Life with an Aspie Kid

Most of the time we don't really think about Dexie as 'different' from the other kids. Lets face it, most kids are pretty weird! But there are times when it becomes starkly apparent that Declan will face difficulties in is life that are specific to him, and to the way his mind works.

I know that there is an argument for not labelling children, and that we should accept who the child is as an individual. For us, getting a diagnosis wasn't about a label, and it certainly wasn't about trying to 'fix' Declan in anyway. But, 2 years on from being diagnosed as being on the Austistic Spectrum, it is becoming more and more apparent that having that 'label' will ease Dexie's path through life a little more. Because, to put it bluntly, he can come across as very odd to people who don't know him. He is the most gentle, caring boy with a great sense of humour in most situations. But, he is also a 9 year old boy who finds it difficult to dress himself, to eat with a knife and fork, to stay calm in crowds, to listen to loud sounds, to plan activities and to deal with change in routine. He talks to himself and makes strange sounds a lot and doesn't have that social filter that tells him when people don't actually want to hear about every stage in a computer game. He still has rages where he becomes unreachable and inconsolable for hours. As he gets older, these differences become more apparent- what was cute and quirky in a 5 year old quickly becomes weird in a 10 year old. At school he is safe and nurtured and accepted. As his teacher said last week, "with Declan you get what you see, he is who he is." Any 'intervention' we undertake isn't to change Dex, but to give him the skills to navigate through life when he needs to make those decisions on his own.