coolblue

I read this too. The implications of what is able to get through the blood-brain barrier are very significant. cb

Handwriting is heavily reliant on hand-eye co-ordination and hence (hardly surprisingly) on the function of the muscles of the hand, arm and eye. Eye movement can be affected by the balance organs in the ear. The retina and transmission of neural impulses that control hand-eye co-ordination are affected by physiological changes including diet and the colour of ambient light. My handwriting varies with time and from day to day. I don't have a diagnosis of AS, but my son does. Not only does he have big problems with handwriting per se (he is only 12) but his physiology, like mine, is rather unstable - inexplicable fatigue, mood changes, disrupted sleep etc. I think some people are simply more stable, physiologically than others, and their handwriting could be a reflection of this. cb

We don't need a huge expansion of available provision - as you said earlier the system is totally flawed. What we need is; - teachers trained to support all children they are expected to teach, not just those in the normal range. Teaching is about supporting learning, not about delivering the curriculum - sufficient properly trained advisory professionals - not ones who are so overstretched they can only assess, assess and assess again - properly trained TAs - if teachers were properly trained very few children would need a TA anyway - an education system designed round learning, not around political point-scoring And yes, I do think it's possible, because some schools and local authorities seem to manage it in spite of government tinkering

If LEAs did respond to needs, there would need to be fewer threats and fewer challenges to decisions. Training teachers to deal with SENs in mainstream schools would be a good place to start and put less pressure on LEAs - as you point out, the system is totally flawed. I'm not sure John Friel is 'your average barrister'. If he was, he wouldn't be putting on seminars for £30, and I'm quite sure SOSSEN have quite enough business already, without needing to drum up more business. Why do they have a 'lower profile' do you think? Why is it so many parents don't know about parent partnership, parent advocates, the SENCOP etc etc.

I watched John Friel give evidence to the Children schools and families select committee. He was brilliant. Well worth a visit, I'd say. cb

I think this is a really important point. Christopher Gillberg did some work some years ago showing a much higher incidence of autism in some families than you would expect to see by chance, so there's little doubt that some forms of autism are inherited. But 'genetic' doesn't necessarily mean inherited. A number of chromosomal disorders aren't inherited, but arise apparently by chance, and they are genetic. The description of the symptoms is only 'vague' if it's assumed that all cases of autism are caused by the same thing. If the wide range of symptoms that come under the umbrella of autism are caused by different things, then the focus should be on the symptoms shown by the individual. Gillberg and Coleman chose the term 'autistic syndromes' for the title of their book carefully. Digestive problems in people meeting the criteria for a diagnosis of autism are well-documented and have been for some time. That doesn't mean that all people with those characteristics have the same digestive problems. cb

The Department for Education has released an analysis of the responses to its Call for Views which closed in October, and has tucked them away here; http://www.education.gov.uk/consultations/index.cfm?action=conResults&consultationId=1736&external=no&menu=3 The Green Paper itself appears to have been postponed until February, but I can't find any announcement about that on the website. cb

Completely agree. And successive governments haven't helped by making health issues political and making the column inches more important than people's health. cb

It's important to bear in mind that autism is highly unlikely to be a single condition with a known cause but rather a set of symptoms with a whole range of different causes in different people - some causes known, some unknown. I've just read Gillberg and Coleman's book "The biology of the autistic syndromes" published in 1992. At that time, behavioural characteristics that met the diagnostic criteria for autism had been found to be associated with disorders of all but three chromosomes, three disorders of amino acid metabolism, three of carbohydrates and fats, and five different viral infections. In addition autism had been reported in conjunction with 20 other developmental disorders. In other words, the reason why autistic symptoms differ so widely is because different people with autism don't have the same autism. Ideally, every time someone is 'diagnosed' with autism, they should have a DNA test, plus a full medical work up and the results should be added to a database to try to track down the as yet unknown causes of the syndrome. So there could well be genetic reasons why someone with autism has digestive problems - if they're not making enough of a particular digestive enzyme, or making too much of it or not making any at all, for example. There is no reason why some children should not have developed autistic symptoms after an MMR jab - it's simply very difficult to establish what caused the autism and whether or not that cause was the result of the MMR jab or not. It's certainly not a clear-cut case of 'MMR jab causes autism', nor, as far as I can see, is it a clear-cut case of 'MMR jab doesn't cause autism' either. cb

I'd recommend a 'sensory diet' as described in Carol Stock Kranowitz' book 'The out-of-synch child has fun'. People with autism spectrum disorders often (always?) have sensory processing issues and I can imagine that low sensory awareness might resemble a dream-like state, so increasing sensory experiences might help to develop the distinction between the two. Make sure he always errs on the side of caution and if in doubt, assumes it's real life. To avoid taking health and safety risks. cb

My son came to exactly the same conclusion at one point. Realised, talking to him, that the only model of achievement he had was school, which, understandably, focussed on his weaknesses but in doing so reinforced his sense of inadequacy and failure, and his only model of social interaction was one which involved a lot of noise, conversation, movement etc, that he couldn't participate in. Introduced him to the idea of the contemplative lifestyle - that throughout history there have been hermits, sages, and entire communities that have deliberately isolated themselves from the rest of the world in order to focus on whatever they wanted to focus on. We looked at a range of communities from self-sufficient communes to monasteries and universities, from the Romans to the present day. By working on his strengths, and ignoring his weaknesses completely in the short-term, we managed to shore up his self-esteem sufficiently for him to start learning stuff, seeing progress, getting an understanding of how the world (as distinct from the education system) worked. He now knows he's not stupid, that he's entitled to a suitable education (suitable to him, that is), that there are some things he's good at and some things he's not good at, and, more importantly, that there are communities of people out there where he would fit right in and could be a valued member. It's been a long, hard slog and something he shouldn't have had to go through. I've promised him when he goes back to school, that we won't let the same thing happen to him again, and I think he's now sure enough of himself to stand his ground and question things he can't cope with. I hope so, at least, though of course everyone has their limits. I just don't understand how any school could allow what's happened to your son to take place, without questioning how it was addressing the issue. I'll be thinking of you and your boy next week. cb

Incidentally, I didn't get the impression that the independent school we have in mind was oversubscribed either - just the opposite. cb

I've sent you a PM, Beverley. cb

Just updating: heard just before Christmas that LA has agreed to statutory assessment. Have seen Ed Psych already and she's booked in for another appointment. Clearly we should have taken ds out of school when he was five.... cb

Yes, especially if you use a balance board and do a wide range of exercises. cb

Work psychologists specialise in work-related issues, not surprisingly. This would include things like assessing what sort of work would suit someone, recruitment and selection, job satisfaction, how organisations work etc. Their role would be nothing to do with the work of a clinical psychologist, who could diagnose and treat some medical conditions and is a totally different branch of the profession, but they might be able to help someone with a disability find a suitable job or get suitable support. cb

Minor technical point but Parent Partnerships are supposed to be independent organisations in order to remain in a position to give impartial advice. Some are funded by the LA, some use LA offices, but they are still not part of it. Ours was initially funded independently and still occupies a building shared with other voluntary sector organisations. cb

I suspect there is an underlying assumption in the education system that because legal and social equality are seen as aims, children are seen as educationally equal too. While we have an education system that 'delivers the curriculum' instead of one that educates children, children who are not in the 'normal range' are going to keep encountering obstacles at school. How children with so-called SEN are expected to be taught in mainstream schools, when teachers haven't been trained to support learning difficulties is beyond me. Because there is so much overlap between 'conditions' and so much overlap between 'conditions' and neurotypical children, teachers don't need to be experts in each different condition. But they do need to be experts on learning difficulties, because that, rightly or wrongly is part of their job. cb

Donna Williams describes the autism spectrum as a 'fruit salad', which I think is also an excellent description of neurodiversity. If you made a giant fruit salad and dished it out to people in a queue, each person's bowl of fruit salad would be different. But some people might have quite a lot of banana, so you could say they have 'banana fruit salad'. Other people might have a lot of apple, so they would have 'apple fruit salad'. Other people might get equal amounts of banana, apple and orange, so they could have 'banana, apple and orange fruit salad' or a mix of 'banana fruit salad, apple fruit salad and orange fruit salad', depending on which way you look at it. Some people might be lucky and get five cherries, in which case they would probably be Einstein. It's only confusing because of the labels. Some labels are useful because they indicate known genetic variations which result in known characteristics, such as Down Syndrome or Fragile X syndrome. Other labels are just descriptions of characteristics and can confuse the issue. Those labels are basically lumping together all banana, orange and apple fruit salads assuming that if they look similar they must be the same. If you think of everyone as being different, with certain strengths and weaknesses, rather than having or not having hypothetical conditions it stops being confusing. cb

If getting a diagnosis of dyslexia would entitle you to more support/time etc I would go for it. It doesn't matter what is causing an educational need, it's the need itself that's the important thing. cb

Well said, Sally! Educating children with special educational needs isn't rocket science but it does involve training. If mainstream class teachers are not trained to support children with reading difficulties when reading is, and always has been a key part of their job, then you really have to wonder quite what is going on. cb

Thank you Suze!

Neither dyslexia or autism are a form of each other. We are not yet sure whether or not they actually definable medical conditions. They both started life as descriptive terms for a collection of behavioural characteristics. Dyslexia means 'reading difficulty'. Autism means 'self-absorbed'. They have gradually been assumed to be medical conditions because it's become clear that reading difficulties and some forms of self-absorbed behaviour have physical causes. Even though we haven't got those causes sorted out yet. This means that if the reading difficulty and the self-absorbed behaviour are severe enough and also share a cause or causes, then the person could qualify for a diagnosis of dyslexia and a diagnosis of autism. A prime candidate for one of the causes of reading difficulties is auditory processing abnormalities (see Usha Goswami's work). It's not hard to see how auditory processing difficulties might also make it difficult for someone to develop normal social interaction. Couple that auditory processing difficulty with a visual one and you would quite likely end up with someone with a diagnosis of autism and dyslexia. Each individual is unique in terms of their genes and their environment. Sometimes individuals have similar difficulties because they share same underlying genetic/environmental causes. Sometimes individuals have similar difficulties because of different genetic/environmental causes. There is little doubt that people with a diagnosis of autism and/or dyslexia have physical (medical) causes for their difficulties. It doesn't follow that autism and/or dyslexia are each a distinct, definable medical condition. The assumption that they are has led to a great deal of confusion, and, IMO has held up research for decades. cb

I know some LAs use a formal diagnosis as a criterion for whether children get extra support or not, or how much they get, but what they should be doing is providing support on the basis of need, regardless of the cause of that need. If there's a difference of opinion over whether or not a child meets the diagnosis of ASD, then clearly the child has significant developmental issues whatever the cause, and will still need support for the needs that arise from those issues. If they try to change support based on diagnosis, ask how the child's needs have changed. cb

Every time I think 'surely this time it'll be OK ...' I realise that I need to use belt, braces and a length of string. Take someone with you to take minutes so you can concentrate on what you are saying and who's saying what. Sometimes parent partnerships or support organisations have people who can act as advocates in these situations. They have the advantage of being 'neutral'. If I have doubts I send my notes to all attendees and set a time limit for corrections - if they don't reply by the deadline I take that as agreement that the notes are an accurate record of the meeting. cb