05/09/2025
The signs are so subtle though especially when your child is on the higher side of the spectrum... I know for years I had my son moved from school to because he was labelled as ADHD, a daydreamer, not coping, needing to be put on ritalin, not a social "butterfly". And then I decided to home school him because I knew when we did his homework, there was no problem he was an extremely intelligent kid who could read from the age of two and proper books, he would have a memory like I can't even tell you, yes he was a bit awkward because born prem he was small built for his age so he was an introvert with just a small group of friends.
But he held a conversation most kids his age struggled with if he really wanted to, he choice of books when he went to spend money on books were encyclopaedias. And eventually when he started looking at what his career one day would he was drawn to music all genres Michael Jackson, Eminem and Frank Sinatra.
Today at 24 years of age, all those teachers that did not have the patience and decided he was never going to be anyone in life because he suffered from ADHD need to come have a conversation with me again they will be surprise, at age 22 he was properly diagnosed with Autism and everything made sense, why he has this small group of friends still, why he prefers not to go to clubs, and huge gatherings because loud noises still are unsettling for him, he is still an introvert.
However, the teachers that believed in him like his principle Academy and his lecturers SAE Institute South Africa are the reason that my son today has established his own record label. And we, his father and I are so proud of this young man, who has blossomed into this awesome person who has embraced and understood what being autistic is all about and it has helped understand so many of what he struggled with himself in life and the challenges he faced at school why he was bullied and spent half his childhood and teenage life in therapy....so yeah I'm the mom of an autistic kid and you bet ya I'm so proud of my ROCKSTAR🤩🥳😎
I think this is where talks like Fraser Foundation recently had is so crucial for parents to attend because diagnosis like ADHD is often made so quickly and then kids with autism suffer because the wrong people make the diagnosis of ADHD.
As a nurse who worked with some of the best paediatrians ADHD should have a full workup done with a social worker, a psychologist/psychiatrist, a neurologist and a full battery of tests need to be performed before kids are put on meds like on concerta or ritalin, because of the long term effects on their organs and the side effects as well, it shouldn't just be seen as a quick fix, as a parent I know we also don't want to especially if our children are only kids acknowledge that they are spoilt and there is a discipline issue BUT I can tell you now my son tried it as all kids do when they go through the rebellious teenage phase, to treat me with a level of disrespect JUST ONCE...
I promptly pulled out his suitcases and started packing and told him, I raised him as a single mom and gave him the world, I protected him until my husband came along but if he thought for a minute he was going to disrespect me, I would take him and drive him straight to the person, he chose to cut out of his life because HE had treated him with disrespect and he hated him for it, because respect begets respect, my mom raised me that way and she raised my son that way and if we were suddenly going to throw that out the window then well....he had a choice to make.....we never had that problem AGAIN i can tell you because he know I was not joking....see that is the thing whether you child is on the lower or higher end of the spectrum autistic kids are smarter than people give them credit for....I am the mom of an autistic kid and the aunt to three more and I couldn't be prouder of all of them!🩷🧡💛💚💙🩵💜
❤️💙💚💛
