Another Kind of Ordinary

Ben does not look any different. He is good-looking, athletic and slim. Most of the time, with most people, he is charming, thoughtful, open, friendly and polite. He maintains eye contact. His wider use of language conceals his limited ability to understand and process it. To you at first glance, he looks like any other teenager but he has learning difficulties and is on the autistic spectrum. This combination is a dangerous cocktail of conflict, confusion and vulnerability. Within the close family, his behaviour is sometimes very challenging. It results in a life for our family where unpredictability is a constant and the potential for verbal and physical aggression, though rarely seen, is never absent. These elements combine with the fun and busyness of family life to become our everyday: another kind of ordinary.