Living with autism

Jan 17 2010 by Zoe Chamberlain, Sunday Mercury

WHEN little Nathan Gunton lashes out at his mum in public, strangers just think he is being naughty.

In fact, the 12-year-old Coventry schoolboy suffers from autism.

Parents Ken, 49 and Kath, 47, began to worry when he reached 17-months-old and had not spoken a word. He also started having fits.

Nathan was finally diagnosed as autistic at the age of three but it wasn’t until he was six that he was able to have a conversation with his family.

Fortunately, he has now grown out of his fits, although he could end up suffering from epilepsy in the future.

Mum-of-two Kath said: “Nathan is a very lovable child, but he does lash out at me sometimes. If he doesn’t want to go somewhere, he just won’t go.

“It’s hard because some people say he’s just being a naughty child. That drives me mad but I’m a quiet person and would never make a scene.

“Nathan struggles to communicate with children and so we have to be careful when he’s around other kids, even my grandchildren.

“When you’re talking you have to keep it really short and simple. You have to prize words out of him. He just gives one word answers. If you go from one subject to another too quickly he won’t understand. And when he doesn’t understand he gets really frustrated and upset.”

Nathan’s protective elder sister Lisa, 19, has now nominated him as a Sunday Mercury Wonderkid.

She said: “I was seven when Nathan was born. I became like a little mum to him and was quite protective of him. I still am now.

“If people stare at him in the street, I tell them my brother has learning difficulties then they end up saying how sorry they are.”

But Nathan’s autism also means he sometimes seems like a younger child.

“In some ways my young grandchildren can do more than Nathan,’’ said Kath, who is also mum to Tracy, 22.

“He can’t cross the road by himself, he can’t boil a kettle, he can’t cut up his own food. And we have many sleepless nights because he has lots of nightmares, sometimes up to 10 a night.

“He loves playing games on his computer. When he’s on his computer, he’s more like his proper age. I’m often gobsmacked at how much he knows.”

But Kath says she worries about what will happen to Nathan in the future.

“We’ve had a lot of support but I think that will all stop when he leaves school,’’ she said. “I’m hoping he might get a job and live by himself but really I just don’t know what will happen to him when I get older.”

Our Wonderkids are invited to a party in the summer and receive a cheque and a medal.

Garry Skelton, marketing director at Legal & General’s general insurance business, which supports Wonderkids, said: “Lisa’s nomination of her brother Nathan shows the strength of a sibling bond. We look forward to welcoming the family to our special Wonderkids party in the summer.”