To think that this boy does not have a disability?

[Upwind]

www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jul/04/autism-asperger-s-education-society

I don't doubt he would, and did, benefit from special adjustments being made and an individual timetable. But so would most children. It is a shame that "a label", in this case an Asperger's diagnosis is necessary to get that.

I can't help but wonder whether changing schools so often, and allowing him to work on novels all night and sleep all day, has contributed to Alex's social isolation. I really hope that he can come into his own and thrive at Cambridge.

The boy himself seems to agree with me: "I don't think I've got a disability. I like being me." The diagnosis of Asperger's felt, he says, "like a label. I felt like a jam jar."

Ahhh - the 'sn is just an excuse for bad behaviour' knob jockeys arive

I knew it couldn't be long.

yabu

Yeah - it was a bit of a surprise that one, wasn't it?

i think the op was badly worded but i get what you are asking, kind of.
I think that for me disability means that a person has difficulties with accessing parts of life that an NT person does not. IE my friend who has a progressive disorder cannot walk more than a few hundred yards, or my cousin who has ADHD found mainstream school difficult because of various issues.
That was probably really badly put but i at least i know what i mean.

Has no one else read the bit about him talking at 6 months yet?? Is that a misprint or does that really happen?

Katiestar - not sure what you're trying to say there - do you mean that the boy doesn't have Aspergers just because you managed to make him do something? If you had seen him then have a meltdown, would you have believed that it was a genuine condition? Or would that just have been more "bad behaviour"?

Most conditions don't come down to a black & white "either you can control your behaviour or you can't", they are more complex than that, and different ways of dealing with the condition may be more or less effective depending on the person's mood at the time - same as for any other child.

Thanks idranktheteaatwork

I've got into the habit of just typing streams of consciousness on the internet. Must give it more thought in future - especially when touching on such a sensitive subject.

Agree with Madwoman

YABVU - I could lend you my 11 year with AS for a few days (in fact a few hours should be enough), then come back and tell me that Aspergers isn't a disabilty!!!

I'm with 123andaway - sorry, OP, YABU.
I have an 8 year old dd with Asperger's,by the way.

Upwind
FWIW ( and before this thread kicks off or dies down) I realised you were not trying to start a ruck or upset people

6months wow.

DS did'nt talk early, but as soon as he could he showed a great interest in learning, very repetative, I remember sitting, night after night for hours with him because he insisted on learning the alphabet, he knew it like second nature before he was 2 years old, both upper and lower case.

well for one yes yabu

katie the fact you were matter of fact we need bag as were going home probably helped if someone is sodding a round with lots of words and nicey nicey my ds would not respond use slightly firm voice with direct command its clearer to him he understands what his to do and why not badly behaved but ASD

and yes ASD is a disability its a silent one it affects all children differently and disables some functions that others have they dont it may be small to some but living with a ASD child is different from seeing them every now and then and witnessing some behaviour day to day it affects them differently and can be very hard work

even harder with judgements from others

Sorry my was at katiestars comment..too slow

The sad fact is that Alex may well be dead before the age of 25 unless he gets some serious help. There is no doult that he is bright, but his completely inablity to interact with society is a disablity. I doult that he will be able to cope with university life even though he certainly has the intelligence.

I think Alex has been let down. He needs a place in a adolesence pyichatric unit where his depression can be dealt with and he can learn some basic survial skills of life as well as getting an education. (Such units do exist although they aren't enough places.)

It would be interesting to get the school's side. Prehaps they felt they could not support his special needs.

ROFL at the usual "He's just a very naughty boy" attitude popping up again.

The point that some people seem to be missing is that with AS/ASD there is usually an awful lot of work going on behind the scenes to help a child cope with day-to-day life.

Ds1 is 9yrs old. If you were to read his latest school report you would never guess he had SN. He's doing very well academically. Does this mean he has no disability? Nope. What you wouldn't know is that he has been having help with sensory integration for years, has help with co-ordination difficulties and social skills, and needs extra equipment in his classroom. He is only able to cope so well because of the help he has received.

Ds1 knows that he has autism. He knows what autism is. If you were to ask him whether he considered himself to have a disability he would almost certainly say no. If you were to take away the help and support he receives then he would sink like a stone.

I work with 14yrs+ who are on different points of the autistic spectrum. Some are HF Aspergers and some are at the other end with physically and mentally debilitating autism. They all have needs of one degree or another. They all cause anxiety for professionals because of these needs and how it will affect their future.

Alex's needs would worry me when it came to finding employment - if he is nocturnal and finds communicating difficult he may have trouble finding the best job for him. In this light you have to state that all though he is academically and socially 'getting on' now, his needs may impact on his later life decisions and it's important to acknowledge and be aware of his disability for these reasons.

Oh yes of course, let's just get him a statement then everything will be ok won't it.

I've spent the past TWO YEARS trying to get statutory assessments for my boys but have been refused at every turn because I chose mainstream education for them.

This is despite several medical professionals strongly lobbying for statutory assessment because of their complex physical and mental needs.

The LEA just don't want to statutory assess as it may lead to statementing and putting their hands into their pockets.

My son probably has aspergers. Every single school he's been at has failed him, they fail to notice that he sticks to rules like glue, takes everything literally, picks up swear words because he doesn't know the meanings *then they tell him off for it), gets bullied alot because he's 'odd', is very bright, can't interact socially very well etc. This is a disability, he isn't like you or I and he needs support and guidance all the time.

He sits yet an entrance test for another school on Monday that appear to have a little more understanding then the head that suggested I pack him off to boarding school and let someone else raise my child! We'll see. Take my son out to the playground for a few hours and see his disability for yourself.

My grammar's terrible.

YABU and I think there are many posters a lot more qualified than myself to explain why.

glitterknickaz - exactly - and if you spoke to the guardian you'd make sure that was the story, wouldn't you?

you wouldn't want them to gloss over all the difficulty, and all the fight you have had?

this article doesn't even suggest she has batted an eye at the ipsea website for a template letter. it makes it look as though she is demanding special privileges without recourse to official channels.

YABU

it is of course possible that the mum is a rotten mother

that will not in itself prove that her son does not have Aspergers- not all mothers of SN children have sensible parents who do the right thing at every turn

if I was an awful mother (as dd's former headteacher fervently believed) dd would still be disabled

and if I turned into a wonderful mother she would still be disabled

it is also possible that the mother simply didn't know her rights when the problems started years ago; being a teacher might not have meant she knew about SN; the teachers at dd's school knew nothing about discrimination and how to deal with it, the LEA gave us misleading information, and we tended to believe the head when he said there was nothing to be done and refused to even allow me to use the word 'disability' in conversation despite there being a definite diagnosis

I didn't know at the time that it wasn't up to him to define disability- maybe this mum didn't know about doing things through the proper channels either

it's only in retrospect that I wonder if he knew he was breaking the law or not