Hi - I'm new!

[bigsnugglebunny]

I thought I'd take the advice on the Friday thread and introduce myself.

I'm a mum to three - DS1 is 12 and has a diagnosis of Asperger's and ADHD, he is in mainstream school and we manage alright!

DS2 is 6 and has a diagnosis of childhood Autism. He is in a special school, and has been for over a year now. He is doing so well - he's gone from none-verbal, and still in nappies; to saying a few sentences and fully toilet trained day and night.

DD1 is 15 months, and so far neurotypical

I've been through the diagnosis process, the statementing process - my goodness it's exhasting, and sometimes there's a fight. Lots of tears, sleepless nights and ecstatic moments too! It's never boring anyway is it?

Happy to be here anyway

Oooh, hello and welcome!

If it doesn't sound too rude, can I ask what convinced you to go for a third. I mean it's fairly rare now to have 3 when they are NT as that is considered exhausting enough.

(I have 3 btw, my 3rd ttced after Ds' Dx)

It's not rude at all! It's something that I worried and fretted about during my third pregnancy. She has a different Dad to the boys, and I'm pretty sure that the autism has come from their Dad's side. There's family history there on that side too, things like ADHD and "eccentricity" going back generations!

It didn't stop me worrying though, and I've pretty much watched her like a hawk since she was born for signs of Autism. (or signs of being neurotypical!)

I'll be honest, I hadn't planned for a third - her dad and I hadn't been together that long, and though careful, obviously not careful enough! But we've now been together for over 2.5 years and are planning a wedding, so it's all good!

Found you.

Hello and welcome again.

I'm another with 3 dcs. Same as you, two boys and a younger dd.

Ds1 is 10 with AS and associated comorbids.

Ds2 is 8 with joint hypermobility syndrome and we're also just starting to suspect there may be something else going on as well, although we don't think it's ASD and aren't really sure what.

Dd is 3 and so far as we know nt - although pretty eccentric, but that's to be expected for a member of our family.

Ds1 hadn't been dxd when we had dd. We knew there was a likelihood of it turning out to be ASD, but didn't have the knowledge we have since gained to realise that it is almost definitely genetic and runs through dh's family.

Congratulations on your engagement.

Hello bigs
Another one with 3 - all DSs. All 3 in MS and have crossovers of dyspraxia, SPD, Hypermobility, IBS, swallowing issues, soiling issues, all sorts and still trying to get to the bottom of it. I blame their dad too
I do think that if you live in a family where the 'norm' is not most families' version of 'norm', that even NT DCs appear mildly eccentric. They are not phased by anything and very accepting. It's a gift that their SN brothers and sisters give them.

Hi bigsnuggle. I, too, have 3 DC. Maybe it's not so unusual on MNSN, star ?

DS1 is nearly 15 and geeky, DS2 is nearly 13 and DXed HF ASD, (definitely not AS) and DS3 is 10 and pretty quirky, possibly AS, but not needing a DX. All have the same dad, my STBEX, and he has many eccentric relatives, but I see the autistic spectrum everywhere these days and it could easily be on my side a little as well.

Nice to see you like a spot of gin. With your experience I'm sure you'll be very useful here. I've only been on MN for 20 months or so, but have found it a great source of support and information. It felt like coming home and I feel I've made genuine friends despite not ever meeting most of them.

Anyone as old as me will know '3 - is a magic number'.

I dunno! Perhaps we've all descended into such a level of chaos that one more child doesn't add to it significantly

Moose - you've just outed your age - whoops, so I suppose by default, so have I

I think you might be on to something there Star!

I'm ancient aunt. I didn't say how old I was back then!

Hi big and welcome to the board, I have 3 children too, all girls Dd1 has no dx but I believe she has AS and ADHD, Dd2 is NT and Dd3 has ASD.

I knew Dd1 had issues but struggled to get her a dx.

Dd3 started to show signs of ASD as a very little baby but it took till her 9th birthday to get a dx. She is in a really good inclusive MS school.

Hello and welcome to the board.
I'm me and have two wonderful girls both with dx of autism. Dd1 has just started a indi school and dd2 has just started reception after attending a special autism nursery since she was three.

Hello and welcome to the board:)
No 1 and no 4 children have SN in my batch! No 1 has ADHD, dyspraxia, dyslexia and has just been called for her ASD assessment.. she's actually at University now so has done ok despite all of the above! No 4 has autism, moderate/severe learning difficulties and is in special school.

The other two are averagely annoying teenagers...:D

Thank you for the warm welcome Looks like there's a lot of support to be had here, and I hope I can add to it too.

I had very different experiences with both boys - I had to fight for DS1's, every step of the way. He was finally diagnosed at the age of 9. Whereas with DS2, I was so focussed on his brother's needs, and DS2 was so good, quiet and placid - that it wasn't me that picked up on it.

It was at his two-year check, when she was asking me about his speech and I had to tell her that he hadn't uttered a single word. I have to say, it was like a lightbulb was switched on at that moment and I just said to her "oh my god, he's autistic isn't he?" (obviously, she couldn't say - referred us to speech therapy, who then referred us to the consultant... and it snowballed from there, and we so very quickly went from being a family with one SN child - to two!)