Many thanks for reading.. My son didnt do well from starting school. They told me he had problems but me and my family didnt recognise any. He was a very loving placid cute boy but was very slow to learn to read etc at school. When he was about 8 or 9 he had done some tests i think they were called the Cheshire test and the teach told me his iQ was 15 and he would never amount to anything. I decided to find out about getting him help. He moved onto Secondary school & it took me until he was 15 to get a private diagnosis & i had to take the LEA to court to get him statemented. But the school were just as hopeless once we won the tribunal and it was his last year at school. Anyway he went on to excel at Dancing & won a place with Candoco & then University of London but then the writing/studying part kicked in & he ended up having to leave. He started smoking Cannabis at 16 because his Dad did. He started having mental health problems as his Dad also started abusing him physically. By the time lockdowns came the Cannabis use escalated. He was living on his own at the time and smoking more and more. He ended up being sectioned Aug 2024 and diagnosed with non specific Psychosis so giving up the Cannabis came home and has been recovering ever since but still on medication. Doing well. But AS im back living with him full time I notice a lot of symptoms and remembered a lot growing up which have led me again to thinking about possibly an autism side to this. He has to be a court witness a few years ago and they diagnosed him with OCD & he got someone to help him speak in court for that. And yes he had a lot of the symptoms at the time. He was diagnosed with Dyslexia at the Uni but I dont think he has that. So im trying to get advice to see if anyone else thinks its possible also Autism. I have no body else to talk to or ask about it. Family dont seem to care. I think they thought he would grow out of it. But maybe if i list some of the symptoms ive noticed someone could help me decide.
So Tom is 37. His Moderate learning Difficulties assessment at 15 said generally he was functioning at age 6-8 on various tested scales. Now at 37 I would say he is a bit like a 15 year old. Although sometimes he can pop out with an absolute wise gem of advice or commentary. Idk some 15 year olds are very intelligent arent they. My son is not so. He is happy with his mobile phone, he has to have the latest and is obessed with Jerseyshore, the Kardasians esp Chloe. He watches and listens to videos of this kind all the time. Also with films he will rewatch a scene over and over, even like a 5 second long scene. He doesnt have any other hobbies or interests although iv tried to encourage it. He has 2 things on at once, Music on TV screen or film and videos etc on his mobile phone. I have to give him his own use of the room as I cant cope with it. When he was younger up til recently he used to pull his own hair out, comb it out very hard, he choses a sweet like choc bar/ cheescakes/ brownies and has to have that one particular thing over and over for months then changes. He likes a routine. I have to do virtually everything for him but he is also on anti psychotic tablets which make him very subdued and not wanting to do anything. I have to even get his clothes and force him to put underwear on or shower. He is happy with his favourite foods, phone & tv and sat in the living room. He doesnt or wont read books. They look too complicated to him although he does read online and can read. He cant do an activity that involves a few steps. he will do the first step then get distracted onto something else or go to bed. he sleeps a lot. He always had issues with fabrics on his skin, have to wear socks inside out and cut off clothing labels and get soft sheets, cant stand sand on the beach. He wont go out any more without me. He wants constant hugs. i work 2 days a week now so i can be with him as much as poss. he gets stressed out though if im not here. Im sorry i know this is a lot and i could type in more. Anybody thats read this far have any advice please. Many thanks in advance. :)
