The first 11 years of my son's life were filled with struggles, fears, doubts and so much more. What was wrong with my little boy? We were told we were bad parents, didn't discipline enough, disciplined too much and the list goes on.
A caring friend (who was the principal of my son's school) suggested we have him tested for Austism. Testing was the best decision we made. Ryan was diagnosed with Aspergers and our world changed. We weren't bad parents! We now had a name and some direction on how to help our son.
Ryan knew he was different; we told him he had Aspergers. Once we all knew, we could work together to help him. We started meds to help behavior and organizational skills difficulties. There were rough times. It hasn't been easy. He spent all of 8th grade scraping by with grades because he was watching his friends and learning social skills. He has worked hard...he is now 17 and will be a senior in the upcoming school year.
He is second in command of his schools JROTC program and has plans to join the navy after graduation. Everyone knows he has Aspergers.
He has a close group of friends who "have his back". They say he is wierd, but that's ok and it's ok with Ryan that they describe him this way.
We have learned that his brain works differently. We learned how to communicate with him. He is the light and joy of our lives. Some people think he is disrespectful, but it's his candid way of expressing himself. He understands empathy, but doesn't have much of his own. He always stands up for the underdog. He says there was no one to stand up for him and he wants to change that. He has his driver's license and took his first solo road trip this summer. All his meds have been discontinued.
For all the parents/families out there, there is hope. Be diligent and "fight" for your child. Your know them best, trust your instincts! There is light at the end of the tunnel!
Bell, FL