Our Aspergers Teenage Boy

Tommy’s teacher said it was a better day. While I waited in the office for her to bring him out I listened to the vice-principal suspending one child after another, a scene I had also witnessed earlier in the week. Teens don’t have to have Aspergers to have behavior problems in school.

Took Tommy to the mall for a haircut. The hairdressed looked like she wanted to quit her job by the time Tommy got through with her. “The cape is too tight. It’s choking me. There’s hair on my face. Get it off. It hurts.”

Took Tommy to STAR but because the barn wasn’t quite ready we got a tour of the facilities and a lecture about the rules. Most of the rules had something to do with parents and siblings staying out of the way. It’s going to be a fun year sitting in the car with the other three for an hour every Thursday. Tommy came home and stared at the TV until I turned it off. He’s in his bed playing gameboy now but I’m about to enforce lights out. Tomorrow there is no school. I hope he sleeps in a bit.

I wrote Tommy’s teacher a second note. This time I apologized for Tommy’s behavior but insisted that I believe his claims of teasings. I asked her to keep a closer eye on Tommy for a little while. I realize that this request may backfire on me but I just don’t know what else to do right now.

I am still very angry that my decision to keep him home for most of the year is being used as a reason to fail him this year. I put him back in school for these last few months so that he can learn about being in a classroom. He was happy and doing well until other children started teasing him. The teachers should have better prepared the other children about Tommy’s disability and they should be wathing him more closely. I now think I should have just kept him home until fall and started him off in the high school.