Hi everyone
I'm the single parent to a very beautiful little man (aged 9) who has an array of complex needs which includes ASD (diagnosed in 2008). He's a keen goal-keeper, gymnast and is a shy but talented singer and musician.
I have to say I was relieved to know that his presentation was not a figment of my imagination and that he was not just a 'naughty' little boy with challenging behaviour as a result of my parenting skills (as told to me by many in the past). The amount of time parents would come up to me in supermarkets and resturants to tell me that I was "a bad parent who need to control her child..." I've lost count. I also thought that once diagnosed we would have a wealth of support at our finger tips. Boy was I wrong. It's been a hard slog, but the one thing my journey has taught me thus far is that I have had to change me, and the way I parent my son, which is totally different to the way I was parented as a child.
He currently attends a mix special needs school, which unfortunately are no longer able to meet his needs. Whilst they have verbally commuicated this fact they are still clueless as to what best strategies to implement to support him whilst in school. Instead they've opted for exclusion. Out of sight, out of mind I guess. Sadly, he been out of for school nearly a month and we've yet to survive the 6 weeks holidays. I'm deeply shocked and frustrated that the local authority are reluctant to take matters into their own hands. But that's another story.
Well that's us for now. Please to meet you all.
SoulRae