I am the mom of 2 young men with AS. As a "veteran" dealing with AS (my Mom
and her father had AS) I have some advice to share. When my boys were small
there was not as much known about AS as today. Therefore, they were 10 & 7
before they received their dx. Fortunately, I was able to get OT, ST, Special Ed, Listening Centre, Hearing Health Care Consultant Group, Social
Skills groups, etc. early on without a dx. Like most of you, I have gone
through the missed birthday parties, crummy teachers, suspensions, meltdowns, depression, bullying X 2. The advice I would like to share is
for you to give your children all the life skills and opportunities you can. If you are busy working or have other children, you could use your ACSD or SSAH government funding to hire workers to accompany them to their
activities. Some suggested activities are: Parks & Rec. classes like skating, swimming, cooking, t-ball or sports of any kind. My sons enjoyed
Variety Village fieldhouse programs, swim club. Beavers, Cubs, Guides,
church children's programs, music lessons, choir, etc. These activities
allow them to increase their social skills and self-esteem.
The school ran a Circle of Friends social skills group which was facilitated by Extend-a-Family, an agency we were members of. Extend-a-Family offered a sexuality workshop which I took my younger son to.
All the opportunities they were exposed to has contributed to how they are
doing today. My eldest son is in his third year of a Fitness and Lifestyle
Promotion course at college. He is a provincially ranked competitive swimmer who was part of the Vicki Keith crew when she swam Lake Ontario.
He paced her in the water and the rest of the time rode alongside her while
driving a Zodiac boat. He has his boat licence and his G drivers licence.
He has his Level 1 coaching certificate (any sport) and is a certified
instructor in High/Low Ropes and Rockwall. My second born son is in his
last year of HS where he is preparing to take Photojournalism in college
next fall. He plays sax in the school band and that is where he met his
girlfriend of 6 months. He is an avid fisherman who has his boat licence
and G1 drivers licence. He is starting Young Drivers this weekend. When
we realized he was musically inclined, we got organ lessons which he took
for 3 years. They have exceeded our wildest imagination and we are proud
to be their parents. Mother Nature
Parents/Adults Forum
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