jasonlisa

DBD33, I did try to listen to the radio programme but couldn't get it to play, thanks for putting it on here anyway, hopefully some other people who lack understanding of Autism will benefit

Lisa

Tanah

Why is it that we as humans are always so quick to jump in and slag off???

So the people didnt do their research properly - renting in the Uk is not a huge issue with pets, maybe they didnt think it would be a problem at all. Yes they should have done their research better, yes they should have planned a move better, especially with an Autistic child. My best friends son is autistic, he is 16 yrs old and speaks / does very little. Could it be possible that most of their research was done around their son? ie/ what schools were available, support networks etc etc - maybe the accommodation thing was the last thought - not thinking it would be an issue?????

Yes it was very blind of them not to check into this before leaving - BUT to be honest they have my sympathy. If they have used the local press to try and get themselves a rental property then whats wrong with that?? if it works GREAT for them and their dog that would be wonderful.

WE all make mistakes in life, we all do things sometimes without thinking and inevitably we all ***** up big time at one point or another. I would hate to be surrounded by some of you in one of those times in my life - as obviously most of you are perfect!!!


Personally I wish the family loads of luck and I hope they manage to find themselves a property soon

jasonlisa

Hi tanah, I'm sorry if you read my thanks to DBD33 as an attempt to "slag off anybody. It was not meant like that at all- all I meant was that if he has experience, which given his circumstances is obviously much greater than mine, then I welcome him sharing it in order to educate people- anyone, not just on this site- into what can be a very upsetting and dibilitating condition. You are fortunate in that you have experience, through your friend, of someone living with this day to day- many others do not. I was not saying anything horrible about anyone, so my apologies if this is how it came across.

You will also see from my other note that I was in fact offering advice to the family on a way that they may possibly increase their chances of renting with a dog. I did not intend to judge them or their decisions- there by the grace of God go I.

Perhaps this is a good example of how communication by email can be damaging and is not always the right way to have debates!

lisa

Tanah

My post wasnt directed at you Lisa - I just used reply to message quick reply- and yours was the last entry - so it linked to your post. Though it does link in with your comments about other peoples lack of understanding.

wasnt meant as a 'dig' at you at all - sorry if it came accross that way - I have edited it to remove the link

trishandbubs

I dont think any one on here was taking the mick out of the child with autism, just a lack of forthought by the parents.

I work with both adults and children with autism and although im not an expert I have seen a great over view of how it effects each person differently. Most people with autism also have other issues as well and mainly these are medical problems which cost alot of money to treat, the most common being bowel problems, incontinence, epilepsy, diabetes to name a few. I have met quite a few people with autism who are scared of dogs and cats and so wouldnt go near them, others dont care if they are there or not, very rarely have I come across a child who actually likes a dog (ive worked with roughly about 50 children and only 1 actually liked dogs and he didnt have severe autism).

The child probably is communicating through the dog but all that means is that although he is talking at the dog its just a way of talking to his parents iykwim. I have seen children use any object to communicate with others from a teddy to books or a table as in the majority they cannot make eye contact with people and hate having people making eye contact with them. Personally I have always been told to discourage this as it is feeding into their behaviours and can make communication more difficult for them but each to their own i guess.

This is just from my experience so please dont jump on me saying yours is different but I do think its important to get an overview of the spectrum. People with autism are just like everyone else they vary in what they need etc so should be treated like an individual.

The4BellsLondon

[QUOTE=jasonlisa;6562973]I have read this thread with interest. Not only do we have a young labrador, but I also work with special need children (Aspergers and Autism included).

Firstly, our dog is only 9 months old, and due to her tendency to think everything around the house is hers, she is crated when we're not in. I was dubious at first, dogs aren't meant to be kept in cages afterall, however she often goes in it when she needs to get away from noise or needs some time to herself. She won't need to be in it forever, just until she's grown out of the destructive, eat-whatever-she-can stage.


welcome to labrador world - mine is 3 and will still eat lego, tinsel, soxks, pants, if he thinks he has been left too long is just being a toerag!!

sdfharkin

Hi All,
I posed this question some time ago and as yet couldn't get a reply.
We have an AOR of Feb 07 and it looks like it will be 2011 before we get into Canada.

We have a 6 year old son with High Functioning Autism and Twin 4 year old who are going for evaluation in the next few months.

As you can guess were putting a lot of time and effort into moving to Canada as you all have, and I have no issue with this. my only concern is that after a 4 year wait we will be turned down on the Ground that our Son/Sons have HFA.

We have hired a immigration lawyer in Toronto and after contact them and explained HFA they didn't have an answer. I'd like to know what is the Canadian government stance on HFA.

I have read through the Medical Questions which will be posed to us, and it does state that Autism is a disorder which could put a strain on the health service, but it doesn't mention where the line is drawn. in layman's terms I would define the severity of Autism from HFA up to Rain man ( I know this sound cruel but as a parent it is very difficult to explain to people who have never came in contact with a child on the spectrum the difficulties we face)

So the question that I would like answered is, has anyone been accepted under Skilled worker who has a child with HFA/Aspegers.

Regards

Sean

dbd33

I'm not sure I follow, Rain main seemed to me to be far too competent to be considered autistic (I now know him to have been an autistic savant which is rather different) but HFA can't be the other extreme, what about Low Functioning Autism?

I can't answer your question but here's a cautionary anecdote. When we took our daughter for assessment at about one year old the doctor said

"this is autism, I'm not going to write it down because it's a death sentence, the government doesn't want to know about people with autism"

He expanded on that saying that even such support as treatment for routine ailments would be difficult to obtain for someone who is autistic anyway. He knew better than us.

Steve_P

Apparently Alberta is more amenable than other provinces to treating autism.

Here's a piece from 2006, I don't think anything has changed since then.

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2006/...m-therapy.html

jasonlisa

Tanah, no worries, I was feeling a bit over- sensitive yesterday anyway!

4BellsLondon- this does not reassure me that things will get better!!! As beautiful as my dog is, and that's pretty darn beautiful I might add, she is an absolute minx! She recently ate a LARGE ball bearing magnet, but we found it again 2 weeks later (!). She can now reach the back of the kitchen worktops, and frequently helps herself to anything which we have been foolish enough to leave there. Her main delicacy is pants, which she remodels to the crotchless variety, with a speed that defies belief. She's a non-stop food seeking missile

The4BellsLondon

yup thats a lab!!

my kids have learnt to be tidy!! one advantage - and hubby quite likes my re modelled pants!!

Its the embarrasssment of going into the vets and being asked? OH whats he eaten this time??

but as much as he is a pain that way - he is lovely -just means have to keep all sides clear - friends think I am obsessivelt tidy - no just dont want huge vets fees and to lose half my stuff!!

stepnek

I can't help but have to agree with you dbd33. As you may remember from my occasional previous posts we have an autistic son diagnosed a little over a year ago and he is increasingly placing a drain on us and on any financing that we can get for him. Aged four and a half, unable to speak, still in diapers and methodically taking our house apart we've yet to see where he is on the spectrum. But undoubtedly as much as we dearly love him he is a drain. It can't be any other way.

dbd33

I do remember, Stepnek, and I feel for you. "unable to speak, still in diapers and methodically taking our house apart" was a good description of my daughter until age twenty or so when she calmed down.

bex1

Feel this comment is being a bit pedantic (also a trait of Aspergers), however, I have not personally researched this as it's not been neccessary for our son but it is common knowledge here in the UK that animals assist children with disability and one of those being Autism, especially with their sensory issues. Maybe this website will explain how in a little more detail. http://www.northstardogs.com/autism.shtml

I would just say that perhaps had you have got the help and "label" in your daughters early years it may not have taken until she was 20 to calm down as you say. Easy to say in hindsight, but the I know CBE have told me to get a diagnosis before we come to make sure that if our son does need help at school in the future he'll get it, even though he's had the diagnosis for 4 years now. It is very common for Aspergers diagnosis to be made later in childhood, and there are many adults only just finding out that actually they too have the condition.

I wish you and your family well.

p.s. as for the OP that made the comment about these too having a pop at each other about Cochrane, I wasn't to know that... but will for the future

dbd33

Please sort out your tags and I'll respond properly. In short though you are putting words into my mouth as I did not use the term "vegetable" and I did not use any capitalised intensifiers.

I think this is a very dubious assertion:

"it is common knowledge here in the UK that animals assist children with disability and one of those being Autism"

in what way do animals help children with autism?