coolblue

Sorry, I didn't post a link to the video. cb

Different areas of the brain process different facets of speech and language. The connections between them can be disrupted by a variety of things; variable levels of neurotransmitters, early, undetected early brain damage, physiological changes... so various aspects of speech and language can be affected in isolation. This video isn't quite what you describe, but is one of several intelligent summaries by Paul Isaacs of speech and language deficits that are common in autism. I notice he cites Donna Williams, who would be worth checking out on this topic. cb

Although I can see why people use the concept of neurotypical, it's actually quite misleading. There isn't such a thing as a 'normal' human being, although you could get a 'typical' human being in respect of a particular characteristic. In a large population you would get considerable variation in brain function throughout that population so you would expect to see considerable variation in dreaming - from people who didn't dream at all/remember their dreams to lucid dreamers who experience their dreams as they do real life. AS simply represents a cluster of people with similar characteristics. Their dreaming might be similar to each other's, or might also vary considerably - I'd predict the latter. cb

Hello, and welcome! In the UK, as yet, 'the' ASD Pathway doesn't exist. (NICE are currently developing a national one. ) Some local PCTs have developed their own and the ASSO questionnaire is probably their own also. Contact them for further information. A diagnosis will likely be based on her behaviour in different environments. If she's doing fairly well in school, what prompted the referral, just out of curiosity? It's often problems in school, or school-related problems at home that raise issues about social interaction - because school is the most challenging social environment that most children experience. Most teachers have had plenty of opportunity to observe a child after two terms. It's part of their job and they'll be writing end of year reports soon. Doesn't mean they will all do it well, of course. With regard to diagnosis, it's important to note that a diagnosis of an autism spectrum condition is not like a diagnosis of Down syndrome, or diabetes, where the cause is known. A diagnosis of an ASD is a subjective judgement as to whether someone's behaviours match the diagnostic criteria laid down in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Asociation or in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) published by the World Health Organisation. Autism and Asperger's syndrome are labels for the signs and symptoms shown by individuals - signs and symptoms that could be caused by different things in different people. Ideally, a diagnosis should involve tests to rule out the 60 or so known medical conditions associated with ASDs, before a diagnosis of an ASD is given. In other words, a diagnosis of an ASD is a default diagnosis meaning 'the person has these symptoms but we don't know what's causing them'. If your daughter doesn't have significant problems with school, it's unlikely that she has one of the 60 medical conditions and so any diagnosis would be a default one. The reason I've laboured this point is that many parents (like me, for example, when we first raised concerns about our son) are mystified by why there is such a high level of disagreement about their child's diagnosis and why it seems to difficult to decide whether or not they have an ASD. Also, you need to think about what a diagnosis of AS would entail. Do not assume it will give access to additional support, although in your area it might. And since AS is likely to disappear as a diagnosis in the next edition of the DSM, that is going to have repercussions for your daughter too. Some people will be saying 'there, told you there was no such thing' and if her diagnosis is changed to ASD, some people will make all sorts of unfounded assumptions about her ability or willingness to communicate. Sorry if this doesn't come across as very encouraging, but the autism pathway (in the general sense) is far from smooth and forewarned is forearmed. cb

What tests did they do? Did they tell you? cb

'Special school for children with ASDs' is on the proposed statement. Residential was recommended verbally in the meeting and has been minuted. It would be 3 days and one night in both cases and I have seen lessons in progress, talked to students, and seen a student restrained (done by the book). I know the LA has issues with the local one because their follow-up post 16 isn't as good as it might be, but it is local, which means we could have some input. The non-local one has a post-16 college and claims to have good links with other schools and colleges but does seem to go in for horticulture in a big way! Yes, I think it's 'open and honest time' all round. I've already had a minor argument on the phone with one member of staff about blanket statements about autism. Thank you Sally.

The nearest, most suitable one (as far as one can tell from an hour's visit) is considerably more expensive than the others - around 30% more. This is just beginning to dawn on me... That's what we're planning. Thanks Grace. cb

Have you had his hearing *and ears* checked? Hearing screening tests don't check for ear function and children can easily miss the test anyway. cb

Ds (12) has just got a proposed statement recommending a place at a special school for children with ASDs. We now have the opportunity to express our school preference. All the suitable schools we've seen are residential - and have had a meeting with the LA where the statementing officer said they would be looking at a residential placement. The two schools we liked most have said we should arrange a visit/assessment for our son ASAP. One said this would help if we had to go to tribunal because the school could then confirm that they could meet ds's needs. I'm a bit concerned that he could end up going for several overnight assessments at different schools - which could be a BIG ordeal for him - if the LA don't agree to our choice. The LA are aware that we are visiting schools and so aren't expecting us to get back with our preferences within the 15-day time limit. Anybody any experience/advice/comments? cb

Yes. Coping strategies for the situation he's worried about. Stepson (5) was terrified of noises at night. Sure there were monsters. Had nightmares. We issued him with a torch, so he could see there were no monsters, and a large plastic toy club, so he could biff them IF there were any. Both kept by his pillow. No more nightmares. Keep a chart recording the times you pick him up so he can see that you always pick him up and that not picking him up is very unlikely. Then try giving him a clear, simple coping strategy, in the form of a card with pictures on if necessary, for what to do in the very unlikely event that you don't come to pick him up etc. cb

They are always identifying differences in the brains of autistic people. But,as baddad points out, the one thing we can be sure of about autistic people is that they are different - to each other. So are the differences they've found this time going to give us any insight into the brains of all autistic people? Probably not. You can tell, from an autistic person's behaviour, which bits of their brain would be *different*. You can get a pretty good idea, from *anyone's* behaviour - autistic or not - which bits of their brain are going to be different. London taxi drivers tend to have an enlarged hippocampus - involved in spatial memory. Well, there's a surprise! If an autistic person has nystagmus, or visual hyperacuity or poor control of eye movements they will have a lot of activity in their occipital lobes (visual areas) because they will be doing a lot of processing there as their visual system doesn't get consistent visual input and has to work extra hard to co-ordinate it all. cb

Since you have evidence that the LA representative wasn't accurate, you could just present what he said, side by side with evidence that he was incorrect. You don't have to make any comment on his conduct - the facts should speak for themselves. cb

Have a look at this thread http://www.asd-forum.org.uk/forum/index.php?/topic/24333-sendist-telephone-case-management/ cb

Thank you Kathryn. cb

Thanks suze Taking this. One. Step. At. A. Time. cb

I know you feel like this Sally, but you'd be surprised. I've come across a large number of parents who have taken their child out of school in desperation - we took ours out for his own safety - and then found that after the kid had collected his or her wits, that actually helping them learn at home was not only possible, but a positive pleasure. I'm talking about children with significant learning difficulties and serious disabilities. Some of them have then gone back into school two or three years later when it's been appropriate. I'll PM you.

We've just heard that the LA have agreed to issue a statement and will be recommending a residential placement at a specialist school - but we have been advised we will need to make a good case for our preferred school because it's more expensive than some. The whole process so far has been done by the book. I've been amazed at the professionalism of the people involved. It really has been like stepping into a totally different world from the one we encountered when ds was at school. Just hoping it stays that way. Thanks to all for advice and support. cb

I would strongly recommend downloading a copy of the SENCOP and reading the relevant chapters and referring to it frequently. There's a diagram on page 120 showing the timescale. www.teachernet.gov.uk/_doc/3724/SENcodeofpractice.pdf cb

People in high latitudes on modern diets are thought to be generally vitamin D deficient in the winter because we simply don't get enough sun to make vitamin D between October and March. There was that famous review paper published a few years back; http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra070553 You do need to be careful about taking minerals, though. I once had some problems with a vit D/Ca/Mg combination. Looking at my diet at the time, it was already reasonably high in Ca, but very low in Mg. An Mg supplement made a huge difference to my general health and since then I've had to really watch my diet. Mineral balance is very important. cb

But Declan Murphy's model of autism is (if I've understood him correctly) that it results from genetic variations that lead to fundamental structural abnormalities in the autistic brain. I don't get the impression he's much taken with the model that says that brain structure can be the outcome of an interaction between a genetic predisposition, brain function and behaviour - a model that is equally plausible. Why does he have to be right and bid's researcher wrong? There are some pretty eminent people doing research into language processing, and some of them might possibly be in a position to disagree with Declan Murphy.

Indeed there's a spectrum in terms of overlapping behaviours. But since it's a bit fuzzy round the edges, it's highly likely that the brain scans are going to be a bit fuzzy round the edges too. Someone diagnosed with ASD or possibly ADHD is quite likely to have an ASD?ADHD? scan too. cb

The point is not whether or not someone is on 'the spectrum', as assessed by a behavioural measure, but whether or not 'the spectrum' exists or not - in terms of behavioural measures. The well-educated guess about differences in brain areas isn't going to show the same subjectivity, because you can tell from someone's behaviour what brain areas are involved. What you can't tell is what caused those brain differences - and you're not going to be able to figure that out from an MRI scan. cb

Two questions: firstly, how do they define 'autism'? Do they mean that their method can discriminate between the various flavours of autism shown by different individuals, ie it can say this person has autism and not something else, or at a group level - a group of people has autism as distinct from something else? Secondly, why do they need an MRI scan to tell them which bits of the brain are different? You can make a well-educated guess by just watching someone's behaviour. If they don't make eye contact, have a language problem, are clumsy and can't make decisions, you *know* that they are going to have differences in occipital, temporal, parietal, cerebellar and frontal areas. What you don't know is whether those behavioural differences are due to brain differences or whether the brain differences are due to the behaviours. cb

Ah, that will be the age difference. Ds was nine when we tried the moving-around-while-listening strategy. Also, I wouldn't worry too much about the rocking. When I was an infant teacher (mainstream), almost all the children used to have some sort of 'tic' or other. As their sensory skills develop the need to move about diminishes. I'd try as much physical activity as you can manage with your lad at his age. cb