Hi all
I am Mum to two beautiful boys aged 4 and 6. My 4 year old Joshua was only diagnosed as having ASD yesterday so still a bit shell-shocked. Even though I was convinced he had ASD all along, having it confirmed still shook me a bit.
However - we're taking it as a positive and can't wait to get hold of some the help that's out there - particularly with his challenging behaviour.
Would welcome any help and advice anyone can give me!!!
Don't be too hard on yourself, of course your boy is just your boy, why would you go looking for a diagnosis for him? Like you, I always knew my daughter was different, that she was hard to handle at times, but even as a mum of 3 I didn't recognise that ASD could be a possibility until last year. She's 9 now and the youngest of 3, the other two are boys and I just thought the way she was was part of being a girl! 
Having a diagnosis for him means that he will hopefully get the support he needs from school. I've found the older generation quite often don't 'get it' my daughters paternal grandparents are the same, all you need to concentrate on is what's best for your son. I wouldn't worry about the 'label' either - in my opinion it's better for a child to have a label and understand why they struggle with things other kids find easy, than be 'beating themselves up' thinking they're stupid or weird. My daughter says it's not her that's weird it's everyone else!
Good luck with it all, have a look round the home pages here for more information, I've found reading as much as I can about Aspergers has helped me and my daughter. Also some books you might like to try for your son if he is aware of the possibilty he has Aspergers are 'Can I Tell You About Asperger Syndrome?' and the Kathy Hoopman books, my daughter particularly enjoyed 'The Blue Bottle Mystery' and refers to things about the character in it who has Aspergers quite often.
Don't be too hard on yourself, of course your boy is just your boy, why would you go looking for a diagnosis for him? Like you, I always knew my daughter was different, that she was hard to handle at times, but even as a mum of 3 I didn't recognise that ASD could be a possibility until last year. She's 9 now and the youngest of 3, the other two are boys and I just thought the way she was was part of being a girl!
Having a diagnosis for him means that he will hopefully get the support he needs from school. I've found the older generation quite often don't 'get it' my daughters paternal grandparents are the same, all you need to concentrate on is what's best for your son. I wouldn't worry about the 'label' either - in my opinion it's better for a child to have a label and understand why they struggle with things other kids find easy, than be 'beating themselves up' thinking they're stupid or weird. My daughter says it's not her that's weird it's everyone else!
Good luck with it all, have a look round the home pages here for more information, I've found reading as much as I can about Aspergers has helped me and my daughter. Also some books you might like to try for your son if he is aware of the possibilty he has Aspergers are 'Can I Tell You About Asperger Syndrome?' and the Kathy Hoopman books, my daughter particularly enjoyed 'The Blue Bottle Mystery' and refers to things about the character in it who has Aspergers quite often.
