Aspergers - help !

[lemonstartree]

My lovely ds1 10 has seen the child psyche today who says he has a 'social and communication disorder' - he is at mainstream school and is dyslexic, with a lot of social issue with his peer group especially.

I am assuming this means he has aspergers, and he does fit the profile for this in a number of ways......

I guess my question is, if he DOES have aspergers what help is available ? what strategies have other people used? what needs will he have for secondary school ?

thanks for anyone who answers !

I'm afraid I don't know myself but am hoping to find out too so I am bumping this for you. My DS is a bit younger (5) but I have been speaking to the school as he doesn't interact with his peers, has lots of problems socialising etc. I know it is early days for him but it also seems from reading other threads that it can take a long time to get help so I wanted to do all I could as soon as poss. At DS's school they have a special group for those who need help socialising, where they all meet up once a week or so and do special activities during school time. There is also further specialist help that the school can arrange. Good luck and I hope that other posters will be able to give you more info ...

ds1 was dx at 5 and there was no help (this was 10 years ago). He never coped with school so I home eeded him.
Sounds like your lad needsa proper assessment as all children with aspergers are different and many have different needs.
I don't believe in forced socialisation myself. ds 1 would have found it too traumatic. He started to talk to pople when he was about 13, in his own time.

Hi
My ds is 11 and got a formal dx of aspergers in May just before his 11 birthday. He is now at secondary school.

Have you already chosen a school for your boy? We did get extra information given by cahms and a lea linked support group which helped us make the decision and also an information pack which dealt with the transition to secondary school. This was useful when making visits..(it was a visual diary type pack which he filled in with a TA and at home with me.

He also attended a transition group run by cahms which helped in the change from primary to secondary school.
We also applied for funding so that this was in place for when he moved to secondary. He received 16 hours a week.
Tbh it has been the dx and the funding that has made the biggest difference to our lives.

He has settled in really well at school...much better than i could have hoped. He has a TA in most classes who help him get sorted. The secondary timetable seems to make so much sense to him...and helps him to be more organised and focused. He says "if you look around you at the things on the walls you know what subject you should be doing...there is nothing to confuse you like in primary school"

I have attended day courses run by a local charity which have been really good for tips and strategies.

He also attends a social skills group run by a local charity group who employ 2 salts and a few workers to take the group.He does enjoy this (he wants to be sociable at times...just doesn't know how to do it well)

good luck

Hi there my ds is aspie aged 4 so not going through these things as yet. I do agree though that by getting a dx, you can then have the help in place at school.

Changedaily I found your post very interesting, DS finds transitions really difficult, sounds like your ds did really well and is nicely settled now.

Hi, my DS is also 10 with AS. Our experience with schooling has been very negative, larged due to an unsupportive school and a tight fisted LEA!!

It sounds like you need to get your son assessed, and any appropriate DX made. Some people are against labeling children, but I really believe that its the first step to getting them the appropriate support.

DS is presently on home tution, however with the support of CAMHS we are hoping for him to go to secondary school when he goes into year 7 in september.

Hi LST,

Has your son ever seen a developmental paediatrician; these people can diagnose. EP can make general comments but not officially make any diagnosis.

Re SammyuK's comment:-
"I do agree though that by getting a dx, you can then have the help in place at school".

Doesn't exactly work like that I'm afraid even with a DX. You may well have to fight long and hard - anything else other than a Statement is not legally binding and the support can be vague and thus piss poor. Even having a Statement is not entirely without problems but at least the child should receive a set number of hours of support along with having their legal right to an education protected. I know of many children who slip through the net for many reasons; a school not being supportive and or understanding is also a biggie.

Would suggest you ask the LEA for a Statutory Assessment regarding your son's additional educational needs asap. You can make the application yourself to the LEA (you will need to write to the Chief Edication Officer) and give them six weeks to reply. If they say no you can appeal.

www.ipsea.org.uk has lots of info on it as well as model letters you can use.

Thanks, doe this also apply if my son is at an independent school ?