Aspergers/ASD support thread

looby-loo_2

shazrobo wrote: »

social services reckon my kids aren't disabled, they walk and talk etc, the fact they are on the highest rate of DLA care has no impact on social services, they say they have no funding.
shaz x

I follow this thread but haven't posted before. The comment above struck home. Quote from social services 'he's not disabled, he's only blind why would we be involved?'

D&DD

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

1 playworker, 12 children with ASC? You need a saint ... :rotfl:

:rotfl: :rotfl:
seconded

Are there any guidelines which should be followed with SEN kids with regards to helper /child ratios?? (ooh I sound a bit posh there lol)

I think the key is experience...I would want someone who understands my childs needs,as much as possible.
Not too loud,hyper but calm and caring.I agree with Savvy no amount of courses can replace hands on experience in my book.
I wouldn't worry too much about age either..many siblings of special kids tend to help out immensely at home and might be looking for work in this sort of area but doesn't neccessarily have the right 'qualifications' on paper.;)

When I had to interview and employ a carer for my son I watched how they interacted with him and vice versa,the one who was least promising through workexperience/qualifications was the one who we chose as his life experiences and hands on knowledge were the best

D&DD

looby-loo wrote: »

I follow this thread but haven't posted before. The comment above struck home. Quote from social services 'he's not disabled, he's only blind why would we be involved?'

I had 'he's not disabled enough' from our children with disabilities team regards to my middle son.
He's only got scoliosis,SB occulta,lives in a body brace,leg brace,etc etc...:rolleyes:

Sorry to hear that Looby,They obviously have had no lessons in tact...it's shameful really

Hey Shaz just saw your light go on how're things going??

D&DD

madhouse wrote: »

We withdrew him from school, as we were losing him to anxiety, depression, low self esteem and many behavioural problems. He has many sensory problems including high sensitivity to noise, smells, touch etc. and was over stimulated in a school environment.We have slowly gained our son back and although it is really hard work ( he doesn't need much sleep!!) it has been the best thing we have done for him.

Hi Madhouse wow your post could be about where we are now!!
My boy is 9 (yr4) and is at breaking point...The EP said this morning its overstimulation due to the mainstream environment and yes his sensory probs are worse than ever before at the moment..that is soo spooky you posting!
We are trying for a special school now as he's unable to access the curriculum in his present one but if we are denied it *again* I shall be following in your footsteps! Dee

fsdss

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

1 playworker, 12 children with ASC? You need a saint ... :rotfl:

Sorry i didnt make myself clear - i am looking for one specialised playworker - i already have 3 members of staff, + 1 student, and although we have experience with working with children who have special needs - autism isn't one of our "usual" requests although we have worked with autistic children, not on a group basis.

shazrobo

D&DD wrote: »

Hi Madhouse wow your post could be about where we are now!!
My boy is 9 (yr4) and is at breaking point...The EP said this morning its overstimulation due to the mainstream environment and yes his sensory probs are worse than ever before at the moment..that is soo spooky you posting!
We are trying for a special school now as he's unable to access the curriculum in his present one but if we are denied it *again* I shall be following in your footsteps! Dee

my sons had so many problems in the school environment that they spent a great deal of time at home, through exclusions, and myself keeping them away as they were not coping, unfortunatly having the kids at home full time wasnt an option for me, school was my only respite, my twins can be so violent and demanding. it was only when they were excluded from secondary school, within their first week that the authority finally saw sence, and investigated special schools. in the end we were lucky and both boys got places within seperate schools, one slightly better than the other, but both so much happier than mainstream. hope you dont have to wait as long
shaz x

madhouse

D&DD wrote: »

Hi Madhouse wow your post could be about where we are now!!
My boy is 9 (yr4) and is at breaking point...The EP said this morning its overstimulation due to the mainstream environment and yes his sensory probs are worse than ever before at the moment..that is soo spooky you posting!
We are trying for a special school now as he's unable to access the curriculum in his present one but if we are denied it *again* I shall be following in your footsteps! Dee

At the time we chose to home educate the nearest school that might be suitable was an hours drive away, and we were told we would have to fight for funding. We went on to the website education otherwise and realised we didn't have a lot to lose. I was so surprised to see that we didn't have to teach specific subjects or follow the national curriculum. We now spend out time between learning social skills and daily living skills and traditional learning. We take each day as it comes and decide on the day. My daughter who is at mainstream was a bit put out a first, but as she quite likes school she is fairly happy with the situation.

Carrera74

DS's ADOS assessment began officially yesterday with a school observation. Trust him to have a greatish day when he has an audience (the only one in the last 2 weeks!). We go with him to CAHMS on Monday and he goes behind a 2 way mirror and is observed by the ADOS panel and then I go again in 2 weeks to go through his history. He is 10 and goes to High School in Spetember. We had his statement review a couple of weeks ago and everyone commented that he will really struggle at a mainstream high school especially with his current statement that is Behavioural and Emotional SN so I'm keeping everything crossed that the assessment comes back and shows that he is on the spectrum as he'll need all the help he can get come High School. It was said at the meeting that it is quite likely that he will come back on the spectrum but after his 'normal' performance at school yesterday I wonder if he will slip through. Hope not as been on the list for this for a year.

PasturesNew

I'm posting but don't know where to begin. Sorry if it's not coherent, but my mind is racing at 200mph.

I can't make sense of what happened today. I was feeling so calm and good... and within two hours I'd totally f00ked up and had a meltdown. Had to find some "me space" in a Uni campus.

I just feel so useless.

Today I went to an induction session for a module of study. I was fine and confident going. I knew where I was going, where I would park, where the building was, I found the room OK.

But it all fell apart at the place I am learning is my downfall. The 'simple' thing of asking questions. It's become clear to me these last couple of months that one of my main and most debilitating problems/behaviours is my complete inability to ask a question so that I am understood.

These weren't subject questions. She was just explaining what you needed to do and the timescales.

I wasn't even asking hard questions. I just wasn't being understood. So in the end I had to walk out. I tried to do it discretely, but the tutor had seen my pain and distress. And I was hiding from the others that I was crying

I could see in the Tutor's face the complete and utter confusion as she thought she'd answered the question and yet I hadn't understood. Then I could sense that she was in some way annoyed/exasperated - and now I've realised, THIS is the point at which Aspies are considered naughty or awkward. THIS is the bit! I was frustrated, I wanted an answer, I'd asked, she'd answered, but I hadn't understood/she hadn't answered the question, so I was trying to persist, trying to "just ask". This is the bit at which a child would get into trouble.... when you just have to get yourself out of that situation and run to your space. As an adult, I can walk out of any room. As a child you can't. But you have to. And this is where the frustration looks like anger if you are forced to stay put.

So I went off to the loo for tissues, then left the building. Did some deep breathing and my inner dialogue was screaming at me for being so bloody useless that I couldn't even ask questions and get answers, "just ask" that's what we're told for everything isn't it. "if you don't understand, just ask", "if you need help, just ask". But I can't. I've never been able to. Oh yes, sometimes I can try - like today. Sometimes I can persist - like today. But the end result is always the same: I can't get my question answered. No matter how straight forward it is... or should be.

Anyway, I went back in, just as the session was finishing and the Tutor spoke to me. She hadn't known I'd had a problem until she saw my meltdown. Her background was in psychology, but she admitted although she is aware of Aspergers she'd never actually MET one before. And she was gobsmacked. She said "but you're so coherent and able and intelligent" and couldn't tie the two together easily from seeing a high functioning, intelligent adult ... go into meltdown over the simplest of things. She even admitted that until right then she'd always thought that these Syndromes weren't real..... she was great after that.

The worst part about times like these are the two days I will now have to spend licking my wounds and beating myself up about how cr4p I felt. How utterly cr4p I was. So I now have a fantastic two days of crying to go through. Crying at the frustration of it all. And the waste. The waste of my life. This is my recovery and comedown time.

Wishing I wasn't like this.

How can you fix that? How can you learn how to ask people for help? How can you learn how to ask questions? I've no idea. But I have to find out.

Anyway. That was today.

Thank you for reading.

Carrera74

PN I don't know what to say, just wanted to give you a *hug*I say the same sort of thing to my son each day when he's getting out of the car to school. "If you need help, just ask" "If you don't understand anything, just ask" and then he still gets into a muddle and has one of his 'blips' because maybe they have explained but he still doesn't get it so gets frustrated. You've just explained it perfectly to me so thank you.