Asperger's Syndrome Your Story

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Comment by Teigan on January 6, 2010 at 9:13pm

I was born in 1995. My mum noticed that i was diffrent and that i didnt have many friends. It took me along time to learn to read and write. my teachers said that i would never amount to anthing. My mum taught me and i was able to read and write. When i was in year three i moved to golden grove primary school. I made friends instantly and i was happy. I was confident and smart. I got along with two boys and us three became the pokemon traders in the school yard. It was the greatest year. During year four when everything was going so great. My Grandfather became sick. He had brain cancer. I went to the hospital alot. After my autnie died from anorexia i hated hospitals. But everyday that my mum dragged me to the hospital to see my grandfather i keep my head high and faced it. after alot of time he was changed into a diffrent hospital. I was getting sadder and sadder. My friends were not interested in being my friends anymore. I sat alone in the corner of the classroom. I never did any work and i never talked to anyone. My teacher REALLY strict she didnt understand why i was so messed up. My mum and dad talked to her and she just left me alone. After a while my Grandfather died. and it took me along time to cry about it. it had affected my confidence and my happyness. I wasn't put on anti-depressance. in year 5 i became happyer. My teachers were amazing. They helped me pass year 5. i was still sad. Year six was a memorable year. My teacher was a total idiot.he let me walk out of class when i wanted too. and sit by myself. he didnt nag me to do anything. But he only did this because i wouldnt listen to him. He was a push over and because i was stubourn he didnt bother to tell me off. Year seven was bad but i changed school. i went to keithcot primary school. It was fantastic. i got diagnosed in that school and everyone was ok with it, i went to high school the next year. Golden grove hig school was really big and i didnt like it. i sat alone and everyone was rude to me. there is a learing centre in there but it didnt help me much. it wasnt very good for me because the person running it has very bad maners. I refused to go to school. SO my parents changed me to Kildare collage. It was a hard time getting settled.After a long time i made friends and they all know that i have aspurgers.it is going into year 9 this year and its going to be a better year. so thats my story!

Comment by William McAllister on November 6, 2009 at 7:42pm

Comment by Meghan Stewart-Snoad on October 30, 2009 at 8:44pm

I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome by a proffessional when I was 9, but I didn't actually start to research my condition until I was 16. Before then, kids at school would ask me about why I was different and I just didn't know what to tell them. It was just as hard for them to understand as it was for me. My younger brother Ric, 22, is severely autistic with very limited verbal communication skills. It didn't surprise me that much to find out that Asperger's is actually a mild form of autism because a year before, when I was 15, I did a school project on autism where I found out that if one child has autism, then it is very common for them to have a sibling with some form of autism, too. I did feel that this was a strong possibility considering that Ric and I are the only two children in our family.

Comment by William McAllister on August 31, 2009 at 9:15pm

Well I'm not much of an IMer but here I go. I was diagonosed with Asperger's Syndrome. Before this I was acting out physically and then I was unable to deal with my sexual urges appropriatly. Needless to say I sexually acted out with another person. and I've been in and out of programs with other Aspies with Sexual issues.

Comment by Amy Hamilton on May 5, 2009 at 10:16pm

My son, Eric, was diagnosed with Aspergers when he was 6 years old. He's 15 now and in need of surgery for severe scoliosis. We've dealt with the meltdowns, the behavioral issues, all of it. What has helped the most was advice from the ladies of Nanny 911. A lot of the parenting skills they teach, regardless of a child's condition, DO work. It may not be perfect. Heck, nothing is. But it helps.

Comment by Eleanor Lewis on April 4, 2009 at 10:04pm

I have already elaborated so much on the Asperger's World site that I feel like everyone knows my story & may be sick of it! However, I do know that it helps me greatly to read the comments of others. Just realizing we are not the only ones facing the challenges & how others are dealing is comforting & helpful.
My adopted daughter, Sarah, is my neice by birth, but came home to our home from the hospital at birth. Sarah is 9 years old & has a diagnosis of High Functioning Aspergers,along with OCD, ADHD & Sleep Disorder. We are sure her birth mother also has Aspergers but she has never been diagnosed. Another of my sisters & myself did some research when we realized early on that Sarah had the same symptoms as her birth mother. One key thing was her motor skills. She never crawled but had her own method of "scooting" around & she didn't walk alone until she was 16 months old. However,she was an excellent baby & rarely cried. We had many years before discussed that we thought her birth mother had a form of Autism. We had seen Temple Grandin on a T.V. program years ago & immediately said she reminded us of our sister. We had been teenagers when our sister was born & had helped raise her.Sarah was officially diagnosed at about 3 years old after we researched & came up with the idea she had Aspergers, I told her Doctor & then she was tested by another Doctor who specialized in Autism Spectrum disorders. She has been on medication for ADHD & to help her sleep at night since she was about 4. She is obsessed with books & routine. She loves to be home & doesn't like crowds. We do have many friends & family that we visit with and she has a "safe place' at all their homes & a routine at each of their homes also. She is like all "Aspies" I guess in that she doesn't actually seem to "need" other kids. At parties, she tries to find some books to read instead of interacting with other kids & is only interested in collecting the favors that are handed out to add to all the other little things she has collected at home. She has been in public school since pre-k and is now finishing the 3rd grade. She is "mainstreamed" but with an aide. They know me personally (& are probably sick of seeing my face) at the school & I have been an advocate for her from day one. She has an IEP in place that is constantly updated. Even with all this, I am painfully aware that most public school systems are not equipped to give children on the Autism spectrum what they really need. Sarah has actually made good grades & has done well in school with the accomadations that were made for her, however she has begun to show a level of frustration this year that we had not seen before. I think she is under too much pressure to meet certain expectations of the school system & the government mandated tests, etc.-our plan is to homeschool her starting this next school term. We feel that she will have an even harder time in Middle School so this has been our plan. Hope it works.
We are concerned over the medicine and hope to try to take her off it once she is no longer in school.
Every situation is different. I feel like my being older when Sarah came into my life was an advantage (although very tiring) because I instinctively gave her the enviornment she needed. - Very,very,very routine, constantly talking to her, taught her sign language, very patient. (This is not the way I raised my 2 sons who are now in their 40's! Ha!) Also, my husband is a saint & younger than me & energetic. He is totally devoted to Sarah & absolutely carries his share of the raising. AND - I moved to be close to my two sisters who consider Sarah a "family project" and they are like grandparents to Sarah. AND - we have many close friends who are understanding & treat Sarah like family.
Even with all this, I sometimes feel like I am at my wit's end & have just put my head down & sobbed over my feeling of inadequacy many times. But things always work out if I just try to keep on having a positive attitude & accept any help that is offered to me.
What I would say to those who are of a more "normal" age to be dealing with children on the Autism spectrum is that there is no one way to do any of this. Your child is unique. Read everything you can get your hands on about your child's condition. Then try your best to apply the parts you can see obviously apply to your situation. You DO have to be selfless to handle this, which is harder when you are younger & especially if you have other children you are trying to raise with some semblence of normality. So, my next advise is to surround yourself with people who love you - your family & friends. Let them know what you are going through. Explain Autism to them. ASK for their help.
Just love your child & give them as much routine that they can depend on as you possibly can. - Then come to this site & all the other experiences. You'll learn something every time - even if it's only to be grateful you don't have as bad a situation as some others!!
Sorry for the long-windedness. Thanks for all your experiences that have encouraged me.

Comment by Chris Wilson on March 31, 2009 at 3:27pm

Thanks, Lynn. I really appreciate your comments! Like you, I've learned not to care so much what others think of me (most of the time, I'm pretty good at that). I tried a lot of the same things you did -- hair analysis, homeopathy, etc.

Thanks again for sharing!

Comment by Lynn on March 31, 2009 at 3:13pm

My son was diagnosed at age 8. He is now 20. I am a special education teacher. At the time he was diagnosed we were at our wit's end. Although we had known each other 20 years before we were married, we were suspecting that maybe the other one was abusing our son when one of us wasn't looking. We tried everything. Being in the business meant I had access, although not the awareness of what I was up against. The school wanted to put him a self-contained behavior program. I knew he had behavioral issues, but I didn't want him placed with socialpaths and conduct disorders. We tried psychological counseling, homeopathy, naturapathy, had his hair analyzed, put him on amino acids and flaxseed oil, neurofeedback, chiropractic, summer camp (and numerous sports...ah!), and probably half a dozen other things I'm forgetting. Finally, someone told us to look up Asperger's Syndrome. My husband came running up the stairs, and said that's it! This is our son! It was only the beginning, of what is still a very long road, but it helped yo change everyone's perspective. Suddenly, I wasn't the hideous mother. I quickly learned to not care what other people thought about me or my son. I met other moms and that made all of the difference. I still have a path that I did not choose, but somehow it's easier knowing there's others on the road with me.

Comment by Chris Wilson on March 31, 2009 at 1:11pm

Hi -- My name is Chris. My son, Ben, is now 10. He was officially diagnosed with Asperger's last July (2008), by a neurologist that an autism spectrum behaviorist had recommended to us.

The doctor immediately switched my son to a different medication (5 mg. of Abilify), which made a HUGE difference in his behavior within only one or two days! My son had been on Tenex, prescribed for the "hyper part of ADHD," even though the psychologist at Kaiser wasn't really sure that's what he had. It was the only diagnosis they could come up with, though. The main thing that medication did was make Ben sleepy. Didn't get rid of the occasional outbursts.

Thanks to a friend who introduced me to Asperger's World last year (Andrea Raymond), I discovered Tony Attwood's book on Asperger's Syndrome. So many things in my son's behavior over the years now make sense!

I now homeschool my son, since the public schools had labeled Ben "ED" (emotionally disturbed) and put him into a county program that treated kids abusively. We're in the process of having my son re-evaluated through the charter school my son is being is being homeschooled through. He's already qualified to get help w/ pragmatic language thru a speech and language therapist.

The person I thank the most thru all of this is Lauri Brown -- the behaviorist who first told me she thought Ben has Asperger's. No one else was able to see it, because it's a mild form. Plus my son is very smart and is able to mimic others so well, most people don't believe there's really anything different about him.

Hope this helps give others hope that there ARE people out there who can help!

Comment by Allie Marmion on March 31, 2009 at 1:58am

Please share your story and anything that has helped you along the way in the discussion forum of this group above. You may start a new discussion to tell your story. We would like to have a place where new members may read your stories and be encouraged. Thanks!