We decided at age 3 that my son was ready to go to a nursery, or pre school or kindergarten, or whatever you like to call these places. Our first choice proved a mistake but confirmed our feelings; that our son was indeed different from other 3 year olds. The pre school teacher would have the children sit at a desk at the end of the day with their arms folded waiting for their parents. Of course, my son would not comply. He was more interested in exploring other parts of the building and upsetting the neatly arranged toys and pens and other such equipment found at these establishments. Quite simply, because he felt they looked better arranged his way.

He was not malicious in his behavior; far from it. In fact almost everything he did and does for that matter is done with an effervescent smile, like the angels told him to do it. Which is actually very funny when he is confronted by a traditionalist from the child care profession. Needless to say that was his first and last visit to that establishment. On collecting him the teacher commented,"He is a little behind I think." But she said it with exasperation in her voice (not very professional). We did however find a pre school much better suited to him, staffed by people who understood that something different was going on in his mind. They also spotted the physical differences in him, although subtle and difficult to spot in a 3 year old.

And so the journey began. Life changes when you become a parent, but it changed again when I was faced with the thought that my son was different and could in fact be given a label. As long as we were willing to go along with the "diagnostic process" ...