One of the things that my husband and I find the most frustrating is the fact that neither of our children have a diagnosis. Yes, we know aspects of their condition such as ADHD, dyspraxia, cystinuria etc. but whether these are stand alone conditions or part of a wider syndrome we really do not know. Every time that a new behaviour exhibits itself, we are constantly asking ourselves, is this just a phase or is it the start of something new?

As I have mentioned previously, our son is exhibiting some challenging behaviour, being very volatile and frequently aggressive towards anyone who invades his little bubble. Hopefully this behaviour just a phase, but until we get our appointment with the autism consultant, we just don’t know and even then we may still not get any answers. Even though a diagnosis will not make a difference to his behaviour, it will certainly make it easier to understand where he is coming from.

Anyway, I have decided to keep a diary, noting down all the things that he finds distressing or confusing as I know that when it comes to the consultant's appointment. The things that set him off are so iniquitous that I'm sure I will forget most of what has happened otherwise. Today, for example, he had a paddy because I put one type of sauce on his plate before another one - it was the wrong order! Aaah! Why is it that it is the tiny things that seem to produce the most dramatic reactions? Often the big things that I think are going to be  a problem completely pass him by. Any answers please?

On a different note, had our daughters hospital review this week and everyone was really pleased with the progress that she is continuing to make. She is getting more vocal and it is so lovely to be able to have a good old chat with her, even if most of what she is talking about is a load of old rubbish! To be able to do this is a real treat and the fact that she actually answers you is great, unlike her brother who seems to have selective deafness. I suppose this could be ASD, or a bloke thing, or……!