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In an emotional moment after a couple of very difficult days during the school holidays, Dr Sophie Billington penned a poem about her son Tristan, who has Asperger’s syndrome.
“He is wired differently, To you and me, This child of mine,” it begins and goes on to explain that, while he can’t tie his shoelaces at the age of 11, he understands nanotechnology and genome editing technology.
“He is kind, He is generous But the world judges, Sees only the outbursts and over-reactions.”
It was after a series of such outbursts, caused by the change in routine brought about by the holidays, that Sophie found release in putting pen to paper.
She posted the poem (see below) on her Facebook page and was amazed at the response from friends – one even asked to use it to help her in her work training special educational needs teachers.
Encouraged to publish the verse more widely, she shared it on the BBC’s Family & Education Facebook pages, saying: “For anyone trying to parent the minefield that is a child with special needs, I penned this in a emotional moment.”
“I wrote the poem through frustration and despair really. I was worn-out, emotional and frustrated. It came from the heart – I literally wrote it out of frustration,” says Sophie.
“And I was wondering how other parents with children with Asperger’s syndrome felt and realising that perhaps we all need to share our stories.”
Sophie, a British doctor who now lives in South Africa, says she hopes the poem will raise awareness about the realities of raising a child with Asperger’s.
“I’m hoping that the poem will hope to show the world, and teachers in particular, what it’s like to parent a child with Asperger’s syndrome and the frustrations that the parents of these children have on a daily basis.
“My message is… to not look at a child that they would consider is over-reacting but stop and think perhaps that mother actually needs you to help, not judge.”
Read more at: http://www.bbc.com/news/education-43142480
