For World Autism day

Julie Bradford

For many parents, discovering that their child suffers from autism can be a daunting prospect. However in the case of Julie Bradford when she found out her son Jack suffered from the condition, it was actual a huge relief.

From an early age, Julie Bradford showed some concerns over her son Jack’s erratic behaviour. He would often arrange his toys in certain ways and make sure certain doors around the house are shut. Having been born in Cyprus and then lived in France before moving to England at the age of two, he had already experienced somewhat of an unsettled life which could have explained his irrational behaviour.

“However it was when he was five years old that I first realised that something may not be quite right with him” says Julie. “One day I was supposed to pick him up after school but wasn’t able to so I sent my sister Jill instead. When he noticed I wasn’t there he started to run around screaming as loud as he could uncontrollably. It was at this point it was agreed I should get Jack checked out.”

A year later aged six, Jack was diagnosed with autism. Most children who are diagnosed with the condition are done so in the first 3 years of their lives so Julie had longer time period without knowing why her son acted the way he did.

“For years Jack would throw huge tantrums in public and I could also hear people thinking ‘what a horrible child’ and therefore making me a horrible mother.

But since the diagnosis it almost feels like a huge burden has been lifted. I can now understand his behaviour and know how to deal with it.

Obviously for years members of my family had slight inklings and did think that ‘this isn’t normal behaviour’ but it wasn’t until he was diagnosed that everything made sense.”

“He would always be very blunt. Walking down the street he would ask questions like ‘why is that man so fat?’ very loudly which could be very awkward sometimes.”

Jack is now 12 years old and has a younger brother Peter, aged 10. He has grown into a very productive child enjoying activities like trampoline, electric guitar and TV programme Dr Who.

While school is difficult academically for Jack, it has done him great in terms of his behaviour in social situations.

“Over the past few years he has become a lot easier to deal with and makes greater effort to behave. I feel it is also important for Peter to understand from a young age that everyone is different. There is still the issue of should I constantly explain his condition when I take him out places

Every family has oddness somewhere or another. But this to me is the stuff of life and how you deal with it.”