In his first year at his Scottish school my son was in a class called P 1-2. This in effect meant that some of the class would go on to P3 and some to P2 in the following year. Although he was of the age to go to P3 his teachers felt P2 would be a better option for him as he was still under a great deal of stress in class and needed all the support they could provide. He was in fact only really held back six months. It was a good decision and met with no resistance from me.

 Autistic children, I have found, or any children with extra challenges in life, are not so different from their peers. So the less we treat them like they are different the more able they are to just get on with life. My son had to be allocated a place in his classroom separate from the other children so that he could better focus. But whenever it was deemed possible he was encouraged to join the other children(Now, at age 11, he sits with the rest of the class for the whole day). At the beginning of each school day he was given clear instructions about what he would be doing that day. These tasks would be displayed on a noticeboard directly in front of him on removable labels and as each task was completed the label would be removed. He, like many autistic children, functioned well when he knew what was ahead. Such a simple exercise, but invaluable in his education.

 As he has got older he has become more able to cope with surprises, partly because I have made a point of surprising him and then being there to calm him, partly because life has surprises and again I would be there to calm him. Also, I think, because he has grown in confidence. This of course refers to 'desensitization', a great buzz word among the professionals. What I have yet to read about or be told about is that 'desensitization ' can take years. Years of constantly repeating the same set of actions to quell whatever it is that is causing your child distress. In my son's case his obvious ease in the company of dogs is a huge achievement and one that has taken at least seven years. To watch him holding a lead with a dog on the other end brings me no end of pride and admiration for his obvious bravery and fortitude. As I still get night tremors when I think of how he first reacted to dogs. He still has other challenges, and it could be many more years before he over comes those challenges but I am encouraged with the knowledge that he is better at coping than he was a year ago and a year before that, and so on ...