Ever since my son was about 3, i started picking up on the first signs that something was alittle different and so did his nursery. Austism or anything like that did not even enter my head at this time. The first things at this age was his delayed speaking and speech which resulted in speech and language sessions. He stutters at the beginning of a sentence and he also used to ignore me alot when i called him. Not all the time but most. I would have to call him multiple times to get his attention. He was also really sensitive to loud noises and would always cover his ears and still does now (He will b 7 this month). This resulted in me getting his hearing tested which came back perfect, so i put it down to selective hearing lol.
I also thought he was going to go to school in nappies because he was so late potty training and it was so so difficult.
Just before he started nursery they discharge him from speech and language at the hospital and said they where pleased with how he was progressing and his speech would catch up quickly in his school enviroment.
After being at nursery for afew months the teachers also picked up on afew thing. i cant remember what things they were now but they where going to refer him to SENCO for an assesment, but it was so close to the end of the year that it never happened because he did'nt get into that school. His attention span is and was really poor, especially in large groups.
Anyway, when he started his new school in Reception, things seemed to be going well. Apart from the not listening and rough play but thats just boys right? Also, Reception is mainly play based and the children are young so he was fine. He then moved into Year 1 where it is still very play based but more work is encorporated. Again his ability to pay attention and follow instructions became more noticeable with age. Sitting still is also an effort for him and the contant fiddling. This is the year that he started to fall behind with his reading and writing. He would get really upset when made to do either of these at school. They said its the physical time and effort it takes that he stuggles with because it requires concentration which is his difficult point. I also started to worry alot towards the end of this year because Year 2 is sitting round tables working and i knew how much he was going to struggle with that transition. The teachers agreed and he was offered a place in The Base, which is a class of 10 children with learning difficulties and specialist teachers. He was also refered by the school for and autsm test. I was upset at this because until they said it, i had never thought of it. I thought maybe dyslexia or just a learning difficulty but his teachers believe he is on the Autism Spectrum.
He was assessed but the doctor did'nt think he was. I was relieved, even thou i did think that he barely took much notice of my son and was more interested in the 2 students in the room that he was teaching and asking questions to.
My son is now in Year 2 and not in mainstream school. He is in a smaller class with specialist teachers and he finds it hard, but is progressing slowly and he is still a year behind, but i am pleased withhis progress. He needs constant reminders to pay attention and reminders of class rules. We have also had afew incidences with other children now he is getting older. He can make friends and play with other children but other children struggle to play with him because he wants everone to do what he wants and can't understand or relate if they want to do other things. He can be very bossy and wants everything on his terms and his way. He still needs my assistence to get dressed as he struggles by himself. Again i think this comes down to the time and effort it takes.
He loves his xbox and wii and he tends to excessively about computer games he likes. I cut his time on them down to a minimum but he enjoys to talking about them alot. Lego games inparticular. He pays attention if he is intersted in the subject thats being discussed but if its not. he struggles.
He is the most loving, funny, hansome and active little boy. His language is now advanced for his age and his is really well spoken. He still has the stutter at the beginning of sentences and afew letter sounds are still absent but apart from that his language comunication is great. He is also highly competitive. As much as it can be a strong point it also becomes a problem when playing with other children because he hates to lose and other people win.He finds it hard to deal with and gets very fustrated. Tears and tamtrums. We are trying to work on this with him.
I feel like i could write so much more. He also has sensory issues that i have'nt mentioned but going by what I have written, could people give me some feed back on if they think it is autism????
The school are re-refering him for a second test as the believe that he is on the scale. I thought it was ADHD because he also has many of the symptoms of that, but the teachers think autism???
im not looking for a diagnosis on here but opinions and thoughts would be great x
Thankyou
