'The school worked with him to strengthen his motor and social skills'

"To be honest, I knew Andrew was slightly different shortly after he was born, but as he was my first baby I didn't put all the pieces of the jigsaw together until much later. It was little things like him not always looking at my face and in terms of the physical developmental milestones listed in his 'little red book' he never quite hit them at the times when he was supposed to.

"Playgroups where the other children would interact by all running together to look at something, or even fighting over sharing toys, were not something he was part of; he always seemed to exist in a little bubble of his own. At nursery, although he was bright, he was very socially isolated.

"However, from primary school this changed – partly as the main SEN teacher there recognised the signs and partly because having another child myself made me realise just how different Andrew was. The school then started working with him through various in-school groups to strengthen both his motor and social skills which I backed up with similar strategies at home. Working with the school, this eventually led us to a formal diagnosis of Asperger syndrome at the age of six.

"Some of the ways in which Andrew's condition presents itself at school can be slightly comic – for example, his lack of bodily awareness in the first two years meant that he would quite often fall off his chair but he told me recently that he only fell off once this whole term so things are improving! His lack of social skills has always meant that group work could be a struggle and break times in the playground have proved tricky.

His inability to 'read' unspoken social cues can be embarrassing at times – for example, if his teacher says anything he perceives as incorrect he'll have no hesitation in correcting her, despite me reminding him that this isn't really appropriate and if he's unsure he should ask her quietly and directly, not in front of the class.

In general, at the moment, his needs are improving as he ages as he is more able to develop strategies for coping, although we are aware he is intellectualising the 'rules' to what is 'normal' and then copying it – rather than it coming naturally to him."