MATTHEW'S STORY

Driving Lesson

Matthew was born on the 22nd of July 1986, two weeks later than expected, but otherwise normally. He grew and developed according to the 'usual' standards. We did notice 'though, that he was extremely strong willed and had an aptitude for reading and logic ahead of his years.

By the age of about eight, he was having trouble at school with bullies ( a common problem with aspergers children, we later found) and not being supported by the school. After some months of this we put him in another school, where the school counsellor suggested we take him to a psychologist for testing. The psychologist informed us that Matthew had Asperger's Syndrome, which is a branch of the autism spectrum, as well as A.D.H.D. and that this was what caused most of his 'different' behaviour. This at least gave us a reason for his problems even though it did not make them any easier to handle.

The problems were controlled for some time, until a new teacher again decided that Matthew's problems were self-inflicted. The problems escalated again until he began secondary school in 1999. His new school has been much more supportive and have finally convinced the Education Dept. that Matthew needs an Aide to help him in several classes. The aide is not primarily helping his academic work as much as his social/behavioural skills and his concentration to the task at hand.

Apart from his school problems, Matthew still has difficulty making friends with kids of his own age or co-operating in group situations. He has trouble understanding 'body language' and tends to take anything said to him literally, including sarcastic or ironic comments. He is also still extremely strong-willed and can be very defiant if he thinks, by his logic, that he is in the right. He can usually relate well to adults, who find him quite eloquent and knowledgeable. We are still learning to cope (and helping him to cope) with his peculiarities and are slowly getting there.

As Matthew is growing older, he is learning intellectually what most of us learn intuitively and is becoming more 'socially aware' as a result.

In 2004 he finished his final year of high school. He followed this with a twelve month Certificate IV course in Information Techlology and is now preparing to join the workforce.

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Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder is (sort of) self explanatory, here are a couple of links that can describe it better than I can.back
from Behavioural Medicine Associates site

Aspergers Syndrome is a 'developmental disorder' in the autism 'spectrum'. The main differences are poor fine motor skills and a marked lack of social skills. A.S. children find difficulty in making friends and do not cope well with large group situations, such as team sports, etc.back
A fairly comprehensive site from the Asperger's Support Network in Victoria Australia
Asperger Syndrome Australian Information Centre is one of the most helpful sites available on Asperger's Syndrome.

Matthew and Dad on holidays canoeing

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