Welcome, why not introduce yourself?

[KingDanthe1Standhis2]

Hi all, proud dad (unfortunately due to divorce part time last 2 years) of 2 amazing sons 11 + 15, who keep me busy when I'm not working!
We're based Hampshire and Wiltshire, they go to a wonderful school.
I collect them every weekend, we concentrate on learning life skills, eating and having fun!
They ride horses twice a month, love theme parks, trampolines and soft play, ride bmx style trikes, parks, swimming /water slides, etc...
Oh, if you're interested in their 'label' both are autistic, learning difficulties, eldest more severe, were both non verbal but would you believe youngest has finally started talking!!!! Only at toddler level but so good to hear, onwards and upwards!
Never give up

[AL.MOORE]

Hi my name is Anna.
My daughter is 13 and has Autism and Dyspraxia. I also has Dyspraxia and Epilepsy. I also have a son 10 and husband with dyslexia.

Stress levels in our house is sometimes very high. Mainly my son and me? I think he struggles with his sisters non typical behavior and my really bad memory. !

[DebsC]

Hi Debs here.
Mum to three sons - now young men, tbe eldest of whom are on the autistic spectrum.
My eldest (aspie) son is an accomplished, self taught musician/ singer/songwriter, who not only plays in a band, but teaches music to children with SENs.
My second born has just moved into supported accomodation, a 20 min drive away, so far enough away to be independant but close enough if I am needed.
My youngest is still at Uni.
I home educated all three boys, to give them an individualised education, and wings to fly...and fly they have

I work with babies/children/young people with complex clinical needs, which very often accompanies LDs.recently moved from sussex to kent and work throughout the SE.

I hope its ok to be here. I work nights, so if anyone needs a chat in the wee small hours, I'm never far away.

[DebsC]

Fabulous! I was told my (now 24 yr old) autistic son would 'never speak or do anything much'.
I said the only way that boy wont talk, is if he cant get a word in with me! It took me till he was 7, but talk he did - he also went on to get 2:2 in Eng Lang at Uni, which was a real flip the bird to those ready to write him off! Never say never indeed

[sianwhite]

Hi @MeMaz, welcome to FamilyHub!

Feel free to start a thread and begin a discussion, or have a look around and see what people are already talking about

Thanks!
Sian

[sianwhite]

Hi @KingDanthe1Standhis2, it's great to have you here on FamilyHub!

All those activities sound brilliant - what lucky boys! Fantastic news your youngest has started talking too!

Feel free to start a thread if you've got questions or stories to share. @Sam has asked for advice on going through a separation with a child with a learning disability. Feel free to comment if you're able to help.

Thanks again!
Sian

[MeMaz]

Thank you @sianwhite

MeMaz

[sianwhite]

Hi @AL.MOORE, welcome to FamilyHub!

I hope you find it a useful community. Feel free to ask questions or share your stories by starting a new thread.

Thanks again!
Sian

[sianwhite]

Hi @DebsC! Welcome to FamilyHub! It's great to have you here And thank you for offering to support others!

It sounds like your sons have made some amazing achievements, you must be very proud.

Thanks again for joining - I hope you enjoy getting stuck in.

Sian

[MazzyM]

I am also a Maz! mum to Robert aged 22 (but mentally like a 1 year old)

[MeMaz]

HI @MazzyM, fellow Maz, hehe. Nice to meet you

MeMaz

xxx

[christina]

Hello, I'm Christina. I'm a mother of 3. My twins ( who were born 3 months premature) have just turned 13 and have been recently diagnosed with learning disabilities, after years of trying to get an assessment done since they were toddlers. I was told back then they would either catch up by the time the got to primary school or just bad behaved.

One twin is more severe with her disability which is proving a struggle to cope with for myself and partner. Our main problem which we are facing is her lack of understanding or being aware of her own safety, particularly online safety. We are also having to face behavioural issues regularly, which seem to be increasing in severity.

I'm hoping to get advice and suggestions from other families in a similar situation as me, as myself and my partner have received minimal support elsewhere. we are genuinely at a loss of where to turn to for help and support.

Many thanks

Christina xx

[Matt_Humphrey]

Hi everyone,

I'm a copywriter at Mencap and could not be prouder of where I work and what I do. It’s a very exciting time to be here with the launch of FamilyHub!

Learning disability is something that’s very close to my heart. My brother Scott has Down’s syndrome and a severe learning disability. He’s 27 years old and lives with my parents.

Scott has bags of charisma and puts a smile on faces everywhere he goes. There are few things that make him happier than a train ride and a slice of chocolate cake. This year, I’m hoping to take Scott on his very first steam train – he’s always watching videos of them on YouTube.

But there have been difficult times. During his earlier years, he went through a long period of very challenging behaviour that had a huge impact on family life. However, the challenges we’ve had with Scott are massively eclipsed by the joy he brings to our lives.

I look forward to sharing my experiences, reading other people’s stories and offering advice where I can on FamilyHub.

[Joe19.7.05]

Hi my names Julie , I was born and raised in south east London but now live in Kent which I have done since I have been married
I have just joined this site as I have got 2 serverly autistic sons aged 14 and 11 , the 11 year old is non verbal , pound this site while I was on Facebook , and it looks like a good site to be on

[peteholmes]

Hi, I'm Pete. I've been a volunteer in Stay Up Late's 'Gig Buddy' scheme in Sussex for the past two years. I'm paired up with a man with a learning disability, who has similar music tastes. Once or twice a month we go out together to concerts, etc. The scheme is amazing. Check it out if you're in Sussex (or Scotland, or Sydney, Australia).

[Lovendespair]

Hi everyone. I'm mum to a wonderful 29 year old son who has Aspergers and mental health problems. We've had to fight for meagre support for years and recently have been trying to care for each other after the death of our precious son and brother. looking for anyone who has any advice on grief and loss for someone with my sons challenges. And always happy to share a joke, a quote or a rant!!

[Joanna1981]

Hi my name is Jo and I'm a working mum of 2 great children.My eldest child Ben was diagnosed with severe autism at 2 he's now 14.Im a very proud mum although he cannot talk he's developed a picture card way to express his needs to me as well as using the odd sign language.My daughter isn't on the spectrum but is a very caring young lady who already at the age of 12 has her heart set on being a special needs teacher when she leaves school.Ive seen the highs and lows of autism but I've also seen there is always a way around things.I would love to share experiences and tips with other parents.

[Samantha]

Hi, I'm Sam and I have 2 children, both now adults. My son is 18 and I adopted him when he was 6 (I was a single parent adopter). He has global developmental delay and various issues relating to his early life experiences. I work from home due to his needs which works for us both fairly well. He is a wonderful but complex young man.

Being 18 he goes through phases of wanting to go out on his own or with 'friends', most recently it was a homeless, alcoholic, middle aged man he met walking the dog and decided to bring home. My main concern at the moment is keeping him safe, until he is able to for himself. I'm sure he will when he is ready, he does everything in his own time. I'm also getting to grips with balancing his rights as an adult and needs as a vulnerable young man.

He pushes me to my limits at times but so did my daughter at that age. I'm looking forward to hearing the experiences of other parents

Sam

[willow]

Hi thank you for the welcome - my daughter sophie has learning disabilities that prevent her from remembering things. She is 10 years old.

[willow]

My daughter is 10 years old and although she doesn't have autism or anything we still struggle with her learning disability and her moods. She still throws paddy's at the slightest thing and remembering where she put things or how to write a word or even read is near on impossible for her to do. Her memory is really bad due to scarring on her brain from epileptic fits that she had when she was younger, so we are having to send her to a special school some miles away even though she is socially fine and doesn't have any other things different to others other than her learning. It was a struggle to get her statemented for the past few years but we have finally got it done. She can't go out on her own without getting lost or knocked over as she doesn't look before she crosses roads or forgets where she is going.