If I hear 'I'm bored' one more time!!!

[Shugarlips]

Hi everyone

Hope you all had a great christmas!

I have posted on here about my son a number of times and always get lots of useful suggestions. We are in the process of trying to get a dx. I think DS has aspergers syndrome.

He cannot independantly play, that is he doesn't know what to do with toys except bash them up and he is always on our cases getting us to keep him happy basically. DS says he is bored all the time or 'what can I do'. We are seeing an EP in January and I am keeping notes of observations we have made but I was wondering if this sort of behaviour is common in children with autism. He does have problems with social communication and social interaction but this is his biggest issue. I don't think he has an imaginative ability at all.

I cannot remember a time when he played on his own with a toy. We went out today to a play park and he wandered around not knowing what to do and getting cross because we weren't thinking of things to keep him happy quick enough. He gets cross and frustrated and lashes out. He says he wants to go back to school. What can we do???

To be honest I have just had enough and it is such a bloody strain on everything. He liked his mini pool table we got him but all other presents discarded as rubbish.

I cry a lot which doesn't help - he seems so miserable and I think I am makiing everyone else miserable because I can't cope with him.

I love him but I don't think I even know him.

Yup. Sounds about right to me.

Poor DH is the walking talking entertainment machine. He does like it but it's full-on hard core all the time.

We're his 'best friends' he tells us (i.e we put up with more crap than his peers)He didn't get too mnay pressies this year as we are a bit skint and because he gets stuff during the year that he likes, purely because it takes the strain off us for a bit.

I say that unashamedly too!

Normal rules do not apply when you have an ASDer in the house.

He's 6, btw and HFA.

My tip to you is to take all offers of help that come along to have a break.

I think we are going to spread out the presents next year to help take the strain - good idea. We alos resort to the TV more than we'd like but DS hates the cold so we don't get out that much.

What's the difference between HFA and Aspergers Spinkle? Is HFA basically autism without learning disabilties. DS is middle to top of his class despite being the youngest in his class but struggles with what I have described.

MIL is helping out on Thursday thank god.

BTW sorry I sounded self pitying before - had my dinner so feel much better!!!

The difference is AS doesn't have the associated language delay.

And ds finds it very hard to 'play' as such.. Working part toys , electronic toys ( laptop, computer games xbox etc) and collections are far better suited to him.

Oneof his toys this year was a pinart.. He spent ages with it.. And the decided to take it apart! But that is par for the course in this house.

Does your dc like building stuff or drawing?

They're the main things we've had success with (apart from tv and DS of course, but the inevitable obsessions and frustrations limit their use).

The built objects are all lego star wars vehicles, and the drawings are mostly copies of someone else's, but it keeps him happy.

I don't think you sounded self pitying at all shugarlips ! I think winter is hard for all asd peeps and their families.
I don't even want to contemplate a world without nintendo...

Thank you Spinkle!

No, DS doesn't draw much but you have reminded me about LEGO - I might get some out tomorrow and remind DS that we have some.

He likes the Wii but only if he wins and some board games but only if he wins ... there is a pattern here isn't there!