Aspergers/ASD support thread

aurora_borealis_2

No real experience, just bumping for you

Pros and cons, I think. It gives credibility but also may give rise to stigma.

webitha

are you talking about my son? lol

there is loads of help out there you just have to ask
first speak to your DS school about getting him on a statement this has helped my DS (8 yrs old adhd with autistic tendencies is his formal diagnosis) enormously so much so his senco worker has advised that he go to band c at his next review :j

i also find that medicated drugs just turned him into a zombie and have changed his diet (bread and fizzy pop seemed the worst for him)no pop and make my own bread ect and took him off the drugs so i now use EYEQ which can be bought from any chemist at his review his teacher said he was turning into a fab little boy thos he still figets a lot and has to has everything in a certain way on his desk but his violent outbursts have stopped completely on the EYEQ but hadnt on medicated drugs

its not for everyong but give it a try also speak to your health visitor or if yours is as !!!! as mine use the internet there is a wealth of info if you know where to look

oh and yes he is finally sleeping more than 3 hours a night :T
only took him 7 years lol and im more knackered now as im having more sleep but hey ive got 7 years of catching up

me_and_me_monkeys

My oldest was diagnosed with ASD last year and it helped us in as far as we had a reason for his behaviour (it is never an excuse for bad or unreasonable behaviour IYSWIM), Its horrible to think of labling your child but overall it helped us to understand and read around the subject, it can help at school as it means they can access the autism specialist teams.

What I did was write a list of all the special things that made him 'No 1 monkey' even little things like they way he giggles in his sleep. Going through the process is such a demoralising thing for parents - we spend our lives trying to bring out the best in our children and the diagnosis path and DLA mean we have show all their faults, It hurt so much but I knew in the long term it was the best. I keep my list special things in my purse it helps when we have bad days.

dmg24

I can highly recommend the book 'Loving Olivia: My Life with my Autistic Daughter'. I got a copy from the library, but it is also available to buy.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Loving-Olivia-Life-Autistic-Daughter/dp/140508815X

The book tells the story of the lengthy fight to get a diagnosis for the author's daughter, and even if your diagnosis is not the same, will hopefully provide you with some interesting information and support.

Hope it helps x

Sarahsaver

Wow ! thanks to you all so many replies so soon.

random456

Yes it does help, if only to reassure you you aren't going mad. It also helps if certain doctors aren't too sympathetic as they now have evidence and don't think you are just a hypochondriac parent re: your child. You'll find once you get involved with paediatricians/diagnoses the school/Dr's/other people will start to take you more seriously, and the other thing is now your child wont be labelled difficult/slow etc etc at school as you have proof he has a disorder...i also found it helps you too as you don't get embarrassed when he does something naughty or odd, as you know in your head there is a 'reason' for it.

Sarahsaver

Yep I have found I have been shying away from the GP because he has in the past been of the opinion that 'some kids are just naughty' and the health visitor laughed at me when I told her DS had put his fist through a window in anger - at the age of 3.
Webitha maybe he is your son's clone! He still does not sleep through sometimes he will wake very confused in the night, or very scared, still pees himself day and night. I am glad I have stuck it out and had the stamina not to accept that he is little Mr Average.
It's a good idea to think of the good stuff, I try to do that anyway. Like his made up words, catreeble, mr pobblywink, he DOES do things that make me smile but I know an outsider from a professional point of view thinks 'uh-oh' - like being tidy, having a line of piles of clothes ready for school for the whole week, saying one word then saying after it as many words as he can which rhyme with it, very particular ideas about how things should be cooked (with his temper he could be the next Gordon Ramsey) how he is like a big affectionate puppy when he is in a good mood, likes to sit on my lap despite being bigger than my 9 year old DD. His mop of thick hair left uncut because a classroom assistant said she liked it (must ask her to tell him she likes fringes LOL;))

AnnieH

I thin my DD has ASD but I haven't even been seen by anyone yet, and she's nearly 9. It's been a long fight but my HV is now on my side, and fighting my corner with me. Hopefully we'll get seen soon, but it won't make a difference day-to-day, just something to explain why she is like she is, and how she is special and I still love her even though she is different

Savvy_Sue

For me it helped knowing that it wasn't ME or MY FAULT that DS1 was 'different'. And also that it wasn't my imagination ... So many things made sense, finally!

It shouldn't make a difference to the level of help he gets at school, but it may make life easier.

Sarahsaver

It shouldn't make a difference at school but in our case it will because I have the fortune to have a very clever DD aged 9 and little DS who is 6 has read all the books and is on novels, me being an ex teacher and a governor my kids all 'ought to be ok' They took ds off the SEN register 2 years ago but SS and the child mental health unit have told them to put him back on already. Trouble with things these days its all SATs driven so I just got the 'oh well he got level 2s so he must be doing well' Well DS is clever too just in a different way, as he said to someone today 'I am arty' he is very artistically talented.