Aspergers/Autism/Sensory Integration Chatter #3

[tan32]

Firstly Sally i just want to give you a big hug

An update on us , we had a visit with the pead and he agrees we are looking at aspergers with Hamish. So now we go onto an assessment in June. We have a few pages of questions to answer and take with us and have the same for his teacher.

School holidays is here and its proving a challenge, Hamish seems to wander around lost, he retreats to his room a hell of a lot and clings to me for comfort.. Any change in the routine and we have sulking and crying. This is hard enough to deal with and then we add in Lachlan and his lovely temper tantrums and squealing which irritate Hamish even more.

I am currently trying to figure out a way to wash Hamish's hair without screaming and crying etc... any tips would be greatly appreciated

[maz]

Anything could set us off downhill again... but I'm living in the good time at the moment.

that is just the bee knee's to hear you saying that hon Im so happy that you guys are on an upper atm

Tan - I find that when Mario carries on about stuff and hates it I laugh and make a joke about it. He is quiet funny and has an ace sense of humour so I use it. what im trying to say is...find what makes Hamish 'laugh' and use it hon, if its eating chocolate.......then try it. In the mean time you can always get some dry shampoo from the chemist

I HATE school holidays.....over the rudeness of a certain someone who have had many things confiscated and put in the naughty bag. AND he's started picking at scab's from his mozzie bites...grrrr their huge now!!!! I have the biggest headache from the constant negetivity from him and telling mini me and tank to go away, leave me alone....and he does that stupid...chick chick BOOM cause it was on t.v (you know that stupid girl who was on tv about the shooting) when he is ****ty with me.

3 more sleeps

[mrsmac]

I am finding the holidays challenging too. Part of it is my fault cause I don't do enough stuff with DS to use up his energy, I am so exhausted from 1st term teaching kindergarten that I just want to veg. Had DS and my niece (7 mths younger than him) today. He knows how to push her buttons so he growls near her and she immediately bursts into tears and howls for ages so it was a tough morning, luckily after a lot of rough play on the trampoline he settled down.

In the last week or term the preschool teacher told me that there is just something not right about DS! Awesome thanks for that. I am going to try to get him an assessment through a place at Chatswood, I still don't believe he has autism or aspergers but am leaning towards a language disorder which SHOULD have been picked up by the speechie last year but since she was 12 and painfully gushy and seemingly useless she didn't!

Sorry for the rant, I am feeling very very sad about it at atm, I love him to pieces but some days i feel like I can't cope with one minute more.

[Lulu]

Thanks Tan and Maz, you have both saved me heaps of typing

An update on us , we had a visit with the pead and he agrees we are looking at aspergers with Hamish. So now we go onto an assessment in June. We have a few pages of questions to answer and take with us and have the same for his teacher.

Exactly the same here - my pead is a chick and says we have to hurry in case he can be dx Aspy (which she agrees he seems borderline) before his 6th birthday in June for the funding.
Go 2 psych appt + hearing tests coming.

. AND he's started picking at scab's from his mozzie bites...grrrr their huge now!!!! I have the biggest headache from the constant negetivity from him and telling mini me and tank to go away, leave me alone....and he does that stupid...chick chick BOOM cause it was on t.v (you know that stupid girl who was on tv about the shooting) when he is ****ty with me.

Yes, I am rather sick of peown, peeeown, chick, chick in my face when ds is shirty.
I am lucky in that DS has spent most of the holidays with his dad who isn't working right now and lives in the country/hills. He has spent most of his time bushwalking, fishing, burning off bonfires and generally having a Boys Own adventure all day long.
I asked xp to bring him home because I missed him and realised my mistake about 3 hours after he got back....there just isn't enough to do around here

[Early Kids]

<< I think we all need a big one of those.

Brendan's Paediatrician office rang yesterday and confirmed our appointment, one month time. Brendan will be assessed on the Bayley's or Griffith's test. A Child Psychologist will also sit on in the appointment. The childcare have written out some concerns of theirs so I can take it to the paed too. Brendan has an ophthalmology appointment in June (only 9 months late) and no sign of ENT in the system

Will hopefully hear from the new OT shortly after school goes back (they run on school terms)

[Turkish Delight]

on my holidays in merimbula, i have realised that DS may have Aspergers or some degreeness of Autism or something which i can't pinpoint, but there is something not quite right with him.
I spoke to my psychiatrist today and he thinks the above and it would be best to get him assessed.
For those in Melb, can you advise me of a good child psychiatrist or clinic where i can get DS assessed?

TIA.

[mrsmac]

I must say from some of your posts about your DS I have suspected a degree of Aspergers, they are often VERY bright chidren who are top of their class academically.
We have a lot of success with Aspergers children at school and the other children are great with them and know how to look after them. DD2 has a boy in her grade with it and all the other kids are fantastic with him and really like him.

Maybe try Aspect (not sure if thats just NSW) for info or I am sure one of the other lovely ladies in here will be able to help.

[Lulu]

Chitra Chandaran is brilliant

[Turkish Delight]

Thanks for replying MrsMac and Lulu. I will call Chitra at her Donvale rooms to book an appt for DS.

I feel so sorry for him. i wish there was a way that i could help him function/socialise better at school.

MrsMac- you should have suggested that you thought he might be a bit Aspergers, honestly, with you being a teacher, i would have really appreciated it. I am not one to take offence to anything which is said to me easily, if that is what you had thought.

I was just reading about Aspergers before and the kids taking things that are said to them seriously when they are just sarcastic made me remember an experience with him.
Me - "lets just pray that the weather is great on Saturday"
DS - nods his head.
A few minutes later, i see him mumbling something.
Me- "what are you doing DS?"
DS- "well, you did say lets pray about the weather, so i am"


That's only one of the things that is like him.

[murraysmum]

well been a while since ive posted in here
muz is toilet trained
but having sleep issues
also has decided hes a baby again geeezus am i insiane for goingt he 2nd time i dunno how im gonna cop with him and a newborn sheesh

[Lulu]

YAY for TT little Muz!

Maybe baby him till the cows come home - he might get sick of it? I sometimes flood DS with attention and he tells me to rack off

I hope it gets better hun - CONGRATS on the pink one xoxoxo

Turk, if you can handle going into the city you won't have to wait as long for an appt with Chitra. She.Is. Awesome.

DS takes EVERYTHING literally too - no aussie slang around here anymore...

[Early Kids]

I just want to scream. I can't put into words how I am feeling right now, but I've had it. I'm over it.

Sorry for the selfish post I have so much going on right now I want to curl up into a ball away from everyone and everything.

[Lulu]

are they asleep now Sal?

[mrsmac]

Thanks for replying MrsMac and Lulu. I will call Chitra at her Donvale rooms to book an appt for DS.

I feel so sorry for him. i wish there was a way that i could help him function/socialise better at school.

MrsMac- you should have suggested that you thought he might be a bit Aspergers, honestly, with you being a teacher, i would have really appreciated it. I am not one to take offence to anything which is said to me easily, if that is what you had thought.

I was just reading about Aspergers before and the kids taking things that are said to them seriously when they are just sarcastic made me remember an experience with him.
Me - "lets just pray that the weather is great on Saturday"
DS - nods his head.
A few minutes later, i see him mumbling something.
Me- "what are you doing DS?"
DS- "well, you did say lets pray about the weather, so i am"


That's only one of the things that is like him.

Babe I would NEVER suggest it to anyone, I have a friend at school whose son is aspergers and she said that she hated anyone telling her until SHE was ready to deal with it.
I love that completely literal thinking they have, also their awesome general knowledge and how they are so excited by interesting facts.


Sally- huge hugs.

[Early Kids]

Ok, back and cooled down, 2 sleeping kids (an hour early too!)

TD, sorry I can't help, wrong side of the country.

murraysmum, yay for TT! We are slowly getting there (Brendan is 37 months)

Lulu, sleeping now, thankfully.

Ok, so I don't want this going any further and it is to stay off facebook (I realise this is a public area too, but I'm hoping my wishes will be adhered too for respect for my family). Ok so from the beginning, my parents are down because the stupid shire here changed the zoning on my parents block so they had to cancel their caravan trip to come back and remove a sea container from their block. Took them just over 12 hours driving, but they got here. So they got here Thursday night, late. Friday we spent all day removing the contents of their container (a 40-foot one!) and then... early hours of Sat morning we got some terrible news my Grandad passed away around 1am early hours Sat morning. As you can imagine emotions are running high atm, lots to sort out.

I'm already feeling drained, and then I hear about my Great Aunty... she's very very sick, has been given weeks to live. She is on full time oxygen and wheel chair bound. So we are going to go see her on Wednesday, before my appointment for my hernia repair surgery.

Then throw Brendan into the mixture I cannot control him atm, he is just sooo hyper-active. He is literally bouncing off the walls, he tipped the playpen up onto its sides then climbed over it (as in climbed up then across the top and down the other side) I can't turn my back for a sec. My parents keep making comments about how it isn't normal to be acting the way he is. My mum made a comment the other day, she said that if Brendan didn't look her in the eye she would think he was Autistic. I am somewhat relieved that I am not the only one who is seeing these things. I know (and keep telling myself) that he isn't Autistic, but I know that there is something there and something is not right.

There is nothing I can do until our paed appointment (May 11) and I can't bring it forward. I haven't heard from Brendan's new OT and they don't work during school holidays anyway. I'm so frustrated of trying to get through the days with a child that I don't know how to deal with.

Someone please tell me why it matters what colour something is or in which order something is put on. What difference does it make to milo when you add in the milk before the milo? I am tired and drained from trying to work out the triggers, am tired of being screamed at because I get it wrong.

[mrsmac]

Huge hugs hun, what a lot to deal with.
Its so hard to deal with all their traits sometimes isn't it? I have found the holidays worse than usual for that reason.
That very particular thing can be an aspergers trait and we have had aspergers children at school who do make eye contact but then again I have a boy in my class who has been diagnosed as aspergers and doesn't care about routines like that so who knows.

Parents are hard as I know with my dad he felt if my discipline was "better" DS would be fine. He is now voluntarily reading "The out-of-sync child" which Christy lent me and is starting to understand more.

Hope today is easier.

[christy]

First Sally it is disgustingly hard. I'm so sorry to hear about what is going on with your family.

Especially the younger years when they are going through all the same stuff a normal threenager goes through (I have a "normal" threenager here who is very frustrating at times) and yet they are that bit more quirky.

Matilda looks at people in the eyes fleetingly. And once she's met them a few times she's more likely to look them in the eyes briefly. Its only ONE of the signs.

Finding the triggers can be so helpful, and adjusting your life. I was resentful at first at the thought that I had to change the order on how I put the cereal into the bowl, but once I just gave up and did it her way life was more peaceful at breakfast, ykwim? She has the pink cup with her black dinner plate and her special cat spoon and fork still. All to keep the peace, I make sure they are washed and ready for her.... I just thought they weren't the battles I wanted to fight. I was fighting battles such as not climbing the 6 foot fence and running away....

TBH TD, even I wouldn't tell you if I suspected Asperger's. I would probably suggest that you get him assessed if you asked what was going on... encourage you to see a behavioural paediatrician.... I remember when someone suggested Autism to me, it was a dagger....

School holidays are pretty sucky around here, added to that my working 11 days straight.... noice. We gave in and got Matilda a membership to Club Penguin so she can plug into the computer for 30 minutes 3 times a day.... she needs some "regular" activity and "routine" so we thought we'd give her something that is the same everyday.

[mrsmac]

Christy- Erin is VERY jealous about the Club Penguin!!!