Introduce yourself (part one)

Hi all,

We (me and my wife Amanda) have two children Leah 8 and Christopher 9 soon to be 10 in october. Christopher has recently, after several years of problematic schooling, and various assesment and different agencies being brought in (CAMS, EBSS, Ed physche, etc) been diagnosed with Aspergers.

The school he is at now(we moved him from his previous school as they were not giving any support) after suspending him 3 times in as many years have pushed and pushed for a diagnosis, but as a lot of his "symtoms" for want of a better word, were no different to how i was as a kid i was a little apprehensive and got a little frustrated that schools these days cannot manage kids in the way that i was, instead they want to label my child and do this that and the other, unfortunately raps on the knuckles with wooden rulers, or a thrash with your own plimsole infront of the class is not PC anymore, which although never did me any harm is a fair point, but they've recoiled so far to the other extreme its unreal, and the incidents where chris has become frustrated or oppositional could have soon been dissapated with stern talking to or even a firm hand, but instead they ring us to come into school.

TBH thats been the most difficult part of this journey, is being brought round to the modern way of schooling, and its only at school where any serious problems arose, but looking back thats because at home we've grown to manage christopher without even realising we've adapted to avoid situations that cause him difficulties. The other was, until Leah started at the same school a year after chris, was the looks and gossip that point the finger at us being bad parents, but as Leah has come to the school and shined, behaviouraly and accademically, we have felt a little vindicated.

Anyway he's started year 5 and all is well so far, but with the diagnosis it does feel like the pressure is off a little, as the school pushed and pushed for it, now they have it the onus is on them to manage the known issues.......

But anyway, think i've rambled on enough for my first post, and hope to chat/ post with some like minded people

regards

Steve 

Hello Sans and welcome to the community.

We hope that you find it useful and enjoyable being here.

Alex - mod

Hiya im new here i have an 11 year old with autism, im hoping to meet new friends to laugh and cry with and hopefully get some advice along the way!

Sans x

Hello ChaosCupcake,

Well you are no longer alone! Welcome to the community . Looking forward to hearing more from you here.

Sandra - mod

hello there, Im a 32 year old mummy to a small boy with aspergers which was diagnosed in march. Am a bit on my own with it all friends wise so am looking forward to getting to know some people with a bit more insight :)

Hi Truecolours

Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting.  I hope that you can find all sorts of information and support here.

We are a friendly bunch and look forward to hearing more from you

All the best 

Colinthecat 

I'm an adult who was diagnosed with Asperger's last year.  The initial relief of knowing there was a reason why I had been a "square peg in a round hole" for so much of my life is impossible to describe and I'm looking forward to interacting with others on this forum who are in the same position as I am.

Dear Readers

I am an adult on the Autism Spectrum from Brisbane, Australia.  I am friends with Chris Mitchell who works in Autism Works in the United Kingdom. I undertake a lot of advocacy in Australia

I was diagnosed by Dr Tony Attwood in 1998 and I have also written a book which is called "I Want To Work An Asperger Story" which includes a Foreword from Dr Tony Attwood.

Regards

Garry Burge

PS - I am also in touch with Cheryl Gillan UK also.

Having using this forum for a few months now but discovered this intro thing just today. I still find it difficult to understand computers and things. Anyway im 43 and have undiagnosed aspergers waiting for an asessment if theres funding available. I also have severe depression,anxiety,social anxiety,ocd,stress and hundreds of phobias. Have been under mental health for 20 yrs but have still suffered severe isolation and have never been able to function in society,have problems with every aspect of life and suffer with painful emotions. Have problems functioning independantly. I live with my dad who has lots of physical problems but helps with things im unable to cope with. I wonder if theres anyone else like me and has never led a normal life.

Hi Kazi and Sheila

Welcome to the forum.  I hope that you will both find lots of informtion and support here. We are a friendly bunch and are all here to provide a shoulder to cry or to celebrate something special happening in our lives.

I am not sure what kind of help you are looking for, Kazi.  If you would like to post some further details we might be able to help in some way

Look forward to reading some more of your posts

All the best

ColinCat 

Hi Ya'll, I'm an adult who has been living with symptoms of Asperger's all my life, just recently put my behaviour down to being some where on the spectrum.

My grandson is also showing many symptoms too.

Need help asap!!!

Hi all 

I'm Sheila 42yrs old and have a son who's 20 he was diagnosed with autism when he was 5, then later the school doctor said it was probably aspergers, we have coasted along nicely through the years he went from special needs school to main stream with support, He is now on his 3rd year at college doing skills for working life, and i'm stuck he has no social life apart from college,  I'm trying to sort him some benefits out and have just recieved a form for ESA and realised that all those years ago when i first filled out his DLA form we had loads of help.  

oh dear not a very cheerfull introduction, and i forgot to mention i live with my sons  dad and we also  have a daughter and a grandaughter. off to look through the rest of the boards now :) 

sheila.

Hi Vicky

Welcome to the forum.  We look forward to reading your posts.  

All the best 

ColinCat

Hi Vicky,

Welcome, hope you find us helpful and not cruel at all compared to the previous site.

So you've found it hard to navigate the Community - do feel free to let us know any more details about that in the feedback area. We are spending a lot of time fighting with the system we're currently using, so it's a learning experience for us all.

The more feedback the better we can make things :)

Hi, I'm Vicky, I'm 34, unemployable, relentlessly negative, worn down by a life of having Asperger's and virtually no support (my ex-family are worse than I am, my dad didn't even tell me when he emigrated to Mexico), and I'm here because I've been banned from everywhere else due to my controversial views on a variety of subjects, which I intend to keep quiet about from now on (not easy!) and inability to know when to stop.

I used to post at a support forum for another thing that was different about me (bit of a sensitive subject), but some of the people there were quite cruel, and I eventually snapped.

I'm said to be a talented writer, but can't seem to apply myself, and people usually like me a lot, until I get depressed and go into self-destruct mode. I wasn't diagnosed with Asperger's until I was 22, before that, I thought I was just mad.

All I need is a bit of human contact. If I can chip in here every now and then (well, I made 10,664 posts on the site I mentioned before, over eight years or so, none of which were particularly helpful), I might be able to get through each crushingly lonely day.

Love and hugs,

Vicky.

P.S. This site is really hard to navigate compared to most, and usually there's a whole forum for introductions instead of one thread, but I suppose I'll get used to downsizing.

Hi Kilkennycat and KittyKay :)

Welcome to the community.  We hope that you enjoy being here and find it helpful.

Alex-mod

hi kilkenny cat . i am 36 and a mother of 5 . 1 with asd and an older child who i strongly believe is too with a husband who def is .....i can totally understand how u feel ..in fact i was trying to explain how exhausting it is living in our house to my husband last week whos answer was ..." i am the one who works " and who completely didnt get the look of incredability on my face in answer ..im glad we can laugh about these incidents later once i have explained then to him :)

Hi, I'm a 33 year old mum, I have a 5 year old daughter and a 2 year old son - my son has been recently diagnosed with "some sort" of autism a month or so ago - he has significant development delay so it's hard for them to decide what kind he has.

I have been coping relatively well with it all - can't say it surprised me - but every now and again I feel like I need to speak to people who can understand where I'm coming from and appreciate the experiences I'm having and can hopefully give me better advice than "he'll grow out of it"  (it's not a phrase I'm getting any better about hearing!!).

Just wanted to introduce myself, I'm a 37 year old Mum living in ireland ( but lived in UK for 20 years )

I have a 9 year old Boy Diagnosed with Aspergers last summer, and as a result of the process and our new understanding of the condition we now believe my Husband also has it, thou we havent yet had an official Diagnosis, but the knowledge alone has been such a relief for him in understanding lots of things in his past and given us great foundation for the furture.

having two of them with ASD presents ... shall i say .. interesting .... obstacles,especially when it comes to dealing with our son consistantly and calmly.

Both are extremely Intelligent and good natured, they get on very well and share common interests, both are socially awkward prefering their own company, where as I am a complete social butterfly !

My Son doesn't have 'meltdowns' but he does become quite anxious under pressure ( Hubby explodes in angry outbursts .. very vocal and I admit embarassing ... bless him )

The last year has been a huge eyeopener for us and meant a lot of changes, but with understanding and help from workshops etc we are learning new tips and tricks to make things easier all the time.

I have to say tips from other parents have been invaluable and made such great positive changes in day to day living.

now if I could just work on my mental exhaustion !!

Hi SamF and woowoos, welcome to the Community. Hope you enjoy spending time here :)