Hello I am new

[lisalinney]

Hello to you all I am Lisa 31 and proud mummy of twin boys George and John age 3.

Thought I was stuggling and feeling horrible so went to see doc and diagnosed depression. Don't get me wrong I love my boys it is just I feel somehow at fault and rather lost how to help John get the best start.

John has recently been diagnosed ASD and that is about all I know! He has 2 x 3hour sessions 1 on 1 at playschool and a portage worker visit once a week.
He does not talk but he can speak!? Does that make sense? He does not comunicate verbally but can count to ten and sing semi recognisable tunes and sometimes it sounds like he is responding or parroting a word we have just said! The portage worker said she does not think he has a learning difficulty just Autism! Great.!??! Any idea what that means in simple form?

This is the first time I have been on here and would like to thank signandsmile for the chats while on hols and to auntevil for reccomending to say a hello as a newbie. I am looking forward to making some friends in a similar boat.

Hello Lisa and welcome. I have no experience with asd but someone will be along soon who does.

Hi and welcome.

Sounds like he has 'echolia' which means he can repeat things, but not think up things to say himself.

The good news is that means he can speak - and when he has something to say he probably will (eventually) :)

Not having a learning difficulty is also good news - she means he doesn't have a low IQ.

There's loads of speech experts on here who can recommend things you can do to improve your son's speech, if that's what you want to do....

thank you for the prompt reply starfishmummy and hello to you xx

we are in the pipeline for speach therapy too it is just taking a long time so any advice or helpful information would be gratefully recieved. Feeling more positive and kicking myself for not finding you sooner. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi there, I hope you'll find this board very useful. Welcome! :)

Hi Lisa, welcome and hopefully you will find some good support here. There's a lot of parents with children with Asd here, so your in good hands. Personally I have two girls with autism, the eldest is 8years so alot further along than you, and have youngest who is 4. Take your time, it's alot to get your hand round.

Hello and welcome Lisa.

I saw your post on the Friday night thread, so am just popping my head round the door.

Sorry to hear you are stuggling with depression at the moment. Many of us have been there and can relate to what you are going through though, so stick around and keep posting, because there's so much knowledge and support here that it really can make a big difference.

As Indigo said, saying he has ASD, but not a learning disability means that he doesn't have a low IQ, but may have problems with some aspects of learning due to the way his autism presents, eg working in a group, abstract thinking, creative writing. Its good news as lots of things can be done to support him and help him overcome these barriers.

I have 3 dcs, ds1 is 9 and has ASD, ds2 is 7 and dd is 2 years 7 months.

(Just had a thought, you might not be used to the acronyms - ds is dearest/darling son, dd is dearest/darling daughter. If you look across where it says Talk, just under where it says Mumsnet Talk at the top of the page, you can click on Acronyms and it brings up a list of the most commonly used ones.)

I totally relate to your feeling of being trapped at home at the moment, not least of all because, not only is it half term, but ds1 is ill (he's always dying when he's mildly poorly, but fails to tell anyone when he's properly/seriously ill, so is usually really bad by the time we find out) and we are we are all stuck in the house with him. He's in a vile mood and keeping everyone awake for pretty much the whole night to boot!

I can't wait for next Monday to come as, hopefully, he'll be back at school and is actually going straight to his friend's house for tea afterwards and then onto something the church has organised as a sort of anti-halloween event, so I'll get a proper break. I am really nervous about him going, but at the same time desperate for the break.

I am going to attempt to take the boys to their first haloween party!!!! George will be a spider and John a bat (John is the one with asd and has no idea) Dreading it as last time we took him out to a small disco style party he ran straight at the light box and pushed it over!!!!!! Got rather over excited. Have to shaddow him the whole time to keep him out of trouble!

I hope ds1 feels better soon and you can all get some much needed sleep. Also good luck for Monday.

hello again Lisa good idea to start a new thread, my dd3 has a genetic syndrome so I'm not much use on the asd front but there are lots here who will be.

Thanks Lisa, I hope you all enjoy the party.

My ds used to just curl up into a ball and cry at disco style parties, especially if there was a video screen. He did eventually grow out of it, although he would still spend the whole party sat firmly on my knee. He just chooses not to go these days, which is a huge relief!

Hi there

i'm a long-time lurker and at the very early stages of assesment and investigation re; DD

Hello tooearly, welcome.

thanks

i did jump in rather un-announced with a thread about CAMHS (yes, shameless plug)

i'm not even sure if DD has a condition that needs professional input, all i know is she has some very challenging behaviour that i struggle with

I will have a look for your thread later this evening tooearly, have to go and feed the dcs now and am already late - my fault too much MNetting!

aw, thank you

Hi Lisa. Has anyone mentioned an Earlybird course? It's run by the NAS and is aimed at the parents of newly DX (diagnosed) children with ASD. It's usefulness was mainly meeting and networking with other parents in a similar situation. Ask your portage worker or HV about it.

Also I found the Hanen book, More than Words, really good. It was my bible in the early days. Link to cheap source here

Welcome and good luck with the party.

Hi Lisa

Another one for Hanen, it is brilliant and worth seeing if there are any local courses available. National Autistic Website is good as well, with lots of easy to understand and practical information on it. Is paying for private SALT a possiblity? the reason I ask is, if there's a long waiting list, even having a couple of sessions with a good SALT will give you lots of hints and tips for things you can do yourself.

I know it's a lot to get your head round and hearing a dx is always difficult, but everyone here has been in your shoes at one point and it does get better. helps...

National Autistic Society website, I'm on the sleepy side tonight!

Ooo, someone is selling a copy of 'More Than Words' for £25 on here. Good timing?

lisalinney - Snap, I have 3.6 year old twin sons, one most probably has asd, he is currently attending mainstream pre-school, but has a 1-1 keyworker and is being seen by the ecap (same as autism outreach) team. He has very clear speech, but most of his sentences are pre learned/echolia banks of phrases etc. His main issues are sensory which makes him very hyper, always running around, standing on his head, flapping, screaming etc. He does not interact with other children. Have to say the main challenge for me has been outings on my own, to soft play/parks, as he can be very challenging in these situations, but I do go out most days, we are fortunate to live right besides lots of walks/fields/lakes, so walk most days. I really think I would be unable to cope if I couldn't get out. Please do message me if you want.

HI welcome. My DS has ASD and was diagnosed at 2.5. He is almost 5. He has speech but still well behind. He doesn't feel the need to speak unless he really wants something or its really exciting. He is very smart though eg he can read and type words etc
Lots of help out there once you know where to look.
You can get DLA / carers allowance
You might want to apply to the Disabled Childrens Team at social services for 'respite' which can just mean money to pay someone while you get a break. Mixed feelings about social workers on here (we had a good experience) but as you have twins I just wanted to mention it. My friend had twins one with and without ASD and she got 10 hours a week direct payments because it was impossible for her to do activities with them both - so she would pay for one to be looked after and do something with the other and then switch.
When they started nursery she sent one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, again so she could have time with each as what they wanted to do was so completely different and its hard to do therapy with another young one around. It also made her feel less isolated as she was able to go to groups etc with just one child in tow and actually speak to people when she got there!
Homestart can be another source of help if you are finding it hard.
Which we all do on here from time to time

Hi Lisa and welcome. My son is 3 years also and has been diagnosed with ASD. I completely understand how you feel and have days where I feel the same way. I have found this forum really helpful ( Thanks to everyone especially sickofsocalledexperts).

My ds was diagnosed nearly a year ago and I have been on the early bird course which was really helpful. I was introduced to other parents in the same boat and was able to chat about all the things that sometimes I felt I could not talk about with others. We are also doing ABA which I have found very helpful for ds.

I am feeling like I am Mrs Smugly-Smug from Smugville! I made a useful suggestion and someone found all you lovely ladies!!!

It was lovely to meet you and the family lisa, ds (whoes name you know) had a lovely time away, really enjoyed the caravan,

I remember the whole period around diagnosis being really stressful, this board is really fab and supportive, pls do PM (send me a message) if it would be useful... the one thing we didn't discuss outside Tescos is where we were from, I am in north wilts, happy to meet up for a coffee if you are anywhere near-ish.

welcome (and a hug) from sign,

Hi lisa, I wanted to say hi but have been in deepest wales and phone signal was iffy at best.

I have 3 dd's and the youngest who is 9 has recently been Dx'ed with ASD.
I also work with pre schoolers including over the years a number with ASD.
I just wanted to say that when your Ds speaks even if it doesn't really make sense, try to always congratulate him. We say and sign "Good Talking " to the littlies at preschool who have communication issues.

It just lets them know that we like it when they talk to us and hopefully inspires them to keep trying.

I am glad you have found us and well done sign... for directing lisa to us.

thank you all for your great comments and making me feel so welcome. I will seek out the Hanen book and ask about the early bird course.

The party was a sucess but very active plus the dj is used to autistic children has he does parties at 8 "special" schools!! I heard him calling "has anyone lost a bat? blonde about 3 feet tall? he is up on stage helping me!!" It was my DS of course. He was fab and very understanding not like the other guy we met who was really grumpy and nasty.

How do I find out about learning simple signing and is there a particular name for it? Sorry if it sounds a silly question but I have no idea.

tooearlymustdash hello and keep in touch x

thank you again mrs smugly-smug from smugsville I am becoming mrs surprised and happy with alot of helpful new friends thanks to you xx p.s I live in Poole, Dorset .