>A wave of relief went through the house yesterday.

here is the entrance to our house – called main door

main door
taken by Laurie

We had our second visit with the child and family heath team. Tim and I had our own psychiatrist and Laurie had his own; )

Laurie stayed with her for the whole hour – wont tell me anything about it so left wondering… he said he just drew while he talked – said he knew it was rude but he hates looking at people when he talks to them. How many people in the neurotypical world would be able to understand that. I know there are thousands of others that do…

We did the developmental stuff so they ask you about how imaginitive he is, when he walked and talked and stuff. I went all pathetic in front of the professional (it makes Tim laugh to see me and says it’s because I’m a forelock tugging kind of girl; )

At one point I was really aware that my legs were shaking and it wasn’t nerves – it was adrenaline. I was just so ‘wired’ that someone was finally really doing something for us. i wanted to make the best of it. Anyway still haven’t told them the half of it, but I did ask if they felt it was appropriate to do an assessment for ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder). YES YES YES – I’m not just a mother making up excuses for my ‘badly behaved manipulating controling monster son’.

It is really strange to feel so happy that they have started the assessment and clearly think there is a pressing need. You might wonder why we need this…

We have to has his needs recognised. We do not have any negative feelings about an ASD/Aspergers diagnosis. We know that people on the autistic spectrum are wired differently – and have a very different take on the world – a very rich take sometimes that most people don’t take the time to consider. We know that his sensory perceptions can be a major problem but they are also a great blessing. Laurie hears music differently and has been able to recognise pieces of music since he was really small and even identify which films they may have featured in… He can mimic voices and accents perfectly. His memory is so acute that he can recount dialogue after only seeing a movie once. We have never had to practice a spelling list for homework. He does the 99 times table for fun. His sense of humour is strange but wonderful.

Shame no one else seems to appreciate this…

Another fantastic thing that has happened is that the fabulous people in the flickr autistic spectrum group are offering incredible support (as are people who are reading this blog).

Huge thanks to all of you guys – so needed and appreciated.

haven’t got a bunch of flowers photo but do have a beautiful lily from china for all of you…

Waterlily

I have met a really great family through flickr who have been through as much and so much more than us. they have a blog too linked to at the side bar but the dog is the one that blogs regularly – joker the lurcher. Laurie has been looking at their photos and I’ve explained that there are loads of other kids who have very well developed senses. He is most intrigued and would like to meet some.

next job – contact the glasgow autism support group….

such a long post today but guess what – another amazing thing happened. I sent an email last week in my depths of despair after the exclusion to our Member of Scottish Parliament (MSP) Gordon Jackson. I was expecting a standard letter in response but he actually rang me yesterday to offer support when needed. well done that man – you can share the lily.

So some faith in human nature restored…
Some validation of us as parents with concerns…
Some new friendships developing…

We are counting ourselves lucky today.

we are very well aware that we are only at the start of a major quest/journey. ..