Aspergers/ASD support thread

Snaggles

Thanks Anewman - I'm sure you're right, they haven't asked me to get his records, I think it's more that I just want to stop myself thinking and wondering about it really.

Funny the two words I remembered mean almost the exact opposite of each other, but I definitely remember hearing both, although at seperate times.

suki1964

anewman wrote: »

Tachycardia is high heart rate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachycardia Bradycardia is slow heart rate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradycardia
I had no idea what Apgar score was until reading this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apgar_score

Being 7 years ago I don't think they will necessarily have the records stored but it's worth a try. As for the Asperger Diagnosis, I don't think the birth details are critical to diagnosis itself (I've not known it to be and I've read a little around it), although it may well point to a different diagnosis. You shouldn't feel bad giving the best account that you can recall and saying "I think" etc. They won't expect you to remember every single fine detail, and it seems to me like you've remembered quite a bit.

Birth and obstetric records are kept for 25 years. All medical records are kept in some form or another for at least 8 years after the last attendance,with longer retention periods of paeds, and mental health

Penny_Watcher

Snaggles wrote: »

and one question that keeps cropping up is 'did you have a normal delivery?'.

Well, it seemed fairly normal - I don't remember much about it at all, but I think he was (possibly too much information, sorry...) stuck in the birth canal for an awfully long time, and I nearly had to have a forceps delivery. And I also remember hearing words like tachicardic (sp?), bradicardic (definitely sp!), and the first Apgar score was a bit low for some reason but then the second was okay....but again I can't remember why.

Hi Snaggles,

I had the same situation with DS1 13 years ago (his head was 98th centile :eek:). Just to say he's neurotypical (that's to say 'normal', but that seems the wrong word to use in this situation).

I hope you get some answers.

rio

I understand where you are coming from, apparently there is a strong correlation between difficult births and children who are on the autistic spectrum. My five year old is currently being assessed for Aspergers and all I was asked were the circumstances of his birth (emergency caesarian for shoulder presentation). I was told they needed to know more for statistical analysis than for anything else.

floss2

Hi Snaggs,

Take a look at these...it may help:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HealthAndWellBeing/HealthServices/ManagingYourHealthcare/DG_10036450
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A1181657#1

Love Floss xx

finc

rio wrote: »

I understand where you are coming from, apparently there is a strong correlation between difficult births and children who are on the autistic spectrum. My five year old is currently being assessed for Aspergers and all I was asked were the circumstances of his birth (emergency caesarian for shoulder presentation). I was told they needed to know more for statistical analysis than for anything else.

I didn't know that. My 9 year old daughter is also in the process of being assessed for Aspergers and she had a really awful birth, mainly due to poor medical care. I'd hate to think that it could have been avoided.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but can anyone who has already been through the assessment process give me an idea how long it usually takes. We started over a year ago and there still hasn't been any diagnosis either way.

Jo_R_2

Hi Snaggles

I eviewed the birth notes of DD1 as I had a very fast second stage and birthed her all by myself because the midwives thought it would be hours until she was born...

Where I am, you go through PALS (Patient Advisory and Liaison Service I think!) at the hospital, and they send you the forms and talk you through it. You have to pay a fee, as stated, but for me it was a standard set of fees depending on what you were after, eg if you just wanted to read through the notes or if you wanted a set to keep.

They then arranged an appointment with the head of midwifery and a senior midwife, and talked me through the birth notes, ie what actually happened from when I first went into the assessment unit. They asked initially what specifically I wanted to know about, so they could answer my questions, and it cleared up some things but not others - I never knew exactly why my second stage happened so fast (I can't remember the name for it off the top of my head) but it helped because they advised me it was likely to happen again with any more children - and sure enough it did, DD2 managed a little longer 4 minutes of second stage before she flew out!

Hope that's useful, see if there's a PALS at your hospital.

Strapped

There is a sample letter and useful info on requesting your birth records on the pni website:

www.pni-uk.com/maternity.pdf

I won't copy it here in case that's not allowed. HTH.

blue_monkey_2

This is interesting. My son is going to be assessed for ADHD and Dyspraxia (but not on the motor side, just the tasks he finds challenging). I have always been asked if he had a normal delivery and I have always said yes, but he had the cord wrapped around his neck and was blue for 2 days and, he initially got a low score but as he started to redden this went back to a normal score.

He used to cry a lot when he was a baby and would never really settle, I ended up taking him to a chiropractor to have his skull manipulated, he said that they had not fused properly and (did you know) that babies under 13 months get 3 free 10 minutes sessions (always worth asking!!). Son cried initially and then by the last session he was fine and I never had to go back again.

But your thread certainly got me thinking, IF his brain was starved of oxygen for a while and something inside is not working as it should that these things happen and we don't realise. It was never something I would have thought of until now. Food for thought.

poppyscorner

I have had two babies born with the conditions you have stated tachycardia affected my first child and she was stillborn.

Second baby was fine although born with cord around neck and is healthy 4yr old

Baby 3 DS2 was affected by bradycardia and that was a run with the bed for emergency section job he was born and is generally OK but has a few health problems and has never been a contented baby like DS1 was.

My family and I all relate problems with DS2 to his difficult birth and we are at the initial stages of hospital consultations with him it certainly is interesting and I thank god every day that I was in hospital when I was with DS2 see I brought my date for induction forward a week I was booked for 42 wks exactly and asked 5them to change it to 41wks and they did or I dread to think what would have happened.

I wish you well with your family x