My Son's Not Rainman by John Williams

Author:John Williams [Williams, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The Best Days of Your Life

Once upon a time The Boy went to school with The Boy Who Couldn’t Sit Still. The Boy Who Couldn’t Sit Still didn’t really like school. In fact he hated it. Too many rules. Too much pressure to conform. He forever seemed to be on overdrive, as if he operated on a completely different wavelength to everyone else. His fists and his mouth would react to situations long before his brain even had time to engage.

The Boy Who Couldn’t Sit Still was half the size of the other children, I nicknamed him Dash, after the son in The Incredibles. And he was nothing short of incredible. I have never seen a child move so quickly, darting out of the classroom and on to the roof before anyone could react. He liked the roof. A lot. I’m not sure if it was the sense of danger or the fact that the teachers would never dare follow him up there. All I know is whenever I used to go and collect The Boy, The Boy Who Couldn’t Sit Still always appeared most content when he was out of reach of the world.

One day, I went into school and nine fire doors had been kicked in. Nine. Those thick glass panes with the wire inside. It was The Boy Who Couldn’t Sit Still. Four-foot-something of destruction had unleashed his anger with mankind. And it was probably because he didn’t want to wash his hands before lunch or queue up after break.

The Boy Who Couldn’t Sit Still’s mum would come to collect him. We crossed paths regularly – I’d have been phoned to collect my son for some misdemeanour or other and, as I pulled up into the car park, she’d be calling hers down from the roof. She was exhausted. He didn’t sleep at night, only for a couple of hours. She had nothing but my full admiration.

You see, The Boy Who Couldn’t Sit Still was diagnosed with ADHD. You know the one – that supposedly non-existent condition caused by crap parents that people snigger about. Well, I’m no expert but I remember when I worked in a respite care home for children with disabilities for a couple of years. Originally I worked there to help put The Boy and his problems into perspective. And then I stayed because I loved it. And the most challenging children, the ones who struggled to fit in the most, were often those whose diagnoses included ADHD. Yet still people mock it as a condition or say it’s just spoilt children with appalling parents.

So, in some ways The Boy and I are lucky. Autism is becoming more and more recognized. If you go on Facebook or Twitter, every other day seems to be Autism Day for one reason or another. And don’t get me wrong, I’m eternally grateful for that. But let’s spare a thought for those who have conditions that aren’t as well recognized. I was used to being labelled a Shit Parent before The Boy was diagnosed.

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