Support Groups?

Do any of you belong to a support group? My 5 yo niece was diagnosed with PDD NOS a couple of years ago. While my sister is absolutley amazing with her and her biggest advocate I think my sister can use some support. I try so hard to be there for her and listen to her frustrations however I think she would benefit more from speaking to others with the same experiences. Our daughters are 10 days apart which I think also makes it difficult for her, I think she thinks I don't understand although I truly do. I think she feels alone and that is the last thing I ever want her to feel. Can anyone recommend a group or some advice? She posts on here occassionly. She is in Lindenhurst. My niece will be starting Kindergarden in September and I know my sister is beginning to feel very anxious about it. Thank you in advance.

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My DS is 5 and has PDD-NOS. He's also starting Kindergarten in the fall.
If she has any questions, tell her to feel free to FM me.
It would be great to have someone to chat with.

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She can definitely FM me too if she'd like! My DD is also PDD-NOS and I'm in Lindenhurst. DD is going into 2nd grade.

Support Groups?

She's more than welcome to email me too. I have a DD going into first. As far as support groups, did she check her district website for SEPTA. We have a parent networking group that helped me out alot last year when she was in Kindergarten. I know (well internet know) one of the women on the Lindenhurst SEPTA board and I can have her contact her if she wants.

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Im in Bay Shore and have a 3 yearold. She can also message me

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I'm in Massapequa and have a 5 year old going into kindergarten. She can feel free to FM me. It always helps to be able to have people that listen and "get it."

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i am in bellmore, and i have a 5 year old who is ASD.

i am on the NB SEPTA board and she can email me to talk. I have a lot of resources in suffolk and nassau that i can connect her with.

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Thank you all for your replies!! I will let her know about this thread.

Support Groups?

Thank you to my sister (GraciesMom) for posting this thread for me... I really appreciate all of your comments, it means so much to me. In a nutshell here is where I am at:
My DD is entering Kindergarten. Our district has a strong Sp.Ed program however I wish that there was a "right" placement for my DD. We have 5 elem. schools in out district. Each school has a different Sp.Ed program so depending on your childs needs they may be placed in a school that is not there home school. Fine, no problem. Her diagosis is PDD-NOS. Her biggest struggle is socialization.. She is SUPER friendly and LOVES kids but has a difficult time either knowing limits, (hugging , or hand holding when clearly it is not being reciprocated) or engaging for periods of appropriate time. She may say hi, hug or not and then after about 2 minutes go off on her own and play by herself. She also has ADD so naturally attending to task in duration is hard for her to begin with. She can be self directed and sometimes needs assistance to stay on task. She has been in both a dev. pre school and typical pre school to assist with socialization. Her cognitive ability is right on task but her she has a processing issue (speech) so getting things out or understanding complex questions can be frusterating for her. We had 2 options for Sept. A 12:2:1 or a integrated (poor model) 25 kids 5 with spec. needs, 20 typical with a spec. ed. teacher that only comes into the class 45 min. a day! The middle school has a better inclusion model @ teachers per class so it really frusterates me that at the beginning of her schooling, the most crucial time that this is the so called inclusion model. We observed the 12:2:1 in May. We noticed 1/2 the class had 1:1 aides and we noticed strong behavior issues (hitting aide, hittig each other) This was May..So, I can only believe it was way worse in Sept. which is fine. But my DD would NEVER lay a finger on anyone she is not behavioral and I felt aside from the behaviors the class next year was going to be 3 girls 9 boys. That ratio didnt work for me either. So we opted for the 25 kids integrated class with a 2:1 shared aide. She will be pulled out for Speech 3xweek and OT 1x week. I just hope I made the right choice. She looks up to her peers as models and I felt that I may be sending the wrong message in a behavioral environment. Part of me thinks well she would be an all star in that class and in this class Ill prob get phone calls.....I dont know....I get anxiety just thinking about the 1st day!!!! Sorry for the long post and help would be great. The kicker- My friends do not know of DD diagosis. They know she recieves services but do not know the extent of her issues. Im dealing with that (or should I say not dealing) and I guess that comes from my willingness to accept it. When I see her act off I sometimes remove her from the situation to keep judgements of her at bay...I know its horrible but I feel like its a protection mechanism. Not that she would even realize if she was getting strange looks (which I am so blessed) that she doesnt. Lots of unloading here...please tell me Im not alone in feeling this way about all of this. I know I have to change the way I cope with this, accept it, and not allow it to affect my family, it just sometimes is easier said than done. TIA for listening:)))))))

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You are definitley not alone.
You know that saying "Helicopter Mom"...Yep, that's me. I'm always hovering over DS to make sure he's safe. He has never hit anyone, but, has been bit and maybe even hit (when he was younger and really didn't have the speech to protect himself).
I also hover over him because he may just take off! That's the scary thing.

He's starting Kindergarten in Sept. He'll be in a 12:1:2 and just like your district, it's not held in our home school. We have 6 elementary schools in our district and the special ed class gets moved around to which school has the room to host it. I'm OK with that. I know he'll be getting the help he needs.
He finishes pre-k tomorrow (he was in the 6 week summer program). Knowing that he's going to the "big boy school" really gives me anxiety. LOL.

FM me if you have any questions at all!

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Bunny..you've got mail!

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You are definitely not alone. It's hard to explain to other people, even my family. Our kids are just different, there's nothing wrong with them. They just play differently. Unfortunately, in this world, it's hard to explain to a young child, that certain behaviors are acceptable, and some are not.

We should start our own playgroup.

Support Groups?

Your definitely not alone. Kindergarten is hard and deciding placement makes your head feel like its going to blow up. From what you described, I think you made an excellent choice for your DD. Make sure you keep communication open with your teachers and aides and if you feel that you need to adjust her placement at any time call a meeting.

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A playgroup sounds great! I would love that!

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Thanks so much for the support...