Do I inform new childminder that my child has 'traits' of AS?

[cornsilk]

My ds's will be starting with a new childminder in September. I'm a bit worried 'cos ds1 supposedly has 'traits' of AS. He does not have a diagnosis, but when assessed by ed psych he fell into a 'high risk' group based on a questionairre completed by me and his teacher. As he wasn't diagnosed I think I'd feel a bit daft mentioning it. But although he will probably be fine, if he doesn't want to do something he just won't - including going with the childminder! Should I wait and see how he is? Would a childminder need to know this?

I find it better to know than not to know. Currently helping with a playscheme and some of the children have undiagnosed AS/ASD/ADD/ADHD and by knowing, I can work better with them as I know how far they can be pushed before getting to a tantrum stage.

Trust is an important part of the carer/parent relationship. The childminder may not be all that impressed if you HIDE something from them. Also, the childminder will have insurance and for insurance purposes any medical needs should be declared. A DX would need to be declared. As you don't have a DX yet... should you declare it - hard to know... but if something terrible happened, then insurance may not pay out if the childminder was not made aware of everything.

Has your DS meet his new childminder?

Have you tried asking your question over on the Special Needs board - may be handy to do so, as you can then get the view of parents with children with SEN.

The other thing is, the childminder needs to know in which situations she may need to handle him differently to other mindees, or more carefully- this could avoid a lot of stress and unhappiness for both. My dd1 has autistic traits and needs to be handled dfferently to others, otherwise she gets extremely worried and incapable of carrying out normal activities.

you must tell her.You are not confirming he has AS, you are keeping her informed of your childs likes/dislikes/tendancies and any problems, its a heasds up, so she can work out how best to help him .
Have to say it would be something i would have mentioned in first meeting/when signing contracts?

Definitly tell her. My ds has As and ADHD traits but no dx but he has different needs to other children and if handled badly can have a complete meltdown. Although he has no dx he has a statement and fulltime 1:1 at school. If you don't tell the childminder you will make it more difficult for her to meet his needs which will make your ds transition to her care more stressful for everyone. By telling her you give her time to research AS so she can be prepared before he arrives.

I think as a CM I would want to know. It would be unfair not to tell the cm IMHO.

Another vote for the tell her box!

Seriously, I have been the childminder that didn't get told. It still blows me away that his mum didn't think to mention it to me. We had a really shaky start with lots of meltdowns which I handled well, but it would definately have been a smoother start if I had known from the off. Also my mindee had had lots of cms and was very untrusting of me at first (probably had same lack of communication with previous cms), but now he is still here 2 years on and we have a great bond, and I have got to know him very well. (My mindee is also school age and as yet un dx'd.)

You need to start off with great communication, as you, cm, and teacher will all need to share information on a day to basis, for your ds's benefit.

I think it would be really unfair to the childminder AND your ds not to tell her.

I am a newbie on this board.

Telling your childminder that your son has traits of AS actually wont give her much information about your son because lots of children with a diagnosis of AS present very differently.

I would explain to the childminder the specific strengths and needs that your child has (e.g. not doing something if he doesnt want to) and how you deal with these situations (e.g. some of children with traits of AS dont like change and need lots of preparation before an outing and can find things like picture timetables useful).

This way the childminder will be able to let you know if she feels she is competent to care for your son and if so will be able to adapt to the needs of your child.

Good luck

Thanks everyone. I feel much more comfident about mentioning it to her now.