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From A Bleak World to A Bright Future

© Mary M. Alward

My Grandson Has Asperger's Syndrome. We didn't find this out until he was six. When he was in Senior Kindergarten, his teacher told us that he was having some problems making friends with his peers. He'd often go off by himself to play. If she tried to get him to play with the other children, he would become very upset and disrupt the class. He did things she didn't like. When he was upset, he would state his opinion very loudly and in her words was "rude." This didn't sound like Brandon.

A few problems cropped up during the year, but the teacher was always on top of things. She did tell us she thought Brandon would have trouble adjusting to grade one. Things were much different there. There wasn't as much play time and he didn't seem to have the concentration to work in a classroom environment. She couldn't hold him back in kindergarten. He was much too smart and he had completed the work that was expected of him and more.

In 2001, Brandon entered grade one. On the third day of school, my daughter, Michelle, got a phone call from his teacher. Brandon wasn't settling in. He was disrupting the class. He called out frequently through the day.

This teacher was new to the profession. She had just graduated. Brandon had seen her the previous year when she was a Student Teacher. We weren't sure what the problem was, so Michelle began volunteering in Brandon's class. Brandon's younger brother, Jordan, had started Junior Kindergarten. Michelle began volunteering in his class as well. When she had a break in Jordan's room, Michelle would walk down the hall and listen at the door of Brandon's room. What she found out was upsetting.

Brandon's teacher had no control over the children. His room was always in chaos. Children were out of their desks, running around the room. The noise decibel was high. The teacher was being run ragged. We requested Brandon be moved to the grade one class across the hall. The request was denied.

Brandon's unacceptable behavior was escalating. He would yell out in class, pinch the kids next to him or just be obnoxious. The teacher had begun sending him to the Principal's Office when he misbehaved, instead of taking care of things herself. Some days he was sent as many as five times. The principal threatened to expel him. He was a troublemaker. She was at her wits end.