Advice needed about Earlybird

[sphil]

Am in a dilemma about this. We've been trying to get on an Earlybird course since last year, but next one starts next Sept. (when DS2 will be nearly 4). It is every Tues from 10-2, about 30 mins drive away from where I live, for 14 weeks. This would mean someone else picking DS2 up from nursery, where he finishes at 12.

I've heard such great things about it, but wonder how useful it would be for us now. We're doing PECS training in June and I'm going on the Growing Minds course in Sept. which I'm hoping will give us a programme for DS2 in his pre-school year. And then there's BIBIC too, although I think our Aug visit will be the last for a while. I worry that doing yet another course might just be overload. Those of you who've read my posts on MN will know that I have a tendency to get very excited about every type of intervention going!

What shall I do?

I did the Earlybird Plus course for school age children. I did find it fairly comprehensive and picked up a few ideas. I don't know enough about the other courses you mention so I would check out the content of the courses to see if there isn't overlap. I believe there is a home visit on the Earlybird course which can be useful for someone else to come and see your child. There wasn't this on the Plus course and I would have liked it. Good luck whatever you do.

i would really recomend doing the early bird did it last january, most of it was a bit repetetive but from it i have made some great friends who are in the same situation as me all our children were boys and all the same age!!!
the friends i have now got are the most precious, valuable thing to come out of the course for me

It's the repetitiveness that worries me, tbh. Although we've got a long way to go in our 'autism knowledge', I do feel we've grasped the basics now - mainly through coming on here I might add! The thought of meeting people in a similar situation is tempting though.

i must admit it was very draining like being back at school!!!! But i would go through it another 100 times to meet the same people.

we all have such a bond and friendships we can go on family days out with out judging each other do meet up at each other houses, and due to the things we face with our children we have all become friends a lot more faster than most friendships take to develop.

also ours was run by the team that did all the assesments and now they have more of an understanding of each of our children and what we are really like as sometimes these people seem to look down their noses at you well they dont anymore!!!

i really urge you to do it as you will never make friends with people like the ones you meet at early bird