Start of our journey.

[Wandawingsthe2nd]

I'm starting a thread now but I hope you all understand that I'm not quite ready to say too much at the moment. I think I'm in a stage of denial.

I have read lots and lots on here and I admire you all greatly. Right, some info. DD is 3 with possible ASD.

I'm going to dip in and out as and when I can face seeing my beautiful daughter's issue in black and white.

Hi

Thanks troutspout. I need that this morning. Why is it that ASD symptoms can just be typical toddler behaviour too? It makes it all very confusing. Over reacting, tantrums, etc

I think it's because some ASD behaviour are so close to toddler behaviour that it can be difficult to assess a child when they are young.

But you can look at it in a different angle. Act with her as if you knew she has ASD. If she has then you know you have helped her and if she doesn't, then you won't have hurt her (or actually you might still have helped her anyway).
That will leave a bit more time to get your head around the idea.

Lol! You are right! Guess they don't want to make it too easy for us do they?

I have a big boy with asd ( he's 15) . Ds also has a girl cousin with asd and there are definitely other family members with traits ( dh for one!) Ds also has dyspraxia and hypermobility . He's in ms school. Year 11 . Gorgeous and funny and kind. Doing unbelievably well. I can't believe how well hes going actually... Keep having to touch wood!
Is your dd your first/ only child too? Coz ds was my first and so at first it was harder to see.

If I was assessed 20 years ago I have no doubt that I'd get an Asperger's DX.

I have been adopting ASD/AS coping techniques and so far so good. I'm going to try cutting out gluten too as I've heard that this can help with behaviour.

Yep, DD is my one and only.

Notme makes an excellent point there . All the interventions I have ever used for ds have been good practice for nt kids too. Wouldnt hurt to make a start. And you are so early in on the act too! i still had my head firmly buried at that stage
I've never met another child with asd who is just like my boy ( its a big and varied spectrum) Therefore I don't really think about the tag... Just about his issues and what I can do to make my his life a little easier. You are probably doing a lot of the right things without even knowing it

Sorry if my posts are a bit to the point, I'm on phone and every word is a world of pain to type lol!!!

(it's afternoon here in Oz, a wine is medicinal!)
Take it all one day at time.

Yes agree abut the fact they can present so differently that it makes it hard sometimes to 'know' iyswim.

ds2 is currently assessed for AS. When he was 2~3yo he had lots of language issue, didn't talk to people (adults or children), incl his childminder.....I just thought that it was more to do with the fact he was bilingual and didn't know a thing about ASD then so there is no way I would have thought about it
On the top of it, ds1 (completely NT) was very rigid in his approach anyway so we were quite used to tantrums in our house...
All that to say that having another child isn't always helpful in seen 'traits' in your dcs....

Hi I lurked for a long time before speaking. What I found was reading sites and listening to other patents normalised it all for me, whereas initially the A word was a big scary thing that I couldn't contemplate. Once I did start reading, I couldn't stop! It's really great you are doing it now.

Wanda There are people who come on this board that for a few years bounce in and out of 'is she isn't she?'. It's a hard place to be.

Not many leave with a 'she isn't', but some do. Some even leave with 'she was but the impact is no longer significant to her or us'.

The thing is, you don't have to have to have any certificate to post here.

Perhaps ignore the whole dx thing and just post on specific behaviours. Like 'what do I do about this?' for example, or help with navigating an issue with a particular professional.

Thanks to everyone for being so welcoming.

Is it strange that I can cope with the term ASD but the A word totally puts me in a spin?

Her nursery are very firmly on the fence. SENCO are coming in to observe soon. They were in this week to observe another child and DD had a couple of moments and her keyworker was hopeful as the SENCO didn't bring it up as a concern as they have done before

I'm not holding on to that though as I'm sure the SENCO was just too busy doing her observing of another child to take much notice of DD.

Also schools aren't always the best at spotting that sort of issue.

They brought it up first :(

We're in the diagnosis process too. My husband can't understand why I always refer to & look at this site so much (as he's more content with his head in the sand). But to be quite honest I do not know where I'd be without it. It's has helped so much knowing that I'm not alone in this, & have gained so much support & knowledge. People on here know exactly what you're going through

I can't wait til I am on the laptop later so I can reply properly.

Just another day here. How are all of you today?

I am recovering from nasty illness wanda. It knocked the stuffing out of me. Am much better today ... I have even eaten something .

Hi wanda, I know what you mean about using the term autism it does seem more scary than Asd in someway doesnt it.

I have a Dd who was diagnosed when she was 9, she is now 10.5 and has done a lot of work about understanding her diagnosis both at school and at home recently. She has begun to use the term autism herself. She feels very comfortable with it and I think she feels that it says it as it is and makes it clearer for people to understand.

I was one of the is she, isnt she people for a long time. She quite clearly is and so far her diagnosis has been helpful.

Be kind to yourself, take each day as it comes and remember, she will always be your lovely little girl.

Good luck

Hello Wanda. Nice to meet you, but sorry you are here IYKWIM.

My DS2 was DXed with ASD at 3.5 yo and is now 13. No idea how that happened! Can't say how your journey will go, but if it helps, my DS is just my DS and I don't even think about the boy he might have been, without ASD, anymore.

Hi Wanda. We are also at the start of what is already turning out to be a very long process! I am not very clued up as i am still learning but there are some fantastic posters on here and advice is always on tap so you'll never feel alone.

Hugs and welcome

Hello Wanda, it's hard when things take a turn you maybe didn't expect and the future seems a little less certain.
My DD had speech delay, but otherwise good behaviour, fairly sociable, very affectionate. I was blind-sighted when I realised that the profs were hinting at autism - the word terrified me.
She has just turned 4 and she has dx of ASD and s & l disorder. Even though I have it on paper, I still find it a bit hard to see it this way. Not so much that I'm in denial, but rather that for me, my wee girl is just herself - she is not defined by those words on that piece of paper (helpful though that is for certain things). We have a great life, and she is just amazing.
All the best to your DD and you, and keep posting, x

Still here, still reading. Still on bloody mobile!! I did get on laptop over the weekend but totally forgot to come on here.

Had a good weekend and it's times like this when I think we're over evaluating and that there's sod all wrong except a willfull little girl who likes to test boundaries.

Hope you're all ok this Monday :)