Autism - Charles and me

Hi, just had great news, Charles has passed his A level results with A*. Well done son, I knew you could do it.  This information plus much more will be in chapter 11 :) Chapter six is comming soon.

Chapter five DAYS OUT My philosophy was, if I didn’t expose Charles to as many situations that were safely possible then he would never learn or grow as a person. Obviously when he was younger I had no idea what he was going to be capable of. I subjected him to wildlife centres, zoos, stately homes, garden centres, meals out, and took him shopping; anything that in my eyes was the norm. Some outings were an absolute nightmare but got better over time, others he became quite enthusiastic about. He loved animals, reptiles and wildlife centres and always informed me of which dinosaurs roamed the earth before them. Everything was dinosaurs or robot wars. He became interested in home grown food from garden centres, mostly because he wanted to live in the wilderness with animals, eating natural food.  It was okay with herbs blackberries and gooseberries but I put my foot down at nettle soup. I veered him off the fascination with mushroom as I was worried he might eat them. That ...

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Chapter four MEDICAL CHECKUPS I never thought at the time there might problems with Charles’ eyes or ears. So when it was suggested by the professionals to have some tests done, I was concerned. They said it was just to rule out any other underlining problems. As if he hadn’t enough! The first test was for his hearing, and for someone who may be hard of hearing the nurses was asking him a lot of questions. Charles didn’t pay much attention, just made a bee line straight for the toy box. Once his toy had been chosen the nurses encouraged him to sit down.  There was a lot of messing about with equipment but eventually they started to wire him up to the machine, ‘When you hear the noise, Charles, we want you to click that button!’ Before she could get the word, ‘Okay’ out of her mouth Charles had hit the button several times! So they had to repeat the instructions again. I was just about to state the obvious when he’d  had  enough and made a dash for the door whils...

Chapter Three AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES It was our doctor that suggested that we enrol Charles in an out-of- school activity to help with his social skills. So we decided to try our local Scouts and Beavers group who said they were prepared to help. Even though I was worried about the other children making fun of him I decided to give Beavers a try. I stayed for a few weeks in a back room while the leaders got to know him and to make sure he settled in okay. When the time was right I was told I could go home for the hour due to Charles coping well and him enjoying his freedom. The thing was it became difficult for me to let go and leave him there while I went home. For weeks I would leave the building and just sit in the car for the whole hour making sure the leaders were keeping an eye on him. I questioned them about the security of the building; would he be able to escape? I told them if they went on a trip then someone must hold his hand at all times because if ...

BUMPING INTO OLD FRIENDS  When Charles was still quite young we bumped into someone I hadn’t seen for a long time in our local supermarket. Charles began to talk excessively about robot wars, which was something he had started to do and to anyone who would listen. She stared at him and asked how he was doing now, while commenting on how differently he talked. ‘Different; from what?’ I asked. ‘I mean, he speaks so precisely, his words…’ Now she looked uncomfortable and her voice trailed off. ‘Probably because he has speech therapy,’ I said. She glanced down to watch Charles wriggling all over the floor, pretending to swim. Again I found myself excusing him, telling her he’s autistic. Instantly I felt annoyed with myself for feeling the need to explain to everyone. I asked Charles to get up, and for once he did as he was told. He then lurched forward and wrapped his arms around her legs. She stepped back, alarmed. Her eyes were as large as saucers, jaw wide open. ‘W...

Chapter Two INFANTS/JUNIOR SCHOOL  I was on tenterhooks while waiting for a decision from the local authorities as to whether Charles would be able to have a place at The Pines, school. The news came on the last day of term and to hear he had been accepted into a special school was such a relief. I’d been to visit the school and felt it would be the best thing for Charles. I didn’t even have to get him there myself; it was arranged he would be picked up and dropped off by mini bus to and from school on a daily basis. What more could I ask! At least now I wouldn’t have to worry about him trying to escape from the car! This first report from The Pines describes Charles well: ‘Charles has significant difficulties with expressive and receptive language, age appropriate learning skills, interpersonal, listening and attention skills. Charles is an impulsive child who finds it difficult to listen to adult instructions and process what is being asked of him. He also has difficul...