Countdown to Christmas 2022: The January sales edition (AKA, 'Where the bloody hell have I put that?' come next Christmas!) Thread 1

[ThatsMySantaHisBeardIsSoFluffy]

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Here we go, roll up, roll up!

I can barely move; I'm full of cheese and Bailey's. 🐷

Here's our new thread for the new countdown! 🎄🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻

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Time always seems to go faster once we're in the 200s, doesn't it?

It's still quite windy here. I'm not sure I'm going to spend as long at the allotment as I'd intended today as it's not pleasant to be out in it. Plus I do want to mow the lawn before the green bin collection tomorrow.

Need to go and feed the birdies though and my little furry friend!

Morning. We're just having bacon sandwiches. Ds has football in a bit.

I'm seeing the SENCo on Thursday, she did mention a referral to the school nursing team but I said that's me and I'm not sure what we could do. I'm still not sure there's much she can do either but at least I can go through all of his issues and see what she thinks.

When we first saw the SENCo, DH was sent on a sensory awareness type course as we were initially looking at a sensory processing disorder. The next step would have been seeing an Ed. Psych. for further assessment. Except a) DS masks wonderfully at school and wasn't a priority and b) Covid then happened. The infant SENCo really wasn't that great, and without me pushing via the GP, we wouldn't have got anywhere.

Even if it's standalone sensory processing, you can still go via the GP for diagnosis and then support, though the SENCo may be able to arrange things more quickly. If they're better than ours was!

Ds only had some issues though not loads. There's check lists for sensory issues and he hardly ticks off any of them so I can't see him being accepted for a any support or even requiring anything more than a bit of extra support at home/school. I think it's more emotional to be honest.

They don't use checklists here, they look at the child as a whole and decide if there are enough issues across the board to warrant diagnosis. Check lists are too blunt a tool to use.

Morning.
Looks like the new Boiler is being fitted in a weeks time, which means we (I) need to clear out the garage 😭 DH seems to think we don't need to move much 🤦‍♀️

Has your DH even been in the garage since the Brexit stash was started recently?! 🤣🤣

Good to have a new boiler sorted though.

There's not enough issues to warrant a referral. I know the system and work in it so I know what the criteria is. Unless the SENCo thinks dysgraphia is a possibility but I don't know much about that tbh. I'm going to ask about it though.

Dysgraphia does not cause sensory issues or meltdowns Wreck. It is a predominant issue with handwriting.

I know it doesn't but it's also something I was considering. It can cause stress when they have to write things, and put thoughts onto paper/write stories etc.

I looked into it thoroughly with my daughter so have more information than I ever needed/expected to need on the subject.

Ah that's interesting, did it turn out that she didn't have it? I've only wondered because he still really struggles with his handwriting and spelling but has no issues with reading and gets really stressed when he has to write anything, it takes ages etc. When he does his maths homework his number formation is terrible too. Oh and he doesn't hold his pencil properly.

Morning

Wreck I have no experience apart from helping my sister with nephews stuff and that started way before school and is associated with physical disability so completely different.

Do you think your ds is anxious in general? Do you have any idea what could help?
I know from DH that SENCos can be great but there are lots of kids who need extra support who don't meet diagnosis criteria.

puss how much do you think you have to move in the garage?

DH has had an awful cold since Friday and it's got me today 🤧 I look lovely with red eyes and nose and I can feel my energy draining away so it'll be a lazy day here.

@WreckTangled

Ah that's interesting, did it turn out that she didn't have it? I've only wondered because he still really struggles with his handwriting and spelling but has no issues with reading and gets really stressed when he has to write anything, it takes ages etc. When he does his maths homework his number formation is terrible too. Oh and he doesn't hold his pencil properly.

DS has all of this too. It's part of his autism.

Crazy, sorry you have a cold. Hopefully it's short lived.

I'm on the way back from the allotment after a wrestling session with the fruit cage I've taken down!

My grape hyacinths are well on the way now, and my apricot is in flower again...hopefully this year we get fruit, however, as it flowered last year but no fruit came!

I'm going to quickly mow the lawn when I get home, then it's bath time!

Wreck, my daughter's issues turned out to be autism.

Ah ok. I just don't think that's ds. He obviously has social anxiety (although is fine with other children usually, it's adults) and the other issues I've mentioned but I just don't see anything else in him that would point to autism. As a baby he had completely typical development, all gross and fine motor skills, speech etc as expected, no issues with eating/foods (eats everything apart from potato), no issues with noise or crowded places, happily stays away over night, great sleeper, no rigid routines or obsessions with specific interests, no problems empathy or social cues. He's just super shy and hates socks 😂 could it be that he's very high functioning (is that still the appropriate term?)? Is it possible to have some autistic tendencies but that's it? I really don't know tbh. Such a minefield. I do see other children with so much confidence and feel a bit jealous at how easy life must be for them compared to ds

You can still be high functioning autistic yes. Like most things there are various levels you can be at. Kids can also mask, although it is more common with girls than boys, but even so behaviour tends to be worse at home than out of the home as it is their safe space.

It isn't uncommon for kids to have learnt how to fit in and not meet the triad of impairments. My son was not diagnosed autistic till he was 13 although CAMHS had said he was from 7. He is diagnosed with atypical autism as he could fake the social side by the time he was diagnosed but it was recognised the issues are there socially.

Empathy isn't something people with autism lack; that's quite an old fashioned viewpoint.

It's really complex, which is why they breakdown everything to see what's what now (or they do here). I had to complete a really long questionnaire for DS' assessment, covering everything.

As they say, if you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism! It's very, very individual.

I'm not saying your DS does have autism, but I think it's worth being open-minded about it. Potentially it's anxiety with a sensory processing issue, or something like that, but yes, he could be high functioning (as was, it's all just ASD now for diagnosis).

DS is expert at masking. It's why school didn't want to know, particularly. We get the results of that at home!

I'm not sure there's any masking going on. We don't get many tantrums during the week when he's been at school, that I can think of, only arguing with dd. It's the PlayStation (which he's only allowed to use during the weekend) which crashes and then causes him to get really angry and throw things on the floor I need to limit it more as he's much better when he's not on it. Right now he's playing outside with a neighbour so I've got an hours peace and am cooking a roast and I've got pigs in blankets. Might do cheesy cauliflower leeks too.

Paeds wouldn't see him now anyway as he's too old, it would be CAMHS who bat back all the referrals.

You don't go anywhere near CAMHS here. Interesting how it's different everywhere.

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Morning!

I'm meant to be getting up shortly to go on the cross trainer after a week off last week because of my knee injury. It's just so cosy in bed though! 🤣

Why are weekends so short?! 😭😭😭

Did you make it to the cross trainer Fluffy?

Both me and DH slept badly so I feel a bit like a zombie today.
I feel more sorry for him though - he's on an overnight school trip today/ tonight, full of activities.

I was talking to dsis yesterday about nephew and his diagnosis progress. It's so slow because they have to try and separate out the CP symptoms from everything else but dsis was getting very annoyed with some comments she's received over the months since he started nursery - ranging from 'he shouldn't be in main stream nursery if he needs extra help (the extra help being speech and language therapy, physio, consultant and being allowed to come back into the classroom first because he's on a frame FFS) to people saying that he should be pushed harder or he'll never improve.

I'm not sure which one makes me angrier tbh. He's coped so much better than expected with nursery but he does get overwhelmed with some things.
What is lovely though is that while the shitty comments come from adults while the kids in his class just accept him, splints, frame, meltdowns and all. They play with him but leave him alone if he says no with no drama at all.

Children are amazing crazy, and so kind. (Obviously they can be horrible as they get older!). I saw a child last week who hardly spoke any English and the two other children who came along with them were so kind and cheering them on and helping them. So lovely.