Raising Children Network | Forums / Parents like me / Parents of children with a disability

Early signs of Down Syndrome

maidenminx — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 09:49:31 GMT

I have a friend with a beautiful 9 month old girl who has had a rough start. She's had feeding issues etc and is reasonably developmentally delayed. My friend has been told she may have downs syndrome though the first test came back negative. She does have the almond eyes but her hands and feet are normal. Her cheeks are kind of flat but really not too bad. I have read about mozaic downs syndrome and have wondered if that might be whats going on.

Are there any other signs my friend should be looking out for? Also what therapies etc help with DS?

Regressers

luckyduck — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:01:14 GMT

Hi All,

I have a delightful nearly 7yr daughter who is a high functioning autistic and also has globle delay and ADHD.My question is , she loves school and has a aid some of the time to help her but we have found that she seems to forget the most basic things like her site words and counting to 30. The good thing is that she is very social which is great but you cant get through live without knowing your basic abc`s and 123's . The beginning of term she was good but has seemed to regress. It looks at this stage that she will have to repeat yr 2.The school dosnt seem to know what to do.Any help would be a big help.

2 kids with special needs but 1 with so much needs

mummy26 — Tue, 31 May 2011 17:46:33 GMT

hi i have 2 kids with special needs, my 5 yr old son has autism & developmental delay but he is going fine. just my 4 yr old son he has pddnos, plus cp & global developmental delay & has just be told he also has rumination disorder & nw they wanna put a feeding tube in cause he is nt gaining weight.. just wanted 2 knw if there were any parents out there with the sam problem.. this is my first time having a child with a feeding tube & im just stressing out on how it is going to go & if it works..

Peadiatic special needs strollers

lexi11 — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:28:16 GMT

Hi Im new around here. My daughter is almost 6 and has a colourful history:
CHD, laryngotracheamalacia, malabsorbtion resulting in TPN and tube feeding, Obstructive sleep aponea, glue ear, short stature, FTT, uncoordinated swallow resulting in aspiration, Uncoordinated gait, hypertonia, hypotonia, flat feet, autism, and the list continues.

She's mostly healthy these days, with more physical then medical issues. She's 100% oral fed now, and can walk and talk. She attends Special ed prep.

My girl has a DoBuggy special needs stroller, but im wondering where i can find accessories? The place I got her stroller no longer stocks accessories, and every search i've done online shows up with just the UK. Frustrating!

2.5 yo with GDD

bstill78 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:45:33 GMT

Hello all,

This is my first post in relation to my daughter - Georgia -. My firsr post on this site actually.

We first noticed that georgia was behind in her development probably around 12 months. From an early early age we taught her to wave bye bye. But she never caught on to it. Never did it til really late. This was probably the first recognition something was not right. She rolled early, teethed early, crawled at 9 months, walked at 15 months. So relatively normal for reaching those milestones.

Her sensory play, ie stacking blocks was behind and at that point in time we spoke to our maternal health nurse.

Basically since 18 months we have been on board with something is wrong but not knowing what has been difficult. She is a happy happy girl. In a very good routine, sleeps well, eats pretty well, drinks heaps of water.

Our main concern is speech. She says only a few words. i.e mummy, up, up high. Sometimes we have heard a word said for a couple of days then not again.

She attends childcare 2 times per week which she enjoys and I see as good for her development and play. Gweorgia has been seeing a speech therapist once per fortnight since age 2.

We finally saw our paedatrician lasdt week (took 5 months waiting to get in). She has been diagnosed with Global Development Delay. Speech is her main concern follwed by some slow develpment in motor skills and sensory skills.

I just want my girl to speak to me! Thats all. I am just hoping with all the therapy, both speech and OT that this can happen and she can have a normal childhood and start school down the track with her friends.

We have been referred to ECIS (Early Childhood Intervention Services) so hopefully this assists with her obtaining all the care and help that is needed to get her back on track.

I would love to hear from other parents with toddlers in a similar situation, especially the talking side of things.

Do things get better? Will she talk?

This is what is going on in my head!

ABA therapy and school shadowing in Sydney

austearlyintervention — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 23:32:36 GMT

Hi all,

Australian Early Intervention provides services for children with special needs aged 12 months to 18 years. We specialise in, but are not exclusive to, children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Have also had great success with children who have an intellectual disability, vision impairment, global developmental delay and William's Syndrome.

We conduct assessments to develop behaviour intervention plans, individual education plans and communication assessments. We then develop a highly individualised program which covers developmental milestones, academic skills, life skills, social skills and sensory regulation.

Our home therapy is based on the principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis and positive behaviour support. This is a very successful approach, it also incorporates elements of occupational therapy and speech therapy, depending on your child's needs.

We also offer school shadowing services across various settings: preschool, primary school and secondary school.

We are currently doing a surge of intake these school holidays. If you are interested, this would be a good time for us to conduct intake, program writing and assessments.

If you need any additional information, or would like to meet in person to discuss this please contact me via email on rwhitney@y7mail.com or phone 0432 305 219.

Thanks a lot,

Whitney Robertson
Australian Early Intervention

Sensory Processing Disorder webinars

NoahRosie — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 03:02:19 GMT

We had a rough holiday season. My son has sensory integration disorder and the holidays were just really overwhelming, the change in routine, the flashing lights, the noise, etc. were all too much and caused tough behaviors at home, tantrums and a general inability to follow directions. I stumbled across this free webinar series and I thought I'd share, it may help others dealing with some out of control little people in their house!

Son recently diagnosed with ADHD and possibly ODD

daniellet — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:58:16 GMT

Hi all,

My 10 year old stepson has recently been diagnosed with ADHD and possibly ODD. This ( getting him diagnosed) was a last option to us as he was always a boiterous and cheeky child so we were putting his "ways"down to character. To us the ADHD is very mild and the ODD stands out alot more in everyday living.

In 2009 his behaviour became very violent and angry and over the top so we took him to a child psychologist ( his mother is not supportive and opposes everything we do ). Anyway, the psych. took us through anger managemant techniques which worked for a short period. The past 2 years have been very draining to say the least and when we got the diagnosis and I read up on the symptoms I feel as though the symptoms of ODD are alot stronger than we realised and even more noticable than the ADHD.

We were looking at trying medication as his behaviour towards the family ( we have 4 other children ) can be violent and extreme. If he doesnt get his own way he argues and wont stop. He gets really worked up and starts making threats and will get in my face especially. If i tell him I am walking away and will speak to him when he calms fown he will follow me screaming at me - he gets himself in s a real state. He has no qualms about hurting someone and it is a struggle for him to say sorry.

This boy has been through alot so I am curious to know if anyone else out there has had a similar experience? Is this the ADHD/ ODD talking or this a personalitiy that has developed - he is like this more often than not and it is a worry as he is coming to teenage years. It is hard adjusting aswell because we dont want him to feel different or weird so we talk about it a little. Has anyone found counselling beneficial? We have been through parenting classes etc in the past and all seem to be short term fixes.

Intellectual Impairment

uni.chick — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 17:53:15 GMT

Hi everyone,

Im currently studying early childhood teaching and would love to hear from any of you with a child who has an intellectual impairment. I have an assignment where I need to create a 'case study' of a child with an intellectual impairment, and then then discuss how best to support that child, family and the other children in the class.

Any information, experience or knowledge of the topic would be a great help as I cant find much infor specifically relating to this topic online.

Thank you!

Filming opportunity with Raising Children Network

webmaster — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:08:06 GMT

The Raising Children Network is looking for parents of children with cerebral palsy, Fragile X, vision or hearing impairment to be involved in the filming of new videos for the Raising Children website.

We are currently developing articles and videos especially for parents and carers of children with disabilities. The videos will feature real parents sharing their stories and talking about their experiences. The videos will be available on the Raising Children website to provide support and information to other parents in similar situations.

If you are interested in being filmed, and live in NSW or Victoria, we would love to hear from you. Filming takes about an hour, on any day that suits you in March or April. Previous parents have found filming is very easy and relaxed - we ask a few questions and you can forget there is even a camera in the room! We would also like to pay $100 as compensation for your time.

Your involvement will help us help parents raising children with disabilities all over Australia.

If you are interested in being involved, or would like more information, please contact:

Susanna Eckersley
Phone: 0458 886 774
Email: seckersley@parentingrc.org.au

access to after school care

c3077605 — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 12:13:05 GMT

Hello, my name is Karen and I have a child diagnosed with Autism who currently attends a special school. I am also completing a social work degree, and as part of this I am looking into the lack of after school care for primarly aged children with a disability. For me personally, the lack of after school care available for my son has placed tremendious pressure on our family. I am also really concerned that after finishing my degree I will not be able to participate in the workforce because I cant get care. I think this is really quite unfair - does anyone else have this problem? I would love to here about your experiences and thoughts on this topic. Thanks

Proprioceptive dysfunction ?

Babybois — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:06:29 GMT

Hi was just wondering if anyone knows anything about Proprioceptive dysfunction ( hope spelling correct :/. )

Making a will and power of attorney

hopebubam — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 12:40:00 GMT

HI,
I would like to have a will/ power of attorney done. I have child with special needs and I was told that it could cost me more than $2000 to have these documents drawn up by the lawyers because of the complexity involved.

I live in Perth. Could someone please let me know where I can get some help on this matter. I cannot afford this fee. Can I do them myself?.
Many thanks

Dealing with Selective Mutism

teamrex — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 11:14:27 GMT

Hi,

I am looking for parents that have any children with Selective Mutism. My child was diagnosed with ASD as well. He is preschool age and shows many signs of ASD but also has SM. Usually they dont go together I have heard so im really interested in others that have had similar problems with their child and how they deal with it. Im not sure about the whole diagnosis, even though all his therapist say he shows classic ASD i find all the Selective mutism site say its not related. He was diagnosed with SM at age 3 and still has it but is improving with lots of therapy each week.

bedtime blues

tantrumtess — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 10:23:14 GMT

Hi, I;m new here and was just wondering if anyone has any ideas on getting my daughter to sleep on her own. My daughter is 10 and has a learning disorder and possibly autism, still trying to get a diagnosis, she refuses to sleep by herself I have managed to get her into her own bed but that is in my bedroom. At night I have to turn everything off and pretend that I am going to bed so that she will get into her bed for the night, I am not allowed to move or she gets upset as in moving my foot etc. Once she is asleep I get back up and she sleeps soundly the rest of the night .

Swimming for kids with a disability

DarrenC — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:39:11 GMT

Many parents may not be aware of a fantastic program developed by Sunbury Community Health Centre (SCHC), the KickStart Swimming Program provides lessons for children with autism, communication difficulties, sensory processing difficulties and developmental delay.

Melton Council is working with Sunbury CHC to roll this wonderful program out across Victoria. In 2011 we trained 111 Swim Instructors in KickStart and provided them with the communications resources such as Picture cards, Schedule Boards, Social Stories etc.

At Melton Waves Leisure Centre, they offer 11 KickStart Lessons and have 30 kids enrolled, many with an ASD and the feedback from families (and the instructors) is amazingly positive.

If you'd like more info, check out www.melton.vic.gov.au/KickStart or contact Julie Landy at SCHC juliel@sunburychc.org.au or 9744-4455. So far, there are 11 Swim Centres across the State offering KickStart but we want to see it offered in many more.

Regards

Darren Cunningham

Melton Shire Council

agenesis corpus callosum

becca2011 — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:02:04 GMT

my baby was found to have acc at 10 days old, she had a MRI due to regular focal seizures she was having since she was born (she also has a cyst on her brain of 2.5cm which is another rare thing - which could also be causing her seizures). She is now 10 weeks and it has taken me until now to be able read about the disorder and want to find out about more.

we are seeing a neurologist in june - who has already seen her first MRI results

what sort of questions should i be asking?

what can i do for her now to help with development outside the normal things you do with babies?

what keys things should i be looking out for?

where can i can more information

can anyone help with some advice please

childe developmental delay

alicemary — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 05:45:58 GMT

hi all we are hoping to come over next year. my question is this what child development is available on the medicare system over there? ted is 15 months old and has developmental delay.... at the moment he sees a physio a paediatrician and a speech therapist he also has some hearing loss and is having tests for this.
is all this available over there, what bits would i have to pay for....is the system set up for children like ted and what sort of educational system do they have within the schools for him..... fingers ( and everything else) crossed that by the time he starts school he will have caught up and all our worries will be for nothing i just want to have all the information......any would be a great help...thanks alice

Positives of parenting a child with a physical disability or chronic illness

mwhee — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 12:13:29 GMT

Researchers in the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland are currently looking for parents of children (of any age) who have a physical disability or chronic illness to participate in a study investigating the nature of positive changes or the psychological benefits gained from having a child with physical disability or chronic illness. Participation will involve the completion of a short online questionnaire, taking approximately 10 minutes to complete. Participants will go in a draw to receive movie vouchers for their family.

The survey can be accessed at http://exp.psy.uq.edu.au/benefitsparent

For more information, contact Megan at megan.wheeler@uqconnect.edu.au.

GDD Thread

mumtobeautifulgirl — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:16:06 GMT

Hello to all the parents with a child/ren with GDD (global developmental delay)

Have decided to start a thread where we can come to ask questions, vent and just generally chat.

I hope that you will join us here.

facebook support group

nomzy — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 21:11:02 GMT

this is a perth group they are on facebook but they meet regualy for coffee, not just autism but all disabilities/special needs kids its called WA special families

https://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/groups/421033830120/

adhd problem

pommy — Fri, 27 May 2011 13:36:46 GMT

Mines a stressful puzzle. My son went to childcare from one. We never had any issues. Soon as he went to school the stress and problems began. He just could not function in a classroom. We too him to a paed. She said he was a normal child. School seemed to think he had aspergers. Then a child psychologist said he was mildly impaired which sent my stress levels through the roof.

Anyway he had a day evalution with a Developmental Paediatrician and he was diagnosed as having ADHD. He scored a normal IQ, they also tested him for learning Disabilitys and he reads and spells like a nine year old and he was tested aged 6. His maths is normal, his handwriting is poor but vast improvements this year. He can write very well if he wants to. Paed said he's a smart kid and the adhd is masking his actual ability. He doesn't want to medicate him yet as he's young and really at home we don't really have any issues with him. He does have meltdowns if he doesn't get his own way but I know exactly how to deal with them.

He started year two well, he actually got a award for his maths and spelling. I just had a meeting last week and he's gone downhill. He's become hostile to teachers, picking his nose and chasing other kids, etc, etc. His social skills are not great. he's very confident, but comes across as bossy and pushy.

I have an IEP from the school but they annoyed me with that as they have said his primary problem was mild intellectual disability which the Paed said was rubbish. He explained how adhd kids can score low in IQ tests. I took him back in feb and again he scored high in everything. At first the school were a nightmare but they are trying really hard with him. I think one of the problems is the school is a expensive private school so they don't have many problem kids so he does stick out like a sore thumb. I did think he was being bullied but his teacher say's the kids generally like him.

His grades are terrible d's and e's. I m worried because he is very bright but he's failing in school.

for the parents of children on the autism spectrum and were thinking of having another baby

khadour2007 — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:34:09 GMT

Recurrence Risk of Autism in Younger Siblings Higher Than Thought, Study Finds

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110815095019.htm

New research shows the risk of a child being diagnosed with autism if a sibling already has the condition is as high as one in four, and this rises to almost one in three for third children with affected older siblings. The results are expected to have implications for parental counselling and early intervention strategies. The international study of almost 700 infants is the largest ever conducted on the topic with the findings to be published in next month’s Paediatrics journal.

click on above link for more reading.

latest autism update from australian bureau of statistics

khadour2007 — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:31:09 GMT

hi everyone

i thought this would be interesting for parents whose kids are on the autism spectrum.

for those whose children are at school this latest findings confirm what you all have thoughts about the difficulties for your children at school.

for the newly dx and those with under 5 children [like moi!], these findings are an eye opener.

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs%40.nsf/Latestproducts/4428.0Main%20Features42009?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4428.0&issue=2009&num=&view=

Parents with autistic children

kristian94 — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 17:15:27 GMT

Hi my name is Kristian and i am currently completing my major HSC work for society and culture (personal interest project). My project is on parents with autism. It compares the day to day lives of parents with austic children and those without. I was wondering, and it would be greatly appreciated, if parents of autistic children wouldnt mind filling out a few question for me.

Some questions are quite personal and therefore you are not required to answer a question if you do not feel comfortable in doing so.

1. Childs’s name?

2. How old is your child?

3. When did you start thinking that there was something wrong? What symptoms did you child show to make you think that there was something wrong?

4. What was your initial reaction when you found out your child was diagnosed with autism?

5. Have you had to change your day to day activities to suit the needs of your child?

6. How have you had to change?

7. How have you changed as person, socially, since your child has been diagnosed?

8. Is there a certain daily structure that your child needs to follow in order to function from day to day?

9. How has your child’s condition affected relationships within your immediate family and friends?

10. Have there been any times when you’ve said to yourself “I can’t do this anymore” ?

11. What behavioural characteristics does your child show?

12. Are there any treatments, therapies or medication that your child takes to cope with autism?

13. Did you have preconceived ideas about children with autism? If so what were they? And how have they changed since?

14. Does your child experience any forms of bullying from other children? If so how does he tend to deal with this and what impact does this have on you?

15. Can you recall the hardest time that you and your child have experienced?

16. How did you cope with this?

17. Was it difficult to find a school that had a special needs program?

Thank you very much for your help.

My 15 year old is eating alone at school she has cancer

melbournechic — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:57:36 GMT

It breaks my heart to know that my daughter is going through her health issues and her friends just dont understand whats going on.
They add to her pain without meaning to
Any thoughts??

Looking for products to help with kids skin conditions, asthma etc or are you just plane exhausted

melbournechic — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:42:30 GMT

My daughter has leukemia and since I got rid of the nasty chemicals
we havent had many overnight stays in hospital at all
She looks well and I thank GOD I was shown this online supermarket.

A project that may interest you..

Trine — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 21:30:06 GMT

Evening everyone,

My name is Katrina and I'm asking for your help... please read on and let me know if you are interested in helping out on this project.

I hope to put together a book specifically aimed at people who have just been told that there is something wrong with their child - either during pregnancy or afterwards. Also including those that have been told early on in their pregnancy of a significant problem, then made the difficult decision to terminate and how they dealt with that on an emotional level.

I don't want to put together a medical journal. It is not to be focused on EXACTLY what the problem is/was in depth. What I want are a compilation of stories from mums/dads/uncles/aunts/grandparents/siblings etc that deal with the emotional rollercoaster. I want raw emotion, I want to be able to produce a book for those people who are feeling incredibly angry/confused/lost/helpless but also the positive people who have taken the news in their stride and gone - OK, what do we do from here. I want mums and dads to be able to find a story they can identify with and hopefully - that lets them know how they are dealing with this hurdle is normal (even if they are laying in bed crying) and someone else has been there and gotten through it. I want relatives or friends to be able to pick up this book and understand where their loved on is right now and exactly what they may be experiencing. Because as you know, until you've walked a mile in someone’s shoes...
I want to hear exactly how people felt at THAT moment when you heard the news or felt that something wasn't right, then afterwards. How other people reacted, friends or family or just the lady on the street.
I was wondering if you would be interested in writing a piece for the book? There is no pressure or hurry - right now I'm not even past the touching base with people stage! I don't expect a whole books worth, this is to be a bunch of short stories not long journeys through your lives. You don't have to have your name attached (maybe just your first name or anon) I don't want anything prettied up - I've heard one lady say that sadly, for a few weeks towards the end of her pregnancy she hated her baby and blamed it for ruining her life (this didn't last thankfully) I'm sure she isn't the only one that has felt such pain and so alone.

I’ve been in contact with the Childrens Medical Research Institute (Australia) in regards to donating a portion from each sale of the completed book to them. It will be my way of paying back for your stories – our donations may help other parents to never have to hear such news.

Feel free to forward my details to anyone you think may be interested in participating in this they don't need to be a super writer - everything will be edited and chopped and fixed up later anyway and the end product will go back to the owner of the piece it for their approval. My email is katrinakruse@hotmail.com

I have already received some pretty positive feedback and I really want to get this off the ground. I've heard several people talk about how dark and alone they felt being surrounded by people who didn't really grasp the way it impacts your soul finding out that your baby is, although absolutely perfect to you, going to face such hurdles in their lives. As a parent, there are so many more things involved in being given any less than perfect outcome for the little being that you want to see grow up, marry, have children, be independant, travel, have a career etc. We start out, upon finding out we're pregnant with so many hopes and dreams for this little person growing in our bellies.

I hope that we can make just a handful of people, feel a little less alone and give them the truth as to how a "normal" person has coped already with this verdict (or not coped either way..) please forward my details to anyone you think might also want to tell their story bearing in mind it needn't be a deeply impacting problem - it could be something as simple as hearing difficulties. It's all about hearing a Doctor say something you wish they'd take back.

The Autism Experience.

A-Team — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:11:36 GMT

Thought I might post here about a book that many parents of Autistic children from around the world, including myself, have contributed to.
The book is called The Autism Experience, and is set to become a valuable resource for parents of children with a diagnosis of ASD, and in particular, newly diagnosed families.
The book has been published by Jane Curry publishers, the same people that published The Autism Handbook.
All profits from the sale of the book will go directly to charities and organisations dedicated to raising awareness about Autism world wide, and to fund and run a forum administered and manned by the contributors of the book to assist and support other parents, which was the impetus for writing the book in the first place.
For more information go to www.theautismexperiencebook.blogspot.com.au.
To order the book on line please go to exisle.publishing.com.au. We currently sit in the #1 bestselling book position, and have already had some tremendous feed back .
It will soon be available in book shops, Kmart and Target.
We have also been reviewed in this week's New Idea magazine in the health pages.
Many thanks for passing this information onto any one that you think might benefit.

Developmental Delay Support Group in Perth

qu33nb33 — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:03:27 GMT

Does anyone know of any support group for children with developmental delays in Perth (Northern suburbs)? I have been trying to look for one but haven't been succesful.

Need some advised

Joya — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 17:14:53 GMT

My 6 Yrs old son has GDD, and maybe ADHD (still need to be confirmed). He is in yr 1, 2 days in the mainstream class and 3 days in the ESU. We are having a big issue with his behavior at the moment. He has a temper issue. today he has been sent home because of kicking another child at the playground, and the other child end up with a bleeding lips. he is also being suspended from school tomorrow. What is the best thing to do ? I will still going to make him do his school work tomorrow, so he is not going to think that getting suspension from school is fun. I feel like we are not getting anywhere, this behavior issue is getting worse, i have implement the positive parenting technic, but i'm just not seing any result. Does anyone have any suggestion ???

Help test a new online behaviour tool

behaviourskills — Thu, 26 May 2011 14:37:04 GMT

We are seeking parents to participate in the trial of an online program, the Behaviour Skills Builder, designed to help you gain a better understanding of why difficult behaviour occurs and tailor a plan specifically to suit your child.

You can help us if:

you find your child’s behaviour difficult to manage
your child has a developmental delay or cognitive impairment
your child aged between 3 and 9
you live in Australia.

If you would like to help, please contact behaviourskills@parentingrc.org.au for more information.

Program development was funded by Ageing, Disability and Homecare, Department of Human Services, NSW.

Thankyou,

The Behaviour Skills Builder Team

Dribble in children with GDD

singlemum1968 — Tue, 24 May 2011 21:45:23 GMT

Hi, My DS2 (who is 3) has GDD, low muscle tone, dyspraxia. Still having more tests going on!! Just wondering if anyone else who has children with GDD have problems with excessive dribbling. He is that bad he wears a bib, it gets changed several times throughout the day. Wanting to know does it stop or is their anything that can be taught to help in swallow. He dribbles more when concentrating or has a head cold. I have taught him to wipe.

This seems to be one of those diagnoses that has a broad spectrum and after the age of six may end up being diagnosed with other things.

Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Single mother to DD 9, DS1 4 & DS2 (GDD)

Searching for help in understanding whether my son might be autistic

MummaBear1405 — Mon, 09 May 2011 21:36:51 GMT

I was wondering if anyone might be able to give me some advice on some of my son's behaviour which is troubling me and that seem to be classic symptoms of autism although I'm not an expert. My son is 18 months and suffering a speech delay though he has recently been diagnosed with mild hearing loss due to glue ear which is reassuring. He has recently begun to line objects up, usually our remote controls or bowls from the kitchen, and also to stack them. Today when he was stacking cups one inside the other he became engrossed in his play and seemed to get upset very easily for seemingly no reason when he couldn't get the cups to do what he wanted to. I have noticed this rigidity during play before however have always assumed it was just normal 'tantrum' behaviour. I have also noticed that he doesn't participate in joint attention with me or my husband very often either, for instance if we read him a book he focuses on the book but rarely looks up at us to see our reactions. On all accounts he is a very affectionate child and he does love other children which makes me think perhaps I am just being paranoid? The final thing that has been bothering me about his behaviour is hand flapping which he does not all the time but mainly when he is really excited and occasionally when he is quite cranky. He is tending to throw more tantrums though I think that is normal as children approach the two year mark?

I have spoken with my GP about this and she has advised that he is too young to diagnose but that if I'm still worried in a couple of months time then we could pursue it then, however i have a strange gut feeling that my son may be autistic and am wondering if I do need to pursue it before then? Would love any of your thoughts / advice on this and whether or not you think my son't behaviour is indicative of autism spectrum disorder?

8 year old can't ride bike - any ideas?

Rainbow Boy — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 16:32:53 GMT

My son cannot seem to grasp the knack of riding a bike. Training work ok to a point, but cannot and sometimes not willing to ride independently.

is this common with ASD kids?

Sleeping an ASD children

myspark — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 19:05:35 GMT

Hi,

I have a 10 year old with ASD, diagnosed at 3 and half. Over the years I have tried Endep, Risperdal to help with sleeping and anger issues. This beautiful boy fights (not physically) to go to sleep every night. My husband and I are surviving on 3 maybe if we are lucky 4 hours sleep a night. We have recently tried Melatonin and as like Demazin it hyped him up.

He is seeing a Pychologist in Brisbane every fortnight specialising in ASD, even she's not sure what to do. We thought we are well informed, but obviously not.

I have seen Strattera can't be used at night, does anyone out there have any idea's what we can try. We've also tried the calming music, reading, but to no sleep.

Our marriage is suffering becuase we are so tired, if anyone has anything to suggest, we would greatly appreciate.

Tying shoe laces

jamesmum — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:50:28 GMT

Hi all,

We have an 8 yr old boy with Aspergers, who can't tie his shoelaces, does anybody have any suggestions, that would make our life a little easier. He has a size 7 adult foot, so we couldn't get his school shoes with velcro. But he needs to learn regardless, so if anybody has any tried and true suggestions, they would be most appreciated. Thank you.

Global Developmental Delay - Wanted to share

mumtobeautifulgirl — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 14:59:49 GMT

Hi i am new to this site and would really like to get some advice / guidance from other parents who have children with GDD. My daughter is 3 and a half and was diagnoised with GDD at approx 1. Its been a very uncertain and bumpy ride for us with lots of testing but no real answers and like other threads i have read feel like we were given the GDD title because there was no other reason for the delay. We see OT, speech and physio frequently though the local health service - but have not been overly satisifed but living rural in SA our options are limited. DD is still not walking which poses so many obsticals for both her and us. She will walk assisted or with a trolley but everyday it breaks my heart to watch her trying to interact with the other kids but is not really able to. She is also delayed in all other areas hence GDD. In Jan we have a pead review and I will be asking that they assess for autism - i believe that there is some mild signs starting to emerge

The advice i seek is in relation to services. We are relocating to Adelaide (glenelg area) in the new year and I have made some contacts but was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for peads, OT, speech, physio or any other services which they have found useful. I just know that there is more that we could be doing, well hope that there is more that we can do. We hope to get involved with swimming, playgroups and support groups too.

My other query is about having more children. We are thinking about having one more child but are concerned if we do that the child may also have GDD - we have had genetic testing with no indication that that would be the case but is it likely? We would love and cherish any child we had no matter what the outcome but would like to hear about others experiences.

thank you.

Fro Canberra parents of ASD kids

bzzz-bee — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 15:10:02 GMT

Hello there, for any Canberra parents with ASD kids (autism, aspergers, pdd-nos) you are welocme to come over and check out an online forum that (free to join) that was created a couple of years ago by parents, we now have over 90 members. This forum is not to take away from the Raising Children Network, but to provide local informaiton/feedback on therapists, meet ups etc. Thank you http://z4.invisionfree.com/canberraASDfrie...dex.php?act=idx

National Disabilty Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

jonfi — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 06:27:33 GMT

http://everyaustraliancounts.com.au/take_action/#maincontent

Show the Governments of Australia how many of us support a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and register your support at http://everyaustraliancounts.com.au/take_action/#maincontent

You can also learn more about what the Productivity Commission is recommending, and why they are saying we should shift to this "whole of life" approach to funding and supporting people with disability in Australia - go to http://everyaustraliancounts.com.au/take_action/#maincontent

PS: If you want to know/learn more about the proposed NDIS why not download a copy of the interim report (announced yesterday) and sign up to receive a copy of the final report into an NDIS, (due for release by the Productivity Commission in July) at the Productivity Commissions website http://www.pc.gov.au/projects/inquiry/disability-support/draft