Having another baby?

[cuju2407]

My little boy is 2 years old and currently going through his autism assessment. He is non verbal and has some sensory issues. On the whole so far he is a happy little guy who goes about his day in his own little way. I am now 40 and feel that we don't have much time to wait if we are to have another baby. Just want to hear from experience from others on how they coped with subsequent children after having child with asd. I worry about practicalities and having enough time to still devote to my son and his needs. Obviously we have an increased risk of having another child on the spectrum too. Would appreciate hearing some views on how people have coped

We had dd when ds was 2. We didn't suspect he was autistic until about 2.5yo. 3-4yo with ds was very challenging. It was difficult to manage his meltdowns, get to all his appointments and deal with all of his paperwork whilst also looking after a newborn/toddler.

Dd was a very easy going baby but was an awful sleeper, so the lack of rest also got to us.

Having said that they are now 7 and 5 and completely adore each other. They obviously have some sibling fights and disagreements, it's not perfect all the time. They play together lots and have their own languages and in jokes together. I think in our case, it helps that socially/emotionally they are about the same age, so enjoy doing similar things.

We had two babies 14 months apart. By the time my youngest came along my eldest was on the pathway to ASD diagnosis. Then when youngest was 2 it became apparent he had SEN too. Fast forward a few years then both have very high needs ASD (or severe or low functioning - although some people don't like those terms). It is extremely challenging but I still crave another baby (not sure if we'll go for it or not though). I run a not for profit for children with SEN and this is a very, very common scenario so I guess you just have to be really sure you would be OK with it all if that's what happened. X