in many ways my ASD ADHD DS1 is my easier child.

[colditz]

i just said to him

"go in the front room please"

"Why?"

"Because I've asked you to"

"okay"

and off he goes.

he's 7. If I tried that with his Nt 4 year old brother, I would have got "I don't want to, I want to come in here, why do I ALWAYS have to do boring things, anyway, I want a drink!"

I think that quite often - i've got twins DS (ASD) and DD (NT) and she is definitely the more annoying higher maintenance of the two!

I wish MY ASD/AHD DS would be that obedient . What's yer secret?

He is obedient. He bickers (sometimes) or ignores, but he never outright defies me.

Ds3 is like that too Custy, he's also clinical;ly the most severe

OTOH ds1, AS, is a PITA most of the time. 'go in the front room' 'no fuck off' wopuld be about it!

I think when people see ASD they forget that kids have their own personalities as well; ds3 would surely ahve always been an 'easy' child and ds1 a difficult one. The asd is just the filter I see their personalities through if that makes sense?

Well, I never, ever, thought I would say this but today, my SLD DS1 seems easy compared to my DD. She has just gone to University and is struggling with social anxiety and panic attacks. I feel absolutely dreadful, so worried I can't eat, (and believe me, that is serious).

DS1 has challenging behaviour, is doubly incontinent and has very limited understanding. However, he is not self-conscious or shy or aware enough to know he's disabled.

Oh i say this all the time abotu my two.

Ds1 is asd and ADHD. he has his issues but they have triggers and i understand them.

DD2 is NT and can be a total nightmare at times. the tantrums and whineyness and just general girly OTT of everything.

give me a dying strip light induced meltdown anyday

Mt ASD/ADHD almost 7 year old is more like your 4 year old in the way he responds to requests - but it's all turned up to full volume and rather shrieky.

Having said that, I was talking to a parent of a girl in DS1's class, yesterday and she revealed that she applied for the job of being DS1's LSA, way back, when he was in nursery, but didn't get the job because there was an internal application form someone more qualified. I joked to her that she'd have had far more grey hairs by now, had she got the job. She joked back that we'd have to swap kids for the day. I replied, no thanks, girls scare me!