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SN children

Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

Newbie introduction

21 replies

catherinea1971 · 28/01/2011 10:15

Hi all, I joined a week or so ago and have been having a good look around the SN forums. I have 3 children DD nearly 15, DS 3.9 diagnosed ASD nearly 12 months ago and DD just 11 months!! Hoping to find some help and hopefully offer some on here!! :)

OP posts:
Phlebas · 28/01/2011 10:27

Hi Catherine! I've got three dc too - dd1 10yo, ds 4.3 (ASD diagnosed at 3yo) & dd2 20 months :)

newlife4us · 28/01/2011 10:29

Welcome Catherinea1971!

I hope you find the help and support you need on here. I have no experience of ASD, but there are many on here who do.

bigcar · 28/01/2011 10:45

hello Smile I have 5 dcs, 1 has a genetic sydrome and another has mild learning difficulties.

shazian · 28/01/2011 10:47

Hi Catherine, i am new too. Like you had good look at different forums. I too have 3 kids ds 12 ds 10 Severe autism, pica, global development delay, low muscle tone. ds 8. The site looks great for advice and support.

yoshysmum · 28/01/2011 19:50

Hi and welcome Grin I have a ds with asd and possible genetic thing too.

catherinea1971 · 28/01/2011 19:57

Thanks for all the welcomes! :)

OP posts:
intothewest · 28/01/2011 20:16

Just to say HI - I have 2 dcs one with cp and sld- welcome Smile

moosemama · 28/01/2011 20:20

Hi Catherine.

Welcome. I hope you find this place as helpful and supportive as I have/do.

I'm have 3 dcs. Ds1 (8) was diagnosed with ASD last week and is waiting for his dyspraxia assessment, ds2 is 6 and dd is 2.

Pop over to the Friday Night thread if you are around. Its where we all offload the week and congratulate or commiserate each other accordingly (also lots of virtual wine and chocolate being handed around Grin). It might seem a bit daunting at first glance, but just jump in and say hi - we're a friendly bunch. Smile

coppertop · 28/01/2011 20:20

Welcome to the SN board. :)

moosemama · 28/01/2011 20:22

shazain, hello. I noticed you introduce yourself on another thread, was just about to say hello and welcome, but had to run and deal with one of the dcs.

Anyway - belated hello and welcome. Smile

(sorry for the hijack OP)

moosemama · 28/01/2011 20:24

oops shazian not shazain (typing one handed - apologies)

Tiggles · 28/01/2011 21:33

Hello :)
I have a DS, 8 with AS, a DS,4 with possible ASD and a DS, 2.

moosemama · 29/01/2011 12:15

Hello and welcome Little Miss Green. Smile

signandsmile · 29/01/2011 13:44

Hi and welcome to all! I have ds age 4, ASD and nild to mod learning disabilities, (also carer for dh who is physically disabled.) Have found so much help and support here.

HelensMelons · 29/01/2011 18:46

Hi and welcome too! I have 3 dc's, ds1 11, ds2 (almost 10) asd/adhd and dd3 7 x

donkeyderby · 29/01/2011 18:51

Hi and welcome from me! I've got 3 dc - DS1 is 14 and has very severe learning disabilities, some physical disabilities, mild visual impairment and - possible - ASD and challenging behaviour. No overall diagnosis.

Ineedalife · 29/01/2011 21:22

Hi from me to, I have 3 Dd's 2 have possible but so far undiagnosed ASD's, age range from 22 to 8, oh and a DGD who's 2.Smile

chickchickchicken · 29/01/2011 22:32

hi catherine. i have a ds with aspergers, dysprexia and dyslexia (severe)

crazypanda · 29/01/2011 23:09

hi chick,its crazypanda i,ve been trying to locate you,i left you a message on my thread,did you get any professional help and support when you got your dx the paed said he would contact everyone involved,but not much else,just thought you might know the drill.

crazypanda · 29/01/2011 23:15

hi,we got diagnosed 2 days ago for aspergers.i've been on mn a week,have to say it is great to talk to others with stuff in common,and find out loads of really good advice,thankyou to everyone i've been in contact with so far.

moosemama · 30/01/2011 12:10

Crazypanda, didn't want you to go unanswered. It varies from area to area. A lot of PCTs just diagnose and that's it. That's what happens here. We, supposedly, have the gold standard diagnosis service, but then that's it. They have no funding for support.

If he said he will contact everyone involved. It may well be that, if he needs it your ds will get some help from an occupational therapist (OT) and/or Speech and Language Therapist (SALT). You could call the Paed's secretary and ask what the usual process is, they're usually really helpful.

I noticed you are meeting with the SENCO next week and the SALT is also meeting with him/her. So it sounds like at least they are starting to sit up and take notice. Don't be surprised if you have to stand your ground and demand the right support for him though. He should be placed on the School Action Plus (SA+) part of the school's SEN Register as there are other outside professionals involved in his care (Paed, SALT) and should have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) which is usually written by the SENCO after meeting with you and probably/possibly him. It will set down some specific targets for your ds, how he is going to achieve them, what support the school will give, how they will be measured and when he should have achieved them by. This is designed to help you and them monitor his progress and make decisions as to when and where additional support is needed.

There's some basic information about the process on the direct gov website here.

They should also be bringing in the ASD Inclusion Team, even if its just for advice if he doesn't need much support. So it may well be worth asking them if that's going to happen at the meeting. (My school didn't do this and I ended up contacting them myself. They are now involved with ds and several other children who have ASD in the school, despite not having contact with the school for a very long time previously.)

If its emotional stuff he needs support with, its usually CAMHS that get involved there and you can get a referral to them via your GP, but there tend to be really long waiting lists as they are overstretched in pretty much every area.

Specific emotional things relating to school/education, eg school refusing or anxiety relating to problems at school such as bullying, can be addressed by an Educational Psychologist. Again, your school is able to bring them in, but in my case I had to do it myself (are we sensing a pattern here? Wink)

Have you read any books about Aspergers yourself. I can highly recommend Tony Attwood's Complete Guide to Aspergers and Brenda Boyd's Parenting a Child with Aspergers and Appreciating Aspergers Syndrome. The first is often recommended when children are first diagnosed as its a comprehensive guide to Aspergers. The other two are written by the parent of a child who has Aspergers and I found them very reassuring.

Hope I've helped a little. It is a lot to get your head around at first, but it does start to make sense I promise you. Twelve months ago I hadn't a clue, now I can kick butt along with the best of them to get my ds the proper support.

There's loads of support on here, but its usually best to start a new thread if you need to know anything specific as the board moves quite quickly sometimes and the last few posts on a thread are sometimes missed.

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