BAK KAUR, 4 months [Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.]

my son JACK is 4 years old and also has autism. i suppose we was in denial that there was anything wrong with our child. he is healthy and physically nothing wrong with him, he had blood test done to see what his blood count was and they found nothing, he had hearing tests done because even till now he is not talking just babbling like a baby and again they found nothing his hearing was fine. so even after all this we still have no real reason why he has this condition. we have a younger child as well who is turning 3 in july who like his brother jack was born premeture ( jack was 9wks early and brad was 7wks early), lucky for us brad was fine and talking and getting his words together. having a younger brother has helped jack to a degree but cannot leave them unattended as you can imagine brad does get hurt from time to time. there is so much i could write here but i just wish to say that there is a slight light at the end of the tunnel especially with all the help on hand to help you, unfortunately financially that a different matter !!!!

Donna, 6 months [Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.]

To Louisa. You are entitled to DLA (Disability Living allowance) which may not be as much but is a help, get in touch with your local CAB (Citizens Advice bureau), mine were great in helping me fill in forms, I had a pretty useless social worker but now have a great Family Key Worker, they can help you find resources for you and your family. My Son is in a special school and they are brilliant with him, he is now 8 and only started to learn to speak at the age of 4 when he started to get speach therapy, I new from when he was about 3 that things weren't good but it took the authorities till he was 5 to have him diagnosed as autistic, I am a single mother with 2 children, my older son although has no formal diagnosis was attending OT and they said that he showed symptoms of Dispraxia, I applied and had to fight to get support and DLA for them but am getting there now, Aaron my wee boy is even maybe in the process of moving to a mainstream school with a special unit. But I can't praise the special school enough as he has learnt and come on so much, he has friends and plays, speaks (although I still have trouble understanding it all) he is even learnign to read and count, he can write his own name, even his behaviour has improved. So please fight all that you can and get all the information you can, Social workers are there to help, mine is great and I struggle sometimes, as I am a single parent and my ex has always been in denial, but is getting better. I wish you all the best and hope that you are pointed in the right direction for help and support. Crossroads is also a great charity who can offer support and respite. good luck to you all and keep fighting, our kids are worth it.

Stephen Perry, 7 months [Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.]

We have a 4yr old son with Autisim. We didn't realise until he was about 29 months old. And have had to fight every step of the way to get whatever he needs. We fought to get him into rising three's, but it took so long for the beaurocrats to get moving he missed it, and only just made it into nursery. He has no speech, is not toilet trained, and has no sense of the dangers around him when outdoors. Although he is a very handsome little boy who is full of smiles and hugs, we still have to try to understand his world, as he simply has no concept of ours. We are desperately looking for a good school for him in S.Wales, but although some are good with disabled children they all seem to be lacking the teaching and support for Autistic children. We found a few good explanations of Autism on youtube, by people with Autism. Just did a course called Earlybird for parents of Autistic children which helped a lot. Contact Health visitor or National Autistic Society for info www.nas.org.uk I know it is really difficult but we all love our children, and please remember you are not alone. Lots of info available from National Autistic Society. Steve

mandi cooper, 9 months [Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.]

in reply to the above story about the lady with a child with autisim i think she is a lucky lady compared to some families i no of who have one or more children with the disabiltiy,i myself have a child with autisim who is the only child i have,wishin i could have had more so that ethan would not be on his own,at least the above child as siblings to watch out for him as he gets older and sounds like he has a very supportive daddy which unfortunatley my son no longer as,his dad past away two years ago and try explaining that to a autistic child.i no it must be difficult for the family but im sure the child brings lots of joy to the family as my son does to ours.my son is now eleven and the changes he as made since he was four are incredible,so although it may feel that your on a low ebb im sure things eventually will come to you and your family,try gettin the other children involved and remember its not always about them being in our world,you also have to enter theirs.GOOD LUCK IN ALL YOU DO.

louisa, 9 months [Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.]

i have a 4 year old with autism and am tired of fighting every system to get his rights,every form is like writing a novel every phone call ends in depair as i am passed from one person to another,my husband has had to give up work to care for our son and now gets £46 a week as a carer,how dare the govenment insult us with a pathetic amount like that,it doesnt even cover petrol to get him to and from nursery school,how are we going to manage?this is going to last forever,its not a short term problem its a lifetime of caring and hardship,why cant anyone understand the needs of a family with an autistic or disabled child,we have 6 children and now we cannot give any of them anything at all,we all have to suffer,its so unfair we didnt ask for our lives to be turned upside down,but we dearly love our little boy and will treasure him until our dying breath,so to all concerned i just want to say keep fighting,never give up you are not alone,there are thousand going through the same thing every day.YOU ARE NOT ALONE.