While we were waiting for this appointment the school were great. Lots of support was put in place for David, a classroom assistant would help him with his work and he soon caught up and overtook the other kids in his class. The playground ladies were great at keeping an eye on him when he was outside and he settled back in to school to an extent although he still hates it.

David is now in Primary 4 and is doing well academically although both myself, and his teacher feel that he is not reaching his potential. He often uses a laptop for his written work and this helps him to communicate the wonders inside his head. He still struggles with working in a group and has his own table within the classroom as he easily distracted by the other children. He has violent outbursts, which, while they usually happen home have become more frequent at school, and have caused problems with his already strained relationship with the other members of his class. He has a time out card that he can use when he gets stressed and this allows him to leave the classroom before he has a blowout. So far this seems to be working well. His official diagnosis came through in February this year and was a huge relief to all concerned. This means that the school can now access support for him taking some of the strain off is teacher, although we have discussed the possibility of me going in and working with David in the gaps.

At the moment we really just take one day at a time. We are still waiting for appointments with occupational therapy to help with his motor skills and special awareness issues and also the clinical psychiatrist for help with his temper tantrums and other behavioural problems. Wherever possible I have taken over as his carer and learned about OT and do as much as I can to help him during the long wait. We also do work on facial expressions and common speech terms in order to try to help him with day-to-day interactions, this helps but it will always be a strain for him and it is no surprise that he is so stressed when he comes home from school. If anybody reading this is in a similar situation I highly recommend a giant trampoline. Not only does this allow them to let off steam it also helps with motor skills and is a good way to get them interacting with any visiting children.

I hope to keep updating this as time goes by. One of the most frustrating things for me as a parent has been a general lack of information about Asbergers teenagers and young adults, so I hope to allow others to benefit from our experiences in this department.

The only real advice that I would give to others in a similar place is to keep believing in your instincts. Nobody knows your child better than you. Do not be fobbed off and take all the help that you can get. Contact your child’s head teacher, the school can be a fantastic support to both your child and you. And most of all celebrate and love your child for who they are. Asbergers brings as many gifts as difficulties and these can be overcome.