Aspergers/ASD support thread

cat4772

Hi Snaggs (and everyone else)

there's lots of questions that a peadiatrician will ask when taking a history, including lots about the birth history and pregnancy details:
Where - at home or hospital
Delivery - vaginal or caesarean (planned or emergency - why was it emergency)
Gestation - how many weeks (early, due or late)
Weight - low birth weight, normal or high birth weight
Ante/post-natal problems - you (diabetes, high blood pressure etc) and baby (heart rate, normal scans, meconium etc), blood loss and transfusions
Neonatal problems (jaundiced, ventilated, antibiotics prescribed)
Feeding - breast (vitamin K supplements) or bottle (allergies etc)
Weaning (onto solids) - at what age etc


They'll normally ask about the child record (red book), immunisations and vaccinations as well as general health questions.

Fingers crossed that they can give you some answers in December!

Cat.x

Gingham_Ribbon

I looked at my notes for free by arranging an appointment at the hospital. It was a few pence per photocopy if I wanted to take anything away. ANYONE is entitled to see their hospital notes. One of the staff tried to tell me I needed to request it through a solicitor but this was not true. A simple phonecall sorted it out. I think if you've not used the hospital/surgery for some time an admin fee can be charged.

My notes are about 6 inches thick. If I'd asked them to photocopy the whole thing it'd have taken hours. I think they were glad I just wanted to sit down and file through it.

madison's_mum

I saw my notes for free, i went to the doctors & said i wanted to see them as i nearly bled to death having DD. He arranged an appointment for me at hospital & there was a consultant there who went through it with me. Although there were bit that i definately remember that weren't in my notes & there was nothing about me going into shock before going into theatre so they may not have all the info your looking for.

me_and_me_monkeys

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Aspergers was not recognised as a condition when my son was small but I can remember some wonderful things he said :

At fourteen months (VERY forward in speech), he didn't know the word for 'chest' and he was bouncing up and down on his dad's chest and shouted 'Dad! I'm on the front of your back!'

Now if only I'd realised that this is no way normal speech for a fourteen-month-old......the concept of front and back as well as the vocabulary...but I was just pleased he was so 'forward'...however this really needed checking out just as much as if he was a late developer.

At two and a half, with another little boy the same age, both playing with dinosaurs. Adult says to friend 'do you know what this is?' He replied 'a monster'. Ben replied 'actually it's a diplodocus'.

On a visit to London at five, a friend pointed to the Houses of Parliament and asked Ben if he knew what it was . Ben replied 'Sandstone' (Dad was teaching geology at the time).

Same visit to London, Ben saw some beautiful decorative brickwork. Not knowing the word for brickwork , he called it 'brickage'.

Now he's grown up he is an intelligent and likeable young man who would not ever knowingly do anyone a bad turn and qute often does good ones.

However, he has terrible problems with organistion, following directions and still when he's tired has problems tying a tie. He can bore for England about Warhammer models and still buys himself Lego.

I've only just realised a few months ago that he's like me. I was very much like this when I was young. I never understood people who were catty or told lies. I can also bore for England about my particular things and be obsessive about them.

So I don't know....maybe I'm on the spectrum too.

Whoops....sorry for the long post. Boring for England again!

This sounds so much like my oldest - also an aspie. aged 4 they asked the class what is it when you cannot see, his friend said 'Blind miss', the teacher told her that was correct ' my boy put his hand up and said 'actually its visually impaired, Its rude to say blind unless someone has self-defined!' The teacher almost fell over.

I used to keep a list of the funny 'isms' so that when we all had 'recovered' from the diagnosis and back on an even keel we could look back and laugh

Kimberley

I didn't know you could request your childs birth records, how far back can you go? I would love to have my childrens records especially if there is a scan picture because all my photos of the kids as babies were destroyed years ago along with all their scan pictures

My kids are 14, 13 and 10 or is that too far away?

Shona_3

Kimberly, sorry scan pictures are not usually kept by the hospital, the information seen will be documented,length, head circ etc but not the actual pictures. The film they are printed on can often fade with time too, so scan them if you have them.

Cat4772 is right, asking about birth history is a standard and essential part of any paediatric history, it would be (should be) asked if you were at an orthopaedic clinic, eye clinic, admitted to a paediatric ward with a chest infection etc.

Birth problems haven't been linked to ASD but there is a clear association with cerebral palsy and when you are in the 'find the diagnosis' phase, no condition is ruled out initially so it is important to cover all the bases.

I think this is a really good supportive thread for all parents who have ASD concerns... keep up the good work.

Shona_3

PS reading your notes is usually free, you just have to apply and make an appointment. Take along lots of paper and a pen to make notes and you may want a medical dictionary with you, most big bookshops will sell them.
It is the secretary's time that causes the charge, a receptionist where I work had to spent 4 hours photocopying notes the other day!

Snaggles

Right, I rang the PALS people at the hospital where I gave birth, and they were very nice - there's a form I need to fill in which they are sending out, and once they receive that back from me I will be able to arrange to go in and have a look at them.

Ryan is off school sick today, and we've just been chatting about his sister's hair.....ie how she still hardly has any.....and I said 'don't worry, it will soon grow and she'll have a lovely head of hair, just like you'... :doh:

I have just spent the last half hour reassuring him that in fact his head is not made entirely out of hair!! Will I ever learn?

seven-day-weekend

This thread is really helping me because none of us, including Ben, realised where his 'difference' lay until about three years ago when he was about 25. Then someone told me about Aspergers and it all fell into place. I told my husband and it clicked with him too.

Then we both had a word with Ben and he thought it sounded like him too.

It's good to talk to mothers of small boys, and for me to see my own 'small boy' in there and remembering some of the things he did, and realising that we were not wrong when we said he needed help with certain things only to be told he was just 'lazy' and 'irritating'.

One thing I am very glad about is our son has managed to find himself a girlfriend with AS who loves Warhammer models as much as he does! He can't believe his luck!

I hope your little lads get all the help and support that they need.

Snaggles

SDW, it sounds like you did a pretty amazing job bringing up your son to be a lovely young man, particularly if you didn't have a diagnosis when he was a child.

How fantastic that he has a girlfriend who understands him so well. I wish him every happiness.

Ryan has had lots of derogatory terms thrown at him too, and his self esteem really hit rock bottom last year. Rebuilding his confidence is a long, slow process, which can be completely wiped out with one ill thought out comment. But he has lots of people around him who love him, and he will get there.