Hi,
I am a father of 3 teenagers. My 13 year old son who after 11 years of fighting has been told he has ASD. Now we are on the looooong waiting list to see the neurological assessment team for further assessments.
i was always told I'm over-reacting when it came to wanting him to be seen by a psychologist as from just under 2 years he displayed behaviour I was not used to as a parent or as an uncle to 30+ nephews and nieces. when I raised with his health visitor that he would walk near the TV banging his ears she said "we'll get his ears checked" even though I told her he has separation issues from his blanket, he substitutes loss of blanket with silky labels in clothing or his sisters swimming costume. He would cry saying "the music makes my belly hurt" he walks on tiptoe and has since nursery. His ears were checked and deemed fine!
on another occassion I asked the school to refer him because of moments of complete emotional breakdowns, they said "he's a normal kid, they all have off days." One day I picked him up from school and they said "he broke down at dinner" I asked what was it they said "spaghetti bolognaise" I said that's strange because he loves that, then I clicked, did you mix it up I asked "yes, why" I said he thinks you're hiding something in there and won't eat it.
everywhere we go he mentions "funny smells" that make him feel sick. He gets dizzy and emotional in large crowds etc. all this I've share over the years until finally his Secondary school SENCO referred him to an educational psychologist who gave him a very high score on the ASD scale after hearing, and witnessing, for herself what he deals with every day.
so we are getting there!
Alan
