bluefish

Hi, I have not posted for ages! I have Ds annual review tomorrow.. I am a bit nervous as things are going well( due to his 15hrs )He still struggles at home due to his coping at school but things at school are going well. The education officer is not attending the review, am I right in what I have heard that this means the statement is rarely changed? I am very happy with his statement and it has been maintained after the last 2 reviews. My worry is that with the cuts they might try to reduce his statement hours. I find this a worry as the only reason he is doing well is due to his hours and being in a very very small school. I have heard that sometimes if things are going well they cut hours!! Which of course makes a mokery of the system as surley thats the reason for the statement in the first place.. Anyway.... thanks in advance for any replies

Hi not posted for a while. I have a huge problem at the moment and have been suffering major panic attacks. I am terrified I am going to die! This in itself sounds daft, but I have real physical symptoms and and too terrified to visit gp incase they confirm my worst fears. I think it is almost 100% panic I dont know what would happen to ds if anything happened to me and I am scared.I also think I am going through a period of grief for ds as as he is almost 7 he seems more autistic by the day and the difference between him and his peers is huge which is new to me as I never really accepted just how different he is! I feel very teary and not sure who on earth I can talk to. I feel very stupid posting this but i am not sure anyone else would understand

Thanks Tally, I thought that might be the case

Hi I have just been given a game for ds about facial expressions and feelings It looks super( I have yet to try to play it with him) I would like to share this info and all about the game and who makes it etc but am not sure if this is ok can a mod let me know please, also if it not ok to post this info can i offer to share it via pms? thanks x

Hi all I am a single parent and so want to get off benifits and work again, I am thinking 16 hours not full time. My major stumbling block is ds. I would love to take a position as a breakfast chef that has just come up, the hours are perfect 7am till 10am daily we are up way before that so it would be a breeze. My Mum would be happy to do the school run and in holidays commit to looking after ds.....my only problem is ds. No one else has ever been able to take him to school, and he became extremely distressed at the thought of Grandma taking him.....my worry is that things are going so well at school I dont want to create problems..... anyone got any experience of this situation? I want and need to work but as things in the past have been so awfull with ds not coping and now for over a year things have been calm I dont want to mess that up, It is important to me that ds continues to be happy at school as when he was not the behaviour at home was very distressing! I feel like I am stuck because ds really finds change hard even with visual prompts and I dont want him to go through the distress but also want to find and take a job! advice welcome

Thank you so much! succsess it seems has a price as we have had a bit of a poo fest tonight! limited to pjs and bathroom so its not all bad......and to be fair seems like a small price to pay for such fantastic progress! Note to self get marrigold gloves!

Hi all, Just had to share this as i feel like I have won the lottery! Ds went on a school trip today and wore his own clothes!!!!!!!! He always wears his uniform...always! school plays, non uniform days and school trips. I always feel like the mum who forgot(although no one thinks that at all) and today as we dropped the children off at the trip and he didnt have to actually go near school, and I bought him a new "suit" top and shorts so it didnt have a "place" yet ,he did it! I know to some this might sound so silly to be pleased but for me.....this is huge! I am teary eyed as I type! dont care if he never does it again(although have my fingers crossed ) Yes I know he didnt go to school but he let the other children see him not in uniform...he was up several times in the night to be reassured people would recognize him but he is pushing his own boundries and I am so dam proud! He is very clingy tonight and I realize what a big thing it was for him! A year ago I would have laughed if someone told me not only would he want to do this but to do it! Happy Mummy tonight

My son has also started to wee next to the computer when I am not looking! which makes no sence at all as he was potty trained at 18 months and will be 7 in september!

Hello, not posted for a while! Just wondered if anyone can share/help ds was obsessed with thomas and trains however about a year and a half ago lego took over and he has not looked at or spoken of trains since. A few weeks ago ds teacher went on maternity leave(this is the only trigger I can think of) and has been replaced by an equally super teacher that ds likes. Anyway he has now developed what I can only describe as a total obsession with thomas again, much worse than it ever was, he has the trains out constantly, watches the same utube clip of a boy talking about trains and only wants to talk about, watch and play trains..... he is six and a half and the lego although was/is an obsession was never this intence it also helped him fit in at school. My question is .......does this happen to your children? do they go back to a past obsession? I am a little worried about regression as he has also started pooing in the bath again and smearing, which untill recently was becoming less and less frequent. He does not seem stressed, school handled the transition of teachers very well and he does seem to really like his new teacher, who to her credit has made a huge effort to make sure ds is happy and has made sure his routine is the same. Nothing at home has changed so I just wondered is this normal! thanks as always for any replies or advice x

Hi, My son was assesed at 3.5 and dx was 2 months later( hfa) It was his nursery that saw he was different and not me (although looking back now not sure why I had not noticed) He went to an assesment center and dx came after around 10 visits Best of luck x

Hi all, My friends child is in year 8 and has a statement( not sure how many hours or the content...sorry to be vauge) He is really unhappy at school and they are having lots of problems. He has asd traits on his statement but is currently awaiting a camhs assesment for as. I think that perhaps his statement needs to be reviewed in terms of the type of support he should/could recieve with regard to the social difficulties he is having as at present I think these have not been specified. Am I right in thinking they as parents can request a review before the annual review? I am sure I have seen this in the cop but cant find it now I am looking. I am going to have a chat with her later but dont want to give her any info that is not accurate. Many thanks

welcome to the forum Good luck today. Like others have said, take a list of your concerns,things you notice at home and the things at school even if they seem small, it all helps to build a picture.

Hi, it makes me sad and angry to hear of the problems you are having. I had problems with my sons last school ignoring his sen eventhough he had a15 hour statment! as he was bright and did not really bother anyone! It is disgusting but sadly it happens far more than it should. In my experience, if a school does not care about sen they will not change just because a child gets a statement. I fought and fought to make them do there jobs but still they didnt, I gave up and removed my son. It is a huge risk, however it is the best thing I have ever done. My son has been at his new school a year and not once have I had any worry, not once have I had to contact them, he needs are met and I have got my life back. I trully understand how hard it is to try to get what your child needs and deserves. can you look at other schools? I think that if staying at this school is your only option you must have a multi agency meeting. The school need to agree to an iep that will help your child. I would complain/request action in writting so it is on file. I would speak to parent partnership. The problem is I think schools think we will give up and they can get away with bad practice. is your son one the sen register? ask to see schools sen policy, outline you childs needs and where they are not being met. I am sorry I cant be off much help. In my opinion I would apply for assesment NOW so you can use the transition to year 3 as an extra thing to mention Do you think your child is reaching their potential? If not they are not recieving an equal oppertunities education.

Fantastic news! You must be very proud and excited! What a huge acheivement <'> Well done to your little one xxxx

Hi, my ds now 6 used to scream all the time when he was 3 and his verbal communication was very limited( so much so I had to call on the neighbors to say, he is fine, I am with him, but if you are concerned feel free to knock on the door to check he is ok!)I found that pretty much it was just something he had to grow out of, pecs helped with the "i dont know what is happening" screams but other things like a story does not end in the way he planned screams they were just something we had to ride out. On a positive note as ds has become more verbal the screaming has all but stopped now he shouts about what he is upset about but at least you can understand the problem and try to make him undersatnd! Good luck it is so very tough when your child is upset or screaming and you cant make it better! It will get better. I do recomend speaking to the neighbours, I was always worried that they might think ds was either being harmed or neglected when he screamed during the evening, which added to the worry of the screaming! my neighbours were all fantastic and I felt more confident when the screaming was about a chocolate biscuit I had said no to, I was able not to give in safe in the knowlege the neighbours would be comfortable to knock on the door if they heard him screaming for long periods or were worried by his noise.