Mother sets up home school for her autistic child
She has started a self-paced home school since no schools see chance to accommodate her son.
A SINGLE mother of two has taken a leap of faith, given up her day job and started a home school to accommodate her eldest son and others.
Tao (7), the eldest of Amy du Plessis’ two boys, was diagnosed with ADHD and Asperger’s syndrome two years ago. According to Amy this is classified as high-functioning autism. “It’s basically a sensory integration disorder, so all of his senses are affected and will not develop as a normal child’s.
“Tao battles to process sounds and emotions and he expresses these feelings in outbursts of anger and violence, referred to as episodes. These episodes often include hurting, breaking or tearing apart anything that’s in his way,” she explains.
Amy says these episodes are wrongly interpreted as naughtiness. As a result, Tao has been expelled from six nursery schools, one of them being a special-needs nursery school.
“I have taken him to therapy and specialists and doctors. You name it, I’ve tried it. He is on medication for his moods as he suffers from depression. As a single mother with another child, who doesn’t have any of these issues, it’s been the most difficult thing I’ve ever faced and it’s even more difficult when I’ve had no support! I get help from the doctors and therapists, but they only know the textbook version of Asperger’s syndrome.
“Every person is different, and my son too is unique, highly intelligent and possesses special issues that no one seems to understand,” she told the CHRONICLE.
This led to Amy’s decision to resign from work and start her own home school called The Little Prince.
“As a single mother, this is a huge risk for me to take, and I will have to work really hard to make ends meet, but I am doing it for Tao and other children with the same problems,” she said.
If there are any parents with children between the ages of six and eight, in the same situation as Tao, this school might be the solution. Amy works with an occupational and play therapist, behavioural therapist and marriage counsellor, because she knows how these children can put strain on a marriage. She is also a qualified music and dance teacher who will offer these as well as swimming as extra-mural activities.
Contact Amy at amy@dansingalong.co.za if you are interested in her home-schooling service, or joining her ADHD/Asperger’s syndrome support group.
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