Living With My Teenage Genius
AS HER son Cameron sits at his laptop completing an assignment for his maths degree course Alison Thompson is busy helping her daughter Emma get dressed. 3
Nothing unusual there, except that at just 14 Cameron is a highly gifted maths prodigy, while Emma is 12 and severely autistic.
Having two children with such contrasting abilities has at times been a challenge, admits full-time mum Alison, 34, who also has 10-year-old daughter Bethany.
While help has always been readily available for Emma, Alison and her husband Rod, 37, a computer programmer, have had to fight to get Cameron the support he needs.“ People could see that Emma has special needs but because Cameron was doing
so well at school his teachers never thought there was a problem. They refused to acknowledge that he was gifted,” says Alison.
Admittedly it took Alison and Rod a while to realise their son was different.“ Cameron was our first child and we didnly’ t real
have anything to compare him with. He always had a very impressive vocabulary and we knew he was bright but he didn’ treach his milestones exceptionally early and there were no other real signs.” It was only when he began primary school that his abilities became clear.“ He used to cry when it was time to come home, ”recalls Alison.“ He just always wanted to learn more.”
On one occasion he even corrected the teacher when she told the class that zero was the lowest number. Cameron told her she was wrong because there were negative numbers. He was four at the time.
By the time he was seven, Cameron, who lives with his family in Wrexham, North Wales, was leaps and bounds ahead of his classmates. It was also clear that he was suffering from Asperger ’syndrome,s which is a form of autism. Children with
Asperger ’ s typically find social interaction incredibly difficult and can become obsessive and inflexible.“Not only was he getting bored at school but he didn’t know when to keep quiet and had no idea how to pick up on social cues, ” says Alison, who along with Rod started to put pressure on the school for extra support for their son. Now 14 Cameron is at secondary school, studying for a distance learning maths degree with the Open University, having sailed through his GCSE at 11 and his A-level at 12, achieving top grades.
Today it is clear that this slightly built, engaging and awkward teenager is gifted but it has been a battle to get the authorities to acknowledge his needs.
“I don ’t think the teachers had a clue what to do with a gifted child,” says Alison.
“We were worried about being labelled as pushy parents but there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting the best for your child. I think the teachers thought we were trying to drive Cameron with his maths bu t the drive came from him.” Frustrated, the Thompsons considered home education – Cameron was also being targeted by bullies– but they thought it would hamper their son socially.
By his final year of primary school, Cameron had become bored and disruptive but fortunately when he moved to senior school teachers there took his talents seriously and he was encouraged to do more advanced maths work.
“He steamed through the GCSE syllabus in just three months,” says Alison.“For the first time in ages he see med really happy. ”
Then his parents had to decide what to do next. Some gifted children are sent to university early but Alison and Rod felt this wasn’ t right for Cameron.
“ What would he have in common with the other students?” she asks. erstand these “ I just don’ t und parents who are so ambitious that they lose all sight of their child.
“I was once contacted by a mother who told me her five-year-old was interested in taking a GCSE. I mean, really? What
five-year-old has actually heard of a GCSE? When Came ron was five all he wanted was to be a train driver.”
Alison admits she is baffled by much of her son’ s degree course. Even Rod, who has a maths degree himself, struggles to keep up. Yet they are careful never to compare Cameron with his sisters.
Bethany is bright too but not gifted. Sociable and artistic she is the one who will remind absent minded Cameron to put on his coat. She also helps him out in social situations. “ Bethany could make friends in an empty room, ” says Alison proudly.
“ Having siblingswith such different needs has made her very accepting.”
Emma attends a specialist school and the family is quick to celebrate her successes too.
“ The other day she did up the buttons on her coat which was real progress,” Alison says.
The Thompsons try to live a normal life. Late last year they took part in a fly-on-the-wall television documentary to prove that not all gifted children are the result of overly ambitious parents. Cameron, who is also a brown belt in karate, was happy to take part as he had always wanted to be on TV.
“There is so much help out there for children like Emma but hardly anything at all for those at the other end of thespectrum,” says Alison.
“ Gifted children need support too but their lives don’ t have to be that different to anyone else’ s. Cameron is proof of that.
