Questions

If you have a question, please feel free to ask it in a comment at the end of this post. Hopefully I'll be able to come up with some ideas to help.

Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor or a psychologist. I don't claim to be a professional expert and I cannot diagnose your child (or your husband). I don't have technical/university qualifications to back me up.

However, I am very experienced. I have lived with a person with Asperger's for 13 years (my son). I have three cousins on the autism spectrum, an uncle, and I suspect my maternal grandmother as well. I also used to be a swimming teacher, and worked with a number of children with autism, ADHD, extreme anxiety, dyspraxia, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, epilepsy and various other developmental concerns. Aside from that, throughout my son's childhood I have spent a lot of my time volunteering in schools in areas of literacy, academic support and challenging behaviour - so far this has been with kids aged 4-13. I have met many children, dealt with many behaviours and seen many classroom settings. My son has now attended four different schools and so we have encountered four totally different school cultures. I have a library of books about Autism and child development, and I have read most of them.

In all that time, I have had loads of parents and teachers ask me gazillions of questions, and the truth is, I really enjoy helping figure out the solution to whatever challenge might be presented. I love the idea that I might be making someone's life a little bit easier - whether that be the child, parents, or teachers.

You will know from reading other material on here whether you want the kind of answers I am likely to give. All I can do is promise that I will do the best I can for you, with the resources I have available to me. Hopefully that will be enough!