heya :-)

There are a lot of useless professionals out there.  Having a title and letters after your name doesn't guarantee anything.

The best support I have had has been from other parents of autistic children, not so-called "services" who have often been obstructive, resistant and blaming.

i already no the answer to that, she has and always has from being a baby been hypersensitive. why oh why is it that you a stranger has just answered something which the profestionals could of or should of told me a year ago. you have made me understand much better.  

Anxiety is very frequently present alongside ASC.  There doesn't even need to be an obvious trigger.  But I think maybe more often, the individual has alexithymia which is common in autism and means that the person has trouble identifying their emotions or the reason for them.  So she may see herself as "normal" and doing "normal things" that other girls do and thinking (even subconsciously) that everyone else is doing those "normal things" so there is nothing out of the ordinary for her to feel anxious over.  However, everyday things often do cause anxiety for people with autism.  The most insignificant seeming things, can cause a lot of stress.  If she is hypersensitive to everything (noise, busyness, clothing etc.) she may not even have realised those specific things bothered her, just known she feels irritable and anxious although not known why.  Perhaps you could ask her if she has sensory issues, or how she feels about being where there are lots of people or about having a busy schedule.  All those things would cause her stress if she is autistic.

thankyou for your info. will look into that. i did get a call today off asd co-ordinator it only took 4 days and told him how let down we feel with the so called profesionals and if i knew where else i could get help i wouldnt of even took his call. he hasnt even read about my girl but said we will try and find the cause of the anxiety  he is a stupid man. nothing triggers it she at 10 says" why is this happening to me im not worrying about anything so why"? gonna try maybe cbt we will do anything. thanks again.

I have Asperger's and both my daughter's are also on the autistic spectrum, so it's a bit "been there, done it and got the t-shirt"!

Do you know you can apply for a statement of SEN even when there is no diagnosis?  And a statement is also for emotional/behavioural difficulties not only academic ones.  I would start the process now as it takes 6 months from application and that is valuable time your daughter is losing out on support.  A statement says what she must get and it's a legal document, just get advice from www.ipsea.org.uk or your Parent Partnership about how it should be written as often they are too vague.  Support and interventions must be specified and quantified.

Don't worry about your spelling, what's important is the support your little girl gets and you are being a good mum in looking for help.  Services can be a shambles and yes, I can tell you from experience that they are often more of a hindrance than a help, sadly.  Not that I'm militant or anything...

 you seem to no some of the things she feels. we are not getting anything at the moment. model pupil yes no signs at school only illness. we have no support at all all tests done just waiting for is it or isnt it, not holding my breath for answer. sometimes wish we had never asked for help from professionals just wish i could of helped her more myself. she is such a good girl, never naughty like my older kids were, always sorry for things she cant control. tryed rescue last year for 3 months. she also desnt like people to know anything about her problems. hides everthing she says she covers it up inside like putting a blanket over it. she is very high functioning. you must excuse my spelling

Do you mean things like stomach and headaches?  They are very indicative of anxiety.  I would imagine her biggest anxiety-causing situation is school.  Does she have a statement of SEN?  Is she getting support at school?  Girls with autism often act compliant and hold their stress in at school and let it out at home in anxiety attacks or meltdowns.

You really need to ensure she is getting the right support and adjustments at school, get a statement if she doesn't already have one (apply yourself to your council's SEN department) and you could try looking online for mindfulness videos she can try, try some Rescue Remedy (homeopathic) and ensure all her home situations are right for her.  (No loud TV/music, not having lots of visitors, not taking her places which are overwhelming for her etc.).

hi it is how can i help her with the pysical illness what the anxiety is causing. i have done all the coping strats but they are not helping done them alone for 8 years now without help and managed but they arent enough for her anymore. wish i could just cuddle her and make her feel well when it is very intense.

What advice are you looking for?  Is it how to manage behaviour or request a statement or support her anxiety?

hi, i am a mum to a 10 year old little girl and am finding it very hard to get help at the moment and dont know where to go next. in the process of being assessed for aspergers. waiting for help and advice from asd coordinator for 3 days and gp was no help. got told in nice manner wasting her time so where can i get help from there is no-one willing to give advice. where do i go to next?

Welcome Joanna.

Hello, my name is Joanna and I was diagnosed with Aspergers Snydrome last December. I am 26 years old and studying at university. My possible Aspergers was picked up upon by the head of the disability team at my university, who was seeing me about my probable dyslexia. I had an assessment done with a clinical psychologist and he said I have got Aspergers Syndrome, in all honesty not much has changed. I guess now I just have a label to explain why I am the way I am. I have also got ADD and dyslexia, neuro-developmental conditions they referred to it as. Nice to meet you all. :)

My nurse sent me in to see one of the GPs who is the practice counsellor or something similar a couple of weeks ago because of my persistent fears,  she then asked me many questions regarding now and childhood. She said she suspected Autism and gave me the AQ 50 question test. I filled this and came back today. She counted up the score to 38 and told me it seems i share the same genes with my son who has Autism. She gave me a leaflet ''what is aspergers syndrome'' from the national autistic society circled the part showing the web address for here and told me to research more on here. She took out a diagram of the brain tried to explain how things work logical etc .... im useless explaining stuff..... but because my initial appointment with the nurse is because i want help in losing weight the whole Aspergers thing is kind of accidental findings. She did increase my anxiety meds and is helping me to overcome one particular fear with the head on face your fear tactic. Again i apologise i am not great explaining. I will add though that i dont quite get this GPs actual position in the surgery i am new there but i know she is highly rated as some sort of councellor, and when i mentioned to the nurse that she gave me the test she said it was the new ''thing'' . LOST

That's most odd.  As I understand it, it's highly unlikely that a GP could diagnose Asperger's.  He would need to have had full training to be able to assess and diagnose autism/Asperger's.  Are you sure there isn't a misunderstanding?  Did he mean once you have filled in the AQ he would refer you for assessment if the score warrants it?

You don't get a diagnosis by a GP giving you a leaflet.

He may be using the AQ10 which is a shortened version of the AQ50 (Autism Quotient a validated test by Simon Baron-Cohen et al from the ARC).  This is recomended to be used as a screening tool by GPs, by NHS NICE Guidelines.  If you score 6 or more on the AQ10 it warrants further investigation.  An assessment is normally done by a clinical psychiatrist or clinical psychologist and should take at least 3 hours.  They would normally want to access childhood history (which means if possible speaking to parents or others who knew you as a child) to verify the age your behaviours were present.  This is because Asperger's/autism is a lifelong neurological condition.  There are some rarer cases of autistic regression at an older age.

Thanks :-)  I havent got the "official" diagnosis, I got the "fill this AQ test in,come back in 2 weeks, I will count the score and give you a leaflet'' diagnosis from the GP :-) . On one hand I feel I should pursue the proper diagnosis  because I suffer terribly with all things social, but I dont think I will have the courage to ask for it and get it. If I felt it had not affected me I dont think I would feel so lost right now as to what I should do next. Sorry for rambling :-) 

(although many of the legion are struggling along undiagnosed).

Welcome to the world of female Aspies.  We are legion!