Awesome Mums of autistic kids-how many of us are there (#4) ??????????

[Mod-Degrassi]

Thanks for bumping the thread @pvroom . It's been a while since any of us have updated evidently!

Sorry to hear you're struggling

What made you decide to unschool your eldest? No judgement of course, just interested.

[Mod-Degrassi]

And now for a little update

Things are going pretty well at the moment. DS has had a couple of rough patches with behaviour this year, but he's mostly been pretty good.

He has had a particularly fantastic teacher this year. Hoping whoever he gets next year will be really good with him too.

DS finally has a bit of a friend group at school. One boy in particular has become like a proper bestie to him. His mate is neurotypical, but is interested in the same stuff as DS so they get along fabulously. He had a play date at his house a couple of weeks ago, so I'm going to return the favour and have his friend over for a play at our house too.

We finally bought our first home in July - we moved out of the school zone, but thankfully we haven't had to change schools.

That's about it! Looking forward to Xmas and having a little bit of time off with the family.

[pvroom]

Thanks for bumping the thread @pvroom . It's been a while since any of us have updated evidently!

Sorry to hear you're struggling

What made you decide to unschool your eldest? No judgement of course, just interested.

thanks @Mod-Degrassi, I'm feeling a bit better today. This year has just been a long year.
My eldest is PDA - so his demand avoidance means any type of school environment causes too many mental health issues. I think my youngest may be interested in school, he's autistic too but not as anxious about rules and demands, although he' s only 2.5 so we will see.

Congrats on the house and that's great about your son's friend! It's soo good when your kids connect with another kid!

[White Mage]

@pvroom I am sorry to hear things are not going so great, and that you are struggling. Is your other half seeing any kind of therapy help?
@Mod-Degrassi Congrats on the new digs!! That is so exciting. How has it been being in your own place??

[White Mage]

My tuuurn!

Had a few things happen this year~

We finally have DS2's communication device, it took a lot of fighting with NDIA, a fundraiser, speaking to government officials and a few other things to finally get the funds to buy it. ANd since has made some nice big changes for DS2. I am glad the fight is over.

Being on lockdown was extremely hard on both the boys. Lots of regression for both of the boys and a buttload of anxiety.
Even though things are almost back to normal I feel like I need a 6 month holiday just to recharge and get my mental health back on course.
I am very luck to have DH working from home, because I think I would not of coped as well as I have without him here.

I have also enrolled myself into doing and finished VCE next year. Needless to say I am really nervous. I start online in Feb next year.

I also have had the SSG for DS1, where the big question of which High School he is going to has become a rather pressing question. Because of lockdown, I wasn't able to visit any of the schools Open Days. He starts Grade 5 next year, and I have been told that usually midway through grade 5, kids are enrolled at their respective schools.
So next year, I will be doing a whirlwind of school open days and tours... I am nervous because DS1 will definitely not be able to get funding for aid assistance in high school, his IQ will probably be too high. So we are looking for smaller school options for him.

[Mod-Degrassi]

@pvroom I am sorry to hear things are not going so great, and that you are struggling. Is your other half seeing any kind of therapy help?
@Mod-Degrassi Congrats on the new digs!! That is so exciting. How has it been being in your own place??

Thank you!

It's been great so far. Maintenance is low because it's only 3 years old. We are gradually putting our own stamp on it. DS's bedroom and play room need more structure and organisation, but I'll get there (he refuses to part with any of his toys, which is frustrating!).

[pvroom]

@pvroom I am sorry to hear things are not going so great, and that you are struggling. Is your other half seeing any kind of therapy help?
@Mod-Degrassi Congrats on the new digs!! That is so exciting. How has it been being in your own place??

he is speaking to someone now, he had a complete breakdown mid year so he's doing better than he was but I'm just so tired holding everyone together. I feel a lot better today though, kids were having a really off day yesterday

[pvroom]

that's exciting about VCE - congratulations on having a go! I bet you'll do great!

Also exciting about the communication device well done on persevering, it isn't easy.

My tuuurn!

Had a few things happen this year~

We finally have DS2's communication device, it took a lot of fighting with NDIA, a fundraiser, speaking to government officials and a few other things to finally get the funds to buy it. ANd since has made some nice big changes for DS2. I am glad the fight is over.

Being on lockdown was extremely hard on both the boys. Lots of regression for both of the boys and a buttload of anxiety.
Even though things are almost back to normal I feel like I need a 6 month holiday just to recharge and get my mental health back on course.
I am very luck to have DH working from home, because I think I would not of coped as well as I have without him here.

I have also enrolled myself into doing and finished VCE next year. Needless to say I am really nervous. I start online in Feb next year.

I also have had the SSG for DS1, where the big question of which High School he is going to has become a rather pressing question. Because of lockdown, I wasn't able to visit any of the schools Open Days. He starts Grade 5 next year, and I have been told that usually midway through grade 5, kids are enrolled at their respective schools.
So next year, I will be doing a whirlwind of school open days and tours... I am nervous because DS1 will definitely not be able to get funding for aid assistance in high school, his IQ will probably be too high. So we are looking for smaller school options for him.

[LoveLivesHere]

Quick check in from my lot.

Ds1 just had more surgery on his butt after last years failed. This has been a total write off for him.


Dd2 moved to Melbourne at beginningof the year. She won a accommodation scholarship so moved out on her own. She has shared kitchen and lounge facilities in a large student accommodation building in the cbd. Surprisingly she has done extremely well. She even voped when their was a full on large scsle anti lockdown riot outside her window.

Ds2 has started with a new ot (the rest of support team are the same) and is mostly coping at school. He doesn't interact with a lot of his classmates. He going through a special needs program to help him transition into high school next year.

Ds3 had started food therapy and it was really starting to help and than covid and therapy was cancelled. When started backnup he lost his place and is back on the never ending wait list. It first in first served. We missed out by 30 minutes.

[pvroom]

Quick check in from my lot.

Ds1 just had more surgery on his butt after last years failed. This has been a total write off for him.


Dd2 moved to Melbourne at beginningof the year. She won a accommodation scholarship so moved out on her own. She has shared kitchen and lounge facilities in a large student accommodation building in the cbd. Surprisingly she has done extremely well. She even voped when their was a full on large scsle anti lockdown riot outside her window.

Ds2 has started with a new ot (the rest of support team are the same) and is mostly coping at school. He doesn't interact with a lot of his classmates. He going through a special needs program to help him transition into high school next year.

Ds3 had started food therapy and it was really starting to help and than covid and therapy was cancelled. When started backnup he lost his place and is back on the never ending wait list. It first in first served. We missed out by 30 minutes.

wow, that is a lot going on! How does it feel having a child out of the home? I cannot imagine this at this point but my oldest is only 5. That is incredibly frustrating about the food therapy, I don't understand how he could lose his place. How incredibly difficult for you. I hope it isn't as long as anticipated. It is so frustrating when the systems don't actually meet the needs of our kids

We met up with our local homeschooling group today. We are starting officially next year as my son is going to be school aged. He's 5.5, and another boy who was 9 accused my son of hitting him. He's never hit anyone (except us, and not in a long time) and he is so gentle. He was really upset because he knew something was wrong but couldn't understand what. He tried to run away which made me panic - that hasn't happened in a while. It was so hard to speak with him to find out what happened, thanks to selective mutism. I feel really upset about it. The mum was adamant that her child wouldn't lie but her other child said my boy 'touched' the boy on the foot. It was a bit off putting given our first meeting. It's very difficult in those circumstances as suddenly his challenges become wayyyyy more obvious than at first glance