autism

I feel for you Heavenknows ,and for your grandson if your dd won't acknowledge his problems. A friend of mine has the same problem. Her 3 year old grandson is definitely on the Autistic Spectrum but his mother refuses to admit this and my friend has even been told by her son that if she mentions this she will not be able to access her grandson and his brother. My friend is a retired primary headteacher with some experience of Autism and is quite genuinely concerned about her gs's future. I worked with Autistic children for many years and know that early intervention can make such a difference . I know how hard it is for parents but they do need to consider the child' s future experience of school and life .

I have a grandson who has been diagnosed with autism , but what I wanted to say was I cannot believe the massive increase in children being diagnosed with some form or other .

ADHD is another disorder which is on the increase , what we used to label as just badly behaved and in need of some attention , just what is going on ?

I do think my mother struggles with the idea of autism. She has difficulty engaging with the dcs because she is abroad, so really can only speak to them on the phone (she is a technophobe - my sister is attempting to teacher her facetime, but she's uncomfortable doing anything with a mobile phone but ringing someone, bless her). They both are quite shrill and speak very quickly, so can be very hard to understand. They assume that anything they know, that you know also - so they can flip from one subject to another in the blink of an eye without missing a beat, leaving you trailing in the dust.

I have a nephew with autism as well - he's 9yo - and my mother asks questions about his behaviour to me as she doesn't always understand it, and I try to explain. She won't ask my sister (his mum), as she can be quite touchy about it and takes it as criticism.

Oh dear heavenknows

hilda it's amazing isn't it. I bet not many adults me included could do that.
Does your DGS get upset/annoyed if he can't make himself understood? We spent several minutes trying to work out DGS's friend's name on his last visit. We don't make an issue of it of course as I'm sure your family don't.

I have a 6yo and a 9yo with autism. One is high functioning, the other is not. One is homeschooled, the other is in a specialised school.

I also have a dgs that is 10yo that possibly has some issues, however, his mother (my dd) refuses to have him checked - she thinks strict discipline is the cure for SNs. DD came to me on a couple occasions, saying she felt he had some SNs, however, when she asked my opinion and I said "if you are concerned, get him referred to a paediatrician so he can be assessed." She ignored that, came back a few months later (having done nothing to address it) and asked my opinion again. Of course, I gave her the same answer. She wasn't pleased. She's still done nothing - just complains that they have to be very strict/harsh with him in order to "keep him in line." That was 2 years ago.

When DGS started school last summer the class was asked to draw a picture of themselves. My DGS struggled with this, only managing a big swirly circle. My DD suggested that next time they did art the teacher should ask him to draw something he was interested in, so she asked him to draw an electrical circuit, and wondering what it would turn out like. He drew a beautiful circuit with fuse box, switch, socket and light bulb! He is still very difficult to understand when speaking.

That made me iaincam it's brilliant that he found coping strategies.
Unfortunately my son has zero confidence when it comes to his abilities and being able to travel alone etc. so has never been employed. His talent is spellling he was writing words correctly at four/five and is a walking dictionary.

Severe autism is awful and very difficult to cope with, but I have many education law clients with children at the higher functioning end (Asperger's etc.) who just need to encourage their schools to access the special budgets available under "Additional SEN Support" or if that is insufficient through an "Educational, Health and Care Plan". Unfortunately a new SEND Code of Practice came out a year ago and many schools have not updated their policies and procedures.

Many people at the high end of the autistic spectrum can have very successful careers, often in "techie" roles or academia. I had a law lecturer who delivered lectures facing away from his students when he was having a bad day and could easily be diverted by asking him about tram timetables in Strasbourg (which he knew by heart!).

I have a 3 yo grandson who has speech problems and although some professionals suspect he is on the spectrum has not had an definite diagnosis yet. He shows various traits but fortunately at the moment these do not manifest themselves with any challenging behaviour and he is on the whole a cheerful little fella and quiet bright. He has one to one help at preschool and DD has been told he will probably not manage main stream school.
I also have a 24 yo son who was diagnosed as high functioning in September last year. His main problems are social and communication. We always thought he was just a bit of a loner, it was DD male friend who is ASD himself who suggested we get him diagnosed.

Hello smarti. I have four DGC. One girl and three boys. The two middle boys have ASD's. The elder one is seven yrs. old and had a diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome when he was five. The younger one is five yrs. old and has a severe speech delay, he has been seeing a speech therapist since he was three, and is awaiting a diagnosis, probably of high functioning autism. They are both lovely boys, although the little one is very stubborn and belligerent. He has a fascination with all things electrical, we took them out for the day yesterday, we went to the Science Museum in Glasgow, in the car we discovered that he had brought a telephone socket from home, in his pocket. Life can be quite challenging with them, but I love them to bits, and couldn't imagine them any other way. My seven yr. old Aspie GS is gradually learning to cope with his sensory problems. He takes his ear defenders with him to anything that promises to be noisy. Neither boy is coping well at school, so my DD has taken the brave step of home schooling them, starting very soon. This is quite a long post, I could go on, but think I'd better leave it there. I'm glad you are all learning as you go along. So are we, it's all you can do. I try to offer as much support as I can, but we live about 90 miles apart. DD knows I'm only at the end of the phone though!

I only work with adults with ASD but I know there are Grans on here with GCs with ASD or worked with children. You are most certainly not alone!