I have an autistic son

About us shortly

I am a mother of an autistic boy. I am 53, Ethan, my son is 16. I am Hungarian, I was married to an Irish man, who is Ethan’s father. I have been in Ireland for 18 years.

Ethan is our firstborn. He is an amazing young man. He is in St. Marks school in Newbridge, Ireland. It is a secondary school for children with mild autism and learning difficulties. I have to say we could not have found a better school for Ethan. He is eager to go every morning. He barely missed a couple of days during the school year.

I am starting this blog because I have 16 years of experience being the mother of an autistic boy. I have done much research during these years and I have lots of experience. I meet parents with small children who are just starting out and discovering that their child is autistic and being scared of the unknown. I can help with advice and information. It would have been useful to me if somebody gave me advice but it did not happen. I am a teacher, so I thought I would pass on my experience to anybody who is in the same shoes. Also I have a 16 year old who can also add to this blog by answering questions of anyone who would like to know more.

I will tell you our story and give you lots of information where to turn, what is useful, what worked for us. I want to help parents who are facing similar problems.

If anybody told me where we would be over a decade later…If I think how devastated I was when we got the diagnosis. It was when he was just 4. 12 years later I have an amazing, bright, kind, polite 16 year old, who is practically loved by everyone. I am proud of our journey.

First signs

Ethan was born in January 2009. The pregnancy itself was uneventful. He did not move much. But he did not want to come out either. He was born at 42 and a half weeks. I was induced because he did not want to leave me. Eventually I had an emergency cesarean. He was big enough 8 pounds 14. I intended to breastfeed but he could not latch on properly. My auntie, who is a kindergarden headteacher in Hungary told me that it is a sign that he will have learning difficulties. It is actually true. I did not know how right she was. But at the time I could not believe that my beautiful baby boy can have any kind of problem. He was sweet and smiley and watchful with his big Irish blue eyes.