Liz Frances
This is a personal account of Liz Frances. Please note that it is a personal view and does not necessarily represent the views of Research Autism.
I have a fourteen year old son with a primary diagnosis of Autism. We did not obtain that diagnosis until he was 12 and things had gone pretty much off the rails. The complicating factor was that he was born very prematurely (at 30 weeks) – which I feel has given an atypical picture and left us grasping at straws for many years.
Since he has been diagnosed a lot of his behaviour have made a bit more sense. However, it is still hard to deal with on a day to day basis.
I have found it hard to access information about autism – not because there isn’t a wealth of information and support out there – but it is a club I don’t particularly want to be a member of.
I think the intervention that I have found most helpful has been behavioural therapy – problem solving , which is very functionally based. My son often gets ‘stuck’ into certain behaviours – which are OCD-like and rather than face continual conflict I tend to veer away from dealing with them. Therapy helps me to address these issues, break them down into bite sized chunks and slowly regain my confidence and control.
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Last Updated : 15/03/2011 Back to Top
