Aspergers - A Family's Story

Of course that was exactly what we did and because of that concern shown by Harrison's first teacher we are now where we are today.

Harrison now attends school at Buderim Mountain State School on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. We cannot speak highly enough of the love and support that Harrison and our family have been given by the Principal and staff. 

From the day Harrison was enroled here we have been accepted and treated with respect.

Harrison has a fantastic teacher who he just loves. Mrs Heilbronn, has let Harrison know right from day one who the boss is and what is expected of him.  She is kind to him with just the right amount of discipline.  She really does care about his feelings and can understand when he gets very upset.  It is just the right mixture and Harrison has really bloomed in her class this year.

Harrison also spends quite a few hours a week with teachers from the special education unit that help him with his fine and gross motor skill issues and with his social issues.  All of the teachers too have been invaluable to Harrison and the changes we have seen this year have been incrediible.

Then there is the support team at the school who range from teachers aides that ensure Harrison gets his medication on time to the admin ladies who always keep an eye out for him and are alway willing to spend the time having a chat with him.

It's not always plain sailing but we have forged a relationship with the school that works for all of us. We do not expect reports on Harrison behaviour unless it is necessary and we do not make a big deal of things when they do go wrong.  We work thorough things with the school.

We are now at the point where the school starts looking at class placement for next year.  Once again we are in the loop.  Good communication with the school has been part of what makes this so successful for Harrison and ourselves.  The balance is important.

So it is with grateful hearts and peace of mind that we send Harrison off to school everyday knowing that he is going to a place that is totally accepting of who he is.

Thank's to everyone at Buderim Mountain State School - it's a very special place filled with terrific people. 

I can vividly remember our  visit to the Behavioral Pediatrician to discuss Harrison's diagnoses. I might note here that at this time I wasn't in a particularly good place with all that was going on as I was just coming to terms that my beautiful son wasn't perfect and now some smart Doctor who Harrison had a particular dislike for wanted us to consider medication.

This day we must have spent a good two hours with Warwick the Pediatrician discussing the pros and cons of medication.  When I think back now I am very grateful to Warwick as he told me in a very direct way to get over myself, swallow my pride and start thinking about the best outcomes for Harrison.

He explained in very basic terms that Harrison was facing a life that was going to be tough.  He was not doing well at school and a lot of this was due to the fact that he had 30 television screens going inside his head at once.  Medication would help to turn of 29 of those televisions giving Harrison the opportunity to focus and learn.  It suddenly hit me - if Harrison had something physically wrong with him that medication could help control I would do everything in my power to ensure he got the right medication. Wasn't this just the same with Harrison's ASD? The answer for us was a resounding "Yes!"

So you guessed it I got rid of the pride again - not that was easy but Richard was a great support.  He is the very cool, calm and deep thinking one in our marriage and he helped me to accept and believe that it was the right thing for all of us.

So here we are nearly four years down the track of medicating Harrison.

Harrison is in a main stream class and does extremely well in Mathematics, Science and Reading. His teacher tells me his behavior in class is on a par with his class mates and his concentration levels are great.  He sat National Year Three exams back in May and we received the results back a couple of weeks ago.  Harrison was graded in the top of Band 5 for all the subjects tested.  This was an extremely good result that we are all very proud of. This from a child that we were told by some  professionals, would probably never learn to read and write.

This remarkable turn around has happened as a result of a combination of things being made right in Harrison's life.  Medication has played a part in this along with fantastic support from his school and all his teachers. All the health professionals both past and present who have taken or are taking a huge interest in his well being and a behavioral management plan that we took on board at home and still use to this day.

But the most important thing of all is our unconditional love for him and our determination to make sure that he gets the best chance at a great life!

As with most children with Aspergers Harrison is a concrete thinker in other words he takes everything literally.

We shifted to the Sunshine Coast last year so as you can imagine there were many changes that took place in Harrison's life at this time that he had to deal with and a new Barber was one of them.  It was with fear and trepidation that we took him down to the Barbers at the Sunshine Plaza.  Our plan was to get in and out quickly with as little fuss as possible.

Unfortunately that was not Harrison's plan.

A great guy called Terry was free so it was his chair that Harrison was guided to.  We never mentioned Harrison's anxiety which looking back was a mistake on our behalf as when Harrison was asked to climb up and sit on the booster chair that had been popped on top of the normal barber chair Harrison froze.  He started screaming that he couldn't possibly sit on something that high as he would die if he fell off and that was that he wouldn't budge. We tried everything to get him to climb up but then the meltdown came. Of course the shop was full of customers and everyone was looking at us like we had bought some sort of alien in for a haircut. I guess like all parents in this type of situation this is about the time we wished the ground would open up and swollow us but as Harrison would say "that just isn't real life".  It was with great surprise and much relief that Terry the Barber listened as I explained the situation and he suggested that we take Harrison out and get him calmed down then bring him back when they weren't so busy and he would be happy to cut Harrison's hair and keep everything calm for him in the process.

This worked wonders.  When we came back with a calmed Harrison, Terry took the time to explain and show Harrison how everything worked and that he wouldn't let anything halm him.

That was over twelve months ago now and Harrison and Terry have become best mates.

I cannot tell you how great it is to know that when Harrison is due for a hair cut the whole thing is fun and enjoyable for all of us.  Going to the Barbers doesn't create any anxiety for Harrison at all.  Terry can now joke with Harrsion and he always has time to listen to what Harrsion has to say.  He has absolutely won Harrison's trust.  Because of Terry's understanding a very special realtionship has been built for our son.

I cannot thank Terry enough for the way in which he has taken Harrison under his wing and I don't know if he fully realises the impact that he has made on Harrison and on our family by listening and not judging.

Your're one in a million - Terry!