Yup - that was the problem we had with a dietician with Thomas - loads of brilliant advice but, um, no one can make him eat...

Where a dietician can help is figuring out from his diet what he is and isn't getting and so what nutritional support he needs.

My middle son, Nicholas, eats stuff all. We're just holding his weight with the aid of a couple of high calorie drinks a day.
We see a dietician on the 29th to see what he is and isn't getting, assess his growth and the calorie gap between what he is getting and what he needs to be getting.
Then we have to decide what to do to bridge that gap - fun...

Can your GP refer him to a dietcian at the hosp? They might have some more experience in dealing with difficult eating.

Hmm, could be an idea. I wonder if Up&Go has iron in it? That could be something to help him out in the mean time...

I'm getting so sick of stupid people. Maybe i'm hormonal or something, lol.

At preschool this morning Nathan was eating his rice bubbles (like he always does) when the teacher wandered off for some reason leaving Nathan, another 3yo, a baby (in a highchair) and me (I was helping Nathan) at the table. So, 3 kids eating and me helping my one kid. Anyway, there was something in his rice bubbles that clearly wasn't a rice bubble so he did his usual gagging and so very nearly vomited it all back up. Here I am trying to get him sorted (eg, trying to put the plate in front of him in case he attempted to vomit on the table instead) while also trying to find whatever was causing him to gag so I could make it stop. I think I saw some fluff in his mouth at that point. I managed to swipe all the food off his tongue with a quick wipe of my finger which did help him a lot but not completely. Meanwhile he is trying to wipe his tongue with his arms and everything which is spreading bubbles all over the place. Finally the teacher came back and sat down just staring into space while i'm picking bubbles out of Nathans hair, off his arms, shirt, my hands etc. I said "can you get me a tissue please?" "oh, yeah". So that was the best I could get out of her. She is new, but clearly not very aware of things going on around her.

After I got another teacher to sort Nathan out with some toast (which he always has after his rice bubbles) I found yet another teacher (the one who seems to have the highest IQ of the bunch, and is of course leaving next month) to tell her about him gagging etc and to keep an eye on him at lunch time. If his gag reflex is that sensitive now then it probably still will be at lunch.

But anyway, I just can't quite believe that the teacher would leave the table for that long to begin with and that she wouldn't even check that everyone was properly ok when she came back! I'd bet anything that she probably doesn't even know Nathan is autistic. She'll figure it out sooner or later I guess.

In other news, his special ed teacher plans on visiting him once a fortnight I think. She is quite impressed with his ABC's, numbers and puzzle skills. She said he knew all his animal sounds but his pig sound was "rather interesting". I haven't heard his pig sound so i'm not sure what she means by that. Also he has lots and lots of words but isn't stringing them together further than "Baby sad" or saying that someone is sleeping (like my brother, but he thinks everyone is aunty, even if they are actually uncles).

So anyway, that is my random rant of the day.

IP i willsee if I can hunt out the list from the SLT I used to help the boys with their gag reflex. its kind of like a food retraining. SLT was really helpful regarding this, dietician not so much as this is not her area.

That would be great, thanks.

Anyone have any potty training advice? We want to get Nathan sorted but he doesnt yet understand the concept of bribery *cough* I mean rewards We're trying to tell him that if he does wees in the toilet then he can play on the wii (which he loves). He's not buying it though. Just says "No. Ask Daddy, yip!". Unfortunately for Nathan, daddy already has been informed via text message so also says wees first.

He's still waking up dry in the mornings so we put him on the potty. He's only peed in it once and the rest of the times he just sits there and doesn't go, despite our bribe/reward of a present (wrapped up hotwheels cars, his fave). So I still dont have any idea of what to do to get him to understand about wees going in the potty

I know that through ABA and similar 'programmes' you can concentrate on toilet training. My friend has used ABA (to toilet train) before and I think is going to try it again soon (her son is 10). I could ask her if you wish?

That would be really good, thanks. I don't know if he just isn't interested or what!

And for anyone interested... http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/3733878/Doctor-who-linked-autism-to-vaccine-banned

Sorry I haven't read all of the pages just a few, so I apologise in advance if my questions are buried in their somewhere.

We have just had another child psychologist appointment here in Melbourne, she also meet up with Connors Kinder teacher last week and because we are leaving Melbourne in 4 weeks there is no point going any further with her.

But her initial findings are that Connor is likely to be diagnosed with Aspergers. What we need to do is get a Paediatrician appointment organised for when we get back to NZ. She is going to give us a copy of her notes and a referral. And then hook into a another child Psychologist based in NZ (which I think are hard to find, is that right)

We are going to be living in Christchurch.

Thanks ladies

Hi SM,

I'm not in Christchurch so can't advise on paeds but if you have health insurance - or the cost isn't an issue - you can usually find one who can take you privately - mostly they work a mix of public and private anyway. But the public system will have a long wait I'd think.

As for child psych - I'm not sure what specialised centres there are in Chch, others can tell you better - but my eldest was diagnosed through the Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health team - CAMHS - again public system and you probably need a GP first to do the referral. You'll need a GP anyway to see a paed.
There are often Child Development teams with the hospital who might help but last I heard they almost universally have an 18 month or so waiting list.

Getting help can be tricky so you need to be prepared to be the squeaky wheel!
Best of luck!

I worked in the public health system for 15 years before having the boys, so Im fantastic squeaky wheel

Will I need a gp referral you think even thoughI have a referral from a child psychologist here?

Opps, I forgot to look at this thread again for your response! Sorry! I will ask her and get back to you. Sorry again!

As far as I know - having had 2 kids dxed through CAMHS you do need a GP referral to get to them - maybe see if you can email the Chch one to find out?

I was incredibly annoyed waiting for Plunket and then the GP to refer T for SLT and finally getting the paed to do it only to discover parents could self-refer.
But with people being gate-keepers for funding these days it's getting tougher to get referred.

At least you have your paperwork so should be straightforward for them, the time consuming obs have been done!

Here you go - http://www.cdhb.govt.nz/caf-mhs/making-a-referral.htm

If they aren't the people you need then they may be able to tell you.

Hi SM,

Rodney Ford is the paed that everyone seems to end up with. His speciality is allergies though, and he charges like a wounded bull. Catherine Swan is the paed that specialises in autism (she diagnosed our boy and some of our friends' children), but she works in the public system, so you have to go through the works to get to her.

We started our process through our GP, but I think if you had no primary health contact in ChCh you could give GSE a call and see if they can set you on the path (search the Min of Education website for special ed resources) (also check the resources and contacts thread on this board, there might be something there).

The Champion Centre is the other place in ChCh that does primary early intervention with diagnosed children, so it might be worth calling them also.

People have different experiences with Autism NZ, but I've found the ChCh office to be invaluable, and Robyn Young, who is the main person there is nothing but supportive and informative. I would recommend contacting her if you are really struggling to find a place to start off the process.

HTH. PM me if you want anything more, am happy to try and help.

Thanks heaps thats all great starting points for us, if I can get things rolling now thats a couple of months off a wait anyway

updated....

I have been talking to Shirley at the MOE and she is sending me the referral forms, but I still don't have a great handle on the process, how do you get a referral to see Catherine Swan? Does that come from the MOE?

I will get there

From what I understand there is a number of ways to be seen at the Swan Clinic-- we got our initial appt by referral from our GP. Our secondary and follow-up appointment was done through GSE (Min of Ed) as Catherine does clinics for them also. It's really up to your primary intervention worker as far as I can make out-- our GP listened very closely to us and agreed that DS was presenting some issues that the Swan clinic needed to look at. But if you had a lead worker (eg a speech therapist or something) at Min of Ed, they could also refer you on. She doesn't do private consulting (I don't think) so you cannot self-refer or make appointments yourself.

Hi,
Im a newbie here, and would appreciate any 'advice' re what to expect.
DS is almost 30months and has his first child Psychol appt tomorrow, ?ASD or general delay.
He has been under Paeds since 3m old with slight hypotonia and food intolerances causing bloody stools (currently gluten and dairy free). He is has been seeing the local VNT since then-about to be discharged to OT as locally only seen til 30months, and has had one appt with GSE SLT recently (prev under hospital who only see til 2, then waited for GSE!) as he has minimal speech, occas 'fleeting words' and jabbering.
He has some suspicious autistic traits (in obsessions, repetitivness, flapping, lack understanding/pointing, and just generally 'different' to his peers,) and failed the M CHAT significantly at 18m done by the Paeds. However, he is exceptionally sociable (has to go out everyday and loves Daycare which he started aged 2).
So, I guess Im just getting nervous after waiting so long for the appt (decided to stick to public with local respected guy) and wonder what to expect. Do they simply repeat the M CHAT or do other screens??? Any advice/experiences welcome!I guess he wont turn round and say a definate diagnosis on the first visit, but just wonder what happens!!
Thanks, Snoopy

Hi Snoopy, and welcome.
My boys were quite a bit older at their 1st visits (age 4) so cant help, but wanted to wish you all the best for a 'helpful' vist