5 years after joining here!

[kelly69]

I had forgotten all about joining this forum 5 years ago and had not been back much after our disappointing result from the ADOS in 2009.

 

Anyway to cut a long story short we were finally referred to CAMHS in September 2012 when Charlie was starting Primary 6 as we were having huge issues with him at home and in school. He had an ADOS again in April this year and yesterday we were told he has ASD with significant impairment in communication and social interaction (no theory of mind at all, no emotive gesturing etc etc.)

 

It was such a huge relief to finally have someone say that we were right and things weren't exactly as we'd expect them to be in a boy of his age (he's now 11).

 

I'm now hoping to utilise this forum properly and hopefully vent as we make the progression into the final year of primary school after summer and onwards to high school.

 

Kelly x

[oxgirl]

Hi Kelly and welcome back!

 

Well done on getting your dx at last. Do you know what arrangements will be put in place for your lad for next year and is he getting any additional help at school at the moment?

 

~ Mel ~

[kelly69]

The school have been very good, we live rurally and the school only has approx 100 pupils so although they don't have the staff to give extra staffing support he's had extra support in that when he's 'wound up' they let him pace the hall or go into the library and if he's having an especially bad day he will go outside and do physical work with the janitor rather than have to sit in the classroom. He does see a behavioural support worker on a Friday in school.

 

We are really struggling with his motivation to write so I want to discuss that with the school (we had a new headteacher start this week). As far as I know the educational psychologist will become involved now and there's a transition support worker who will become involved over the next school year.

[sesley]

Motivation to write has been our battle. In primary school he did script for himself, but took ages rubbing out trying to get perfect shapes that a computer produces, he even rubbed out teachers writing, because it did not look right.and then refused to do anymore hand writing. I can now get him to put his name to birthday cards etc and compliment him on his neat writing, in high school, now, he has a script writer, but he is now gradually, getting confident to do more himself, which is important for taking exams in the future., so I guess for yours with practice and building of confidence, he could one day, be scripting himself.Does he draw? You can encourage him to draw shapes and images.

[oxgirl]

Sounds positive re. support from school, Kelly69.

 

Writing was a huge problem for my lad also. School couldn't get him to write without him screaming the place down. When he started at his ASD unit attached to a mainstream he only went into some mainstream lessons and had a scribe with him to do all his writing for him. He didn't have the patience or cooperative ability to learn to type until he was in his teens but he did master typing in the end. He eventually started to do writing for himself in lessons when he was around 14.

 

If necessary, your lad could use a laptop in the classroom and he could have a scribe to do writing for him during exams also, if it was really necessary, he'd have to be assessed for this though. My lad is 19 now and can write for himself, although his writing is still poor but he is a competent typist so it does come.

 

~ Mel ~