Aspergers/ASD support thread

clairefun

fsdss, thanks for that - nobody ever told me that I need to actually request checks, I don't even think I have an 'alloted;' health visitor to be honest, since I stopped taking my son to be weighed I've never seen anyone or heard from anyone so had no idea this was the done thing. The weigh-ins were for babies up to six months and we felt actively discouraged when we took him after that sort of time. Still, that's sidetracking the thread - sorry! Interesting to hear that though & thank you again (I clicked the thanks button but nothing seemed tohappen, will try again later...)

jellyhead

sorry to sidetrack again, but i would continue taking babies over 6 months to be weighed because you need to know when they are too heavy for their car seat.

Savvy_Sue

jellyhead wrote:

sorry to sidetrack again, but i would continue taking babies over 6 months to be weighed because you need to know when they are too heavy for their car seat.

Can't you do that by standing on your bathroom scales with them, then putting them down and weighing yourself without them IYSWIM?

Anyway, I suspect that in some areas there is a massive shortage of HVs and as a result the service you get may not be as good as is desirable. I know I always used to get a call or visit the following day if we'd had to go to A&E for any reason! But I did know who to call if I needed one. My friend who is an HV does one day per week in a neighbouring area because they are very short there: only children considered 'at risk' are pro-actively followed up, which is a very scary thought!

janb5

Hi. I really dont think the above method is very accurate or practical. Our clinics are welcoming to everyone .....and not just before 6 months. yes the cuts have had an effect but as the saying goes, dont tar us all with the same brush!

If a parent is distressed when coming to see me ( I`m a HV) , I would always talk to them in a separate room and no, we dont dismiss their concerns. We can refer to a paediatrician ( in our area it is callled Second Tier Clinic) for another opinion.

We do get many casualty slips and follow the ones of concern....to give the parents support, not because they are at risk!

Sorry but the conversation was becoming very slanted IMO!

Savvy_Sue

janb5 wrote:

Hi. I really dont think the above method is very accurate or practical. Our clinics are welcoming to everyone .....and not just before 6 months. yes the cuts have had an effect but as the saying goes, dont tar us all with the same brush!

If a parent is distressed when coming to see me ( I`m a HV) , I would always talk to them in a separate room and no, we dont dismiss their concerns. We can refer to a paediatrician ( in our area it is callled Second Tier Clinic) for another opinion.

We do get many casualty slips and follow the ones of concern....to give the parents support, not because they are at risk!

Sorry but the conversation was becoming very slanted IMO!

Sorry, I certainly wasn't intending to suggest that HVs don't generally do an excellent job! Just that through my friend I'm aware of how difficult it can be to do that job ... and I always FELT that the HV was 'checking up on me' rather than offering support! :rotfl: Mind you, I accepted that it was part of her job to do that, not complaining about it!

jellyhead

mine never checked up on me - my son was always in hospital as a toddler (never anything serious) but nobody ever questioned my parenting, not even when i broke his wrist!

of course health visitors do a good job and i think mine's fab, but if they have too heavy a caseload and can't do 2 year checks then after 7 months who is to know if a child's development isn't okay but the parents haven't picked up on it? if they don't have to start school until they are 5 could they never see a health visitor again after the 7 month check?

sorry for going off topic. how are things going dummie?

Dummie_2

Hello There

Just a little up-date.

We received the letter re the referral for a hearing test. Called up the hospital. The waiting list is 44weeks:eek: .

Spoke with our keyworker. She says that she's on the thinking that DS is just naturally quiet. We've been working together on ways to try to get him to interact more and we are seeing a slight improvement so I'm feeling a lot happier now.

The other day he said mummy (9times), and mil (milk 5times):T . Not that I'm counting:rotfl: . This was all in one day. He's not said anything since though. It's strange. It was like a little burst to reassure me.

I have noticed that he's very into his books at the moment and when I'm not there to read to him he'll flip through the books himself and make little sounds as if he's reading too. The sound of his voice is so sweet.

Savvy_Sue

Dummie wrote:

We received the letter re the referral for a hearing test. Called up the hospital. The waiting list is 44weeks:eek: .

:eek: indeed! That's downright outrageous!

One possibility is to write and say that you can take a cancellation at short notice. Something suggested to someone else (and a completely different condition!) on the Health Board was to phone up at least once a week and ask if there have been any cancellations. Also if you talk to the lovely GP you saw she may be willing to write and get the appointment labelled as urgent: clearly if you can't see anyone else until a hearing loss has been ruled out, you could be losing a year.

Of course with the ideas you're working on at the moment you might begin to be reassured, but if you don't, those things might be worth considering!

Dummie_2

Didn't get a chance to up-date the latest happenings until now.

Yesterday evening the HV called. She wanted to arrange a meeting at our house to talk to me about my concerns and to see DS. I reluctantly agreed. She then mentioned that she knew DS has a referral for a hearing test. I said, "Yes. In 44wks". She was shocked and said she'll sort it out for me because she doesn't want DS waiting 44wks.

5mins later she calls back and says we have an appt. for 19 Jan. I was so over joyed. The person she spoke to said that we had already been booked in for that appt. but I haven't heard anything and they definitely told me 44wks. I'm wondering if they quickly put us in when our HV put them under pressure? Or maybe they decided to give us a quicker appt. after reading the Dr's referral letter? Whatever, the reason I don't care!! I'm just so relieved to have it.

HV asked if I had anything in black and white saying that the waiting list was 44wks but I haven't. They told me this when I called to make the appt. under the choose and book system they've introduced.

Thanks for reading.

hobo28

The NHS is such a mess. Its ridiculous. I wish they'd stop throwing all this money into stupid IT systems that don't work!