Hello. I have a wonderful son aged 11 next month. I have said since he was very little that there was something "different" in his development. Now after nearly 8 years the school have decided i was right. (Not that that makes me feel any better) he is extremely bright in some areas...ie he can work out your change before the cash register can. But in other areas ie socializing he is not very good. We have been sent to the school nurse who says if he isn't on the autistic spectrum she would be very surprised, she even mentioned aspergers. I have no clue what all this means, how they are going to diagnose it etc. Also i am struggling to deal with his outburts. He is never violent to anyone however he will slam doors, try to kick holes in walls....the list goes on. Any suggestions to help would be greatfully appreciated as anything i do seems to aggrevate the situation.
. There's lots of info about autism, diagnosis etc etc via the home page so if you haven't, then start looking there. Also lots of info here in the posts. He may be having outbursts at home because school is likely to be very stressful. Many children appear to be coping but let things out when they get back home. IMO, the best thing to do is learn about autism affects your child as an individual, so you need to learn about autism 1st then apply it to him. Some children have sensory issues : certain sounds/noises, tastes, textures, smells etc can cause serious distress. As he moves up into secondary school you may find his stress increases so you should also check out the education section on the home page in general but especially around getting a statement of educational needs which would help him by providing a number of hours of support at school. I know there's so much to try to take in so remember you're only human + you can't do it all at once. Bite size chunks! Also ask anything you want on here - lots of posters with lots of experience. Good luck with everything.