any advice from the Autism team in your area.You sound as though you think his preschool can,t handle him, and maybe he may need a placement at a school where people have experience of AS.My friends son was diagnosed AS at 3yrs and went to a special group that taught him stratergies to cope he did really well and joined mainstream school at 5 yrs.Remember not to get too down about how your son is behaving it,s not bad parenting these kids can,t help it and a bad temper is something everyone on this site can relate to.Your son at the end of the day needs to be with people who understand his difficulties and know how to respond when he finds things difficult.You also don,t need to be made to feel guilty for how your son reacts.Gosh don,t know if any of my waffle helped , just know what it,s like dreading picking up from school, in case the Teacher needs a quiet word again.Suze

Hi again Kerry, just read your last posting again and realised how down you sound, you mentioned alder hey, you might live close to me and I might be able to give you some phone numbers of people who helped us.When did you receive Robyns diagnosis ?The lea were reluctant to give Jack a statement just for the AS, which is why we had to show them all the other problems he had, ie auditory, visual, sensory,and also the developmental delay.I found I had to become an expert in all his problems, dyslexia, dyspraxia and AS.I read so many books from the Library,but because I knew so much I was able to let the LEA know just how bad things were.Believe me if it,s not staring them in the face they just won,t see it,this became completely appparent when we met the LEA,s ED physc.Who was looking for reasons why he should,nt have a statement instead of looking for the reasons why he should.Keep in touch ,Suze.

Hi, Kerry, you must arm yourself with as much ammunition as possible, talking to the parent partnership is an excellent idea they are there to help parents like us.R equest a copy of the sen code of practice, full of info on your childs legal rights and all the stages of , school action , school action plus, and statementing.We asked Jack,s school when he was 6 to let the ed physc see him we were told they,d used all their hours and had to wait 12mnths, this was the reason we saw an ed physc privately through the Dyslexia institute. It is most important to ascertain your daughters IQ on the weschler scale as by doing this you can prove to the LEA THAT SHE IS NOT OBTAINING HER TRUE POTENTIAL.Jacks assessment is over 5 pages long and it was full of info that we could use to get his statement.We also managed to find some very sympathetic he a lth proffessionals who pressured the LEA, maybe your consultant could helpThe Dyslexia institute, www.dyslexia-inst.org.uk. TEL 0845 60 222 60 , for the sen toolkit. Ahuge file but full of info. Also if you are unhappy with how the school are handling your daughters sen you can go direct to the LEA,and request that they assess her if they agree it means she must be seen by a ed physc within 6 weeks.Also which area are you in Kerry? Must go now but don,t lose heart I got really depressed and I know how hard it is when no one will listen. Suze.

Hi Kerrybobs, bit of a long story but here goes.Jack was diagnosed at 6 dyslexic, the school were concerned and because there was a twelve month wait for the ed physc we had the diagnosis done privately.We were given a big report that said he had a very high IQ and should have been in the top 10%, but instead was in the bottom 5%.(this descrepancy proved very useful in proving to the LEA he needed a statement).We were adviced by the private EDphysc we had seen to get his eyes and hearing checked.These again had to be paid for privately, the eye test swere done by a practitioner recommended by the ED physc, we discovered he needed glasses and also coloured overlays(some kids use the Irlen lenses).The optician recommended a specialist audiologist who did lots of tests, (she was also a special needs teacher so she new her stuff), she found he did,nt process auditory sequences properly,retained infant reflexes,short term memory problems,Dyspraxia.By this time he,d moved onto school action plus at school, his confidence was at an all time low and he was,nt attempting any work at all, would,nt even write his name. Because of the DYSPRAXIA we saw a Peadiatrition who referred us to an Occupational Therapist, by this time a year had passed and he was in a class with a dreadful Teacher who did,nt think there was such a thing as SEN.We had a meeting with the Head and she told us THE SCHOOL had referred him to CAMHS.At this point we said ENOUGH, and asked about a Statement the Head said you don,t stand a chance,so I got some advice from the parent partnership who were very good and started reading the SEN CODE OF PRACTICE.Jack then saw the O.T. during school time she saw him having a bad day, by this time he made no eye contact, and refused to participate in school life at all, she realised there was the possibility of AS.We decieded that as we were getting nowhere with the school we would request the LEA do an assessment of SEN with a view to a statement, luckily they agreed to assess . During the assessment process Jack saw CAMHS who diagnosed AS, and the O.T. diagnosed Dyspraxia, we gave the LEA all the reports we had from every single person who had seen Jack and we built a pretty damning picture of a boy who really couldnt cope at school and needed extra funding to help him gain an Education.The first Statement was 5 hrs funding which we rejected, and eventually they agreed to 12 hrs.He is doing much better now and is also in year 5.You mentioned Sats, Jack has it read to him and his LS writes the answers, he also gets extra time and can spread the tests over a number of days.I could tell you loads more but I think I,ve waffled enough, don,t give up on the Statement, and I,d be glad to help if you need any advice.Suze.

Hi Kerrybobs is Robyn statemented? It was interesting to read your post as Jack is a lso Dyslexic.We find school such a struggle.Jack was statemented last year initially the lea offered just 5hrs funding for help in the playground but we went mad and managed to get 12hrs.He now has a learning support lady for literacy and maths,and specialist help with reading and writing.The AS , dyslexia and dyspraxia makes for an interesting package!

Hi everyone, I,ve so loved reading all your messages.I confess they made me giggle, where do they come from? My son Jack,s first obsession was vaccum cleaners at the tender age of 6 mnths.He would sit and pat it all day.He then progressed to lawn mowers and now tractors.He is tuned into tractor frequency all the time and can hear or spot one a mile off.His best day out is a visit to the tractor dealer down the road in his massey ferguson overalls.But we have put his obsession to good use and bought a small sit on mower (his first tractor he calls it).Now he is out in all weather cutting the grass happy as larry, we have lovely straight lines and the shortest grass in the county.Of course we know what he wants to be when he grows up and he,s on first name terms with all the farmers in the area.He also loves taking things apart blu tac,and ploughing the carpet into straight lines with his tractor and plough.His bedroom is laid out with tractors all over the floor, he,s taken sand soil gravel and grass seed up there to make it more authentic.But he does,nt really play with it all just arranges it!