Published on 12, July, 2020
My 14 year old son has recently been diagnosed with ASD (Aspergers) we received the diagnosis report from CAMHS 2 weeks ago. In the report it has recommendations for the school to support him. I've spoken to him about this but he doesn't want the support. He masks at school because he doesn't want to be treated differently and doesn't want his peers to know that he has ASD. He struggles going to school and his attendance last year was 30%. It was identified in the report that he struggles being in the classroom as it's too overwhelming so one of the recommendations is for him to work in a small group in a quiet and predictable environment.
He won't even listen to me when I've tried to talk to him about the support and I completely understand why he doesn't want to appear 'different' from his peers but I also want him to be able to cope in school with the correct support in place. I'm not sure where to go from here if I'm honest. As a parent do I go along with his wishes or go against him to ensure he has the support that's recommended?
As it's school holidays I'm not able to contact the school but will arrange a face to face meeting to discuss his diagnosis and needs. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I don't know what to do for the best.
So a couple of threads here
1) His attendance - Try to reason with him that his poor attendance already makes him different, and if that isn't addressed, rventually the school system will force him into a new branch.
2) He's entitled at 14 to have his opinions listened to and be enacted if at all ppssible. If having some special treatment is hard, try to find more subtle supportive steps.
3) It sounds like he could use more counselling, that he hasn't accepted the assessment's results and doesn't understand that ASD is differnent, not broken.