Aspergers/ASD support thread

quietheart

If you find that you don't get a diagnosis you can ask for a second opinion. The SLT at the Unit we're at said they are a 2nd opinion unit(?!) don't know if that's just locally or nationwide. Thought it was strange that one is needed really....
We only saw the toe-walking until he was 2. I have a funny image of your husband looking like a ballet dancer on his tippy-toes!;)
As for home schooling - that's scary but i guess the alternatives are as well. The SLT was already talking about the type of secondary school to look for and my son's not 7 yet.... Would you be able to cope with home-schooling? My youngest has started school this year so i was planning to start working again but with the extra help no.1 needs now I don't know if it's feasible. Probably getting a bit ahead of myself there!
Do you have kids round for playdates or is that too difficult? I did lots of it through nursery and reception and it could be painful but it paid off in the end and goes well now. He's more at ease on his own territory and seems to have a good laugh with his friends. It's weird been told he won't understand humour when i know he does, sarcasm's more of an issue. doesn't help that he has the most sarcastic mother in europe -must rein myself in!

Snaggles

Lol, well you're not far from the truth except he's a 5ft11, 13 stone ballet dancer! :rotfl:

I had no idea it was the type of thing you could get a second opinion on - hopefully we wont need it but it's worth knowing, thanks.

I would actually LOVE to home school him, but would be scared of the impact it would have on his already limited ability to relate to children of his own age, so I'm hoping it wont come to that.

We don't really have people round for playdates (it's difficult because he isn't really close to anyone in particular at school), although Ryan's cousin comes round fairly regularly. It gets VERY noisy :eek: but fun!! Although sometimes it does descend into arguments and tantrums. But maybe that's just a 'kid' thing rather than an 'Aspergers' thing.

Ryan doesn't understand a lot of humour, and is totally baffled by sarcasm (so...you say one thing....but mean another.....and I'm supposed to know that how??), but does have a sense of humour for slapstick, silly poems (such as Revolting Rhymes), gross things (f*rts and burps amuse him mightily ), and he laughs often.

But yes, I can be sarcastic too - definitely something I struggle to keep in check around him!

quietheart

Spoke to the NAS today. They told me about the Help! programme for parents, a 6 wk course, half a day a week dealing with behaviour management, education etc. Just wondering if any of you have been on this and if it's any good. Apparently they are held all round the country.

Savvy_Sue

Do you know the first joke DS1 ever laughed at?

"Why do daddies carry their briefcases?"
"Because briefcases can't walk!"

In the original, it was "Bank Managers", but as his daddy did carry a briefcase, I changed it, and he laughed his head off!

He can 'do' sarcasm these days, but he's better at dishing it out than understanding it when others use it. When I'm saying one thing and meaning another I usually look at him in a particular way and use a particular tone of voice.

But he is much older than your lot, and it's so mild you wouldn't know unless he told you, which probably explains why we've never seen anyone more specialised than the school doctor and our own GP! And our own GP was only to get him to write to the school doctor and ask for an assessment to get him extra time in GCSEs, which he only needed in the airy-fairy subjects like English. It just gave him more time to work out what the examiner could POSSIBLY mean by asking him such a blindingly obvious question to which a one word answer would suffice for anyone with the brains of a tadpole.

It's the 'pedantry as an art form' which marks him out for me, still, and the adult friend we know with it - heck, that one didn't like the way I used my mouse when I first started using a computer!

Snaggles

I've now received the form to request Ryan's birth notes - there's a £10 charge and then admin costs of up to £50 for 'photocopying etc'. :eek: And considering I will need to request both Ryan's and my own notes, I presume that cost will be double.....up to £120!! :eek: :eek:

I can't afford to do it before Xmas anyway, so I have filed the form in a safe place for now, and will think about it again after Xmas. As it doesn't seem to be something they need to know urgently, to make their diagnosis, I will wait until I can afford to do it rather than rush and do it now.

I may feel differently once we have the diagnosis anyway, but I think one way or another I would like to see them eventually, more out of interest than anything else.

Ryan made me giggle this morning - I said Santa would be coming down the chimney soon, and he said 'is that an expression?'. I said no, it's not, why?', and he said 'well, it doesn't make sense because we haven't got a chimney and you said if something doesn't make sense I could check with you if it was an expression or not'! :T

He's a little star!

Strapped

Snaggles, the cost shouldn't be double - you and your son's notes should come together as a set, well, mine did anyway.

quietheart

Snaggles
Would you consider going through your notes with a midwife for free as an moneysaving option?! That's what I'm doing tomorrow. There's no way I can justify the money for a copy of the notes and I'd much rather have someone who knows their stuff explain what happened.
Will let you know how I get on tomorrow....... feeling nervous now!

LondonDiva

Strapped wrote: »

Snaggles, the cost shouldn't be double - you and your son's notes should come together as a set, well, mine did anyway.

It depends if they are filed as one person or if they were divided into two peoples.

peopletend to see the cost of records just as photocopying, but it's not just a case of copying the records which are tedious in the extreme,

• but also having a clinician go through them first to check what's in there before they can be copied or viewed - When you have some patients with two bin bags worth of records, it can be a good couple of days reading
• and then a day of someone standing there copying the notes
• and then a clinician sitting there going through the notes with you in the space of 3-4 clinical appointments instead of seeing other patients.

it all mounts up

Snaggles

Strapped - thanks, I will ask them about that - I just assumed I would have to pay for both but I will check.

Rovers - I do hope all goes well tomorrow. Yes, just having chance to read through the notes would be fine, I don't particularly need a copy as long as I can make a few notes.

LondonDiva - thanks for the explanation of the costs - I don't want to take up 3-4 appointments when a clinician could be seeing someone else (did it really sound as though I would? Sort of resented the implication a bit) - I don't think mine will be particularly lengthy, because I don't think there was anything very out of the ordinary about the birth, I just want to put my mind at rest about a few little memories that have resurfaced, and to be able to answer the questions that the CAMHS team are asking. But as I say, it doesn't seem to be urgent or critical that I find out.

Strapped

LondonDiva wrote: »

It depends if they are filed as one person or if they were divided into two peoples.

peopletend to see the cost of records just as photocopying, but it's not just a case of copying the records which are tedious in the extreme,

• but also having a clinician go through them first to check what's in there before they can be copied or viewed - When you have some patients with two bin bags worth of records, it can be a good couple of days reading
• and then a day of someone standing there copying the notes
• and then a clinician sitting there going through the notes with you in the space of 3-4 clinical appointments instead of seeing other patients.

it all mounts up

Snaggles is not the only one who resented the implications of your post. Why should a clinician have to "go through them first to check what's in there" (!!!!-covering?!) As someone who suffered the most dreadful post-traumatic stress following the "birth" (I use the term loosely) of my eldest child, I'm sooooo f***ing sorry if a clinician (who after all is God or might as well be) has to dein to spend 3 or 4 precious appointments on trying to fix what s/he f***ed up in the first place :rolleyes: That's what's wrong with the NHS - we managed to not actually kill you, so you should be GRATEFUL!

GRRRRRRRRRR! :mad: