Hi all,
You see my answer would be none, whether the six year old has Aspergers or not but am i wrong and over protective?
I am a bit confused at the moment over a couple of things, My six year old Aspergers son has swimming this week with the school he has done this before about 10 sessions each year but it is always the same extreme anxiety, tears and i have tried it all to make it better.
His father and i take him at the weekends and he is fine, not too keen on being splashed and not brave enough yet to jump in but he enjoys the experience so i know we can get there slowly but surely. He is due to go swimming with the school in four days time and already he is really anxious about it, first thing he mentions on awakeninng and befiore he goes to sleep is " i don't want to go swimming with the school" It is out of his comfort zone. School were aware last term but because it is on the curriculum he had to go. Some days i got him there through bribery some days to be honest if it was too much for him i let him skip it i would make an excuse. I am very tempted to do the same this week i do not see the point in putting him through the extra anxiety, he copes at school and i feel this would be putting just a bit too much pressure on him. His father feels the same. learning to swim is important but i think my son has to do it at his own pace and with us where he feels safe not with the school. I know the school will see it differently.
Also,
My husband is very keen to home school our son to avoid any extra pressure and i want to to but i feel i want to keep him in primary school as long as we can, for his sake, it is a fairly small class 14 children and only 32 in whole school so as schools go this is as good as it gets, especially if you have Aspergers.
He does still struggle some days though especially with gym and any outings, the change of routine i guess along with other things. I have asked him last week in fact does he enjoy school as he was refusing to go and no surprise he said "no" and said he would like to be home schooled. His dad would take him out tomorrow if he could, but i worry about his social skills. Should i listen to my sons request for home schooling? He comes home happy? again how far do i push him? wouldn't all six year olds say they do not want to go to school if offered the choice? He is a quiet boy but social, but i can see the school day is starting to be more stressful for him.
The question is how much stress is acceptable? The school have told me i should push the boundaries every now and again, trying new things take him out of his comfort zone, they include the swimming in that. I am quite a sensitive person and i am not happy with pushing the boundaries and giving my son extra possibly unneccessary pressure. Am i being too soft ? Do i need to push my son harder for him to progress in his social skills? It is just as adults we are able to avoid certain situations which create stress for us, i feel my son should be able to do the same. Am i being over protective?
Some honest answers would be much appreciated.
Thank you
Puffin
