Hello everyone. I have just joined this evening. My son, George, aged five years, was diagnosed with AS last year. The reason I have joined is that living in the Falkland Islands with no-one else being exactly "in the same boat" means there is no-one to ask advice on my many queries which leads me to feel quite isolated and frustrated.
Anyway, something that is occurring right now is George's anxiety about going back to school on Tuesday after the long summer break. He insists that I must not take him back and cries over it. Nothing I say seems to reassure him. The only thing that would reassure him would be if I said that I wouldn't take him! The same thing happened after the winter break last August so I phoned the teacher to say that he was anxious and asked what advice she proposed. She said to bring him in an hour earlier in the morning so that she could show him round the classroom before the other children arrived and try to settle him in. This was not successful and he had to be prised off me, crying hysterically. However when I picked him up at lunchtime that day he was fine and the teacher told me he had settled after ten minutes.
I have tried to pinpoint with him what the school dislikes are but suspect it is just general.
I have lots of queries actually but had better not go on too long. Thank you for listening (or reading I should say) and all the best.
Sue Howatt
