God I loathe this time of year

[yurt1]

Bah humbug.

[hands over NICE cup of tea}...would stay to listen but has to rush off to work...will check in tonight.

oh yes work- me too.......

I think there are far too many conventional families on TV or something.

However it is time to place bets- when will we get the first.....

'Is ds1 looking forward to Christmas'

(I have the fixed grin ready= perhaps that should be I have fixed a large gin ready).

...am really leaving for work now...just checking... how old is ds1?
My sister sticks her chin out and says "Its none of your business"...really. ( and her ds1 is 21 now)

Im not looking forwadr to it for purely selfish reasons. my son will have a great tmie with tinsel and watching the lights but for me...I just wish I could see him open a present....! As I said purely selfish reasons. My ds is 2 btw so still young yet i know.

My dsd has been asking for weeks now what she should get dd1 for Christmas. It is lovely of her to think of dd1 (dsd is 18) but I haven't a clue really. Dd1 has stopped playing with "things" recently, as she is most focused on social contact, and people games - not really something I'm going to discourage in a child with ASD...

Also not looking forward to the enforced opening of said present from dsd - dd1 hasn't a clue what a present is, and is never interested in opening them (doesn't like the noise ripping paper makes), but dsd expects her to jump through hoops and perform.

Bah humbug here too

ds2 doesn't have a clue either.
My sil asked what she could get him so I said..
J cloths, marigolds, blue tac, masking tape, dummies, any little tupperware pots, seemless socks.
I was fed up with giving lists of things I would like him to play with so I've told her to pick from the list of things he does like.
He won't have a clue about opening the presents but at least they will be the things he likes.

She'll probably still get him a toy car.

silverfrog, maybe a people toy then - some super bubble mix, or a balloon pump and balloons spring to mind, or else a very simple game like Buckaroo if she is too advanced for that?

We're not wrapping presents for DS2 this year - he hates unwrapping too. So we've decided just to leave them round the house for him to find 'by accident'. He's also more into people games than toys, Silverfrog - though he does like toys that sing, dance, talk etc. So while we try to make sure that DS1 has a variety of presents (ie. not all Bionicles) DS2's list has a certain predictability: singing Barney, musical light up tellytubbie, interactive chimp (recycled present from his cousin who's grown out of it, musical Thomas....
He'll ignore them all for about a week though.

Oh yes, ignoring the present is another dd1 speciality. Which is also guaranteed to annoy relatives. Have got my PIL staying at Christmas, as well as my stepchildren, so that's a lot os disappointed relatives all in one place!

I wish d1 would go for balloons, wind up toys etc, but she is scared of them (unexpected movement/noise sensitivity) - she even has a love-hate relationship with bubbles on account of their movement...!

What she would dearly love to do would be to sing with pepole all day long, or spend the day at the playground doing assisted "jumps" off the climbing frame etc, but, as is the case most of the time, relatives want to give a present for the sake of giving, rather than for the sake of makng dd1 happy (IYSWIM, not meaning that to sound as ungrateful as it does - but wish people would embrace the spirit of the whole thing rather than pile my house up with rubbish tht dd1 will ignore/be scared of!)

Silverfrog - your DD sounds just like DS2! So she must be lovely then

they do sound similar, don't they sphil? Noticed on another thread that you said your ds2 didn't mind change much (which professionals are always at) - exactly the same as dd1!

How old is your DD Silverfrog?

She was 3 in August. How old is your ds2?

Thankfully we are on our own for Xmas this year although I will still no doubt have to field a visit from DH's best mate and his wife, who just looooooves showing off about her dd.

She really upset me last Christmas by making her dd (who was then just under a year old) make a big performance of waving and playing peek-a-boo. I managed to say "DS3 used to be able to do that" and then I had to run off and cry in the other room.

At least now we have DS3's dx I don't actually ever compare him (well not much) with nt children any more so it is less painful.

Last time she came round she was making a big thing of trying to get her dd to talk: "What's in mummy's tummy?" (She's pregnant again.) Rather hilariously though her dd stubbornly refused to say "baby" and then threw a massive strop. Hah!

silverfrog, wish we could have your dd round to visit - I'd love to meet her!

And your DS2, sphil!

i am dreading christmas, DD1 won't open her pressies for ages, it was Febuary last year!
all the changes of routine are a nightmare for my three

Bloody hell dino, can't you completely avoid her? She sounds about a sensitive as a brick.

It is loads easier for me to deal with now, yurt1. Her DH would never do this - and he is a very good friend of my DH. So we can't really cut them out of our lives altogether.

I started a thread about it after the instance last Christmas and (as is often the way) got some lovely and perceptive posts from mumsnetters which helped me get a better perspective on it.

But yes, she is totally bloody insensitive. And I imagine she thinks (well, if she thinks at all) that because DS1 has done so well, DS3 will just do the same. She doesn't know anything about autism.

DS2 is 5 Silverfrog. I wish we could all meet up too! Does your DD take much notice of other children? Does yours Dino? DS2 is just starting to - smiling and observing. He only interacts properly with children who are old/strong enough to pick him up and swing him around!

Oh, wouldn't a meet up be great?

Dd1 sort of takes notice of other children. She is good at the observing bit (last week at her pre-school, the other children decided to put on a puppet show, and made the whole place into a theatre with seats etc for the audience. Dd1 took herself off and sat in the front row, waiting to be entertained ) and just occasionally I catch her watching other children play with what seems to be a wistful expression on her face...

Sadly, she is mostly wary of children, and by far prefers adults. Not sure how she would react to older children (ie 7+) - she has older half siblings, but they are 16 and 18 so viewed as adults, I think.

God Dinosaur, that sounds hard to cope with. I do hope she'll have a bit more sensitivity this year (although I have my doubts, based on all that!)

Silverfrog, might a glove puppet be any use for your dsd to get your dd? Something he could use to interact with her, or would that count as unexpected movement?

Hello yurt1. I hope it turns out better than you think

Thanks for the thought, Tamum, but soft toys don't move (god forbid!) - they are there merely to be chewed when dd1 feels like it (you should see the expression on her face if we try to do any role play stuff with any of them - it's as though she is trying to humour me, and doesn't know how to break the news to me that actually, no Maisy doesn't want a drink/to go to sleep/help tidy up )

although, come to think of it, maybe she could take it to pre-school, as obviously the toys there are allowed to move/take part in stories...

Pmsl - they ARE the same! (though in fact DS2 has just started to 'give teddy a biscuit' etc on request - but only as part of his ABA programme, and with exactly the expression you describe.)

silverfrog I love the idea of them being allowed to move but only at playschool!