'Cures' and pound of flesh/empty your bank account fees.....

[saintlydamemrsturnip]

Have been pondering this. We have spent a fortune over the years of various therapies for ds1. Some have worked to some extent but ds1 is always going to be what many in the States call a 'non responder' .

But there's one area which finally is looking hopeful, and in which he is finally making good progress and all the information I have ever had on it and all the help has been completely and utterly FREE!!!!!

In the early years we used to try lots, and cash in savings and fill up credit cards (that we're still paying off) to pay for stuff that had worked for other people. As ds1 became older it became far easier to work out what wasn't going to work for him (even when it had worked really well for other people). Which brought me to the free stuff.

I would so love to set up a social enterprise which offered free/affordable training to parents. There's something wrong about people buying mansions whilst we scrabble around for the money to pay for hope.

very interesting post. I think sometimes this board verges on doing this in a very loose informal way, with our exchanges of information and advice.

We've been lucky to get fudning for teh things we have tried so far but that's because we have soittle income we don't even look too far these days- probably a good thing with less guilt attached.

My dream is to start a charity supporting people through the first year or two post DX. The course eladers on the MA are trying to facillitate a few sessions with some relevant bods locally so who knows- it's sorely needed though. And hopefully is people feels upported they might feel lessdesperate and likely to throw money at bizarre scheme of the week when it might be better invested in ABA / Son-rise / whatever would work for them

I would like the big providers to provide training videos for free (laughs). It struck me when browsing an autism organisation in Pakistan. They're even more buggered than us but have the same hopes/fears.

Yeah right LOL- si that a flying pie (sorry, a stim of ds1's ) I see there?

I ahte that people get rich out of asd in this way, if it's money through slog of teaching aprents ABA or providing respite or any genuinely useful 1-1 service, or providing a group need like a charity then OK.... but arrghhh to the rest

Absolutely, I know an 'Autism Advocate' who charges a fortune to a family in tight straits elsewhere in the country- and every time anyone quieries it starts going on about how he has asd himself so really knows

I'd love to offer to do half the stuff for free that he does (because imo he is incredibly shit at his job- HFA child in a school where nobody else can talk, no statement, no SSD input...... a total fuck up to be frank) but I don't feel it's my place.

By teh end of the year I'll have amy post grad cert (1/3 MA) in ASD so might offer then- am so sick of watching the sod fleece them