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

I'm more sure than ever that DD2 needs assessment.

38 replies

Lougle · 12/11/2012 12:07

DD2 has been off school since half-term with a virus. I took her to the GP (OOH) yesterday and she was given antibiotics.

We were talking about school today, and she said that she doesn't like school. She said that friends were tricky, because children always want to follow her around at play time, and all she wants to do is drink because she is thirsty.

She worries about lunchtime because all she likes for dinner is macaroni cheese, and they might not have macaroni cheese (this is odd, because she's a real foodie and likes pretty much everything, but I guess it's a consistency thing).

She also said that she doesn't like school any more because her new classroom is different and it looks different and everything is in the wrong place Sad

OP posts:
justaboutchilledout · 13/11/2012 07:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

EscapeInTheCity · 13/11/2012 09:58

justabout where do you get that help and support?
I am just at the start of this road and feel I have no map to guide me...

lougle - 'quirky' (and 'weird') are exactly the words I used to use for ds2 when he was about 2~3yo and I had no idea what so ever on what was going on. Apart from the fact he was somehow 'different'.
And then I think about him, AS and I look at DH (who I am sure is on the spectrum) and how hard he has found things when he was a child and as an adult.
:(:( I could scream too 'This is NOT what I wanted for my son!'.

porridgelover · 13/11/2012 11:07

Lougle, sorry it feels like I hijacked a bit there. My concern for DD1 has been bubbling away in the background. I haven't gone all out for it as she has been coping; but I think the gap is widening now and I must address it.

If it's any help to anyone else, I used How To Talk with DS but I noted in my diary at the time (!) that DD1 had really responded well to the techniques.
I feel a sit-down with it again is due.

Lougle · 13/11/2012 11:42

Well, I took DD2 to the doctors today. She is yet again off school, saying her tummy hurts.

I explained to the doctor that I had taken her to a doctor who had not examined her tummy and just gave us antibiotics, but that she was having some difficulties at school, and I wanted to ensure that the tummy ache was genuine, rather than a reason to avoid school.

I told him about my suspicions (merely saying 'social communication') and he balked a bit, saying 'it's a bit early to be thinking of that'.

I explained some of the reasons for it, and gave him my letter. He asked her a few questions, and she was responsive in her 'cute' way. That's the trouble; on first impressions, she is just a cute kid.

The trouble is, he only asked her 'what' questions. If he asked her some 'why' questions he would have seen something slightly different. To most of the 'what' questions, he supplied possible answers and DD2 simply nodded with puppy dog eyes and a daft (but cute) grin. Lots of eye contact, though.

He said that he could understand my concerns, and that he was happy to write a letter, but before doing so, he would want to see her when she is well. So he recommended that I bring her back to see him in 2 weeks time.

I don't know what is normal. He asked if she had a favourite story, and she said yes, and gave the name of the book (it's an Elma the Elephant book). Afterwards I asked 'why' she liked it. She said 'because the elephant is made of patchwork and has all different colours'. I was hoping she would say something about the story itself.

OP posts:
porridgelover · 13/11/2012 12:32

Lougle, at least he didnt dismiss your concerns? Could you keep a diary of all the flags you see over the next 2 weeks?

silverfrog · 13/11/2012 12:41

lougle, it is tricky, isn't it?

well done on talking to gp about it - first step taken.

I spoke to dd2's teacher more directly this morning (having been talking in very general 'she's being a bit sensitive' terms before).

teacher has been keeping an eye on dd2 since parent's evening a couple fo weeks ago, and reported that all was fine during playtime. I can believe that it is, to an extent, so I totally see why she sees no problems.

I told hr that dh and I were having some very real concerns, and her face was a picture - she doesn't see any of it at all (possible, as dd2 is queen of compartmentalising!). I outlined a couple of our concerns - like the examples I have put here - and she did nod along, and agree that she understood why we were concerned.

and then I cam away and questioned whether I was doing the right thing. no one else sees it (outside the family, I mean). and dd2 is so quick to learn social rules/what she should be doing that she is, for now, doing a grand job of masking it all.

But I know, deep down, that I am right to have concerns. I always have had to some degree - lots of my posts here over the years have been saying she is a fine line between NT and AS; we went to see Growing Minds for her,not for dd1 (because of how we were failign to deal with her stubborn-ness, and how it was impacting on the family and dd1); I bought the girls new slippers last week, and spent the rest of the day working out how to pitch them to dd2, not dd1.

it is dd2 who has the day to day sensory needs in our house (clothing, shoes, stuff 'not feeling right'.

it is dd2 who is inflexible with routines - I slept in late this morning becuase ds had kept me up all night, and dd1 was a dream changing this and that in order to be ready on time. dd2 melted in to tears at the thought of any changes, and wept right through to getting to school.

I think we compensate for her more than we realise, even whilst trying to tackle some of ehr issues, which aren't really issues anyway in the wider scheme of things, but they do make her uncomfortable, or unhappy, or have her feeling out of her depth.

and like others on this thread - I spent my childhood feeling a lot like this, and it is not what I want for my dd.

she isn't a problem in class, or even having problems n class, but I would like to help her feel a bit more part of everything, and a lot more settled. she always seems to be 'out of spoons' as amberlight used to put it.

silverfrog · 13/11/2012 12:45

oh, meant to say hi to everyone else who is teetering down this path with quirky, almost-but-not-quite-NT children.

welcome, the more the merrier Smile

diary is a great idea, porridgelover - dh and I were saying yesterday we shoudl do this, otherwise we are left trying to remember what seem like trivial examples, with a cute and responding=appropriately dd2 in front of us. which just makes us look like neurotic parents.

dd2 said 'hello' appropriately to a peer today - the first time I have never had to nudge her to respond when a classmate runs up and greets her. she is universally popular, and not particularly shy, yet rarely responds appropriately socially. that's going down in the diary.

StarlightMcKenzie · 13/11/2012 12:46

Oi Silver, - get thee over to the Edward Timspon chat.....

silverfrog · 13/11/2012 12:47

I think what the latter half of my post was trying to say was that we treat dd2 as more autistic than severely-autistic dd1 Grin yet also Sad

I think that probably speaks volumes, doesn;t it?

silverfrog · 13/11/2012 12:47

ooh, where, hang on, will look.

Lougle · 13/11/2012 12:49

Yes, absolutely, to all of it!

No, the doctor didn't dismiss me. But he didn't seem convinced. DD2 is superficially ok...it's once you get past the concrete stuff that it goes pear shaped, I think.

OP posts:
porridgelover · 13/11/2012 13:22

exactly....all the superficial stuff that Dr, Teacher, swim instructor, ballet teacher see is fine. And it's usually in structured environments where sticking to the rules keeps DD safe. But outside of that....oh boy.

it is dd2 who is inflexible with routines...... dd2 melted in to tears at the thought of any changes, and wept right through to getting to school.....
I think we compensate for her more than we realise, even whilst trying to tackle some of her issues, which aren't really issues anyway in the wider scheme of things, but they do make her uncomfortable, or unhappy, or have her feeling out of her depth.
this is my DD1 to a T. But I thought the emotional stuff was a result of her father walking out (which didnt help). I think I've been ascribing the wrong cause.

EscapeInTheCity · 13/11/2012 13:53

I did the CHAT for ds2 (he is now 7yo) thinking back how he was at 2~3yo. According to this, he would fit nicely the criteria for ASD/AS.
Now that he is older, he seems to have learnt some coping mechanisms and in some ways it is not as obvious...

yy to not greeting friends, ds2 would ignore and look straight in front of him when one of his friends was coming to say hello to him. That is up to a couple of weeks ago.
And compensating for them. I have started to realize how much we let ds2 off the hook and put the responsibility on ds1 instead. :(

and yy to thinking this was due to other causes. I was convinced it was just a language issue as he is bilingual and it would sort itself out....

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