Most people who are reading this will already have some kind of interest in Autism and Autistic Spectrum disorders. My interest started when it became obvious that my youngest child was not developing or behaving in the same way as other children.
I want to start this in the most positive way possible as one of the saddest parts of the diagnosis process is the focus on all the negative aspects of your child’s condition.
David is the most wonderful seven year old. He is kind and loving and great fun to be around. He has the most amazing memory and is always able to help me remember phone numbers and bus times. He knows a lot about maps and travel, the world of Harry Potter, Trains and many, many other things. He has a thirst for knowledge and loves to share it with others. He is very talented with computers and often helps both me and his teacher out in this department. David also has Asbergers syndrome combined with Tourrettes. There is no cure for either of these conditions, it will be a life long struggle for David and the rest of us in his family, to help him to manage the negative aspects in order to lead a happy and healthy life.
Before I start to look at the negative aspects of Asbergers I would first like to say that I would not change David. We all view Asbergers as a gift and in many ways David is advantaged over us lesser mortals. Wouldn’t it be great to have such amazing memory skills? Just think how handy that would be when it came to exam time!
David was a very health 7lb 14oz baby. He was born on time with no major complications. As David was my third baby I noticed differences with him right from the start. He was a very good baby, too good to be true in fact and from talking to other parents this seems to be a common factor. David never cried. If he needed attention he would make a low moaning sound, this meant that we had to be extra vigil as it was not always loud enough to get your attention especially during the night. Due to a shortage of Health Visitors in my area I was visited by a Midwife, and these visits were few and far between. Any time that we raised any concerns about David, we were told not to be silly, that we didn’t know how lucky we were to have such a happy, easy baby. Shortly after this I was diagnosed as suffering from severe post natal depression and the main concern of the health professionals was directed at me.
I would like to say thank you to all who have read and especially to all who have commented. Its always nice to know that you are not alone 
Welcome to Authspot, the spot for creative writing.
Read some stories and poems, and be sure to subscribe to our feed!
