ADVICE RATING |
 5.00 (Highly recommend) from 9 votes (107 Visits) |
My husband and I noticed that our oldest son, who is now 11, is "unique". We noticed that, when he would play with others, he would play with children about 3-4 years younger than him. Kids his own age would just bully and tease him, to the point that
he would start getting emotional and crying. His self esteem went south. When it came with adults, many adults did not have the patience for him. He is a sweet boy who does not have a mean bone in his body, but he is very quirky.
When he gets anxious you can find him holding on to his shirt tag, it's silky, because the texture calms him. His attention span is not there. I have a hard time getting him to stay focused on me when I'm speaking to him. His eyes may be looking right at me, but all he is hearing is, "blah, blah,blah!"
When we took him to a doctor, his doctor prescribed him SEVERAL types of medication to "try out". There was Focalin, Depakote, Concerta, ect. All it made him do is lose his appetite and sleep during school ours. His whole personality changed also, he wasn't my boy anymore. It didn't help when one of his teacher's, his first grade teacher, would roll her eyes whenever we had parent conferences with her. She would sigh, roll her eyes, and told us she would just let him do whatever he wanted just to shut him up.
What he needed was structure and support, not someone to shut him up. The actions of his doctor, his first grade teacher, kids bullying him, and adults calling him "abnormal", I would literally cry myself to sleep. I knew that there was something wrong, but everyone, inclding his pediatrician, said that I was just overreacting. They also said that I was just babying him. Then there was finally a light at the end of the tunnel.
It was the first time I heard the word "Asperger's". This was all new to myself and my family. When I heard what Asperger's was, it felt like a weight just lifted off my shoulders. I know what it is and I know how to help him. I made sure that the school was aware of this and my extended family. Once a week he goes to therapy, and once in a while they whole family goes into therapy. I made sure that our other two children know that it's not just "his" issues, it's a family issue.
We have a long road ahead of us, but it takes baby steps. As long as the family helps him out and loves him with all our hearts, anything is possible.
(September 26th) (
