Aspergers/ASD support thread

Sarahsaver

Sarah that is such an issue for us parents. i have luckily got a really flexible job where I have to do 18 hours a week and I am @ home today with DS but i can make up the time tomorrow. I have had medical/psych appointments every week for him for the past 2 months almost :eek: People just do not understand.

Can anyone please direct me to a good checklist for teachers teaching kids with aspergers or low organisational IQ? I have searched and searched but found nothing, except that my DS having a huge discrepancy between organisational and verbal IQ may point to Dyspraxia (as well as Aspergers)

The thing is you see the parents' evening is soon and its difficult to explain to them, I know how to deal with him at home but i would just ramble. If I could give them a checklist or advice sheet it would be easier;)

karmacookie

Hi Sarah

Is it possible to get an Occupational Therapist to do an assessment?

My son has dispraxia as well as aspergers and there is an OT attached to the local CAMHS. He is currently working on an assessment for DS as there has not been one done in years and DS is now at Secondary School and as you can imagine this needs more organisational skills.

The assessment is taking place at school and when complete the OT is going to talk to DS's teachers about ways to help him cope better! I hope it works!

Sarahsaver

Well he got the IQ testing done by a Psychologist at Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, we are off next week to another part of that unit to have him filmed at play so they can watch and watch the video for 'signs' of whatever this is. We have had a consultant say he DEFINITELY has a sensory impairment.
BTW I found a really useful information/strategy sheet for teachers AT LAST - on the asperger foundation website.

Sarahsaver

Oh and I suppose I should get him statemented? is it best to go through the school or phone the local authority? I ask cos the school hasnt always been helpful, ds has been on and off IEPS throughout his school career.

blue_monkey_2

Sarah1975, can I be honest and say that you should tell your new employer. Have you been o the job centre (or whatever it is) with any paperwork to tell them that our so has been excluded due to a medical condition to see if you can get benefits? DO NOT FORGET to call the Tax Credits people and deduct that money from your salary, make sure you can get all you are entitled to. Was tose links to childrens lawers of any use to you?? Many hugs xx

blue_monkey_2

Had the Special Needs HV call today as shesent me a letter for a home appiontment but not sure where we are going tobe in a months time so explained this to her. She is keeping the date and if anything changes I have to tell her, seems fair enough.

Taking 2 cats to the cat home tomorrow. I am sad about it but half of me is thankful, each time I have seen Ryan pulling them around (and they have started growling at him which they never used to do) he grabs them, chases them out of the cat flap, gabs them and traps them in the downstairs loo, I know in my heart I am doing the right thing and the threat of being homeless has just made me do what is right for the cats. I have one that I am having trouble getting to a shelter as she is not a proper house cat and is quite nervous, the other 2 - for now - I am keeping and will board (£3 a night via RSPCA) if the worst comes to the worst and we are homeless.

I have an appointment for CDU on Wednesday as well and I told Ryan we was off to see another doctor. He has been really hard work lately, jumping on us, hitting and punching, just how many times should you have to tell im to not jump/hit and punch. I feel like a broken record at times and feel prett crap as a parent who cannot get their chil to do as you ask them

Savvy_Sue

Sarahsaver wrote: »

Oh and I suppose I should get him statemented? is it best to go through the school or phone the local authority? I ask cos the school hasnt always been helpful, ds has been on and off IEPS throughout his school career.

I believe the tactful way of proceeding would be to ask the school whether they think he needs a statement - it should benefit them as they would then get extra funding for the help he needs, which an IEP doesn't bring, AFAIK.

However, if the school says "Oh no, putting him on an IEP is all he needs, and he wouldn't be able to get a statement without a full diagnosis / the moon turning blue / our SENCO approving" then you would be perfectly within your rights to contact the LEA.

That's if it's clear to you that he does need help, and / or that he's not always being given the help he needs.

Some schools are sensitive about having 'too many' formally statemented children on the roll. They think that parents who pay too much attention to statistics will think the school is full of badly behaved and disruptive pupils, or pupils who will never do that well in SATS, so the 'average' results will be poor. Frankly, I never gave two hoots what the 'average' SATS results were, as long as my children were going to be able to achieve their full potential, or near enough. Which they all did, in primary schools where there WAS a very high percentage of statemented children.

BUT if you have a child with special needs of any kind in a 'sensitive' school, life can become VERY difficult!

rebl43

Hi, I have read through some of this thread with great interest but it is sooo long and I don't have time to read through it all so apologies if my question has been asked before.
I am sure that there is something "not quite right" with my son who is 8, and after doing a bit of reading up I think he may be somewhere in the autistic spectrum. I have spoken with his teacher and she has agreed to ask for an Educational Psycologist to come and observe him at school.
What is this for?
Do I need to speak to my GP to get him referred to a specialist to be diagnosed or is this what the EP will do?
I guess I am asking what the next steps are really and what should I be doing. Any help would be gratefully recieved, thanks xx

Sue-UU

Hi rebl, As no one else has answered due to it being late, I'll answer about the EP. He/she will assess just how well your son is doing at school; whether he is around average or above or below those of his age group. If that assessment was perhaps being done within the next week I think I'd advise you hang fire with your GP, but if you're unsure how long it could take then I think I'd go and see him/her anyway and put your worries and concerns to him. If it's thought necessary to get him referred then it's far better to start the ball rolling asap so your little one can be helped soon. I hope you get more advice from the others in the morning. All the very best, hugs too. Sue

Savvy_Sue

I agree with SueU-U. I believe that in some areas EPs are in short supply, so if it's going to take a while, then go to your GP. If you don't feel comfortable talking in detail about your son with him present, you could write a letter and ask the GP to read it before seeing your son. You could phone the surgery and ask about the best way of doing this: I know at my surgery I'd be able to talk to the GP on the phone before a visit for something like that.

Having said that, a child should not need a formal diagnosis to get extra help in school: if it's clear they need help, it should be arranged. Sounds like at least your son's school agrees there's something to investigate, anyway!