‘I needed someone who could help me find those answers’
Tina Medlock, a South Yorkshire mother, writes a blog after her son Joseph, eight, was diagnosed with autism.
“MOST PEOPLE will remember the summer of 2012 for the London Olympics, but for me it was the time that I first admitted that I wasn’t supermum and that I needed help. Joseph was born prematurely in 2008 and from that point on we had a number of difficult situations to deal with.
“He was diagnosed at the age of three-and-a-half and the support we had from the team at Sheffield was amazing. We were one of the lucky ones to have a swift autism diagnosis.
“By the time summer 2012 arrived, it had all taken its toll; we had moved to a new home, appointments with professionals, decisions around his education and his specialist playgroup coming to an end.
“I was starting to panic as to what we would do without the support and how Joseph would cope at a school without a statement of special educational needs in place. I recall talking to the GP, saying I wasn’t coping, the guilt I felt and how unhappy I was.
“I insisted I didn’t want any sort of tablets to help me sleep as I knew that wasn’t going to work for me so a referral was made to a counsellor. I was pinning all my hopes on the counsellor being the thing I needed to get me back on track. I wasn’t to realise at that point that the wait for a counsellor through the NHS could be months.
“I felt like I was in a deep black hole and couldn’t see any tunnel, let alone the light at the end of it. I wanted someone to come up with the magic answer to fix me. Little did I know that the answer truly lied within; I just needed someone who could help me find those answers.
“The solution came in the form of a counsellor through the Autism Communication Team. She understood how having a child with special needs affected me as a parent.
“Counselling wasn’t a quick process. I have slowly learned to accept that I am not to blame for Joseph’s autism. I wouldn’t say I am fixed, but I know more about coping strategies. I’m not sure what I should refer to this period in my life as.
“Recently there seems to be a lot of focus on mental health and everyone seems to be an expert. But just as I hate Joseph to be defined by his label, I doubt I need labelling too.”
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